http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/1050/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from 1050 en-us Fri, 25 Dec 2009 06:31:38 +0000 Fri, 25 Dec 2009 06:31:38 +0000 Ghost month just ended. Everyone set their last barrel on fire and the ghosts went back to their realm with their money and sweets. Two weeks ago during the weekend of the full moon everyone celebrated PaiPai the height of ghosts good bad relatives roaming on Earth. Families appeased and honored their Hungry Ghost relatives by giving them presents Here's a 2liter Coke now don't haunt m http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Taiwan/Miaoli-County/Shitan/blog-437921.html Kaohsiung is Taiwan's 2nd biggest city. It's way more modern than Tainan and even moreso than Taipei in some respects. I like the feeling I get being there. It's nothing too original just well executed. My visits have been very quick ones. On this most recent one I met some strangers who took me shopping with them and we went into one of those fun Japanese photo booths. Then I slept with a guy I http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Taiwan/Kaohsiung/blog-437908.html Here are a few photos taken in the middle of the first night during the storm. It's all from inside the apartment nothing too great but just gives a taste of the experience. Also 3 videos from the afternoon that add up to less than a minute just some rain a little tree flapping and a few howls. http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Taiwan/Tainan/blog-431126.html Hear r sum pics ov kids i teach english to. they learn really goodEdinburgh Montessori School. http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Taiwan/Tainan/blog-430814.html Singapore is an island and a city and a country in South East Asia just off the southern coast of Malaysia. It's tropical hot and humid but I managed to wear jeans in the midday more than once so it's not impossibly hot. Once per day it tends to rain quick and hard sometimes you see it sometimes you don't notice. My friends Chen Zichao and Ching Hei picked me up from Changi Airport http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Singapore/blog-430545.html Sokcho is on the east coast of Korea. It's a pretty awesome town. They've got a few international ferries including one for Russians. It'd be a lot cooler if it went more places. Anyway the town has that to keep its backbone strong. Plus lots of seafood restaurants. I imagine the town's been there for a while but it's weird 'cause so much of it looks like it's just getting built. I even saw som http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/South-Korea/Sokcho/Seoraksan/blog-422595.html Seoul. I met up with some Russian friends for a few days. I got a water park fix for the summer Caribbean Bay as well as an amusement park visit Everland. I walked Dongdaemun Itaewon Hongik University Yongsam Euljiro MyeongDong and Gangnam. Four Encounters Of Niceness 1. On my first night I stood on a sidewalk near a metro station and asked the passersby if they knew ny english. I http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/South-Korea/Seoul/blog-421064.html Hong Kong is huge. I wore myself out because I decided to walk everywhere and also skipped too many meals. My hips were sore and my stomach ached at times. It's easy to shop and I spent too much money but I figured it was the only shopping I'd be doing for sometime certainly the only HM I'll encounter for a while. I had been aiming for Victoria Peak on Hong Kong Island but after hours of walki http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Hong-Kong/Kowloon/blog-411371.html A quick trip to Anping on the west side of Tainan. It was ruled by the Dutch for just 38 years but they are the ones who got the town started and established it as an important place for trade back in the 1600s. At that time Anping was an island but since then there has been a build up of silt and it is now connected to Tainan. In 1661 some bastard named Koxinga was running away from enemies in http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Taiwan/Tainan/blog-411358.html I went to the east coast side of the island this weekend. The Pacific Ocean looked so blue and clear. I drove a manual transmission car around tight curves that thinly separated the Pacific and the mountains formed at the edge of the Phillippine Sea Plate. The day turned into night while I drove and the bright full moon came out. Driving is great. There was a cow farm out there. I drank some prett http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Taiwan/Taitung/blog-406852.html ...and i can eat a chicken sandwich if i want to http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Taiwan/Kenting/blog-405747.html Tainan has a bunch of traffic circles. I am on Fucian Rd Sec. 1. Yeah a lot of the roads have sections not sure why. That's not so bad but then a lot of streets will just change names once you go through an intersection. That's not helpful. Mostly that happens at the circles. They have english letters to let you know the street names too but some are so similar like Chenggong Rd and Chengrong http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Taiwan/Tainan/blog-404193.html Last day in Taipei.Went to Chiang Kaishek Memorial and Longshan Temple. Ate American type food and... something else.Then took the 4hour bus to Tainan and saw just a little of the Dragon Boat festival trials. http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Taiwan/Taipei/LongShan-Temple/blog-402713.html Walking around Gold Ecological Park and Jioufen district in northeast Taipei County http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Taiwan/Taipei/Ruifang-Scenic-Area/blog-402499.html At some point around midnight or so I made it to LAX. I was feeling a little rushed but not as much as when I left FL. Passed a bunch of airlines... still wondering if Malaysian truly exists... and there they are down the third row. Now I just have to hope that a series of events occurs that results in me boarding this plane. OK my ticket is confirmed it's looking pretty good until they say tha http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Taiwan/Taipei/Danshui/blog-402144.html On the 18th I went to MCO to fly to BUR. My first flight layed over in Phoenix. On the way there I talked to some girl with whom I did an excellent job of avoiding to learn her name. So that was semientertaining but then as we are getting closer to landing she visibly is going through some inner turmoil so i ask her if she's OK and she's not so sure and she grabs the white puke bag in front of http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Los-Angeles/Glendale/blog-401882.html May 10th May 18th in Florida.What an odd feeling after a year to be back in this house i lived in. It's like a living timecapsule. After the weirdness of it it was a great time at Amigo's Ross and movies with Toria Bull Bush and darts with Sean and Winter Park golfing with dad. Here are just some pictures in the timecapsule and then some over the weekend in Lido Key Beach Sarasota Flor http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Florida/Orlando/blog-401841.html Enough Of These Modern TimesA few photos from last year. The chain link to a next thing is more travel http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Alaska/Skagway/blog-317832.html Just want to make a quick little note that we are in Skagway Alaska now. Our phones are a not working as of now so we either have to resolve something with that company or get another one. Internet is a little limited for now but should be more easily accessible once all the shops are opened. Everyone here is gearing up for the season making touchups on the paint and having all displays well d http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Alaska/Skagway/blog-271657.html On our way to Seattle Lauren recognized a little town called Kalama WA which was half the setting for one of the best episodes ever of reality show Split Ends. We got this picture with Susan Summers she's been on TV From what I hear she's just like she seemed on the show. Then a stop in state capital Olympia. Just a quick visit but we loved the place. They had a free bus the Dash. We http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Washington/Seattle/blog-270707.html