Blogs from Chiayi, Taiwan, Asia
Around the Island for Chinese New Year 2010 (part 1)
Published: March 28th 2010Asia » Taiwan » Chiayi
February 22nd 2010
Our first chance to travel since the trip to the Philippines in June came at Chinese New Year. Many get a week off during this time of year. Luckily for us, Rob, our good friend from the Thailand days, came to the island, and a week later, his brother joined us. We did some stuff. It was fun. The weather was lame, but the silver lining was that it ended up forcing us to some places we wouldn't have gone otherwise. We ended up with a great day at the Taroko Gorge and we all drank like cats at Claire's command in Taitung. We're splitting this blog into three or four parts because there are a lot of pictures. Also, we haven't been very active in posting, so this will make it really seem like we're ... read more
April 12th 2009
Taiwan…wow, you are not Thailand! Our time in Thailand has come and gone already! Claire and I had a great time exploring, learning to teach, making new friends, learning Thai (barely) and learning to live in a very different culture from ours. We learned more than we can explain. Most importantly we made a lot of great friends we hope to see many more times before China takes over the world. And speaking of that part of the world, we’re now in Taiwan! But let’s backtrack for a moment. My parents just came to Thailand to visit. It was great. We hung out in Chiang Mai for a while and then hit Bangkok for a few days. There will be a blog about it in the near future. Claire’s dad also visited in October and her ... read more
Alishan by scooter- a near death experience
Published: April 18th 2008Asia » Taiwan » Chiayi » Alishan
April 14th 2008
We got up at around 10am on Sunday morning, and started to pack up for Alishan. Paul told me that we had two options for transportation- we could take a train and a bus, or we could take the scooters. He warned me that the scooter might be a bit uncomfortable, but that it would allow us to stop whenever we wanted and we could stop whenever I needed a break. He thought the ride would take about four hours. It was a really fun drive- we stopped every couple of hours to get snacks at the 7-11 (I kept trying weird sushi triangles- ham, cheese and corn, pork bits, chicken- the food here is so strange!) Driving in Taiwan is nothing like home- there doesn't seem to be a speed limit, and half of the ... read more
February 26th 2008
Hello from Sun Moon Lake, hello from Ali Shan! Arrived at Sun Moon lake just before sunset. Just enough time to get on a boat to the other side to really enjoy it. Sun Moon lake is a man made lake created by the Japanese years and years ago. Quite an accomplishment for way back then. It has since become a major Taiwanese tourist destination. You can see why from the picks. I'm guessing it's the honeymoon capital of Taiwan. Very beautiful. The way the sun rises and sets. The way the clouds roll over the mountains and the mist in the morning. Not to forget the hot spring in the basement of my hotel! All very romantic. The next morning we were off down the very very very twisty road to Ali Shan and the ... read more
February 25th 2008
Hello from Lugang! A small change of plans. Was going to visit Lugang tomorrow but the weather up in the mountain was just too socked in. This worked out so well. It was Sunday and the town was hopping. There was lots of action at the temple (Mazu goddess of the sea). I've got amazing video but they take too long to load. Check back later. Onward we stopped in Puli at the Chung Tai Buddhist Monastery. Designed by the same people (I think) that did the Taipei 101 worlds tallest (still) building. Despite it's size it still felt very very peaceful. They gave me a 'wish' when I walked in (the orchid in the photo). So nice. Talked to the monks for awhile, bought a souvenir from the vending machine (very modern monks), wandered the ... read more
January 24th 2008
Taiwan can make you chuckle, scream in frustration, or gasp from the beauty. You really never know what you might see. Colorful temples hide on small streets next to hip urban clothing stores. One cannot walk down the street without finding something amusing. Two older ladies chat while driving their little rascals down a narrow alley. Crepes are all the rage and come in little crepe carts. Sadly, betel nut will not release its hold on the men of Taiwan, and betel nut waste litters the streets. The most beautiful scenery, by far, is a few kilometers out of the city in Chaiyi County. Alishan is the most famous place, but every kilometer out of the city has something delightful. Chris' old apartment and Ty and Beth's current place overlook Renyitan Resevoir. The Nine Dragon Temple ... read more
January 23rd 2008
It's good to head home before any long journey, so we scheduled a trip to good ol' Chiayi, Taiwan. We were greeted by old friends both Chinese and expat. Needless to say, as soon as we hit the ground, we started eating. And eating. Nick and XieYun had opened their breakfast shop in March and Chinese hospitality demands that guests be stuffed, and stuffed we are. We have been enjoying an unending stream of old favorites. Fried chicken and egg breakfast sandwiches, danbings (take that Wynne), chicken rice, beef noodles, intestine hot pot soup, dragon fruit, tangerines, salty dried plums, squid on a stick, the best food in the world--so far. Let us not forget the tea. Tea shops are everywhere and not one is in danger of going out of business. I had forgotten how ... read more
January 16th 2008
The trip to Taiwan was mostly to see friends, and see friends we did. We stayed with Ty and Beth in exchange for taking care of their cat while they were on vacation. All our friends gave us a warm reception--and there was much rejoicing. Yay. Our Taiwanese friends Nick and XieYun fed us and stuffed us full of tea for the duration of our stay in Taiwan. They were also kind enough to take time out of their busy schedules to ferry us around to some premier destinations. Though I'm not sure how well their sons liked being shoved in with four adults in a mid-sized car. Due to an unforseen circumstance, they ended up taking us to the Tainan County Salt Museum where we jumped at the chance to snap our picture in Taiwan's ... read more
March 25th 2007
and remembered how lovely it is to enjoy nature! "There’s something about the quiet touch of nature that untangles my thoughts, awakens my heart and reminds me how beautiful our world was meant to be." Rinehart The Blonde Bomber (Rach's new name ha) The Cat Man (Mike) and I headed up to Alishan Mountian in Chiayi for a day trip on Saturday. I loved it, frankly because I only had to travel an hour and a half ha! We arrived in the early afternoon, where we proceeded to try to get a bus up the mountain, well of course they were sold out, so then we were going to think of renting a scooter ( thank god we didnt because after seeing those curves-yeah i might not have been here to write this today ha) ... read more
March 25th 2007
Yesterday we decided to take a little day trip. And by little I mean heading up the second highest mountain in Taiwan. The highest is Jade mountain which is very close, Jade mt is actually the tallest mountain in Asia, even taller than Mt Fuji, in Japan. So Mare, Mike and I planned to go see the mountain. Well we did very little planning, and figured it would work out when we got there. I had the great idea of scootering up the mountain but thankfully it was raining when we got there so we were forced to take another mode of transportation. We would have never made it alive if we would have scootered. That was a bad idea. So we went to the bus station first and the lady told us there were ... read more
