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.
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