Matt and I went to Kenting over Dragon Boat Festival. We have been to Kenting before during the "winter" but it didnt prepare us for Kenting in summer and on a holiday as well! We had hoped to be able to go back up the mountain, rent a scooter, and do some other stuff. Not that we had a long vacation, we only had two full days. That's our life here though, trying to squeeze as much as we can into a short amount of time. It was so insanely busy though. As much as I love Kenting, I would not go back during the summer time. It was very busy, and as it was a holiday, prices were jacked for scooter rentals and taxis. Also, the roads were ridiculously busy, and I know that a lot of people were drinking and driving. Everything was so busy that you have to see the pictures of the sidewalks. There were cars and trucks parked everywhere! Traffic was insane.
Back to the vacation though, it was really beautiful. The weather was hot! Too hot for really doing anything active, but the water was great! On Sunday, we got an umbrella and rented a doubles tube so that we could go bob around in the ocean. I have never seen a beach so busy. There were umbrellas six or seven deep down the length of the entire beach. It was completely worth it though. We swam in the water, sat under the u-mbrella until we were too hot, and then hopped back across the steaming sand to the water. One entertaining thing was to see all the cute puppies people brought. I do feel bad for the puppies that got dragged into the ocean. There was a cute little dachshund that was very unhappily sitting on an intertube, a golden retriever that was sitting happily, and a poor poodle-type thing that was...I am not joking you, getting tossed between its two owners as if it were a football. Poor thing.
One of the things I do have issues with here is what I consider beach etiquette. In what circumstance do people think that it is OK to leave poopy diapers lying on the beach? Not like, “I will throw it away when I run up to 7-11 in a little bit”, but just leave it there. Big weekends like this, people leave their bottles of water and beer cans on the beach, and at night I am assuming people pick it up. But poopy diapers, I have a huge issue with!
Well, Matt and I were too hot and a little dehydrated after three or four hours down on the beach, so we went back up to our place for the porch swing and a cold shower. We talked to the people in the next room for a bit, a nice older man(British) and his son(Canadian), who live in Hong Kong. You never know who you are going to meet here in Taiwan. Such a lovely mix. The son was here so he could surf, and went out at least once a day. The father just got to relax and hang out.
The next morning we got up, lazed about in our room for a bit, and then headed down to try Far Falla Pizza. Well, we were a little hesitant about trying this place, as we have never really seen anybody there. I don’t know why this place gets overlooked! They aren't as outgoing as at our favorite place, Bossa Nova, but the pizza was good and the beer was cold. Also, their dog came out and hung out with us while we ate. She just sat and rubbed her head on our laps when we stopped rubbing it. It was such a sweetie. Bossa Nova really is the place to go though if you are in Nanwan. They have a great menu, with great western food and Asian food. The chef is European and he runs it with his Taiwanese wife. He is a really good chef, not just someone who calls themselves a chef because he cooks for a living. It was great to get a taste of home style food.
On Monday, Matt and I decided not to do the full beach day because it’s expensive to get the umbrella and all the other stuff, and we had already gotten quite a bit of sun. We just wanted to go and sit on the porch swing and relax. We decided to go for a walk on the beach, on the rocky area where people don’t hang out. We saw some really cool things! Some of the things were super little and super cute, but if you look at the pictures closely you should be able to see them! We saw some really cool crabs, both these very teeny tiny little guys and some bigger ones that were very camera shy. We saw a lot of snails, little minnowy type fish, a hermit crab, a dead puffer fish (icky, but kinda cool to see one in real life thats not in a cage!), and something that we got in a picture but we have no clue what it is. It was about 3 inches long, and it just kind of glided over the rocks under the water. It was just a beautiful day to explore. We got back to our place around 3:30, sat back on the porch swing, read a book, watched the sun set, and talked to the other people as they got back for the day.
We had a really great vacation, and we were super sad to leave! I hope you all are enjoying the start of your summer!
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Waterfall!!
On Sunday we went with Andy, Vlad, and Ellen to a waterfall outside Taichung. It was a little over an hour drive on our scooter. It was a pretty boring drive for the most part. Its was all boring suburbs and city until the other side of Taichung. Then it did get a little pretty out in the countryside, and then we arrived! It was quite the scramble up and over rocks to get to the waterfall, and by the time that we arrived we were all quite hot and sweaty and ready to get in the cool water. Not being prepared I didnt wear a swimsuit, so I just jumped in the water in my clothes! It was hot and sunny enough to dry them pretty quickly. It was a really beautiful day, and we were lucky enough to have the waterfall mostly to ourselves for the first hour or so. After that people started to come, and we had a couple large groups of people. At the falls there was a rope so that you could climb to the top and jump off into the pool at the bottom. Andy and Vlad both did it, it was really funny to see Vlad who is terrified of heights scrambling up the falls and jump into the water. Wish we could have got it on video, he thought we were ready so he jumped, but we werent! When some Taiwanese people showed up, some of them were crazy! Jumping off the fall and doing belly flops, flips and other stuff. One of them got very close to hitting the opposite wall with his foot in his flip. Some of the girls had little floaties, climbed partially down the fall, and then slid on their butts down the rest of the falls. It was a very cool place, and we really hope to be able to go back! Another reason to go back is Andy said the last time he was there a bunch of loud monkeys were there as well, I would love to see that! I love monkeys, and have yet to see one here. We had been there maybe 2.5 hours when we decided to head back. At the base of the hill before the bigger falls there was some people fishing for shrimp and some pretty little rapids. Some people had grills and some food set up on the flat areas. There were so many boulders in that valley, so it was easy to find a somewhat private spot to hang out at. On our way back we stopped in Taichung at an ice shop. Its not like slushies back home, its quite a bit better. We split three bowls between the five of us, a mango, strawberry, and a chocolate/peanut. My favorite was the chocolate and peanut one. Very refreshing.
It was a great day! If you click on the pictures you can see my comments about each one. This Saturday through Tuesday we will be in Kenting, so look for some more pictures soon!
It was a great day! If you click on the pictures you can see my comments about each one. This Saturday through Tuesday we will be in Kenting, so look for some more pictures soon!
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Lugang Part Two
Lugang is such a convenient, fun place to visit that Matt and I couldn't resist going to the other weekend. We were hoping on a trip further away, but the weather has been making things difficult. It has been raining a lot lately! It hasn't been cool. We dont want to get caught in heavy rainfall, it can be very hard to see then. Its not like we have windshields! Anyways, we went last Sunday to Lugang. It was very crowded, but it was a lot of fun! We got to see another mini-Matsu type parade. Just a little one! Im not sure what the significance was or anything, but there were several people in costumes, and fireworks galore. No one cares that it is day time and you can't enjoy them, but that is not what the purpose of the firework is. We had some tea, poked around in some shops, and finally bought a pair of guardians, or what we call guardians anyways! We will get a picture up of them soon, but we havent taken one yet. We explored the old area, which is very narrow and has a lot of very interesting houses. We had a sausage (Yum!) and tried this other thing. Don't know what it was, but we put a picture up. It is sort of a bread thing, with veggies shoved in it and meat. Seems normal enough, but the bread is very odd texturally and their choice of veggies is quite unique. Dont ask, I dont know. All in all, it wasnt terrible though.
We also got to see a really cool talent show! At first there was a group of ladies dressed up in the costumes of the dieties, and they were doing some dances. And not the traditional kind that I was expecting! There was one, I really will have to make sure that I find on the internet, but its a really huge Youtube sensation here. We did the song and dance for a Kindy show when I still taught it. So I was pretty excited to hear the song, and then we saw them dancing! It was kind of akward and clunky since they had on these huge suits, but always pretty hilarious. Matt was convinced we had to stay to watch the next act. The next act was a group of kids who did tricks using some kind of a toy. I think of it as like the Chinese equivalent of doing tricks with a yo-yo. We never saw these toys back when were in the States, but it might have been ahead of our time. A few Brits we work with who are older than us say that they had seen them when they were younger. A lot of kids here play with them. Most people call them diablo's and these kids are really talented! It was very cool to watch! Matt's day was made when he saw a kid of about 6 years old wearing a...you will never guess it...Minnesota Twins shirt! We have never seen anything MN Twins since we have been here, and most people who are baseball fans know nada about the Twins. It's all about the Yankees here (BOO!) and to a lesser extent the Red Sox (smaller Boo). That day we saw three American baseball shirts, and they were a MN Twins, Chicago White Sox, and Seattle Mariners. I was able to sneaky snap the kid and get a picture as proof that we really did see it!
Then we went to my favorite place of the day trip, the Wunwu Temple. It is a surprisingly beautiful complex. Very old, with many huge, knarly old trees. Of course, with my luck, this is where the camera battery decided to die. So, we only have a few pictures of the temple complex, and in my opinion not the most beautiful parts. Oh well, it is less than aa hour away, we can go again. It is very large, more of a park then a temple. It has a beautiful fountain, there was some musicians set up playing very cool tunes, and a lot of grassy places and benches. They also had bathrooms! A big deal in a country that has very limited public facilities. Religious places are one of the few places that most likely have a public bathroom, other than restaurants that have alcohol or places like McDonalds. But this is a whole different issue, which I can talk about a lot! But this was a very beautiful relaxing place, until it started to rain, in which we figured was a sign to head back to our city of Changhua.
See you all soon! I hope everything is going well back home, and hopefully we will have a good Sunday, and I will have another blog up for you soon. If not, Kenting in a week and a half! I can't wait!
We also got to see a really cool talent show! At first there was a group of ladies dressed up in the costumes of the dieties, and they were doing some dances. And not the traditional kind that I was expecting! There was one, I really will have to make sure that I find on the internet, but its a really huge Youtube sensation here. We did the song and dance for a Kindy show when I still taught it. So I was pretty excited to hear the song, and then we saw them dancing! It was kind of akward and clunky since they had on these huge suits, but always pretty hilarious. Matt was convinced we had to stay to watch the next act. The next act was a group of kids who did tricks using some kind of a toy. I think of it as like the Chinese equivalent of doing tricks with a yo-yo. We never saw these toys back when were in the States, but it might have been ahead of our time. A few Brits we work with who are older than us say that they had seen them when they were younger. A lot of kids here play with them. Most people call them diablo's and these kids are really talented! It was very cool to watch! Matt's day was made when he saw a kid of about 6 years old wearing a...you will never guess it...Minnesota Twins shirt! We have never seen anything MN Twins since we have been here, and most people who are baseball fans know nada about the Twins. It's all about the Yankees here (BOO!) and to a lesser extent the Red Sox (smaller Boo). That day we saw three American baseball shirts, and they were a MN Twins, Chicago White Sox, and Seattle Mariners. I was able to sneaky snap the kid and get a picture as proof that we really did see it!
Then we went to my favorite place of the day trip, the Wunwu Temple. It is a surprisingly beautiful complex. Very old, with many huge, knarly old trees. Of course, with my luck, this is where the camera battery decided to die. So, we only have a few pictures of the temple complex, and in my opinion not the most beautiful parts. Oh well, it is less than aa hour away, we can go again. It is very large, more of a park then a temple. It has a beautiful fountain, there was some musicians set up playing very cool tunes, and a lot of grassy places and benches. They also had bathrooms! A big deal in a country that has very limited public facilities. Religious places are one of the few places that most likely have a public bathroom, other than restaurants that have alcohol or places like McDonalds. But this is a whole different issue, which I can talk about a lot! But this was a very beautiful relaxing place, until it started to rain, in which we figured was a sign to head back to our city of Changhua.
See you all soon! I hope everything is going well back home, and hopefully we will have a good Sunday, and I will have another blog up for you soon. If not, Kenting in a week and a half! I can't wait!
Saturday, May 14, 2011
The Definition of Irony
So we had a very ironic thing happen to us this week. We were very happy that two of our co-workers decided to purchase our second scooter! We could use the extra money to get some stuff when we are home visiting you all :) So we went with them, got the name and registration changed, and gave them the bike! Yay! Eight hours later we are coming home from dinner, and our scooter dies. We pull over, try to restart it, it works for about five seconds and dies again. We try again, same results. Of course we are in the one place in Taiwan where there is not a scooter shop on that block. (Scooter shops are everywhere here! No joke, there is usually one every two blocks) We walk the scooter to the closest shop, and it turns out that the whole engine is shot. Eight hours after we sell our back up scooter, the one we kept is dead. We have never had any issues with our scooter before, other than a flat tire one day. So, here I was having to walk to work in the just shy of hundred degree heat with lots of fun humidity because our back up scooter is ours no longer. Thankfully repairs in Taiwan are quick, and on the scale of back home, cheap. We got our scooter back with the engine fixed (I dont actually know what they did), new brakes, and new tires within 24 hours. So we are back to scooting around, but we will not be taking that little mini vacation up to Taipei this weekend that we were hoping for. We were going to go hiking by a beautiful river only like 30 minutes away from Taipei, an easy day trip, but oh well!, another time. Oh, our bad luck! Our coworkers felt pretty bad too, although we told them they shouldn't. If that isnt the definition of irony, I dont know what is.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Flora Expo and More Taipei Adventures
Hello!
Matt and I decided that we had to go to the Taipei International Flora Exposition, even if we couldnt get a day off so that we could go during the week when it wasnt so busy. When Mom and Pat visited, we had seen that on weekends it was getting about 55,000 or 60,000 visitors a day. On the weekdays it was more like 30,000 or 35,000. Obviously we would have preferred a weekday, but it ended on Monday, so we didnt have a choice. Unfortunately, it seems like everybody else had put off it off until the last minute as well. It was beyond anything I had imagined. I was thinking that since it was the last weekend maybe it would get 80,000 people. Boy, was I wrong! 184,000 people were there on Sunday!!! It was ridiculous. It was very pretty, but we just couldnt handle the crowd. It was a very hot day, and there were long lines to even get to vending machines. Some people were being very rude, which is quite uncharacteristic here. We had a really hard time getting pictures, which is why there aren't many pictures with Matt or I in them. It just took too long, and it seemed very rude to make a line of 200 people wanting to walk a path wait while you used the whole thing. This is what was really bothering me about others, they would want to take pictures from five or six different angles, and would take up four of the five feet of walkway! I understand you want one picture, but they were a little ridiculous. There was one lady who would do this, and then she would elbow her way through the crowd till there was another photo opportunity, then hold up the crowd again! Well, we did enjoy it a lot. It was very beautiful, but we didnt explore very much. Two hours was more than enough time spent there.
We did a lot of other fun stuff as well. Before we even went to the flower expo, Matt and I decided to go to the Grand Hotel. It is a beautiful place, done in some sort of traditional Chinese architecture. It is absolutely huge! It would be very weird indeed to stay in a hotel that is a tourist attraction in its own right. There is a lot of security, plus tour buses coming and going every which direction. Its up on a hill, with gorgeous green mountains behind it. It overlooks a beautiful river, not quite sure but I think its the Keelung River. There is a lot of interesting looking hiking trails behind it, but we had enough planned for the day, plus it was a scorcher. From Grand Hotel, we walked to Martyrs' Shrine. It is very beautiful, and again with the beautiful back drop of the green mountains. Most people come primarily for the changing of the guards. In fact, we caught a bit of the changing of the guard as we arrived. Its cool, but I dont find changing of the guards that great just because of how closely people jam in to watch. I couldnt get a decent picture anyways. I have to stand on my tippy-toes to see anything over all the cameras, and in the Taiwanese heat, umbrellas. People here carry umbrellas for two reasons as far as I can tell. I cant tell which is the higher priority, but they want to keep there skin light, suntans are very unpopular, and it provides a constant source of shade, which makes it marginally cooler. Anyways, back to the changing of the guard. Because it has been going on for so many years, there are three lines worn into the tiles from the temple to the gate. Most people dont even bother going to the temple, they just watch the change and then head out, so the rest was relatively quiet. It was nice and peaceful, plus they had very good English translations of the paintings and statues. Its just a very beautiful shrine, and we appreciated how quiet it was, especially in comparison to going to Chiang-Kai Shek or 2-28 Peace Park on a weekend.
Later in the day we headed to one of our favorite districts in town, Ximen (pronounced she-men). Its the young, hip shopping district in town. It has many trendy shops, tattoo parlors, interesting restaurants, and street performers. We saw one man in clown paint dancing around to Lady Gaga and such. He was quite good, if you can get past his questionable taste in music and choice of the clown costume. Ximen is also the home to the famous Modern Toilet restaurant. For anybody who has seen 10 Craziest Themed Restaurants around the globe, or something of the sort, you have heard of it. It is the restaurant where everything is bathroom themed. You sit on toilets, your drinks get served out of urinals (anyone want some lemonade or green tea?), beware of ordering the chocolate ice-cream because you know what it will look like, and any other immature potty joke you can think of, comes to life here! We chose not to eat there this time, as one of our favorite things about coming to Taipei is having good food, not food thats hard to choke down. Anyways, we spent quite a long time exploring Ximen, but it was convenient as thats the district we were staying in. We will always stay here if we can, because its super close to the MRT and just so much fun. We went to Shilin Night Market briefly but they were busy plus our favorite building is shut down right now. Hopefully, they are just remodeling and then they will get it back up and running. Basically, we had no real meals all day long, just munched food as it appealed to us. We had a really good halal sandwich, chicken coffin bread, papaya milk, apple milk, and then we felt like indulging in American food and went to TGI Fridays to get Buffalo Wings and Quesadillas. We love papaya milk, we get it every week at our night market, but the apple milk was not so good. Try putting milk, freshly sliced apples, and ice into a blender and you will discover that the texture of apples just is not that appealing once you have had most of the ice and milk. It is just way too pulpy.
Anyways, that is it for now. Back to life as usual until we can do another mini-vacation! I hope you all had a very happy Easter!
PS. If you are ever wondering what the pictures are, you can just click on them and I write little comments under most about where the picture is from or what it specifically is. It just takes you to Picasa Web Albums and then you can view the pictures individually and full size. Love you all!
Matt and I decided that we had to go to the Taipei International Flora Exposition, even if we couldnt get a day off so that we could go during the week when it wasnt so busy. When Mom and Pat visited, we had seen that on weekends it was getting about 55,000 or 60,000 visitors a day. On the weekdays it was more like 30,000 or 35,000. Obviously we would have preferred a weekday, but it ended on Monday, so we didnt have a choice. Unfortunately, it seems like everybody else had put off it off until the last minute as well. It was beyond anything I had imagined. I was thinking that since it was the last weekend maybe it would get 80,000 people. Boy, was I wrong! 184,000 people were there on Sunday!!! It was ridiculous. It was very pretty, but we just couldnt handle the crowd. It was a very hot day, and there were long lines to even get to vending machines. Some people were being very rude, which is quite uncharacteristic here. We had a really hard time getting pictures, which is why there aren't many pictures with Matt or I in them. It just took too long, and it seemed very rude to make a line of 200 people wanting to walk a path wait while you used the whole thing. This is what was really bothering me about others, they would want to take pictures from five or six different angles, and would take up four of the five feet of walkway! I understand you want one picture, but they were a little ridiculous. There was one lady who would do this, and then she would elbow her way through the crowd till there was another photo opportunity, then hold up the crowd again! Well, we did enjoy it a lot. It was very beautiful, but we didnt explore very much. Two hours was more than enough time spent there.
We did a lot of other fun stuff as well. Before we even went to the flower expo, Matt and I decided to go to the Grand Hotel. It is a beautiful place, done in some sort of traditional Chinese architecture. It is absolutely huge! It would be very weird indeed to stay in a hotel that is a tourist attraction in its own right. There is a lot of security, plus tour buses coming and going every which direction. Its up on a hill, with gorgeous green mountains behind it. It overlooks a beautiful river, not quite sure but I think its the Keelung River. There is a lot of interesting looking hiking trails behind it, but we had enough planned for the day, plus it was a scorcher. From Grand Hotel, we walked to Martyrs' Shrine. It is very beautiful, and again with the beautiful back drop of the green mountains. Most people come primarily for the changing of the guards. In fact, we caught a bit of the changing of the guard as we arrived. Its cool, but I dont find changing of the guards that great just because of how closely people jam in to watch. I couldnt get a decent picture anyways. I have to stand on my tippy-toes to see anything over all the cameras, and in the Taiwanese heat, umbrellas. People here carry umbrellas for two reasons as far as I can tell. I cant tell which is the higher priority, but they want to keep there skin light, suntans are very unpopular, and it provides a constant source of shade, which makes it marginally cooler. Anyways, back to the changing of the guard. Because it has been going on for so many years, there are three lines worn into the tiles from the temple to the gate. Most people dont even bother going to the temple, they just watch the change and then head out, so the rest was relatively quiet. It was nice and peaceful, plus they had very good English translations of the paintings and statues. Its just a very beautiful shrine, and we appreciated how quiet it was, especially in comparison to going to Chiang-Kai Shek or 2-28 Peace Park on a weekend.
Later in the day we headed to one of our favorite districts in town, Ximen (pronounced she-men). Its the young, hip shopping district in town. It has many trendy shops, tattoo parlors, interesting restaurants, and street performers. We saw one man in clown paint dancing around to Lady Gaga and such. He was quite good, if you can get past his questionable taste in music and choice of the clown costume. Ximen is also the home to the famous Modern Toilet restaurant. For anybody who has seen 10 Craziest Themed Restaurants around the globe, or something of the sort, you have heard of it. It is the restaurant where everything is bathroom themed. You sit on toilets, your drinks get served out of urinals (anyone want some lemonade or green tea?), beware of ordering the chocolate ice-cream because you know what it will look like, and any other immature potty joke you can think of, comes to life here! We chose not to eat there this time, as one of our favorite things about coming to Taipei is having good food, not food thats hard to choke down. Anyways, we spent quite a long time exploring Ximen, but it was convenient as thats the district we were staying in. We will always stay here if we can, because its super close to the MRT and just so much fun. We went to Shilin Night Market briefly but they were busy plus our favorite building is shut down right now. Hopefully, they are just remodeling and then they will get it back up and running. Basically, we had no real meals all day long, just munched food as it appealed to us. We had a really good halal sandwich, chicken coffin bread, papaya milk, apple milk, and then we felt like indulging in American food and went to TGI Fridays to get Buffalo Wings and Quesadillas. We love papaya milk, we get it every week at our night market, but the apple milk was not so good. Try putting milk, freshly sliced apples, and ice into a blender and you will discover that the texture of apples just is not that appealing once you have had most of the ice and milk. It is just way too pulpy.
Anyways, that is it for now. Back to life as usual until we can do another mini-vacation! I hope you all had a very happy Easter!
PS. If you are ever wondering what the pictures are, you can just click on them and I write little comments under most about where the picture is from or what it specifically is. It just takes you to Picasa Web Albums and then you can view the pictures individually and full size. Love you all!
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Matsu Pilgrimage
Matsu, the goddess of the sea, is a very popular spiritual diety who has a very cool festival/pilgrimage in her honor. I read that there is over 500 temples in her honor on Taiwan. On the 23rd day of the 3rd lunar month a week long pilgrimage starts in her honor. It travels through three counties, and is walked around 280-300km across the island, round trip. THe story, as we know it, of Matsu is that she was an intelligent and gifted girl who loved the sea. She would dress in red and help direct sailors safely into the harbor during storms. After she ascended to heaven, she often appeared to distressed sailors. She was brought over from mainland China, as Taiwan was settled primarily by fishermen.
Luckily for us, the pilgrimage happens to go through Changhua, so we didnt even need to get lost trying to find out where it goes through in other towns. We talked to some co-workers, and they told us where some popular spots are to see it. Matsu is followed by many devoted, some bicycling, others walking, and some riding in trailers or vans. It is sort of a "parade" as the devoted pass through the town before the big spectacle. You are never quite sure when Matsu will arrive, so many people arrive many hours early to guarantee they have a good view and to show their devotion. In Changhua alone, they visited many temples, and fireworks and firecrackers were being shot off all over for many hours. It is dependent on many variables when Matsu will go through the towns, so its not possible to plan far ahead. A coworkers tells us of the time when Matsu came through a downtown area in Changhua at three am, and its not like they kept it quiet because people were sleeping.
This is an extremely noisy affair, which I loved. Matt and I got out pretty early, because I really did not want to miss anything. We found a seat on the bridge, and sat there for about 1.5 hours before the parade started. It wasnt too bad, there was a beautiful Porsche we had driven by earlier in the day that pulled up, plus there was some Matsu devotees catching some sleep on the sidewalk, and other things to keep us entertained. Being foreigners in Taiwan, we also had several people take our picture (that we noticed!). Some tried to be sneaky, but others were up front and said "Thank You" afterwards. We witnessed some of the parade, which was decent. It was very different because normal cars and scooters were pulling in and out. It wasnt in parade formation, it was basically that you went through when you got there. If you are driving, you just find a space and squeeze in. The parade had vehicles with statues and shrines, and also people dressed in costumes designed to look like various dieties. Mostly though, it was devotees either walking, cycling, or in vehicles. Vendors came out with grilled squid, sausage, etc. We were supposed to be meeting friends for dinner, so we were very happy when a nice lady from Taipei chatted us up, and told us that the big show would be around eleven. We left for two hours, then came back. It was crazy. This is one of the biggest intersections in Changhua that we were hanging out at, at least 2 lanes each way, and in some places very wide. They ended up shutting it down around eleven thirty. People just slowly crushed in until it was one lane each way, then only a one way, and then they shut it down. I cant even guess how many people were there.
Well, Matt and I knew basically nothing about the Matsu pilgrimage. We just knew there were a lot of fireworks and firecrackers, but the actual events we didnt know. We just kind of imitated what everyone else around us was doing. We ended up all scrunched together when the Matsu statue came into view. People were going crazy all around us. Then somebody laid down like a brick of firecrackers, and stuff was raining down everywhere. The heat wave was pretty intense as well, but Matt didnt really feel it. He was too busy trying to stay on his feet. I felt like I was back in a mosh-pit at a heavy metal concert, because people were trying to get out of the way, and I almost lost my shoes like I did at the Panic at the Disco (an old band from my high school years) concert. The fireworks show was absolutely, ridiculously amazing thing I have ever seen. They were going down a 4 lane road, shooting off the types of fireworks that you see at your towns annual firework show, with spectators only 10, 20, 30, 40 feet away. The fireworks only go maybe 10 stories high, and the ash is falling all around you. The smell of sulfur is all around. You have to crane your neck really far back to see them shooting right above your head. The show is nonstop fireworks for 15 to 20 minutes. You can feel it all around you, the noise is insane, and it's absolutely beautiful. What is also worth mentioning that as we were walking behind Matsu, there was several Moms there with infants, who were fast asleep! How could you sleep during that?!? Even though it was midnight by the time the show started, there was no age that would be inappropriate to be there. There were two year olds, and 80 year olds. Anybody is welcome. And what is even better, Matsu will be coming back through this weekend. Lucky us! There will be a video coming soon, but me being me can't figure out how to load it. We were hoping youtube but I dont know why thats not working...
Luckily for us, the pilgrimage happens to go through Changhua, so we didnt even need to get lost trying to find out where it goes through in other towns. We talked to some co-workers, and they told us where some popular spots are to see it. Matsu is followed by many devoted, some bicycling, others walking, and some riding in trailers or vans. It is sort of a "parade" as the devoted pass through the town before the big spectacle. You are never quite sure when Matsu will arrive, so many people arrive many hours early to guarantee they have a good view and to show their devotion. In Changhua alone, they visited many temples, and fireworks and firecrackers were being shot off all over for many hours. It is dependent on many variables when Matsu will go through the towns, so its not possible to plan far ahead. A coworkers tells us of the time when Matsu came through a downtown area in Changhua at three am, and its not like they kept it quiet because people were sleeping.
This is an extremely noisy affair, which I loved. Matt and I got out pretty early, because I really did not want to miss anything. We found a seat on the bridge, and sat there for about 1.5 hours before the parade started. It wasnt too bad, there was a beautiful Porsche we had driven by earlier in the day that pulled up, plus there was some Matsu devotees catching some sleep on the sidewalk, and other things to keep us entertained. Being foreigners in Taiwan, we also had several people take our picture (that we noticed!). Some tried to be sneaky, but others were up front and said "Thank You" afterwards. We witnessed some of the parade, which was decent. It was very different because normal cars and scooters were pulling in and out. It wasnt in parade formation, it was basically that you went through when you got there. If you are driving, you just find a space and squeeze in. The parade had vehicles with statues and shrines, and also people dressed in costumes designed to look like various dieties. Mostly though, it was devotees either walking, cycling, or in vehicles. Vendors came out with grilled squid, sausage, etc. We were supposed to be meeting friends for dinner, so we were very happy when a nice lady from Taipei chatted us up, and told us that the big show would be around eleven. We left for two hours, then came back. It was crazy. This is one of the biggest intersections in Changhua that we were hanging out at, at least 2 lanes each way, and in some places very wide. They ended up shutting it down around eleven thirty. People just slowly crushed in until it was one lane each way, then only a one way, and then they shut it down. I cant even guess how many people were there.
Well, Matt and I knew basically nothing about the Matsu pilgrimage. We just knew there were a lot of fireworks and firecrackers, but the actual events we didnt know. We just kind of imitated what everyone else around us was doing. We ended up all scrunched together when the Matsu statue came into view. People were going crazy all around us. Then somebody laid down like a brick of firecrackers, and stuff was raining down everywhere. The heat wave was pretty intense as well, but Matt didnt really feel it. He was too busy trying to stay on his feet. I felt like I was back in a mosh-pit at a heavy metal concert, because people were trying to get out of the way, and I almost lost my shoes like I did at the Panic at the Disco (an old band from my high school years) concert. The fireworks show was absolutely, ridiculously amazing thing I have ever seen. They were going down a 4 lane road, shooting off the types of fireworks that you see at your towns annual firework show, with spectators only 10, 20, 30, 40 feet away. The fireworks only go maybe 10 stories high, and the ash is falling all around you. The smell of sulfur is all around. You have to crane your neck really far back to see them shooting right above your head. The show is nonstop fireworks for 15 to 20 minutes. You can feel it all around you, the noise is insane, and it's absolutely beautiful. What is also worth mentioning that as we were walking behind Matsu, there was several Moms there with infants, who were fast asleep! How could you sleep during that?!? Even though it was midnight by the time the show started, there was no age that would be inappropriate to be there. There were two year olds, and 80 year olds. Anybody is welcome. And what is even better, Matsu will be coming back through this weekend. Lucky us! There will be a video coming soon, but me being me can't figure out how to load it. We were hoping youtube but I dont know why thats not working...
Friday, April 1, 2011
Some sweet souvenirs!
We have picked up some souvenirs here in Taiwan that we really like. I think my favorite is a mask that we got at Taroko Gorge in Hualien when Tasha and Jeff were visiting. It's about 14 inches high, and is designed in one of the aboriginal peoples traditional way. I cant remember which it is, but I believe that it is the Ayatal people. We also picked up a cool tea pot, which is good for making the loose tea, not the kind in bags that we are so used to in the states. We havent used it too much, but I think we are just not in the habit of it. We also have gotten a cool dragon scroll, and a Buddha. There have been little trinkets here and there as well, but we didnt feel like posting any of those. Hope everything is going great back home! Miss you all! Also, our cats were being sweeties again. They amuse us to no end!
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Our Kitties
So we have 2 wonderful kitties, who we have been snapping up a bunch of pictures of lately. Pizi especially is very photogenic, Xiao tends to run away from the camera whenever we pull it out. Being a girl, I think she is just scared of looking like a porker! Anyway, they amuse us a lot, and possibly spend more time with us than any other pet we have ever had before. Pizi is especially loving, and while they both sleep with us every night, Pizi has a need to sleep under the covers next to us. Xiao is a little less affectionate, as she had a very difficult life on the streets before being taken in by Bark Taiwan. Bark is the great company based out of Kaohsiung that took in Pizi and Xiao. Animals in Taiwan get mistreated a lot, and many become street animals. Bark helps as many of these as they can, especially the injured one as there are just too many for a little company to help, and also help with neutering street animals to try to cut the population. So if your interested in a Taiwanese pet, they are a great place to adopt from! Well, we have a lot of great pictures of them, so here are some.
Life here has been back to normal. However, on Sunday night I was going to hop in the shower, and I was standing there, and standing there waiting for the water to get hot. Nothing happening. Two minutes later, nothing happening. Decided to give it a bit, maybe it was a fluke, and it would turn on later. Our electricity was on, our gas was working, so we had no clue what was happening. After a frigid shower, we forgot to mention it on Monday! So we had another day of feeling like we were jumping into a Minnesota lake in April when we showered, to discover when we asked a Taiwanese co-worker that our hot water heater is run off batteries! The kind you get at 7-11. Matt ran and got some, and all fixed! We could not believe that hot water here is run off batteries, and we went without hot showers for two days with something that was fixed for 2 USD at 7-11. So that is our only interesting story of the last few days. Hope everything is going great for everyone back home!
Life here has been back to normal. However, on Sunday night I was going to hop in the shower, and I was standing there, and standing there waiting for the water to get hot. Nothing happening. Two minutes later, nothing happening. Decided to give it a bit, maybe it was a fluke, and it would turn on later. Our electricity was on, our gas was working, so we had no clue what was happening. After a frigid shower, we forgot to mention it on Monday! So we had another day of feeling like we were jumping into a Minnesota lake in April when we showered, to discover when we asked a Taiwanese co-worker that our hot water heater is run off batteries! The kind you get at 7-11. Matt ran and got some, and all fixed! We could not believe that hot water here is run off batteries, and we went without hot showers for two days with something that was fixed for 2 USD at 7-11. So that is our only interesting story of the last few days. Hope everything is going great for everyone back home!
Monday, March 14, 2011
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Kenting-Mom and Pat part 2
Kenting is an absolutely beautiful place. Even in the low season, it being winter, it was like 80 degrees every day. I guess during summer it gets to over 100, which would be way too hot to do hiking, or really anything other than beach, in my opinion. But I have a very low tolerance for heat. We stayed at a beautiful place on a hill over South Bay in Nanwan. The first day we got there we just hung out in the water and on the beach...until we were kicked off due to a tsunami warning! We went back to our place, sat on the porch some talking to the other guests and watching the news, keeping an eye on the Japan earthquake and seeing if it would affect us. Well, it really didnt hit Taiwan much. The guy who owns the hostel, Achi, is a surfer and he said that the waves the next day were a lot more powerful than they are on a normal day. We also felt a little bit of it when we were playing in the water, or so we think. The waves got pretty strong for just playing in the water. We also went up to Kenting National Forest. Sadly, or stupidly on our part, our camera was not as charged as we had thought, so we didnt get that many pictures :( Mom and Pats cameras were with low batteries as well, so all of us missed out on a lot of pictures we would have taken otherwise. It was really gorgeous, and there was some really neat caves that we didnt get any pictures of. The trees and rocks and everything are absolutely beautiful in the forest. It was just a fabulous place. We rented scooters for the day and explored, and the whole area is just beautiful. Scarily though, Matt and I were coming back from breakfast back to our place, and we saw a snake! A really gross, like a 5 foot long black snake. We tried to figure out what it was, but couldnt decide for sure. We told Achi, but he didnt know either 100%. Could have been a cobra, or could have been this other one that tries to steal chicken eggs from his neighbor. Im just glad it slithered off. Sure gave me the heebie-jeebies though.
Overall, we had a great time! Kenting is such a beautiful place. I wish we would have been able to take more pictures, and stay for another week or so, but we will be back! Its a great, relaxing vacation, and a great place to just hang out and catch up with people!
Sorry, we will be posting pictures shortly. The web album site is not working right now, but as soon as it is we will get them up. Thanks!
Overall, we had a great time! Kenting is such a beautiful place. I wish we would have been able to take more pictures, and stay for another week or so, but we will be back! Its a great, relaxing vacation, and a great place to just hang out and catch up with people!
Sorry, we will be posting pictures shortly. The web album site is not working right now, but as soon as it is we will get them up. Thanks!
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Long time, no see!
Hi everybody!
I realize I talk to a lot of people on a semi-regular basis, but you still dont get to see or hear all that much about whats going on with us! Well, Tasha and Jeff visited us in early January and we had a lot of fun. We spent some time in Hualien and Taipei, and they spent some time here in Changhua while Matt and I worked. Well, my Mom and Pat are visiting right now! I am quite bored while everyone else is sleeping, and since I was uploading some pictures I figured I would share them with all of you. If you have not seen the pictures from Tasha and Jeffs visit, I may post a few on here if I have the motivation.
So one of my favorite parts of Taiwan is the night markets. I absolutely love them. Especially the ones up in Taipei or in the big cities. Changhuas is nice, and the food is good, but it doesnt have that amazing energy that big cities just pulse with. There is so much great food, fun games, little shops and trinkets, and people everywhere! Lots of noise, crowds, and there is truly something for everyone. Well, with Tasha and Jeff we were able to go to both Shilin and Huasi Night Market up in Taipei. We played games, did pretty poorly for the most part, although I did win a stuffed animal thing from those claw machines you drop some coins in. Also, the fruit here is beautiful and delicious! There are a lot of fruit stands at Shilin. I love how many colors they are. I really want to try the purple dragon fruit. I guess there is two varieties, and we have only ever tried the whitish one. To me they seem kiwi-ish, one white and one purple, both with black seeds.
Well, we haven't been up to anything too exciting recently. We have to save a lot of money to spend on those pesky little, or not so little, college loans. However, we have two days coming up soon and although we havent finalized any plans we are hoping to do something exciting! You will know when we do! The weather has been getting really gorgeous lately. It still gets pretty chilly most nights, but some days have been getting close to 80. Its been just fabulous. Matt and I have been trying to get out for walks to enjoy this. One day recently we wandered up to Bagua to get some sun, and see all the hawkers selling their stuff. Cant say for certain, but it looked like one lady had ostrich eggs! They were huge!
Mom and Pat have been here since Saturday evening. We all got back to the hotel, and went for a short walk. We happened to stumble upon the Banciao Night Market, which was a lot better than we could have hoped for. We were just out to stretch our legs before turning in (and Matt and I were starving). I had a tasty pork chop (my first that I have knowingly eaten since arriving here), Matt had a steak, and Mom and Pat enjoyed some very Taiwanese noodles with sprouts.
The next day we exhausted ourselves trying to fit in as much of Taipei as we could. We went to 2/28 Peace Park, which was quite cool. There were a whole bunch of people doing martial arts in the park, which was super neat to see. Pat would know more about it than I would, but even I could appreciate and differentiate different styles. Cool swords stuff, tai-chi, Pat said some kung-fu style, and various other stuff probably.
Then we were off to Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall, where there was some sort of event happening. There were a ton of people there, and I dont even know how to begin to describe it. It was pretty neat though.
We decided to do the Maokong Gondola next, which was definately worth it. We didnt know what we were doing though, so ended up getting in the line/queue for the gondola with the crystal glass floor. It was absolutely amazing, but it took a lot longer, and Im torn on if it was worth it. We did get a gondola cart to ourselves, it didnt cost anymore, but we had to wait in line for a long time! I think on a weekday it wouldnt be such a hassle, but weekends in general in Taipei are a pain in the butt. Oh well, like I said, I am torn on if it was worth it. Doing the gondola is of course worth it, but Im not sure the glass floored one is. It was absolutely beautiful. The ride was amazing, and not very scary even though that type of stuff normally scares me stupid. Once we got up to the top it was even more spectacular. The view was amazing. It was a hazy day, so you could see the mountains off in the distance poking out from clouds. Then the top of Taipei 101 standing among the clouds. It was like something out of a fairy tale. I truly loved it. I cant wait to go back. The view was one of the prettiest I have seen. We ordered a locally grown tea, from in those very mountains, and some lunch. Ate it right there on the deck with the amazing view. (I know I keep mentioning it, but I just cant help myself.) We tried a new food! Pat has been great in just how adventurous he is with food, and so we tried turtle dove! It was actually great. Moist and delicious. Matt was the only one though who actually ate the head, but we all enjoyed the rest of it. We headed back down the mountain, on the normal carriage of the gondola this time.
Then off we went to Taipei 101! We had hoped to make it before dusk originally, but that just did not happen. It is not nearly as cool in the night time, although it does light up prettily. You just cant tell what anything is from that far up, it just looks like pretty lights everywhere. Oh well, now we know. After that we had been out and about for around 11 hours, and were pretty tired. Headed back to the hotel, and stayed in the rest of the night. I think Matt and I had overly optimistic ideas of what you could all do in Taipei in a day, so we missed out on some of our favorites. We are now back in Changhua, but will be off on more exciting pursuits this weekend! I promise I will try to write again soon!
I realize I talk to a lot of people on a semi-regular basis, but you still dont get to see or hear all that much about whats going on with us! Well, Tasha and Jeff visited us in early January and we had a lot of fun. We spent some time in Hualien and Taipei, and they spent some time here in Changhua while Matt and I worked. Well, my Mom and Pat are visiting right now! I am quite bored while everyone else is sleeping, and since I was uploading some pictures I figured I would share them with all of you. If you have not seen the pictures from Tasha and Jeffs visit, I may post a few on here if I have the motivation.
So one of my favorite parts of Taiwan is the night markets. I absolutely love them. Especially the ones up in Taipei or in the big cities. Changhuas is nice, and the food is good, but it doesnt have that amazing energy that big cities just pulse with. There is so much great food, fun games, little shops and trinkets, and people everywhere! Lots of noise, crowds, and there is truly something for everyone. Well, with Tasha and Jeff we were able to go to both Shilin and Huasi Night Market up in Taipei. We played games, did pretty poorly for the most part, although I did win a stuffed animal thing from those claw machines you drop some coins in. Also, the fruit here is beautiful and delicious! There are a lot of fruit stands at Shilin. I love how many colors they are. I really want to try the purple dragon fruit. I guess there is two varieties, and we have only ever tried the whitish one. To me they seem kiwi-ish, one white and one purple, both with black seeds.
Well, we haven't been up to anything too exciting recently. We have to save a lot of money to spend on those pesky little, or not so little, college loans. However, we have two days coming up soon and although we havent finalized any plans we are hoping to do something exciting! You will know when we do! The weather has been getting really gorgeous lately. It still gets pretty chilly most nights, but some days have been getting close to 80. Its been just fabulous. Matt and I have been trying to get out for walks to enjoy this. One day recently we wandered up to Bagua to get some sun, and see all the hawkers selling their stuff. Cant say for certain, but it looked like one lady had ostrich eggs! They were huge!
Mom and Pat have been here since Saturday evening. We all got back to the hotel, and went for a short walk. We happened to stumble upon the Banciao Night Market, which was a lot better than we could have hoped for. We were just out to stretch our legs before turning in (and Matt and I were starving). I had a tasty pork chop (my first that I have knowingly eaten since arriving here), Matt had a steak, and Mom and Pat enjoyed some very Taiwanese noodles with sprouts.
The next day we exhausted ourselves trying to fit in as much of Taipei as we could. We went to 2/28 Peace Park, which was quite cool. There were a whole bunch of people doing martial arts in the park, which was super neat to see. Pat would know more about it than I would, but even I could appreciate and differentiate different styles. Cool swords stuff, tai-chi, Pat said some kung-fu style, and various other stuff probably.
Then we were off to Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall, where there was some sort of event happening. There were a ton of people there, and I dont even know how to begin to describe it. It was pretty neat though.
We decided to do the Maokong Gondola next, which was definately worth it. We didnt know what we were doing though, so ended up getting in the line/queue for the gondola with the crystal glass floor. It was absolutely amazing, but it took a lot longer, and Im torn on if it was worth it. We did get a gondola cart to ourselves, it didnt cost anymore, but we had to wait in line for a long time! I think on a weekday it wouldnt be such a hassle, but weekends in general in Taipei are a pain in the butt. Oh well, like I said, I am torn on if it was worth it. Doing the gondola is of course worth it, but Im not sure the glass floored one is. It was absolutely beautiful. The ride was amazing, and not very scary even though that type of stuff normally scares me stupid. Once we got up to the top it was even more spectacular. The view was amazing. It was a hazy day, so you could see the mountains off in the distance poking out from clouds. Then the top of Taipei 101 standing among the clouds. It was like something out of a fairy tale. I truly loved it. I cant wait to go back. The view was one of the prettiest I have seen. We ordered a locally grown tea, from in those very mountains, and some lunch. Ate it right there on the deck with the amazing view. (I know I keep mentioning it, but I just cant help myself.) We tried a new food! Pat has been great in just how adventurous he is with food, and so we tried turtle dove! It was actually great. Moist and delicious. Matt was the only one though who actually ate the head, but we all enjoyed the rest of it. We headed back down the mountain, on the normal carriage of the gondola this time.
Then off we went to Taipei 101! We had hoped to make it before dusk originally, but that just did not happen. It is not nearly as cool in the night time, although it does light up prettily. You just cant tell what anything is from that far up, it just looks like pretty lights everywhere. Oh well, now we know. After that we had been out and about for around 11 hours, and were pretty tired. Headed back to the hotel, and stayed in the rest of the night. I think Matt and I had overly optimistic ideas of what you could all do in Taipei in a day, so we missed out on some of our favorites. We are now back in Changhua, but will be off on more exciting pursuits this weekend! I promise I will try to write again soon!
Monday, January 3, 2011
Christmas Pictures!
If you click on the pictures you can see them bigger! Ill write more next week. Tasha and Jeff are here, yay!
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