Blogs from Taiwan, Asia - page 123

Today I slept in until 10 again. I checked the map, then checked the tourist booklet that Rachel gave me yesterday to find something to do. I decided on two places to see-The Astoria Bakery and the Taipei Puppet Art Center. First I headed out to exchange another US$100. Then I ventured to Wuchang St. where the Astoria Bakery is. I first wandered around the Ximending Circle, and found some good graffiti and lots of cool shops in this pedestrian mall area. Finally I found the bakery-it is very small, but famous. I bought a couple of sweets, then got a breakfast bun from a street vendor-it was good-it had sauerkraut and pork in it. After getting lots of photos in this area I went back toward home base and journaled at my favorite spot-at the ... read more

Another rainy day. I woke up at 9:30 to catch Joanns' call so we could make plans for Sunday. We will meet Sunday at 1pm at the Jiantan MRT station. Then we will check out the area of Shilin, and then head up to Beitou. That will be fun-Joann is such a sweety and so nice. Today I did another wash. Laundry mats are so exciting, but when my wash was done I had to leave. I decided to explore the orange line of the MRT and head down to Nanshijiao today as I have never been in that area. I walked around Nanshijiao for a bit, took a few photos but there wasn't a whole lot to see so I took the orange line back up to Dingxi to see if I could find the ... read more

The top 5 reasons living in Kaohsiung is key: 5. Telemarketers hang up on ME when I answer the phone 4. There are food stands open pretty much 24H 3. Every day is 25 degrees or over (this time of year) 2. The beach is only 2 hrs away 1. Telemarketers hang up on me when I answer the phone Lately, life has been great - and getting better. I have joined a gym - “Muscle Asia”, which is only about a 3 minute scooter ride from my apartment. Oddly enough, working out in a Chinese aerobics class is not as bad as it may seem…the instructors sporadically mix English words into their routine (actually, there is one guy who makes an effort to make the entire class bi-lingual when he sees me there!), and usually ... read more

Last day of winter. I left Missoula, Montana in the winter, and I will return in the spring. Today I went to the Museum of Contemporary Art. There were some excellent exhibits. Very interesting to get a glimpse of contemporary art in Taiwan. Later I will call Linda to see if she wants to go to Wulai today, as she said she will take me there this week sometime. Today is nice and cool out and no rain yet but cloudy. Yesterday rained most of the day. Today when I went by the farmers that are picketing-there were cops in riot gear with the streets barricaded with barbed wire. Give me a break-they are just farmers voicing their opinions! I guess the police mentality is the same the world over. I called Linda, we will go ... read more

Wow!!!! I think we are a tad behind on the blogs, but the trip continues to be great with wonderful surprises around the corners. We arrived in Kaoshiung, Taiwan where Rob (my brother) and Rita (my sister-in-law) live. The trip was awesome! We were able to see the school (see below), eat great food, climb monkey mountain (one of rob's favorites), and really explore the mountains and cities/ villages of taiwan. It was also a special trip for everyone, as rob, rita, surya and I were able to spend great quality time together- a commodity with us living in boston and them in taiwan. Over a year ago Rob and Rita opened a buxiban school- an after-school school that many taiwainese children goto daily to learn different subjects. "Robert's American School" is an english buxiban (pronouned ... read more