The day that Aaron and I went up to the Gorge was my first and only (so far) day of rain. We had rented scooters and it rained like it rains in Hawaii.....only all day. On the good side, it's not cold!
Once we got up to the Gorge, however, it had stopped briefly so Aaron was able to see some pretty cool things. It was a quick trip that day because we had to get back to Aaron's apartment so he could go to work the next day. But, now he's seen it, met some cool people that work at the hostel and knows he wants to go back there again when he has more time.
For the next few days I stayed close to Aaron's place. My stomach was a little upset, so I didn't want to travel too far. But, I did gather the energy (desire?) to go to Aaron's new apartment and clean. It's a small place but it still took me over 4 hours. Ugh. But, it's done now, so I feel okay with Aaron moving in there. Imagine if I wasn't here? He would have just moved in and lived with other people's dirt. Men.
On Thursday I went to another small town called Lukang. It was a 2 1/2 hour train ride, then a 1/2 hour bus ride. It was Matsu's birthday (one of the Gods) so I got to see some goings ons at the temple. It was pretty neat. I have no idea what was happening, but I did enjoy the site.
The town was really cool with other things to see. I definitely like the smaller towns to the large cities. No one there spoke English, however. I did meet one lady at a restaurant that could count to 4, but I had her beat because I can count to 10. And, I know how to say 100. So, numbers I'm pretty good.....everything else? Suffice it to say that I still can't speak Chinese.
I stayed in a real hotel in Lukang! And, it had air conditioning! I couldn't make it go lower than 23 degrees, but it turns out that was cold enough. Imagine?! I now think that 23 degrees is cold.
On the weekend Aaron and I got some things together for his new place and just did stuff like that. I have rented another scooter for 10 days this time. I probably won't use it every day but it's sure handy having it.
After driving Aaron around on the back of a scooter in Hualien, I am not going to put him through driving me around again. Those scooters weren't made for the two of us!
That said, I took my friend, Chan, on her first scooter ride, and it was like nothing was there. She's very tiny, weighing less that 50 kgs, so it was a dream. She said I drove quite aggressively, which I took as a compliment. Compared to Aaron, I'm sane. She did get to hear my first rate Canadian though, when I started to screech at others on scooters. In the smaller towns they appear to have even less regard for others. I didn't think that was possible.
Today I am going to return to the Lotus Pond and take some more pictures. My camera battery ran out the first time, so I'm going again to take lots of pictures. I imagine that this time the trip will be much more pleasant. When I think about that first time I went there, I had only been in Taiwan for a couple of days and I remember having a bit of shell shock on the condition of the roads and the traffic, etc. Now that I'm used to it, it'll be much quicker.
This weekend we're going to Kenting, at the southern tip of the island. This is where the beaches are, so I'm looking forward to that.
Then, next week I'm heading back to Taipei for about 10 days to see all the things that are around there. There's lots to see that is easily accessible, so I'm looking forward to that.
Aaron was giving me some interesting facts yesterday. I'm probably going to get them wrong but here goes:
Taiwan has 24 million people in it
Canada has 32 million people in it
Taiwan is 1/274 the size of Canada
This tells you how crowded this place is. I quickly gave up my dream of not having people in my photos because it's virtually impossible to have happen.
Sunday 24 April 2011
Friday 15 April 2011
Greetings from Hualien
I have finally made it out on the road again.
After my aborted effort to go to Alishan, I spent a day at Aaron's and wandered around his area a bit. Did a bit of shopping in a Fields type of store. It was fun.
Later that day I met Aaron and we went and looked at his new apartment. It's a small place, but I think for him it will be big enough. He won't have roommates any more, and he's happy about that.
I took the train to Hualien on Wednesday. It was a 5 1/2 hour train ride, but the views were spectacular. Very nice ride.
I am staying at a hostel here in a dorm room. I didn't want to stay in dorm rooms because I just wasn't comfortable with all that "sharing". But, I had no choice and I have thoroughly enjoyed it. I met a lovely girl from Germany who had been working in the hospital in Tainan for 4 weeks, and is now travelling around for 3 weeks.
I also met another lady (more my age), Chan, who is from Malaysia. Her and I went to Taroko Gorge together on the Thursday. We caught a but at 0630 hrs (I know what you're thinking!) and took the bus up, with the plan to walk down.
Even though Nora, the German girl, had said that we have to walk down via the highway I wasn't really quite prepared for what that entailed. The road is very narrow, very curvy and very busy with buses.
We aborted our efforts of walking when we were more than half way down and flagged down a bus. I thought it was the city bus, but it was a tour bus. He allowed us to carry on for the rest of the tour with him for only NT$100 ($3). It was good and we got to see things that we probably wouldn't have been able to see on the city bus.
The Gorge is something to see. It is all marble and is quite beautiful. It is considered a National Treasure here. The views as we were walking down were spectacular. Worth a look, that's for sure.
Yesterday, Friday, I rented a scooter and went for a 7 hour ride. I drove down the inland highway through the mountains and valleys, etc, then crossed over and took the coast highway back up. It was a long trip but I thoroughly enjoyed the views and the sites. It took me longer than it could have because I stopped alot to take pictures.
There were a few sites that were recommended to me to see, but I was concerned about being on the highway after dark, so I decided to just drive, drive, drive. Awesome.
At one place, the Baci Lookout (the highest spot on the highway) there was a little pullout with a shop selling tea, coffee, cold drinks and toast. I had some toast and cold green tea. It was good and hit the spot. I talked to the gal that was running the place and told her that I was travelling alone.
When I was leaving, she came running out and gave me a gift of her business card and some local dried fruit. She said that she knew how difficult it was to travel around by yourself and wanted to give these things to me. I thought that was so kind.
Oh yeah, on Thursday night, Nora, three people from Singapore, and I went to the shore and bought fireworks. Fun, fun, fun! I LOVE fireworks. They were quite awesome and unlike things we can get in Canada. You just buy them at the beach, and walk out and light them. Very cool.
People (mostly girls, I think) also wrote on these paper balloons and then lit the fire spot in it and sent those into the sky....much like hot air balloons. On our way home, we saw seven of these things floating in the sky. It was quite pretty.
Today Aaron is joining me. We are going to rent scooters and drive down the coast to go to the one beach that is okay for swimming. I don't really know why the other beaches are not okay. They say the water is too rough, but I am also told that the Taiwanese people do not swim, so it makes me wonder if it would be okay for a swimmer from Canada or not? In any case, I'm not willing to try it. We'll head down to the swimming beach.
Tomorrow, we'll get up early and take the scooters up to the Gorge. Then, we can meander down and stop and take all the pictures we want. Then, it's back to Aaron's for a day or so. What I'll do after that, I don't know.
On Thursday, I walked over 22kms and today my legs and knees are quite sore. They were sore yesterday which is why I went out on the scooter. So at the end of yesterday, I had sore calves, sore knees and a sore butt. And, I got a sunburn on my legs. At least I didn't have a headache! lol
The food here is fine, but not spectacular.
That's it for this post. The people continue to be kind, it's really hot and I'm having a good time.
After my aborted effort to go to Alishan, I spent a day at Aaron's and wandered around his area a bit. Did a bit of shopping in a Fields type of store. It was fun.
Later that day I met Aaron and we went and looked at his new apartment. It's a small place, but I think for him it will be big enough. He won't have roommates any more, and he's happy about that.
I took the train to Hualien on Wednesday. It was a 5 1/2 hour train ride, but the views were spectacular. Very nice ride.
I am staying at a hostel here in a dorm room. I didn't want to stay in dorm rooms because I just wasn't comfortable with all that "sharing". But, I had no choice and I have thoroughly enjoyed it. I met a lovely girl from Germany who had been working in the hospital in Tainan for 4 weeks, and is now travelling around for 3 weeks.
I also met another lady (more my age), Chan, who is from Malaysia. Her and I went to Taroko Gorge together on the Thursday. We caught a but at 0630 hrs (I know what you're thinking!) and took the bus up, with the plan to walk down.
Even though Nora, the German girl, had said that we have to walk down via the highway I wasn't really quite prepared for what that entailed. The road is very narrow, very curvy and very busy with buses.
We aborted our efforts of walking when we were more than half way down and flagged down a bus. I thought it was the city bus, but it was a tour bus. He allowed us to carry on for the rest of the tour with him for only NT$100 ($3). It was good and we got to see things that we probably wouldn't have been able to see on the city bus.
The Gorge is something to see. It is all marble and is quite beautiful. It is considered a National Treasure here. The views as we were walking down were spectacular. Worth a look, that's for sure.
Yesterday, Friday, I rented a scooter and went for a 7 hour ride. I drove down the inland highway through the mountains and valleys, etc, then crossed over and took the coast highway back up. It was a long trip but I thoroughly enjoyed the views and the sites. It took me longer than it could have because I stopped alot to take pictures.
There were a few sites that were recommended to me to see, but I was concerned about being on the highway after dark, so I decided to just drive, drive, drive. Awesome.
At one place, the Baci Lookout (the highest spot on the highway) there was a little pullout with a shop selling tea, coffee, cold drinks and toast. I had some toast and cold green tea. It was good and hit the spot. I talked to the gal that was running the place and told her that I was travelling alone.
When I was leaving, she came running out and gave me a gift of her business card and some local dried fruit. She said that she knew how difficult it was to travel around by yourself and wanted to give these things to me. I thought that was so kind.
Oh yeah, on Thursday night, Nora, three people from Singapore, and I went to the shore and bought fireworks. Fun, fun, fun! I LOVE fireworks. They were quite awesome and unlike things we can get in Canada. You just buy them at the beach, and walk out and light them. Very cool.
People (mostly girls, I think) also wrote on these paper balloons and then lit the fire spot in it and sent those into the sky....much like hot air balloons. On our way home, we saw seven of these things floating in the sky. It was quite pretty.
Today Aaron is joining me. We are going to rent scooters and drive down the coast to go to the one beach that is okay for swimming. I don't really know why the other beaches are not okay. They say the water is too rough, but I am also told that the Taiwanese people do not swim, so it makes me wonder if it would be okay for a swimmer from Canada or not? In any case, I'm not willing to try it. We'll head down to the swimming beach.
Tomorrow, we'll get up early and take the scooters up to the Gorge. Then, we can meander down and stop and take all the pictures we want. Then, it's back to Aaron's for a day or so. What I'll do after that, I don't know.
On Thursday, I walked over 22kms and today my legs and knees are quite sore. They were sore yesterday which is why I went out on the scooter. So at the end of yesterday, I had sore calves, sore knees and a sore butt. And, I got a sunburn on my legs. At least I didn't have a headache! lol
The food here is fine, but not spectacular.
That's it for this post. The people continue to be kind, it's really hot and I'm having a good time.
Monday 11 April 2011
Tuesday Apr 12
Last Thursday I ventured out on my own to return to Tainan to go to the Anping District. This area is where the Dutch fort is, which was built in about 1624. There are a few walls remaining, but for the most part it has been built, and rebuilt, depending on who was in power.
It was a nice spot and I met some lovely people. Well, I shouldn't actually say met...they helped me when I looked especially confused.
I also went to the market and tried some of the native fare for that area. I have never had a shrimp roll taste so good, or eaten dumplings in a jellied broth. Yum to both.
On my return to the train, I met an American man that had been living in Taiwan for about 11 years. He complained the whole time I was with him....which wasn't long. He was with a very nice Chinese lady that was from mainland China. I told her he was Mr. Doom and Gloom and then had to explain what that meant. He didn't really talk to me much after that. Go figure.
The next day I went to a very small town called Meinong. No one spoke English so getting around was challenging. I did find a shop where they make umbrellas from paper and bamboo and lacquer them to make them waterproof. And, "mom" handpaints them herself. Very beautiful. I am going to try and send one home and see if it makes it.
On Saturday, Aaron and I took a 1hr bus ride to a town called Dongang (sp?), so that we could catch a ferry to Little Liuchiu Island. We rented scooters and bombed around like mad, white folks. To drive from one end of the island to the other is only about 10 km, so it wasn't difficult to see everything.
This island had a beach where we could get our feet wet and caves to wander around. It was cool. The main caving spot is called Black Dwarf Cave. The map says it's Black Devil Cave and the sign on the building says it's Black Dwart Cave.
Very often, the translation to English is lost and what is said is very funny.
On Sunday, Aaron and I hopped onto the train and headed into the hill country to go to a spa. This spa had 15 different pools, with one being a hot mud pool, and another being a mineral type pool. Best of all, they had a pool where you put your feet in, and these fish come up and take the dead skin off of your feet. It felt weird. I could only last about 5 minutes with my ticklish feet!
They must have been discerning fish, however, because when Aaron and I came into the pool the fish pretty much left everyone else's feet, and came to ours. Maybe because our feet or so much bigger it appeared to be feast? I don't know.
I do have to say that I did sort of squeal and giggle and squirm when the fish were at me feet. It did make others laugh.....but not Aaron.
Yesterday, I called a hotel in the Alishan Forest Area and booked a room and headed on up. I didn't feel 100% confident that I had actually gotten my room, so Aaron had one of his "girls" call for me, to confirm. I didn't have a room. Then my phone died. Then when I got off my 2 hr train ride, I had missed the last bus to Alishan. I was less than amused and totally annoyed with myself.
If I had read the rest of my guide book, I may have been able to come up with an alternative plan, but I hadn't, so I didn't. I hopped back on the train and came back. On the good side, I was able to get more money onto my phone so Aaron and I could stay in touch.
One thing, though....I had my large backpack on because I was planning on being gone for several days and hiking in the mountains. I am already a site...but with a backpack on? You can imagine what was sticking out....in everyone's minds! I wasn't comfortable with that, or with the giggles from the girls. Obviously, I was tired because usually I just don't care. Aaron is going to ask his "girls" what I can say to people when that happens.I did it once already, but I want something firmer.
Today has been a day of snooping around the area by Aaron's place. I have booked a room to go to tomorrow and will hit the road then.
All is still well. Still loving the food. Still can't speak Chinese. Well, I can say a couple of things but apparently I butcher it so badly that I am still not understood. Oh well. I'll keep trying. Aaron said he was proud of me for just going for it when he is reluctant to do that because he wants to be perfect first. Me? I just go for it and laugh and then point at my phrase book. But, when he does speak, it is perfect. He knows alot more Chinese than he thinks. He's starting to realize that because when we're together and someone says something, he's able to tell me what they're saying. Or, at least the gist of it.
It was a nice spot and I met some lovely people. Well, I shouldn't actually say met...they helped me when I looked especially confused.
I also went to the market and tried some of the native fare for that area. I have never had a shrimp roll taste so good, or eaten dumplings in a jellied broth. Yum to both.
On my return to the train, I met an American man that had been living in Taiwan for about 11 years. He complained the whole time I was with him....which wasn't long. He was with a very nice Chinese lady that was from mainland China. I told her he was Mr. Doom and Gloom and then had to explain what that meant. He didn't really talk to me much after that. Go figure.
The next day I went to a very small town called Meinong. No one spoke English so getting around was challenging. I did find a shop where they make umbrellas from paper and bamboo and lacquer them to make them waterproof. And, "mom" handpaints them herself. Very beautiful. I am going to try and send one home and see if it makes it.
On Saturday, Aaron and I took a 1hr bus ride to a town called Dongang (sp?), so that we could catch a ferry to Little Liuchiu Island. We rented scooters and bombed around like mad, white folks. To drive from one end of the island to the other is only about 10 km, so it wasn't difficult to see everything.
This island had a beach where we could get our feet wet and caves to wander around. It was cool. The main caving spot is called Black Dwarf Cave. The map says it's Black Devil Cave and the sign on the building says it's Black Dwart Cave.
Very often, the translation to English is lost and what is said is very funny.
On Sunday, Aaron and I hopped onto the train and headed into the hill country to go to a spa. This spa had 15 different pools, with one being a hot mud pool, and another being a mineral type pool. Best of all, they had a pool where you put your feet in, and these fish come up and take the dead skin off of your feet. It felt weird. I could only last about 5 minutes with my ticklish feet!
They must have been discerning fish, however, because when Aaron and I came into the pool the fish pretty much left everyone else's feet, and came to ours. Maybe because our feet or so much bigger it appeared to be feast? I don't know.
I do have to say that I did sort of squeal and giggle and squirm when the fish were at me feet. It did make others laugh.....but not Aaron.
Yesterday, I called a hotel in the Alishan Forest Area and booked a room and headed on up. I didn't feel 100% confident that I had actually gotten my room, so Aaron had one of his "girls" call for me, to confirm. I didn't have a room. Then my phone died. Then when I got off my 2 hr train ride, I had missed the last bus to Alishan. I was less than amused and totally annoyed with myself.
If I had read the rest of my guide book, I may have been able to come up with an alternative plan, but I hadn't, so I didn't. I hopped back on the train and came back. On the good side, I was able to get more money onto my phone so Aaron and I could stay in touch.
One thing, though....I had my large backpack on because I was planning on being gone for several days and hiking in the mountains. I am already a site...but with a backpack on? You can imagine what was sticking out....in everyone's minds! I wasn't comfortable with that, or with the giggles from the girls. Obviously, I was tired because usually I just don't care. Aaron is going to ask his "girls" what I can say to people when that happens.I did it once already, but I want something firmer.
Today has been a day of snooping around the area by Aaron's place. I have booked a room to go to tomorrow and will hit the road then.
All is still well. Still loving the food. Still can't speak Chinese. Well, I can say a couple of things but apparently I butcher it so badly that I am still not understood. Oh well. I'll keep trying. Aaron said he was proud of me for just going for it when he is reluctant to do that because he wants to be perfect first. Me? I just go for it and laugh and then point at my phrase book. But, when he does speak, it is perfect. He knows alot more Chinese than he thinks. He's starting to realize that because when we're together and someone says something, he's able to tell me what they're saying. Or, at least the gist of it.
Wednesday 6 April 2011
Wed Apr 6th
Last Monday, Blake (Aaron's roommate) and I went north to the abandoned sugar factory. The factory's signage wasn't in English, so I didn't really know what I was looking at. Still, it was a nice day. The scooter ride there was long and fast. By this day I've become quite used to driving and am not really looking forward to giving it up. But, I don't plan on being around enough to make it worth my while.
On our way back there was a night market that we stopped at and I got some good pictures of some different foods. We had a "Taiwanese hot dog", which means the bun was made out of rice and spices in a sausage type casing which they cut open like a bun and then put a sausage in it. And, lots of raw garlic. It was quite tasty, but a bit too much garlic. Now I see why the people stay so healthy.....LOTS of garlic!
On Thursday it was Aaron's birthday and we went to a bar owned by a Canadian. It looks very much like a Canadian pub, so I felt at home. Had a steak which wasn't too bad. I got to meet a few more of Aaron's friends, which was nice.
On Friday, I went to "the" Buddhist" temple in southern Taiwan. I had called ahead so I got a private tour. I had read that I could do that.....My book said the bus ride would take 1/2 hour, but it took 1 1/2 hour. I was feeling a little stressed about being late, but being a Buddhist, I don't think they cared.
The nun I spent the day with was very cool and I was able to ask her any question and she would answer. We had some good discussions about religions of various types and she told me about her life as a nun. She's been a nun for 30 years and I guess she's fairly senior. So, I felt lucky to spend the day with her. She gave me a nice tin of a local tea that I am looking forward to bringing home.
On Saturday (I didn't go to Aaron's party), Aaron and I went up to Taipei. There was a bit of a schmozzle about the room at the hostel. I had booked the twin room and somehow we ended up with the double room. Well, as you can well imagine, that was not good. In fact, Aaron pointed out quite succinctly that I was his MOTHER. The girl immediately recognized the faux pas and went into the twin room and took out the bags of the two girls that just moved in, and moved us in instead. The joys of hostelling.
I did meet one of the girls later that evening and when I explained it to her, she understood completely and had no qualms about having to switch rooms. She has been living in China for the last 5 years and is now attending university there to get her Masters in International Politics. Cool.
While in Taipei we went to the busiest night market I have seen to date. I have never seen so many people crammed into so little space before. The food, however, was fabulous. And, they had this thing where they shave a block of frozen milk and put fresh fruit on it. Very yummy. Way better than ice cream!
We also went to some temples and wandered around. Taipei is huge and getting around was a little difficult. Thank goodness Aaron was there because I left it all up to him!
On the Sunday we went to the Taipei Zoo. Both Aaron and I love the zoo, as I have previously mentioned. This zoo, however, is massive. We didn't get to see it all. But, we did get to see the pandas. That was really something special. They are real neat looking animals and the one was very active and running around and climbing trees and what not. Got some terrific pictures.
We also went to the C.K. Memorial Hall which was bigger than I imagined. It was real hot at this time of the day, blistering in fact. But, by the end of the day it had gotten quite cold and started to rain.
In fact, it rained all day Monday and Tuesday. Unfortunately, I didn't plan very well and I had planned to visit museums on Monday....mostly because of the weather. Museums are closed on Mondays. We did find one, however, the National Palace Museum. It was huge and had lots of artifacts from the Chinese dating back over 3000 years. Amazing.
We met up with some friends of Aaron's and went up a mountain for the view. Well, as I mentioned, it was raining. There was no view. Absolutely none. Couldn't even see a street light. We did manage to get quite wet, however.
On Tuesday we went to the Museum of Religions. It was really neat. Very well laid out and the signage was in English. It just tried to show the similarities of all religions. Right up my alley, and Aaron enjoyed it, too.
Al, you'll be happy to note that Aaron and I ate Indian food this day. He had butter chicken and I had some chicken thing that started with the letter L. I chose that because it was the only thing on the menu that didn't have a hot pepper beside it. I still found it hot, but it had a nice flavour, too.
Today I spent the day at Aaron's getting laundry done, etc. Tomorrow I'll be heading back to Tainan, I think. There is another part of the town that I want to see.
As rude as I think the people are, they are also very nice. For instance, yesterday in Taipei I asked a bus driver if he was the bus that went to the museum. He said no (I think) and that I had to look for bus 30 behind him. The only thing I knew for sure was that he wasn't the right bus, but one of the ones behind him was. At this point I should mention that there were about eight buses behind him.
So, I walked back to the signs and looked at them (God knows why....I still can't real Chinese), and he got off of his bus to tell me where to line up. I think that was very nice.
So, with Aaron's coaching, I have decided that people aren't rude. It's just that there are so many people here, that they really don't pay attention to anyone around them and are intent on getting to where they want to be. It's nothing personal. It does amaze me, however, how people can't see me and crash into me. Really?!
On the good side, when Aaron and I are walking around with each other, or others, we are the beacons in the crowd if we get separated. Thank goodness.
On our way back there was a night market that we stopped at and I got some good pictures of some different foods. We had a "Taiwanese hot dog", which means the bun was made out of rice and spices in a sausage type casing which they cut open like a bun and then put a sausage in it. And, lots of raw garlic. It was quite tasty, but a bit too much garlic. Now I see why the people stay so healthy.....LOTS of garlic!
On Thursday it was Aaron's birthday and we went to a bar owned by a Canadian. It looks very much like a Canadian pub, so I felt at home. Had a steak which wasn't too bad. I got to meet a few more of Aaron's friends, which was nice.
On Friday, I went to "the" Buddhist" temple in southern Taiwan. I had called ahead so I got a private tour. I had read that I could do that.....My book said the bus ride would take 1/2 hour, but it took 1 1/2 hour. I was feeling a little stressed about being late, but being a Buddhist, I don't think they cared.
The nun I spent the day with was very cool and I was able to ask her any question and she would answer. We had some good discussions about religions of various types and she told me about her life as a nun. She's been a nun for 30 years and I guess she's fairly senior. So, I felt lucky to spend the day with her. She gave me a nice tin of a local tea that I am looking forward to bringing home.
On Saturday (I didn't go to Aaron's party), Aaron and I went up to Taipei. There was a bit of a schmozzle about the room at the hostel. I had booked the twin room and somehow we ended up with the double room. Well, as you can well imagine, that was not good. In fact, Aaron pointed out quite succinctly that I was his MOTHER. The girl immediately recognized the faux pas and went into the twin room and took out the bags of the two girls that just moved in, and moved us in instead. The joys of hostelling.
I did meet one of the girls later that evening and when I explained it to her, she understood completely and had no qualms about having to switch rooms. She has been living in China for the last 5 years and is now attending university there to get her Masters in International Politics. Cool.
While in Taipei we went to the busiest night market I have seen to date. I have never seen so many people crammed into so little space before. The food, however, was fabulous. And, they had this thing where they shave a block of frozen milk and put fresh fruit on it. Very yummy. Way better than ice cream!
We also went to some temples and wandered around. Taipei is huge and getting around was a little difficult. Thank goodness Aaron was there because I left it all up to him!
On the Sunday we went to the Taipei Zoo. Both Aaron and I love the zoo, as I have previously mentioned. This zoo, however, is massive. We didn't get to see it all. But, we did get to see the pandas. That was really something special. They are real neat looking animals and the one was very active and running around and climbing trees and what not. Got some terrific pictures.
We also went to the C.K. Memorial Hall which was bigger than I imagined. It was real hot at this time of the day, blistering in fact. But, by the end of the day it had gotten quite cold and started to rain.
In fact, it rained all day Monday and Tuesday. Unfortunately, I didn't plan very well and I had planned to visit museums on Monday....mostly because of the weather. Museums are closed on Mondays. We did find one, however, the National Palace Museum. It was huge and had lots of artifacts from the Chinese dating back over 3000 years. Amazing.
We met up with some friends of Aaron's and went up a mountain for the view. Well, as I mentioned, it was raining. There was no view. Absolutely none. Couldn't even see a street light. We did manage to get quite wet, however.
On Tuesday we went to the Museum of Religions. It was really neat. Very well laid out and the signage was in English. It just tried to show the similarities of all religions. Right up my alley, and Aaron enjoyed it, too.
Al, you'll be happy to note that Aaron and I ate Indian food this day. He had butter chicken and I had some chicken thing that started with the letter L. I chose that because it was the only thing on the menu that didn't have a hot pepper beside it. I still found it hot, but it had a nice flavour, too.
Today I spent the day at Aaron's getting laundry done, etc. Tomorrow I'll be heading back to Tainan, I think. There is another part of the town that I want to see.
As rude as I think the people are, they are also very nice. For instance, yesterday in Taipei I asked a bus driver if he was the bus that went to the museum. He said no (I think) and that I had to look for bus 30 behind him. The only thing I knew for sure was that he wasn't the right bus, but one of the ones behind him was. At this point I should mention that there were about eight buses behind him.
So, I walked back to the signs and looked at them (God knows why....I still can't real Chinese), and he got off of his bus to tell me where to line up. I think that was very nice.
So, with Aaron's coaching, I have decided that people aren't rude. It's just that there are so many people here, that they really don't pay attention to anyone around them and are intent on getting to where they want to be. It's nothing personal. It does amaze me, however, how people can't see me and crash into me. Really?!
On the good side, when Aaron and I are walking around with each other, or others, we are the beacons in the crowd if we get separated. Thank goodness.
Tuesday 29 March 2011
Wed Mar 30th
What to say? The weather has been good, if a bit muggy. Warm, but I think I'm used to it now.
On Saturday, Aaron and I and his two friends, Phoebe and Stacey, went to Cijin Island. I had rented a scooter on this day, so it was my first trip. The traffic on a scooter is as bad as I thought with little or no regard for the people around you. I curse....loudly, honk my horn and basically let people know that I'm not happy that they can't drive. Or, at least not drive the way that I want them to....
Cijin Island is an island in the harbour that has a real cool market and you can walk to the beach and run your toes in the sand. Very nice. Got to see all kinds of different things at the market, and the girls had me try many different things. I quite enjoyed it. We went by all these booths that were selling snacks. They called it beer food. Looked like tortilla chips to me.....until I tried it. Ugh. It was made out of fish and not crunchy.
But, once I figured out that EVERYTHING is made out of fish I was able to appreciate the different things a little more. They also dry some type of fish, grind it into a fine powder and use it for soups (I think) etc. Some of these had a very nice taste. I didn't buy anything. Oh wait. I found popcorn and bought that. Aaron bought peanuts.
We had a seafood dinner there that was fabulous. Here, in Taiwan, all types of seafood is very inexpensive and readily available. Fish is the game of the day, every day. I'm not hating this.
So, we got this fish and had it steamed. They serve it to you whole and it was delicious. I ate the eye. That's what they do, so I did it. It had no taste and was hard as a stone in the middle. At least I did it.
Later that day we went and bought my new camera. Stacey did some excellent haggling for me and got the price knocked down over $500NT. And, I got a bunch of free little things in there, too. I was happy with that.
The girls then came back to Aaron's and we cooked dinner for them. I made a ceasar salad and Aaron made some awesome chicken sandwiches. I think they were both happy to be eating "Western" food. Both the girls have lived outside of Taiwan, so are very familiar with our foods, etc.
On Sunday, Aaron and I went to the zoo. More importantly, we got to try out my new camera!
The zoo was pretty good. They had some animals that are indigenous to Taiwan and they were cool to see. The day was actually quite cool , only 15 degrees, so the animals seemed to be fairly animated. We killed the battery and took hundreds of photos.
This night, I made spaghetti for dinner. We couldn't find ground beef, so we used ground pork. Still tasted good. Blake, Aaron's roommate, had some with us and both the guys ate very large plates. Again, Aaron and I LOVE the food here, but it's nice to have something western for a change.
Yesterday I went up to Tainan City, which is the oldest city in Taiwan. My Lonely Planet guide had a walking tour of 12 temples, so I pretty much just followed that. Best of all, I only got lost once! Right at the end, too. I was dog tired and just wanted to get to the train. I turned right, when I should have turned left and ended up not at the train station.
Now that I have all these temples under my belt, I'm done with temples. I remember it was like that with the cathedrals and churches in Europe. Once you've seen some, you're done. They are beautiful, don't get me wrong, but because I don't truly know the significance of one god to the next, they don't really mean anything.
I did find a street vendor that was selling dumplings, so I had that for dinner. Again, very much like dim sum. Kari, you would LOVE the food here! I like that the vendors are inexpensive and good and fresh. Aaron has told me that the turn over in food is so great you'll never get anything that has been sitting for a while and possibly going bad. This has been my experience to date. Funny, but I wouldn't eat food at a street vendor in Mexico, but here it is the way to go.
While I'm walking about, I am getting stared at. Naturally. Not only am I white with blonde hair, I'm also 6' tall. I think they're pretty used to the white, but the height is what gets them. Yesterday, I saw a couple staring at me so I said hello. And the man smiled and said "So tall!". I agreed and carried on my way. I am tall in Canadian standards, here I'm a freaking giant! Oh wait, in Canada I'm pretty much a freaking giant, too...lol.
When I see people staring, I always smile and say hello, in Chinese. They always smile back and say hello. I think that my best defence it to just grab the bull by the horns and "own" it. I have to thank my friend, Joni, for this. I was quite nervous about being so different here and she just told me to stand up and own it. So, I do and it's working well.
That's about it for now. This weekend, Aaron and I are hoping to to to Taipei. However, it is a national holiday this weekend, so travel may be out of the question as the trains may be booked already. I'll just havee to wait and see.
Aaron's birthday is tomorrow and he's having a dinner tomorrow night which I will be going to. Hopefully, I don't have to foot the bill! On the Friday night he has booked a private room, or something, at one of his hangouts for drinking and dancing and whatnot. I'm not invited to that soiree! Can you believe it? I can't decide if I should feel crushed, or what.....
On Saturday, Aaron and I and his two friends, Phoebe and Stacey, went to Cijin Island. I had rented a scooter on this day, so it was my first trip. The traffic on a scooter is as bad as I thought with little or no regard for the people around you. I curse....loudly, honk my horn and basically let people know that I'm not happy that they can't drive. Or, at least not drive the way that I want them to....
Cijin Island is an island in the harbour that has a real cool market and you can walk to the beach and run your toes in the sand. Very nice. Got to see all kinds of different things at the market, and the girls had me try many different things. I quite enjoyed it. We went by all these booths that were selling snacks. They called it beer food. Looked like tortilla chips to me.....until I tried it. Ugh. It was made out of fish and not crunchy.
But, once I figured out that EVERYTHING is made out of fish I was able to appreciate the different things a little more. They also dry some type of fish, grind it into a fine powder and use it for soups (I think) etc. Some of these had a very nice taste. I didn't buy anything. Oh wait. I found popcorn and bought that. Aaron bought peanuts.
We had a seafood dinner there that was fabulous. Here, in Taiwan, all types of seafood is very inexpensive and readily available. Fish is the game of the day, every day. I'm not hating this.
So, we got this fish and had it steamed. They serve it to you whole and it was delicious. I ate the eye. That's what they do, so I did it. It had no taste and was hard as a stone in the middle. At least I did it.
Later that day we went and bought my new camera. Stacey did some excellent haggling for me and got the price knocked down over $500NT. And, I got a bunch of free little things in there, too. I was happy with that.
The girls then came back to Aaron's and we cooked dinner for them. I made a ceasar salad and Aaron made some awesome chicken sandwiches. I think they were both happy to be eating "Western" food. Both the girls have lived outside of Taiwan, so are very familiar with our foods, etc.
On Sunday, Aaron and I went to the zoo. More importantly, we got to try out my new camera!
The zoo was pretty good. They had some animals that are indigenous to Taiwan and they were cool to see. The day was actually quite cool , only 15 degrees, so the animals seemed to be fairly animated. We killed the battery and took hundreds of photos.
This night, I made spaghetti for dinner. We couldn't find ground beef, so we used ground pork. Still tasted good. Blake, Aaron's roommate, had some with us and both the guys ate very large plates. Again, Aaron and I LOVE the food here, but it's nice to have something western for a change.
Yesterday I went up to Tainan City, which is the oldest city in Taiwan. My Lonely Planet guide had a walking tour of 12 temples, so I pretty much just followed that. Best of all, I only got lost once! Right at the end, too. I was dog tired and just wanted to get to the train. I turned right, when I should have turned left and ended up not at the train station.
Now that I have all these temples under my belt, I'm done with temples. I remember it was like that with the cathedrals and churches in Europe. Once you've seen some, you're done. They are beautiful, don't get me wrong, but because I don't truly know the significance of one god to the next, they don't really mean anything.
I did find a street vendor that was selling dumplings, so I had that for dinner. Again, very much like dim sum. Kari, you would LOVE the food here! I like that the vendors are inexpensive and good and fresh. Aaron has told me that the turn over in food is so great you'll never get anything that has been sitting for a while and possibly going bad. This has been my experience to date. Funny, but I wouldn't eat food at a street vendor in Mexico, but here it is the way to go.
While I'm walking about, I am getting stared at. Naturally. Not only am I white with blonde hair, I'm also 6' tall. I think they're pretty used to the white, but the height is what gets them. Yesterday, I saw a couple staring at me so I said hello. And the man smiled and said "So tall!". I agreed and carried on my way. I am tall in Canadian standards, here I'm a freaking giant! Oh wait, in Canada I'm pretty much a freaking giant, too...lol.
When I see people staring, I always smile and say hello, in Chinese. They always smile back and say hello. I think that my best defence it to just grab the bull by the horns and "own" it. I have to thank my friend, Joni, for this. I was quite nervous about being so different here and she just told me to stand up and own it. So, I do and it's working well.
That's about it for now. This weekend, Aaron and I are hoping to to to Taipei. However, it is a national holiday this weekend, so travel may be out of the question as the trains may be booked already. I'll just havee to wait and see.
Aaron's birthday is tomorrow and he's having a dinner tomorrow night which I will be going to. Hopefully, I don't have to foot the bill! On the Friday night he has booked a private room, or something, at one of his hangouts for drinking and dancing and whatnot. I'm not invited to that soiree! Can you believe it? I can't decide if I should feel crushed, or what.....
Wednesday 23 March 2011
Day 2/3 in Taiwan
My trip to Taiwan was uneventful. Thank goodness. All the stressing and packing and re-packing paid off because I was within my weight limits (barely) and all went well. I even got seats in the emergency exit rows where there is more leg room. That made me even happier!
I arrived in Taipei at about 0530hrs. Aaron had given me awesome instructions on how to get to the bus station, so I just followed his instructions and baboom, I was in the right place. Good thing because I don't think I was really prepared for how difficult it was going to be to navigate. It turns out that I really don't know any Chinese! Who knew?! I don't understand when it's spoken and I sure can't read it!
Thankfully, at the bus stop I met a lovely young lady that lives in Vancouver. Her family is from Kaohsiung, so had come home to visit. She verified that I was in the right line for the right bus.
So, bus to train station - NT$30
Train ride to Kaohsiung - NT$1330
Sign that said Car Kiss And Ride - priceless
The high speed train to Kaohsiung was fast and sleek. And, very clean. I was surprised how clean it was. In fact, I'm surprised how clean Taiwan is in general. Apparently, there is a job for people to pick up the garbage. So, they do. That doesn't account for the weird odor that permeates all of Taiwan. Or, at least, all of Kaohsiung. I thought it was a spice that is used in cooking, but Aaron's roommate, Blake, has informed that it is from the open sewers. I'm not sure if I believe him, but....
My first day here Aaron and I went to a noodle place to eat. I think that probably the funniest part was him and I getting on a scooter together. Two big white people on a scooter. That said, I have seen whole families on a scooter, and their dog, too.
The noodle dinner was good, and cheap. To eat out here is ridiculously cheap. And tasty.
On Tuesday I walked a few blocks away and found a street vendor for breakfast. I looked at the place and walked away, then returned. Aaron had told me of the place to go but I was unsure if this was it.
In any case, I decided that it was busy enough that I was going to try it. So I picked an egg omelet that had corn in it. That was all good until I had to pay and couldn't understand how much it was. Thankfully, a very nice lady named Cathy came to my rescue. She is from the city but has been living in the US for the past 5 years. After I paid she asked if I would like to sit with her. She's very nice and I was very thankful for her help.
It was very hot this day, 30 degrees C or so, and very humid. I walked around after breakfast for a bit, then returned to the apartment for a nap.
In the evening Aaron and I went to the night market for supper. Holy cow! So many people! Had wonderful chicken dumpling things (much like dim sum, Kari) and a chicken sandwich thing.
When we went back to the scooter there were some boys hanging around it. Not Aaron's scooter, just the scooters. Anyway, Aaron just walked up to them and pointed at his scooter and they pretty much scattered. Then they saw me behind him, and.....I don't know what they thought!
Aaron had to manhandle his scooter out of the pack. By that I mean he pretty much picked it up and put it down where he wanted to. We got on the scooter, and as we were leaving, I turned around and the boys were laughing and miming Aaron's picking up the scooter. I think they were in awe. I know I was.
The scooter traffic here is crazy, There are rules, but the people seem to think of then as guidelines only. Aaron wants me to rent a scooter (because I keep grabbing him when things get a little dicey and it scares him more), but I am unsure if I could actually drive one here. They just decide to do u-turns whenever they want. They drive on the crosswalks if it means they don't have to wait for the light. They drive on the sidewalks if there is less people. And, so on....
Today I went to a place called Lotus Pond. Very nice and very pretty. Surrounded by many temples that were gorgeous. This is part of what I've been wanting to see. It was amazing. Of course about half way around, my battery went dead on my camera. So, I bought postcards (you'll be getting some in the mail) and will go back to take my own pictures. I'm going to make Aaron come with me, too.
Oh. One other funny thing.....I went to this market. Kind of a convenience/mini grocery store. I stood at the door waiting for it to open automatically. It didn't. So, I started to slide it open, thinking that it didn't open by itself. The two girls in the shop came running over and pushed the button that opened the door. Duh. But, I couldn't read the instructions! When I got into the store I laughed at myself and they laughed at me. So, it was all good. The big Canadian girl didn't break the door.
I arrived in Taipei at about 0530hrs. Aaron had given me awesome instructions on how to get to the bus station, so I just followed his instructions and baboom, I was in the right place. Good thing because I don't think I was really prepared for how difficult it was going to be to navigate. It turns out that I really don't know any Chinese! Who knew?! I don't understand when it's spoken and I sure can't read it!
Thankfully, at the bus stop I met a lovely young lady that lives in Vancouver. Her family is from Kaohsiung, so had come home to visit. She verified that I was in the right line for the right bus.
So, bus to train station - NT$30
Train ride to Kaohsiung - NT$1330
Sign that said Car Kiss And Ride - priceless
The high speed train to Kaohsiung was fast and sleek. And, very clean. I was surprised how clean it was. In fact, I'm surprised how clean Taiwan is in general. Apparently, there is a job for people to pick up the garbage. So, they do. That doesn't account for the weird odor that permeates all of Taiwan. Or, at least, all of Kaohsiung. I thought it was a spice that is used in cooking, but Aaron's roommate, Blake, has informed that it is from the open sewers. I'm not sure if I believe him, but....
My first day here Aaron and I went to a noodle place to eat. I think that probably the funniest part was him and I getting on a scooter together. Two big white people on a scooter. That said, I have seen whole families on a scooter, and their dog, too.
The noodle dinner was good, and cheap. To eat out here is ridiculously cheap. And tasty.
On Tuesday I walked a few blocks away and found a street vendor for breakfast. I looked at the place and walked away, then returned. Aaron had told me of the place to go but I was unsure if this was it.
In any case, I decided that it was busy enough that I was going to try it. So I picked an egg omelet that had corn in it. That was all good until I had to pay and couldn't understand how much it was. Thankfully, a very nice lady named Cathy came to my rescue. She is from the city but has been living in the US for the past 5 years. After I paid she asked if I would like to sit with her. She's very nice and I was very thankful for her help.
It was very hot this day, 30 degrees C or so, and very humid. I walked around after breakfast for a bit, then returned to the apartment for a nap.
In the evening Aaron and I went to the night market for supper. Holy cow! So many people! Had wonderful chicken dumpling things (much like dim sum, Kari) and a chicken sandwich thing.
When we went back to the scooter there were some boys hanging around it. Not Aaron's scooter, just the scooters. Anyway, Aaron just walked up to them and pointed at his scooter and they pretty much scattered. Then they saw me behind him, and.....I don't know what they thought!
Aaron had to manhandle his scooter out of the pack. By that I mean he pretty much picked it up and put it down where he wanted to. We got on the scooter, and as we were leaving, I turned around and the boys were laughing and miming Aaron's picking up the scooter. I think they were in awe. I know I was.
The scooter traffic here is crazy, There are rules, but the people seem to think of then as guidelines only. Aaron wants me to rent a scooter (because I keep grabbing him when things get a little dicey and it scares him more), but I am unsure if I could actually drive one here. They just decide to do u-turns whenever they want. They drive on the crosswalks if it means they don't have to wait for the light. They drive on the sidewalks if there is less people. And, so on....
Today I went to a place called Lotus Pond. Very nice and very pretty. Surrounded by many temples that were gorgeous. This is part of what I've been wanting to see. It was amazing. Of course about half way around, my battery went dead on my camera. So, I bought postcards (you'll be getting some in the mail) and will go back to take my own pictures. I'm going to make Aaron come with me, too.
Oh. One other funny thing.....I went to this market. Kind of a convenience/mini grocery store. I stood at the door waiting for it to open automatically. It didn't. So, I started to slide it open, thinking that it didn't open by itself. The two girls in the shop came running over and pushed the button that opened the door. Duh. But, I couldn't read the instructions! When I got into the store I laughed at myself and they laughed at me. So, it was all good. The big Canadian girl didn't break the door.
Tuesday 8 March 2011
I "thought" I could pee standing up....
Today I decided to venture out into the world and use the pStyle. I thought that I had practiced enough and was quite adept at said product.
I was wrong!
I don't know why it didn't work this time. Was the nozzle angle incorrect? Was the "seal" not strong enough? Was the nozzle too short to get past my pants? All unanswerable questions. Because once your start to pee your pants, your logical mind leaves your body and you just start to do body contortions to try and reach the toilet. And, in my now considerable experience, said contortions make the matter worse. Oy.
Thankfully I had a change of pants in my car.
I was wrong!
I don't know why it didn't work this time. Was the nozzle angle incorrect? Was the "seal" not strong enough? Was the nozzle too short to get past my pants? All unanswerable questions. Because once your start to pee your pants, your logical mind leaves your body and you just start to do body contortions to try and reach the toilet. And, in my now considerable experience, said contortions make the matter worse. Oy.
Thankfully I had a change of pants in my car.
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