http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/thejenwen/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from thejenwen en-us Thu, 31 Dec 2009 14:29:38 +0000 Thu, 31 Dec 2009 14:29:38 +0000 wow. it's been ages hasn't it Much has been coming going...doors closing opening. At this very moment I have the day off due to the prevalent foot mouth disease or I'd like to dub hoof mouth that has shut my kindy class down and sitting at a quaint cafe called Cafe Bastille in the heart of shida night market. A small pitcher of chamomile honey tea is staring at me through condensed http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Taiwan/Taipei/blog-459510.html Hey all. I am writing this article in the beautiful and oldest library in taiwan 90 whoppin years old the National Taiwan Library for more info httpwww.ntl.edu.twenhome1.phpMainPageID1. The website has some interesting history of the library through the war with the japanese etc.Sooo yeah I am writing this entry as a woman wa new job a new rooftop studio apartment in Chong H http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Taiwan/Taipei/blog-324835.html The western side of me is sometimes thrown off guard with certain things underlying judgements that manifest from my daytoday life in Taiwan. For example today....Yours truly was in Jung Hu pronounced Yung Huh today wondering around the beautiful park library I applied for my 1st taiwanese library card yay when I saw a blood mobile. So I said why the heck not I haven't given any b http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Taiwan/Taipei/blog-319332.html Helloooooo from TaiwanWent to Da Xi a 2nd home 1 of MANY for the infamous fighting hero of the island of Formosa Chang KaiShek. It is absolutely beautiful...I can see why Mr. Chang chose the spot. I would tooWe stopped at this cafe that had a great 270 degree view just chilled for a bit. We had some tea some great smoked tofu wsweet hot sauce. As you see from the pics the vide http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Taiwan/blog-316407.html No wait you can't cuz there's a friggin typhoon ArrghhFor those US passport holders who might be interested in visiting Taiwan please note that wo a visa one is allowed to stay for 30 days. After 30 days one must go for a 'border run' which is what I had to do before 823. And thanks to the typhoon and a 2 hour wait the airport for a plane that never showed I went home rebooked for a http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Hong-Kong/Kowloon/blog-316453.html In the name of randomness here is one....Went to Karoke wthe pops his ol' lady. I was expecting a private room wa big screen tv plenty of beverages snacks in movies such as Lost in Translation etc.. Little did I know...we went to this place where my dad's gf knows the woman sold houses for her. It was a hole in the wall wno ventilation complete wdisco ball karoke girls who sat http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Taiwan/Taipei/blog-316419.html Greetings all. I have landed in the mother land TAIWAN... I must say it's been a bit tough acclemating getting back into the flow of it all thus the delay in creating this entry. A quick update6 days before I left Indian soil I went ahead did more than half of a vipassana 10days of noble silence meditation goenka style. On the eve of the 3rd or 4th nite a horrible skin rash broke http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Taiwan/Taipei/blog-308093.html A bit belated but nonetheless happy bday to me I spent my birthday in Thiruvannamalai walking the Arunachala mountain barefoot wellllllll...half of the 4 miles of it wmy buddy jorge from ecuador it's called Giripradakshina pronounced giriproductiona. It was good times. A bird pooped on his shirt good omen a holy woman gave us darshan. Then I just spent the day hanging out... http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Tamil-Nadu/Tiruvannamalai/blog-292315.html Vanakam. Sak yama Hello how are you In tamil the language of the southSo i'm going into my 1st week of Auroville the conceptual town that the Mother has created with the foundation that everyone worksthinks as a collective whole wno ownership not as separate people from different countries. It's been very what's the word interesting. Meeting ppl who have lived in this town from 3 http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Tamil-Nadu/Auroville/blog-285044.html This page is dedicated to all the amazing people that i've encountered thus far in india. Through the good the ugly the shitty the amazing the funny the happy it's been nothing but perfect.Thanks all. All of you are so dear close to me...undugu sandy candy emma shoulder bindhianada neil semicynikananda many more....muaaaaaaaaaah http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/blog-281766.html Bonjour all. Vanakam means Hello in Tamil.I have finally left rishikesh came down south to the state of Tamil Nadu. I trained to Delhi where I stayed in this ok place got up 330am to catch a taxi for a flight to Chennai on spicejet. Wow. Instead of the planes with the connecting walk ways one has to be taken on a bus to the actual place that the plane is parked.anyways landed in chennai http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/blog-281332.html Aaaaaaaaand I'm still in rishikesh. Quick updateI completed received a certificate of completion of trikaagama yoga. Yay for me I moved 2 rooms down from me the room has a kitchen. I also adopted a new doggy named Maya. She is the sweetest ever she likes milk puppy food in the AM the baba next door gives her chopatis for lunch. So very cute. pics to come...I was also initiated into Kri http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Uttarakhand/Rishikesh/blog-276098.html Hello all. It's been a few weeks since you've received any blogs of my travels. It's bc I've been stationary for nearly a month in rishikesh. What a beautiful city 1 of the 4 holy cities of Indian pilgrimages. anyhow I've been running around hiking up to small villages waterfalls swimming in the ganges meditating reading etc. It's been absolutely perfect divine.But sadly to say there wa http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Uttarakhand/Rishikesh/blog-262892.html I finally have some free time to update my blog. I am now in Risikesh aka yoga capital of india thanks to an 8page spread by vanity fair currently a 7day international yoga festival which consisted of mostly LA'ers. But it's been great I've been doing yoga everyday either with an instructor or in the outdoor pavilion the Ved Niketan Ashram where I'm staying.The ashram is great ve http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Uttarakhand/Rishikesh/blog-256097.html The last few days have been fabulous once i got over the shakes the shts 32 We Agi Jamie from berkeley I went hiking the foot of the Himalayans 2 days ago in search of the Bhonsu Waterfalls. boy did we find it A bunch of maroon burgundy robes scattered all over the rocks to dry. What a sight Needless to say Agi was very excited seeing halfnaked monks. Some of them http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Himachal-Pradesh/Mcleod-Ganj/blog-252356.html I saw one of the most unbelievable things in my life a moon rise from the Himalayans. It was one of the 1st clear nights the sky was scattered with stars. Breathtaking. And then peaking between the mountains was the MOON. WOW. We watched it rise illuminate the sky. Pictures couldn't have captured the momentOn a different note...I am finally sick. I had the shakes couldn't get warm and m http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Himachal-Pradesh/Mcleod-Ganj/blog-250315.html Agra not as fab as one may think. It has been the priciest of all the cities. But hey had to see the TAJ . Also the Agra Fort Fatepur Sikri. See pics.Fatepur is a walled in Muslim mosque gender differences were very evident in the procession of prayers burials. Women are no longer allowed to pray at the mosque they were buried outside not inside. Met Rae Clara Ryan Agra. Rae i http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Uttar-Pradesh/Agra/blog-249538.html Oy. Today is my first day of teachings with the Dalai Lama. Yesterday my new found buddy Aggie Hungariangerman but lives in Israel awoke 530 am from the train hopped on a 4 hour bus to Dharmsala. We then proceeded to search for a room to stay in which was a hard feat as all rooms were booked due to the teachings prices were DOUBLED. We are in a dank cold hotel room that slightly http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Himachal-Pradesh/Mcleod-Ganj/blog-249204.html I have now been in India since 24. Since then I have been sheisted at the Delhi train station overpaid for the Taj Mahal walked around at the old castle ground of Fatepur Sikr shikri watched the puja from a boat with a few beers twitched in bed from an opium cookie from the government bhang shop had a wholebody experience on Bhang and attacked by a baby monkey in Varansi. I've also met http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Bihar/Bodh-Gaya/blog-248156.html