Cancelled due to heavy rainfall. This was disappointing as I had high expectation for this place. I'm tagging Kenting for the next visit (maybe next month) .
Now back in Taipei living the life of a city rat, schedule for return to HK on Wed, June 14th.
There will be many additional photos in the coming day or 2.
Showing posts with label Taiwan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Taiwan. Show all posts
Monday, June 12, 2006
Thursday, June 08, 2006
Green Island, Tai-Tung. 绿岛，台东县。
Green Island is about a 50 min boat right east of Tai-Tung (台东). First impression: It is a double edged sword. One side is candy; the other is gukkk.
What do I mean? Biggest mistake since a long time:
This morning I had goat milk, gyoza (fried dumplings Japanese style) in Ping Dong. Vicky drove me then to the train station. I got myself to Tai Tung and tried their famous Ikeue Bento (池上便当) with some yogurt.
A super friendly lady at the Tourist Information Centre at Tai Tung Traing Station explained to me the logistics of Green Island, then personally drove me to the docks where boats leave for the island!!! She happen to be going off-duty and heading that way ... but still, I didn't get this kind of treatment since days in Canada.
So I made a super deal with one of the service providers there whereby I pay 1500NT for a 2-way boat ride, accomodation (not fancy but decent), a scooter, and breakfast. I was very happy given the 2-way tix cost 800 by itself. I help myself to some watermelon juice and bought 2 pills for motion sickness (this was a rip off: 20NT a piece). The guy told me they don't sell this on the island so that's why I bought 2. Well, they do sell it on the island.
Anyways, I get on this jet boat with some students in high spirits. For the first 15 minutes they enjoy themselves outside being splashed by waves ....
Ok. Cut to the chase. There's a young sailor on the boat, and his primary task on this particular trip seemed to be collecting vomit from us and replenishing fresh vomit bags. Well, this gentleman got real busy about 25 minutes into the ride. From me, he got 2 loads.
Holy cow I hadn't thrown up this much in recent memory. -- Sorry for taking so long to make my point.
Advice: Don't eat that much before taking this ride to green Island. These "Pacific" waves ain't pacific at all!!!
On the island I take the locals' good advice of sleeping the pain off until 5pm, before which I better fill my scooter with gas or else the gas station closes (turns out there are shops that sell gas around the clock). Here I had a problem.
I kind of know how to ride a scooter, thanks to my ex-boss in Japan, who lent me his for a week during his vacation. (Thanks Ken!) The problem was for the life of me I couldn't remember how to start one.... Daan! I was pushing close to 5pm. Passer-bys are all on scooters going pretty quick so I couldn't stop one to ask. I didn't want to ask the hotel because that puts them in a difficult position, given one is supposed to have a license to drive this thing (Well, the emporor is far away -- 天高皇帝远). So asked this hotel cleaning lady. This nice looking local girl showed by how to start and run a scooter ...
Green island is awesome. The feature attraction is an "underwater" hotspring. Supposely one of only 3 in the world. The other 2 are in Hokkaido, Japan, and Italy. So called "underwater" because I guess the spring comes from an underwater volcano? I know from this mornings ride with that nice lady that this part of Taiwan lies on 2 different tectonic plates. One connecting to the Phillippines and the other the rest of Taiwan.
I didn't bring my camera with me because I heard there weren't storate facilities at the beaches. So, in my swimmers and a shirt I happily jolt off in my old sticky (with salt water) scooter and headed of to the hot spring. Along the way I take mental note of landmarks and restaurant menus. It took a good half hour before getting to the site. Of couse I had no helmet so was only riding at 1/3 the speed of what would actually turn me on =) , and, along the way I stoped by Guang Yin Dong (a buddist "cave", 观音洞) and prayed for my existence. I'm finding that this give me faith in what I'm doing and makes me feel a bit safer venturing on.
I get to the springs. The only scooters parked there belonged to people climbing to the top of some hill -- nobody soaking the spring water. Well, nobody except me. It wasn't the greatest hotspring - more salt than sulphur, and enclosure was cheap cement, the one I went to in Dong Pu was much better. But the surroundings made me feel like taking a bath in the ocean. Overall score: Pretty good feeling.
Feeling a bit lonely and weird after awhile, I also climbed that hill before dark, and started to head back before the moon takes over completely. The night ride was a happy one, just like the day ride. It feels so free. I Yahooed and Woohaaed my way back to where the restaurants were and tried some local stuff -- BBQ dear, more "ice". But I mostly filled myself with porridge due to the unfortunate puking that fragiled my stomach. Then I bought some nice gifts for friends and headed back to hotel to unstick myself.
Guess you know what happened next.... Given I'm writing this story in Green Island. Yes, Cybercafe.
It's almost midnight. Tomorrow I'm waking up at 5 to catch the sunrise, while bathing in "underwater" hotspring. I'll try to take some nice photos then. Ciao!
Next Morning
Woke up late at 8:30. Oh well, it was heavy overcast with some raindrops -- wouldn't hv seen any sunrise anyway. I took my scooter and made another tour of the island. I have to say this scootering around part has been the most fun part of my visit to Taiwan so far. The view here is short of spectacular but very natural and scenic -- Pacific Ocean, volcanic rocks, nice forest. Best part is I got to cruise around in it, kind of like Tarzan, but faster and no tree-climbing.
The setup on this island is perfect; it's developed to just the right extent. People get off the boat, get a room, the scooter around, then hotspring and BBQ their way to blissful oblivion, all on budget. This ain't Bali nor Phuket, but great for students and families looking for good fun in the ocean.
This was my overnight experience on Green Island. I would recommend it to people who speak Mandarin, and not afraid of getting salty.
What do I mean? Biggest mistake since a long time:
This morning I had goat milk, gyoza (fried dumplings Japanese style) in Ping Dong. Vicky drove me then to the train station. I got myself to Tai Tung and tried their famous Ikeue Bento (池上便当) with some yogurt.
A super friendly lady at the Tourist Information Centre at Tai Tung Traing Station explained to me the logistics of Green Island, then personally drove me to the docks where boats leave for the island!!! She happen to be going off-duty and heading that way ... but still, I didn't get this kind of treatment since days in Canada.
So I made a super deal with one of the service providers there whereby I pay 1500NT for a 2-way boat ride, accomodation (not fancy but decent), a scooter, and breakfast. I was very happy given the 2-way tix cost 800 by itself. I help myself to some watermelon juice and bought 2 pills for motion sickness (this was a rip off: 20NT a piece). The guy told me they don't sell this on the island so that's why I bought 2. Well, they do sell it on the island.
Anyways, I get on this jet boat with some students in high spirits. For the first 15 minutes they enjoy themselves outside being splashed by waves ....
Ok. Cut to the chase. There's a young sailor on the boat, and his primary task on this particular trip seemed to be collecting vomit from us and replenishing fresh vomit bags. Well, this gentleman got real busy about 25 minutes into the ride. From me, he got 2 loads.
Holy cow I hadn't thrown up this much in recent memory. -- Sorry for taking so long to make my point.
Advice: Don't eat that much before taking this ride to green Island. These "Pacific" waves ain't pacific at all!!!
On the island I take the locals' good advice of sleeping the pain off until 5pm, before which I better fill my scooter with gas or else the gas station closes (turns out there are shops that sell gas around the clock). Here I had a problem.
I kind of know how to ride a scooter, thanks to my ex-boss in Japan, who lent me his for a week during his vacation. (Thanks Ken!) The problem was for the life of me I couldn't remember how to start one.... Daan! I was pushing close to 5pm. Passer-bys are all on scooters going pretty quick so I couldn't stop one to ask. I didn't want to ask the hotel because that puts them in a difficult position, given one is supposed to have a license to drive this thing (Well, the emporor is far away -- 天高皇帝远). So asked this hotel cleaning lady. This nice looking local girl showed by how to start and run a scooter ...
Green island is awesome. The feature attraction is an "underwater" hotspring. Supposely one of only 3 in the world. The other 2 are in Hokkaido, Japan, and Italy. So called "underwater" because I guess the spring comes from an underwater volcano? I know from this mornings ride with that nice lady that this part of Taiwan lies on 2 different tectonic plates. One connecting to the Phillippines and the other the rest of Taiwan.
I didn't bring my camera with me because I heard there weren't storate facilities at the beaches. So, in my swimmers and a shirt I happily jolt off in my old sticky (with salt water) scooter and headed of to the hot spring. Along the way I take mental note of landmarks and restaurant menus. It took a good half hour before getting to the site. Of couse I had no helmet so was only riding at 1/3 the speed of what would actually turn me on =) , and, along the way I stoped by Guang Yin Dong (a buddist "cave", 观音洞) and prayed for my existence. I'm finding that this give me faith in what I'm doing and makes me feel a bit safer venturing on.
I get to the springs. The only scooters parked there belonged to people climbing to the top of some hill -- nobody soaking the spring water. Well, nobody except me. It wasn't the greatest hotspring - more salt than sulphur, and enclosure was cheap cement, the one I went to in Dong Pu was much better. But the surroundings made me feel like taking a bath in the ocean. Overall score: Pretty good feeling.
Feeling a bit lonely and weird after awhile, I also climbed that hill before dark, and started to head back before the moon takes over completely. The night ride was a happy one, just like the day ride. It feels so free. I Yahooed and Woohaaed my way back to where the restaurants were and tried some local stuff -- BBQ dear, more "ice". But I mostly filled myself with porridge due to the unfortunate puking that fragiled my stomach. Then I bought some nice gifts for friends and headed back to hotel to unstick myself.
Guess you know what happened next.... Given I'm writing this story in Green Island. Yes, Cybercafe.
It's almost midnight. Tomorrow I'm waking up at 5 to catch the sunrise, while bathing in "underwater" hotspring. I'll try to take some nice photos then. Ciao!
Next Morning
Woke up late at 8:30. Oh well, it was heavy overcast with some raindrops -- wouldn't hv seen any sunrise anyway. I took my scooter and made another tour of the island. I have to say this scootering around part has been the most fun part of my visit to Taiwan so far. The view here is short of spectacular but very natural and scenic -- Pacific Ocean, volcanic rocks, nice forest. Best part is I got to cruise around in it, kind of like Tarzan, but faster and no tree-climbing.
The setup on this island is perfect; it's developed to just the right extent. People get off the boat, get a room, the scooter around, then hotspring and BBQ their way to blissful oblivion, all on budget. This ain't Bali nor Phuket, but great for students and families looking for good fun in the ocean.
This was my overnight experience on Green Island. I would recommend it to people who speak Mandarin, and not afraid of getting salty.
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Living in a Kindergarden 幼稚园
I spend the last 3 days (and the next day) living in a kindergarden -- literally inside one. My friend Vicky (also a Canadian) and her family live in a nice cozy house in the suburb town of Wan Dan (万丹), nearby Ping Dong City (屏东市), in Ping Dong County (屏东县). They are the mastermind behind these seriously playful grounds, home to some hundreds of pre-school kids and their midget play things, as well as a sizeable farm area where kids are taught to grow vegies and fruits (corns, mango, etc). Rabbits, frogs, geckos, also have their homes here.
I had eaten so much here! Look at all these dishes! Vicky's family sure treats their guest well! Taiwanese vegetables are incredibly tasty. In fact I never knew Bambooo shoots (竹笋) and baby asparagus can taste like that. Especially those bamboo shoots -- the texture is more like very soft radish, but slightly sweet and with a touch of bamboo taste. Only in Taiwan have I tasted bamboo this tender.
So these days at Vicky's house my life resembles that of a pig -- eat-sleep-repeat -- except I also blog, get massages, watch movies. After work each day Vicky drives me arount to try local delicacies. Like this local version of (1 of 1 million versions of) Taiwanese "Ice". A so called "Cold-Hot-Ice", where ice crubs cover an inside core of hot soft, round thingies -- Taiwanese are especially good at making things of this shape and texture!
One particularly interesting experience is Vicky's taking me to her grandparents Bing Lang (槟榔) farm. We went there to take all the left over food (too much food due to my presence) to feed their dogs.
Ok what is Bing Lang (槟榔)? I suspect it doesn't grow in many places, if any, outside Taiwan. It's a tiny little fruit/seed like thing (likes of a lotus sead) with green enclosing, and green leaves. The way they prepare it is spread some magic white spread (supposely slightly alcoholic) on the leaf, fold the leaf, then wrap the "fruit". How does one consume such a thing? Well, interestingly enough, you bite of the head then chew it. Yes, like chewing gum. The locals often explain it as Taiwanese chewing gum. Don't forget to spit out the first mouthful of juices 'cause that has some strong "effects".
This Bing Lang is known as one of the "miracles" of Taiwan. Truckers and construction workers who work the mountains especially love it: It's very light in weight; stimulates saliva (thereby relieving thirst); it's a stimulant; and, of course, somewhat addictive.
What I like most about Bing Lang is the very interesting fact that the juice from the "fruit" mixes with human saliva and creates a red substance. So in case you see a Taiwanese local spitting blood, chances are they're chewing "gum".
Chewing Bing Lang will make you feel warm. Kind of like alcohol. People tell me in the winter this is an awesome sensation, especially before jumping on you scooter in the moist coolness of January.
So anyways, Vicky grandpa and uncles grow this stuff -- lots of it. They even have big machines to sort and process them. Vicky tells Uncle that I'm curious about Bing Lang, and Uncle teaches me the know-hows. Ok... Then I pretend to be a vampire and took this photo.
Afterward I had a good chat with Grandma and Grandpa. Grandma tells me to be careful wondering around like this ... I bid them farewell in a short while, leaving Uncle and the dogs to guard the crops from thieves overnight.
I want to thank Vicky and her family for a wonderful 4 days in the country side with the kids, especially with her 5-year-old little brother, who is so hyper even (actually, especially) after mid night, and always begs me to play with him. What does he want to play? It's usually either, "Let's fight!", or "Race to the kitchen" or, "Wrap me up in a blanket and move me somewhere else". Haha... Chi-An: I'll be back to play with you more soon.
And Vicky, thank you!!!
And, Happy Birthday!!!
And, let me show you around HK, Macau, and Mainland.
Heading off tomorrow morning to Taitung (台东), then journeying on to Green Island (绿岛)!
I had eaten so much here! Look at all these dishes! Vicky's family sure treats their guest well! Taiwanese vegetables are incredibly tasty. In fact I never knew Bambooo shoots (竹笋) and baby asparagus can taste like that. Especially those bamboo shoots -- the texture is more like very soft radish, but slightly sweet and with a touch of bamboo taste. Only in Taiwan have I tasted bamboo this tender.
So these days at Vicky's house my life resembles that of a pig -- eat-sleep-repeat -- except I also blog, get massages, watch movies. After work each day Vicky drives me arount to try local delicacies. Like this local version of (1 of 1 million versions of) Taiwanese "Ice". A so called "Cold-Hot-Ice", where ice crubs cover an inside core of hot soft, round thingies -- Taiwanese are especially good at making things of this shape and texture!
One particularly interesting experience is Vicky's taking me to her grandparents Bing Lang (槟榔) farm. We went there to take all the left over food (too much food due to my presence) to feed their dogs.
Ok what is Bing Lang (槟榔)? I suspect it doesn't grow in many places, if any, outside Taiwan. It's a tiny little fruit/seed like thing (likes of a lotus sead) with green enclosing, and green leaves. The way they prepare it is spread some magic white spread (supposely slightly alcoholic) on the leaf, fold the leaf, then wrap the "fruit". How does one consume such a thing? Well, interestingly enough, you bite of the head then chew it. Yes, like chewing gum. The locals often explain it as Taiwanese chewing gum. Don't forget to spit out the first mouthful of juices 'cause that has some strong "effects".
This Bing Lang is known as one of the "miracles" of Taiwan. Truckers and construction workers who work the mountains especially love it: It's very light in weight; stimulates saliva (thereby relieving thirst); it's a stimulant; and, of course, somewhat addictive.
What I like most about Bing Lang is the very interesting fact that the juice from the "fruit" mixes with human saliva and creates a red substance. So in case you see a Taiwanese local spitting blood, chances are they're chewing "gum".
Chewing Bing Lang will make you feel warm. Kind of like alcohol. People tell me in the winter this is an awesome sensation, especially before jumping on you scooter in the moist coolness of January.
So anyways, Vicky grandpa and uncles grow this stuff -- lots of it. They even have big machines to sort and process them. Vicky tells Uncle that I'm curious about Bing Lang, and Uncle teaches me the know-hows. Ok... Then I pretend to be a vampire and took this photo.
Afterward I had a good chat with Grandma and Grandpa. Grandma tells me to be careful wondering around like this ... I bid them farewell in a short while, leaving Uncle and the dogs to guard the crops from thieves overnight.
I want to thank Vicky and her family for a wonderful 4 days in the country side with the kids, especially with her 5-year-old little brother, who is so hyper even (actually, especially) after mid night, and always begs me to play with him. What does he want to play? It's usually either, "Let's fight!", or "Race to the kitchen" or, "Wrap me up in a blanket and move me somewhere else". Haha... Chi-An: I'll be back to play with you more soon.
And Vicky, thank you!!!
And, Happy Birthday!!!
And, let me show you around HK, Macau, and Mainland.
Heading off tomorrow morning to Taitung (台东), then journeying on to Green Island (绿岛)!
Saturday, June 03, 2006
Taipei Walker
Today has been a full day of walking around in Taipei. And we found new treasures on "Treasure Island", a common praise for Taiwan.
Around 1-2am, right after Rosanne and I had left a fancy netcafe at 忠孝复兴 station, we were at an unusual place in the very centre of Taipei -- Cheng Pin Bookstore (诚品书店). This incredible bookstore, where a line of taxi wait outside even at 3 o'clock in the morning, welcomes the intellictually curious Taiwanese 24 hours a day. What I like most about it is that it has a grand collection of titles by Taiwanese authors in a full spectrum of topics.
After some browsing I found that I could learn about very "Chinese" subjects such as buddism, or Chinese philosophy in a much less painful way than the one force upon Mainlanders in the old school way of education. Taiwan styled literature is probably more modern, more scientific; but I don't know for sure.
Another thing I liked about this bookstore is the great number of books and magazines (especially magazines) either in Japanese, or about Japan. I bought a book explaining elementary Japanese grammar in a pictoral setting -- The book I used to use (标准日本语) doesn't agree with me after many years of education in Canadian school, where our textbooks had more margin space and pictures than words. Not to my surprise, the best selling and feature titles were about how to make money in China as a Taiwanese businessman.
Rosanne loves this bookstore and had to visit it before leaving Taipei
At 3:30am we walked back to Tonghua St. (通化街) to get some food. Here's a picture of 通化街 at 3:30am -- Incredible! This particular restaurant is full of people! Neighbouring ones were doing pretty good, too!
I had a 排骨庚面 (Rib-noodle soup) with 猪耳 (pig ears) as appetizer.
台湾的街头小吃极其厉害。来台之后我几乎没去过所谓“正规”饭店，而且小吃的分量小，我很少一餐把自己喂饱，唯恐到时候看到更好吃的没了食欲。其后果是，我每天都要很多餐。堕落。
... I was just saying the street food in Taiwan is so great I've been to actual restaurants only a couple of times.
Ok. Full now after those pig ears. Next, slept to 2pm -- Today was another day where I missed lunch.
We woke up to Rosanne's craving for some 仙草 (Xiancao - Heavenly Grass). We went and got some. I got 爱玉 (Aiyu - Love Jade). Topping? Of course 芋圆 and 地瓜圆, the purple stuff and the yellow stuff. This thing is so good I use a "medium" sized picture to honour it -- on the left is Love Jade, and right Heavenly Grass. This reminds me of a verse I wrote recently:
Next we went to a famous Xiao Long Bao place called Ding Tai Feng (鼎泰丰) near 忠孝敦化口. Since I had had as much of these buns as a typical western kid had eaten cereals and pancakes, I didn't find any extraordinary new sensation in their version of the Xiao Long Bao -- but it was still good.
Journeying on, Rosanne wanted to get some bakery at au bon pain near 101. I gasped, "Really!". Hadn't had that stuff in ages! Bakeries in Asia are short of muffins, bagels, bagette, and the likes.
Well, we taxied to 101. Cab driver did some non-kosher maneuvers en route and told us there were no police on the streets of Taipei that day because of a big protest urging Chen Shui Bian to step down as leader of Taiwan.
We didn't find that au bon pain but did buy some trifflings for our new home a Taiwanese version of one of my favourite stores, Muji. The Taiwanese store is called 生活工场. I think the 生活工场 is a good deal for the price, about 1/2 of Muji. Qualitywise, Muji still wins. Creativity, getting there.
After seeing Rosanne off on the Airport limosine, I revisited Taipei 101 and its neighbour "New York New York". I didn't do it justice the first time I reviewed as that visit tainted by too much rain. Well, NYNY was great! A motley assortment of trendy and strong branded franchises make up this modern shopping complex. Along the walks are many patios filled with happy, relaxed shoppers and cafe-goers.
Here's a shot of the scooter lot near by. For every 3 Taiwanese, there is 1 scooter.
Rosanne tells me there is au bon pain at the airport. Good place for business travellers.
I'm planning to go to Ping Dong (屏东) to visit Vicky tomorrow. I haven't seen her in years. More Japanese horror movies on 5 star bus rides ...
If anyone wonders why I'm writing more than before it's because I can no longer find that channel that broadcasts Starcraft games exclusively. I'm now watching mostly Warcraft and Counterstrike -- less of a fan there.
Around 1-2am, right after Rosanne and I had left a fancy netcafe at 忠孝复兴 station, we were at an unusual place in the very centre of Taipei -- Cheng Pin Bookstore (诚品书店). This incredible bookstore, where a line of taxi wait outside even at 3 o'clock in the morning, welcomes the intellictually curious Taiwanese 24 hours a day. What I like most about it is that it has a grand collection of titles by Taiwanese authors in a full spectrum of topics.
After some browsing I found that I could learn about very "Chinese" subjects such as buddism, or Chinese philosophy in a much less painful way than the one force upon Mainlanders in the old school way of education. Taiwan styled literature is probably more modern, more scientific; but I don't know for sure.
Another thing I liked about this bookstore is the great number of books and magazines (especially magazines) either in Japanese, or about Japan. I bought a book explaining elementary Japanese grammar in a pictoral setting -- The book I used to use (标准日本语) doesn't agree with me after many years of education in Canadian school, where our textbooks had more margin space and pictures than words. Not to my surprise, the best selling and feature titles were about how to make money in China as a Taiwanese businessman.
Rosanne loves this bookstore and had to visit it before leaving Taipei
At 3:30am we walked back to Tonghua St. (通化街) to get some food. Here's a picture of 通化街 at 3:30am -- Incredible! This particular restaurant is full of people! Neighbouring ones were doing pretty good, too!
I had a 排骨庚面 (Rib-noodle soup) with 猪耳 (pig ears) as appetizer.
台湾的街头小吃极其厉害。来台之后我几乎没去过所谓“正规”饭店，而且小吃的分量小，我很少一餐把自己喂饱，唯恐到时候看到更好吃的没了食欲。其后果是，我每天都要很多餐。堕落。
... I was just saying the street food in Taiwan is so great I've been to actual restaurants only a couple of times.
Ok. Full now after those pig ears. Next, slept to 2pm -- Today was another day where I missed lunch.
We woke up to Rosanne's craving for some 仙草 (Xiancao - Heavenly Grass). We went and got some. I got 爱玉 (Aiyu - Love Jade). Topping? Of course 芋圆 and 地瓜圆, the purple stuff and the yellow stuff. This thing is so good I use a "medium" sized picture to honour it -- on the left is Love Jade, and right Heavenly Grass. This reminds me of a verse I wrote recently:
问世间何谓仙草，
真教人欲仙欲死！
真教人欲仙欲死！
Next we went to a famous Xiao Long Bao place called Ding Tai Feng (鼎泰丰) near 忠孝敦化口. Since I had had as much of these buns as a typical western kid had eaten cereals and pancakes, I didn't find any extraordinary new sensation in their version of the Xiao Long Bao -- but it was still good.
Journeying on, Rosanne wanted to get some bakery at au bon pain near 101. I gasped, "Really!". Hadn't had that stuff in ages! Bakeries in Asia are short of muffins, bagels, bagette, and the likes.
Well, we taxied to 101. Cab driver did some non-kosher maneuvers en route and told us there were no police on the streets of Taipei that day because of a big protest urging Chen Shui Bian to step down as leader of Taiwan.
We didn't find that au bon pain but did buy some trifflings for our new home a Taiwanese version of one of my favourite stores, Muji. The Taiwanese store is called 生活工场. I think the 生活工场 is a good deal for the price, about 1/2 of Muji. Qualitywise, Muji still wins. Creativity, getting there.
After seeing Rosanne off on the Airport limosine, I revisited Taipei 101 and its neighbour "New York New York". I didn't do it justice the first time I reviewed as that visit tainted by too much rain. Well, NYNY was great! A motley assortment of trendy and strong branded franchises make up this modern shopping complex. Along the walks are many patios filled with happy, relaxed shoppers and cafe-goers.
Here's a shot of the scooter lot near by. For every 3 Taiwanese, there is 1 scooter.
Rosanne tells me there is au bon pain at the airport. Good place for business travellers.
I'm planning to go to Ping Dong (屏东) to visit Vicky tomorrow. I haven't seen her in years. More Japanese horror movies on 5 star bus rides ...
If anyone wonders why I'm writing more than before it's because I can no longer find that channel that broadcasts Starcraft games exclusively. I'm now watching mostly Warcraft and Counterstrike -- less of a fan there.
花莲 -- 江山多娇，人多情。Hua-lien
优美的名字，形容峻丽的山水。说山水，其实今朝去的“太鲁阁”山多过水。不过是很美的山 -- 山在虚无缥缈中。
花莲人的心情异常良好，从下车到上车，感觉到这里居民心态平静坦然。昨天与女友两人在台北车站的地下商场走马观花了许久，夜里乘火车达花莲市。旅游服务中心的大姐语言很酷，不啰嗦，但态度很是好，给了各方各面的指点，并亲自打电话帮我们找到车站附近又便宜又舒适的住宿。
谢过这位热心人，我们用一杯茶的时间到了旅店的房间。麻雀虽小，五脏俱全，房间简单，但清洁，透风。我们问柜台老伯要了个蚊香，放下行李。便往花莲市的另一方，南滨公园里的夜市走去。
一路走一路吃和逛，过了一个多小时才到那南滨公园。其实那夜市比起在台北和台南见识过的小许多。我二人可是见过大世面的，在此逗留不久。那步行后半段其实了无人烟，除了卖水果和槟榔的，就少数街头饭店外加 KTV 而已。
不过那路途的花莲市主干路中山路亦是热闹。我们吃了当地有名的“扁食”，即上海的“大馄饨”，和“肉糟饭”，与鲁肉饭相似的小吃。味道还可以，那扁食做的够嫩够结实，皮也不烂，但那汤不够上海的馄饨鲜美，原因没放虾米，榨菜，紫菜，和蛋皮。肉糟饭不如鲁肉饭 -- 那花莲是以风景为名。吃，不如他处。
但是！花莲的麻署非常好吃！女友说比香港的糯米糍好吃。皮入口即化，馅清香而不太甜，多吃不腻。我也觉得比起上海吃过的类似东东略胜一筹。其实，次日我们在太鲁阁的“天祥”景点又发现了麻署名店《曾记麻署》，很是欢喜，吃了许多个。我喜欢芝麻口味，她则钟情紫米味。
这里特地说明：此推荐非同小可，可是我那吃尽天下甜品无敌手的女友 Rosanne 所喜爱之物。再又她承认香港本土对手的糯米糍甘拜下风。敬请朋友们来台湾观光时勿忘验试一下花莲出产的麻署。
Of course, after this we went to a cybercafe (yes, again) and I caught up on my blog and watched more Starcraft games. Darn, because of GTV I'm always behind my writing.
Next day was a rainy one. We took a 9:30 bus to Tianxiang (天祥), which is an important waypoint in Taroko National Park, where there are restaurants, a fancy resort, some shops, post office, and youth hostel. It took just over an hour. After grabbing lunch it was still pouring, so we decided to abandon the original plan suggested by tourist information centre to follow the bus route down the mountain (supposedly we could have done this and hitch hiked any returning bus back to town). It was the right decision as that suggested route was rather trecherous, not to mention very very long.
Tianxiang was not just a way point. It beholds an incredible view of the mountains, creaks, clouds, along with a tower and a buddist temple. After trekking to and fro the temple, where I briefly prayed for safe and fruitful adventures in the coming years, we decided to take a more venturous route called 白杨步道. To test faith, it takes a brisk walk up along a road to get to the start of this trail.
We got there in no time, only to find a "No Entry" sign due to recent prevalent landslides. This didn't stop us. We began the walk in a dark, wet tunnel, where I used my Sony Erisson K750i's flashlight to guide the way. The other end of the tunnel was a close up view of the creek, the rocks, and those making a livelihood here. And that is the reason why we stopped our hike on 白杨步道 a few minutes after passing the 100m dark tunnel -- a sign reads "Beware of Poisonous Bees". Looking up does reveal some behives high up in the trees...
Hmm... I wonder if there was any reward for anyone who venture beyond this point. I'm no hiking expert, but does this park expect visitors to wear "bee-friendly" equipment? Oh well, at least we got to walk that dark tunnel twice...
It was still raining. We were content enough with the good air and excellent view, and decided to head back -- head back to Taipei. On the way back to Hualien we took a closer look at the incredible landscape for which we weren't able to stop and admire. Taroko is definitely worth another visit, in a better ride than Hualien county bus.
花莲人的心情异常良好，从下车到上车，感觉到这里居民心态平静坦然。昨天与女友两人在台北车站的地下商场走马观花了许久，夜里乘火车达花莲市。旅游服务中心的大姐语言很酷，不啰嗦，但态度很是好，给了各方各面的指点，并亲自打电话帮我们找到车站附近又便宜又舒适的住宿。
谢过这位热心人，我们用一杯茶的时间到了旅店的房间。麻雀虽小，五脏俱全，房间简单，但清洁，透风。我们问柜台老伯要了个蚊香，放下行李。便往花莲市的另一方，南滨公园里的夜市走去。
一路走一路吃和逛，过了一个多小时才到那南滨公园。其实那夜市比起在台北和台南见识过的小许多。我二人可是见过大世面的，在此逗留不久。那步行后半段其实了无人烟，除了卖水果和槟榔的，就少数街头饭店外加 KTV 而已。
不过那路途的花莲市主干路中山路亦是热闹。我们吃了当地有名的“扁食”，即上海的“大馄饨”，和“肉糟饭”，与鲁肉饭相似的小吃。味道还可以，那扁食做的够嫩够结实，皮也不烂，但那汤不够上海的馄饨鲜美，原因没放虾米，榨菜，紫菜，和蛋皮。肉糟饭不如鲁肉饭 -- 那花莲是以风景为名。吃，不如他处。
但是！花莲的麻署非常好吃！女友说比香港的糯米糍好吃。皮入口即化，馅清香而不太甜，多吃不腻。我也觉得比起上海吃过的类似东东略胜一筹。其实，次日我们在太鲁阁的“天祥”景点又发现了麻署名店《曾记麻署》，很是欢喜，吃了许多个。我喜欢芝麻口味，她则钟情紫米味。
这里特地说明：此推荐非同小可，可是我那吃尽天下甜品无敌手的女友 Rosanne 所喜爱之物。再又她承认香港本土对手的糯米糍甘拜下风。敬请朋友们来台湾观光时勿忘验试一下花莲出产的麻署。
Of course, after this we went to a cybercafe (yes, again) and I caught up on my blog and watched more Starcraft games. Darn, because of GTV I'm always behind my writing.
Next day was a rainy one. We took a 9:30 bus to Tianxiang (天祥), which is an important waypoint in Taroko National Park, where there are restaurants, a fancy resort, some shops, post office, and youth hostel. It took just over an hour. After grabbing lunch it was still pouring, so we decided to abandon the original plan suggested by tourist information centre to follow the bus route down the mountain (supposedly we could have done this and hitch hiked any returning bus back to town). It was the right decision as that suggested route was rather trecherous, not to mention very very long.
Tianxiang was not just a way point. It beholds an incredible view of the mountains, creaks, clouds, along with a tower and a buddist temple. After trekking to and fro the temple, where I briefly prayed for safe and fruitful adventures in the coming years, we decided to take a more venturous route called 白杨步道. To test faith, it takes a brisk walk up along a road to get to the start of this trail.
We got there in no time, only to find a "No Entry" sign due to recent prevalent landslides. This didn't stop us. We began the walk in a dark, wet tunnel, where I used my Sony Erisson K750i's flashlight to guide the way. The other end of the tunnel was a close up view of the creek, the rocks, and those making a livelihood here. And that is the reason why we stopped our hike on 白杨步道 a few minutes after passing the 100m dark tunnel -- a sign reads "Beware of Poisonous Bees". Looking up does reveal some behives high up in the trees...
Hmm... I wonder if there was any reward for anyone who venture beyond this point. I'm no hiking expert, but does this park expect visitors to wear "bee-friendly" equipment? Oh well, at least we got to walk that dark tunnel twice...
It was still raining. We were content enough with the good air and excellent view, and decided to head back -- head back to Taipei. On the way back to Hualien we took a closer look at the incredible landscape for which we weren't able to stop and admire. Taroko is definitely worth another visit, in a better ride than Hualien county bus.
Thursday, June 01, 2006
仙草？豆花，脚底按摩。Beancurd and Foot-massage
神仙吃草
-- 婪牛做事厂
问世间何谓仙草，
真教人欲仙欲死！
These are two traditional Chinese arts which glorious pasts, and present. It's interesting to explore different flavours thereof in different parts of Greater China.
豆花，是豆系列的美食之一：豆浆，豆花，豆腐，豆干，臭豆腐，香豆腐，等。其基本原材料是黄豆和石膏粉，其后者多之则制成豆腐，少则成豆花。
台湾的豆花特别嫩滑，但不会碎，据说其原因是加了“米苔目”。和“仙草”，“爱玉”，和众多有趣可口的食品一样，米苔目是台湾的发明。而米苔目，这个老台东的发明，是一个制作过程复杂的东东，只用到台湾当地上好的米。
这次来台，吃过不少豆花以及豆腐。觉得口感极好。希望有朝一日米苔目能发扬光大，前迁至神州各地。与此同时，可以研究一下如何在口感好的前提下，增加黄豆的原味。
脚底按摩，又名“足底反射治疗”，是在中国各大小城市铺天盖地的服务项目。居说其来源是江苏扬州。而扬州附近最大的城市是上海。上海开业的师傅们以及其徒弟们，则是把这样传统艺术传之世界各地的主角。
台湾不列外。与大陆不同的是：在台湾，这一行大概没有泛滥，保持着一丝不苟的质量。有一次，和我一起做脚底的华侨太太论到，大陆做脚的质量不如台湾。我不由自主地辩护，说中国做这行得太多了，的确许多泛泛之辈玷污了祖先的传统，下次去做好叫朋友推荐一个好的。
Open communication -- very important.
-- 婪牛做事厂
问世间何谓仙草，
真教人欲仙欲死！
These are two traditional Chinese arts which glorious pasts, and present. It's interesting to explore different flavours thereof in different parts of Greater China.
豆花，是豆系列的美食之一：豆浆，豆花，豆腐，豆干，臭豆腐，香豆腐，等。其基本原材料是黄豆和石膏粉，其后者多之则制成豆腐，少则成豆花。
台湾的豆花特别嫩滑，但不会碎，据说其原因是加了“米苔目”。和“仙草”，“爱玉”，和众多有趣可口的食品一样，米苔目是台湾的发明。而米苔目，这个老台东的发明，是一个制作过程复杂的东东，只用到台湾当地上好的米。
这次来台，吃过不少豆花以及豆腐。觉得口感极好。希望有朝一日米苔目能发扬光大，前迁至神州各地。与此同时，可以研究一下如何在口感好的前提下，增加黄豆的原味。
脚底按摩，又名“足底反射治疗”，是在中国各大小城市铺天盖地的服务项目。居说其来源是江苏扬州。而扬州附近最大的城市是上海。上海开业的师傅们以及其徒弟们，则是把这样传统艺术传之世界各地的主角。
台湾不列外。与大陆不同的是：在台湾，这一行大概没有泛滥，保持着一丝不苟的质量。有一次，和我一起做脚底的华侨太太论到，大陆做脚的质量不如台湾。我不由自主地辩护，说中国做这行得太多了，的确许多泛泛之辈玷污了祖先的传统，下次去做好叫朋友推荐一个好的。
Open communication -- very important.
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
175 HK -- Geely Automobile Holding Limited
The main theme of this blog is about my travels. But, whatever ...
I had put quite a proportion of my meager savings into this stock before I left for travelling and made good return (about 30% in 2 months). This was but a short tag in the bigger climb - in my view. Of course, this was no secret to those in close contact with me during the bullish months. I was not wrong, as Geely hit 1.10 HKD before settling into a more "reasonable" level. I had sold everthing around 87c, and bought myself this trip to Taiwan and some furniture for our new home in Tsing Yi (HKSAR). The hot money came a day after I had sold, on a piece of news 4 days old. That day, I was not sad, but not thrilled either, as the mark shot past my 87 and ended above 1 HKD in the next 48 hours. Oh well, Geelys cars are still crap, and I was hoping some farmer would drived it into the woods in some long distance ride he never should have taken and cause commotion before the next earnings report came in. Timing, timing, timing ...
Efficient market hypothesis? More like, when are they going to read that paper? Or hold that meeting? Or, how about, why don't fund managers use Google Alert instead of Bloomberg. Ehhhhnywayz. Not a blue chip, no analyst, can't have everything.
At least since recently, South African's, Malaysians, and I bet others are getting more nervous about Geely's cars, or Chinese cars in general. I, am very proud of this fact. Regardless of the dialogues suffixing the insurgence of China Cars in the global auto industry. As a Chinese, I got no benefit from the millions of compasses nor the billions of bullets cooked up in the last 200 years. There's no shame in miniturizing cars into a Made-in-China product for the good of our poor citizens. I do sincerely hope SAs and Malaysians end up as beneficiaries as well.
Well, I stop the anecdote here before somebody calls it bigotry.
One more thing ... go Geely go!!!
btw, what do you guys think about Beijing Airport?
I'm going downstairs for a foot massage. 1 block south of 通化信义口.
I had put quite a proportion of my meager savings into this stock before I left for travelling and made good return (about 30% in 2 months). This was but a short tag in the bigger climb - in my view. Of course, this was no secret to those in close contact with me during the bullish months. I was not wrong, as Geely hit 1.10 HKD before settling into a more "reasonable" level. I had sold everthing around 87c, and bought myself this trip to Taiwan and some furniture for our new home in Tsing Yi (HKSAR). The hot money came a day after I had sold, on a piece of news 4 days old. That day, I was not sad, but not thrilled either, as the mark shot past my 87 and ended above 1 HKD in the next 48 hours. Oh well, Geelys cars are still crap, and I was hoping some farmer would drived it into the woods in some long distance ride he never should have taken and cause commotion before the next earnings report came in. Timing, timing, timing ...
Efficient market hypothesis? More like, when are they going to read that paper? Or hold that meeting? Or, how about, why don't fund managers use Google Alert instead of Bloomberg. Ehhhhnywayz. Not a blue chip, no analyst, can't have everything.
At least since recently, South African's, Malaysians, and I bet others are getting more nervous about Geely's cars, or Chinese cars in general. I, am very proud of this fact. Regardless of the dialogues suffixing the insurgence of China Cars in the global auto industry. As a Chinese, I got no benefit from the millions of compasses nor the billions of bullets cooked up in the last 200 years. There's no shame in miniturizing cars into a Made-in-China product for the good of our poor citizens. I do sincerely hope SAs and Malaysians end up as beneficiaries as well.
Well, I stop the anecdote here before somebody calls it bigotry.
One more thing ... go Geely go!!!
btw, what do you guys think about Beijing Airport?
I'm going downstairs for a foot massage. 1 block south of 通化信义口.
Short Stay in Kao-hsiung, back to Taipei, back on a massage chair.
My adventure in Kao-hsiung consisted of too much time in netcafe (again), and a delicious food called 鸭肉饭/下水汤 (which is basically rice and soup, but which different parts of a duck in each).
However, the ride back to Taipei was incredible! -- I decided to head back to Taipei to recuperate some and greet Rosanne, who is visiting tonight from HK for 4 days. I don't mean to rub it in but ... yeah ... I'm taking holiday from my holiday.
How incredible? Click on the title to see the provider Ubus. Here's my take:
This is an adjustable leather massage chair. There are about 15-17 of them on this huge bus. The lower deck is for luggage and bathroom, which can be entered from inside the bus.
Other Amenities: AV station with VOD movies from Hollywood, China, Japan, Korea, video gaming, and more; Some GPS thing; Wet towel and water; Newspaper and Magazines.
You can bring you own champagne or whatever to max out the expereince.
The ride took 5 hours in medium rain and had about 4 stops at major cities. Cost: 710NT. Question: Where can we export this thing? China? China? or China? Maybe not, with the oil tax and the new railways. Or maybe yes, with all the new highways and a steepening propensity to try news things. Not to mention the lingering curiousity of how a “华人“ is different from, well, a “中国人”. Well, it's good bus; driving is tiring; and, quite simply, China's big, and big.
My email is in my profiles page.
宝岛就是宝岛。
However, the ride back to Taipei was incredible! -- I decided to head back to Taipei to recuperate some and greet Rosanne, who is visiting tonight from HK for 4 days. I don't mean to rub it in but ... yeah ... I'm taking holiday from my holiday.
How incredible? Click on the title to see the provider Ubus. Here's my take:
This is an adjustable leather massage chair. There are about 15-17 of them on this huge bus. The lower deck is for luggage and bathroom, which can be entered from inside the bus.Other Amenities: AV station with VOD movies from Hollywood, China, Japan, Korea, video gaming, and more; Some GPS thing; Wet towel and water; Newspaper and Magazines.
You can bring you own champagne or whatever to max out the expereince.
The ride took 5 hours in medium rain and had about 4 stops at major cities. Cost: 710NT. Question: Where can we export this thing? China? China? or China? Maybe not, with the oil tax and the new railways. Or maybe yes, with all the new highways and a steepening propensity to try news things. Not to mention the lingering curiousity of how a “华人“ is different from, well, a “中国人”. Well, it's good bus; driving is tiring; and, quite simply, China's big, and big.
My email is in my profiles page.
宝岛就是宝岛。
Monday, May 29, 2006
一夜一市
一夜一市-- 婪牛做事厂
玩家囊中馅，
老板心中愿。
夜市打烊前，
超级变变变！
The axes of Evil: credit, Tainan food, alcohol, and, majeong ... woosaa
Game TV
A TV station broadcasting computer game matches -- I wonder how much potential there is in this? I bet alot. If you knew the demongraphics of today's China, maybe you'd be inclined to agree. Games, are they anything more than games? Can playing computer games spawn an economy as big as making them? Europeans play soccer. Americans play poker. Japanese play Pachinko. Chinese play ... Starcraft? Sounds like a very efficient business. We all have television. Plenty of volunteers in China to start and maintain this thing. Not to mention sponsors. It's already happening.
I used to be a just a curious casual player but the commentators (kids now in their 20s, clearly got the oratory skills) this incredible network kept me watching a few starcraft games for the last 2 hours. Watching this on pplive while writing blog in a net cafe is an enjoyment that stimulates senses in the new frontier. Dear Mary Magdalene, what's next? If only I had routed some cash to my discount broker before I left, then in 10 hours I can be in the same place trading equities and commodities around the clock in tandem... Or it that toooo much? Internet is the invention of inventions!
Watch out the rest of the world -- the red army is coming!!! How fast and how forceful?
Just a thought in today's 2nd hour. Back to hotel.
I used to be a just a curious casual player but the commentators (kids now in their 20s, clearly got the oratory skills) this incredible network kept me watching a few starcraft games for the last 2 hours. Watching this on pplive while writing blog in a net cafe is an enjoyment that stimulates senses in the new frontier. Dear Mary Magdalene, what's next? If only I had routed some cash to my discount broker before I left, then in 10 hours I can be in the same place trading equities and commodities around the clock in tandem... Or it that toooo much? Internet is the invention of inventions!
Watch out the rest of the world -- the red army is coming!!! How fast and how forceful?
Just a thought in today's 2nd hour. Back to hotel.
假豹谋逮聚着，18667 (一爬溜溜ぎ)，到了高雄。 Signing in Kao-Hsiung
像瘪三一样，拉着有潮气衣服，头上一根烟，嘴里再一根，从新掘江兜到在六合夜市。途中买了小份的“香豆腐”（30NT），一斤荔枝（80NT，是季节）和一碗爱玉冰（15NT）。夜市大同小异，再说有些倦，没仔细看就先附近落了户。600 NT。好鬼dai2！这里算是市中心。差不多在南方新掘江和北面火车站中间。
出来逛逛，看到网吧先进来把白天被 Google 吃掉的字补回。发现已经有50多位朋友看过新 Blog，亦是欢喜。今天周日，朋友们早些休息，明天頑張って！
Sunday, May 28, 2006
Tainan， 不太难。高雄，高密度雄激素。
Conventional Wisdom
-- 懒牛做事厂
去香港，小心累死；
去上海，小心气死；
去东京，小心迷死；
来台南这地方，小心吃撑死！
I like Tainan. No. I love it. Take yesterday for example: In the morning I took 30 mins exploring the trains stn and vicinity. I learnt that I can deposit my backpack for only 17 NT (New Taiwan Dollar, 1 USD ~=33 TWD. I like the abbr NT). Hours are 8 to 8. Then I checked out all the local buses: Amazing! These Greyhound (North American) / 大巴（中国）sized buses seat but only 17 people, in 17 sofas (some of the companies use leather massage sofas) .... and, personal LCDTV with a wide range of channels ("wide" is my imagination but I bet it's true). The best part - swallow this - a 4.5 hr non-stop bus ride on this mammoth sofa to Taipei costs 600 NT (20 bucks, 145 HKD, 150 RMB). I was interested in the 45 mins due south sister city Kao-hsiung (高雄) -- 135 NT, runs every 40 mins around the clock. Kul! No problems. On I go with breakfast at a nearby bakery called 85C (Is this a special temperature for bread?) . The bread here was more to my liking than those in Tokyo, and definitely better than HK. No wonder the Taiwanese are taking over the bakery scene in Shanghai (Interested parties: this is a good business with enormous potential. Shanghaiese want more bread and are buying more pastries; yet 99% haven't tasted bagel nor baguette. Another story has to do with sugary stuff but I'll save it for another day.) 85C was also a mid-high end, clean , well managed, Japanese style service (This means treated-like-royalty for those who haven't had the chance to visit the Rising Sun). Price? about 30 NT for something creative, tasty, and filling. Clearly culture is a big factor in business. Trade the hardware at the right price, then use software to upsize flow. I spend an hour here on the bakery sidewalk patio reading Business Weekly Taiwan Edition (got some inspiration here for a different blog), and watching the locals eat their bread, drink their tea, do their thing, put on their helmet, then vroom off on their scooter. It's a bug's life here. People are friendly but unpretentious. Like.
I digress. Complete the picture: I put my bag in the station. Convinced there are motels everywhere. Conclusion: Travelling on this island, planning ahead is suboptimal. Was hot so I went to this cafe to create my blog, carrying with me only a travel waist-pouch.
S
ix hours later, after too many movies (legally obtained, of course) and too much typing, and way too much tea, (btw I spent about 200NT here), I reluctantly left the cybercafe, yawning. Heading for Wusheng Night Market (武盛夜市), I was feeling a bit drowsy, so stopby this motel and asked for a room. Only 10pm, I could not haggle up to far their pants. On I go.I kind know where Wusheng is, but in Taiwan -- the friendly place it is -- I had gotten into the habit of asking directions whenever I had half a shadow of doubt. Three girls on 2 scooters were very helpful: "我们也正好去武盛，那你现在就要去吗？“ I rode of the back of a scooter for the next 3-4 blocks, feeling good about myself. I thanked them again for their kindness after hopping of at the entrance of Wusheng.
Feeling hungry, I spotted my first hunt of the night. A place called 古味豆花 (beancurd store) on a mainstreet just outside the nightmarket. It was good. Let me to elaborate. The most famous 豆花 in Tainan is 安平豆花 in 安平区 to the west of the train, closeby was where I had the incredible 周式虾卷 (interested parties: ten ten ten) -- It was so incredible that I ordered a second serving immediately after my first bite (I'm not ditsy-- the store was about to close). I'm going back there for the rest of their menu... Back to 豆花. I may be generalizing from but one experience, but the beencurb here in Tainan has a texture much to my liking. How so? It's slippery, soft, and doesn't break easily. The exterior is tough but very thin. Incredible! The stuff we buy in Shanghai and Ottawa were very fragile; one had to steam/boil it some to make it tougher. But this thickens the skin and changes the texture inside as well.
凄い！素敵！微妙！本とに美味しいかった！
After the beencurd I bought some wet knapkins from 7-11 (39NT for a 10入-2-pack, JnJ, quite a bit cheaper than HK), and heading to where the noise was.
I've got 3 interjections here:
Firstly, this trip was brought to me by 2 great inventions: the wet knapkin, and the disposible underwear. These 2 products both fit into my little pouch and are light enough to be almost unnoticeable. Yet the untility...! The latter can be in paper or cotton form. I highly encourage export/importers to expand this market. Travellers far and wide would benefit. Especailly ther paper underwear, it's just a knapkin for your bottom, friendly enough for the environment.
Secondly, Tainan is small. A 2.5km radius covers bulk of the city. Guys from back home Canada: this is but a stroll in some park -- Not even enough space for me to warm up on my blades before I start my backflip and triple axle routine (obviously I'm kidding). Well, it was good for me that Tainan was small. I was able to cover much ground as a relaxed pedestrian.
Lastly, 3 markets? 4?
Ok. End of Interjections.
Food. mJ. Food. Mj. KTV. Motel.
, brief passage through 台中 and 嘉义, and arrival in 台南.
List and pictures of food are also coming..... Ciao!
}
damn it i just lost about 2000 words on some stupid script error in blogger. plz fix this!!!
Saturday, May 27, 2006
Taipei to Tainan, 宝岛之旅，始め！
あんた、どんな様？
-- 览牛做事厂
也许有获者，
或者也许多 …
此者何其人，
"华人"，是也！
Alas! 'Tas been almost 2 weeks since I arrived in Taiwan, the first leg of my "Asian Invasion".
Recent days were a unique experience for me. I haven't been more relaxed and unpremeditated for a long time -- perhaps a long long time. The Plan, is to backpack my way across the Asia Pacific for the next couple of years. The Precursor, was my putting a pause on a career in the financial industry. I'll save a proper preface for another day, because at the moment, I've got another eye and half a mind on another application playing Bruce Li's Classic Fury of the Dragon (猛龙过江), in this all but too common Cybercafe in Tainan, the former mecca-city in southern Taiwan -- now still a centre of commerce, culture and magnet for travellers like myself.
Enough purple dialogue ...
My god! It's already my fifth hour in this cafe today. Tainan mosquitos and today's 30C temperature are keeping me indoors, until night markets open in Hai'an Street (海安路).
Tautology Number Zero:
I left HK for Taipei on May 16th, 2006, and met up with Chan-san, my buddy in Taipei. Thankfully, he and his family are my kind hosts.
Week 1:
Time Modifier: May 16 - May 22
Place: Taipei and abouts
What I did: Slept alot. Browsed night markets. Early hour scotch (Ballantine) with Chan-san, over food from 通化街 and Soul Calibur match on PS2 -- felt good!
And... Touristy stuff.
Taipei 101: Modern, Pricey. Very. In case you didn't know, it's (was?) the tallest building in Asia with, yes, 101 floors under the pointy roof. I had a good time here looking at prices, enjoying friendly service, and marvelling the archetecture; but this place doesn't really have much merchandise I can't see everywhere in HK, if not Tokyo. Well, here are banks, investment banks, gourmet, showrooms (Bose, Sony), you name it. But, I learnt later from Chan-san that a little food stand (not restaurant in any right) in the night market (通化夜市) whereabouts he lives on that sells 米粉 (Taiwan styled Vermecelli) has an offspring branch in this building. Interesting ... [ntspic]
故宫博物馆： 昔日与女友访台时慕名而去，可惜未有福一览，原因是当时维修。这次，笔人虽有幸入馆，但看到的多数锅碗瓢盆类，并没有如愿我赏画之心。 原来，只开放了部分展览。离去时得知失望的非我一人。车换车来时花了小许久，只有门前香肠对付一下，没看到画，就别去了，亦是有所不爽。微笑着的前柜姐姐告诉我：“过几天就会有的，不好意思！”。听后感觉 ~okay。。。回港前再来过，是対です！问别去哪里? -- 预算当晚与詹餐聚西门町，那还不去西门町的邻居--龙山寺。 [ntspic]
龙山寺： 这里是江湖，有吃（没试），有卖（一般便宜），有蛇，有龟，有按摩（咸淡柬有）。我一身虽低调但哪里逃得过噢卡桑法眼，谢绝后向西门町步去。
西门町：好友詹子庆这里上班。他就是 Chan-san。为甚么我这样称呼他？原来詹是女友一年前留学日本的同学，我等三人当时居东京，是促进日文学习，是入乡随俗，还是自然而然的这样称呼对方？--“O-san, Yo-san, Chan-san" 均为王，杨，詹；我，女友 Rosanne Yeung，和子庆三人。
My Budda!! Make that the 6th hour. Save some for tomorrow. Off to the night market.
再说回西门町。 Shinjuku, Shibuya, Harajuku -- this place has got genes from all 3. I could go on for hours about this joint for the young and fresh 'cause there's just too much here. Next time you're in Taipei, this is a must see. Moving on.
永和市，永和豆浆：小地方。本来我想去看看怎么回事。赫赫有名的永和豆浆是这里诞生的。台北附近的小城市，地铁可到。卖豆浆的 5pm to 12am，我去早了。
基隆市：比永和好玩。101号巴士从火车站接我去了和平岛。岛上有沙滩，岩石，小山。可以钓鱼，抓小螃蟹，玩碰碰船等。海景不错 (photo on right)。 找了块躺椅型的岩石，拿出 Ipod，睡了一会儿。天没黑就会了台北，因为当晚有K-聚。
钱柜，台北卡拉OK：上海的朋友们，无论你去钱柜还是好乐迪，收钱的都是台湾人。但是我们可以骄傲的是：上海的 KTV 比台北的好。歌多，设备先进，点歌方便，超市经营，现在有多了超好的服务。台湾的朋友：但是他们要排队，有时排得很厉害 -- 10 个人在侯 K 区打扑克。
夜市 (Night Markets) ：What are they you ask? They're stores, stands, and the like getting together to form an off-hour trading floor -- typically 7pm-1am. Merchandise? From food to underwear, to ...... other stuff. I go almost every night. Got my Nike sandles in 通化夜市, downstairs where Chan-san lives -- preparation for wetter weather in higher ground the next week.
Week 2:
May 23
Pickout 6-7 pounds of most useful gear and caught the 9am train from Taipei to Chia-i (嘉义). Plan was to catch the 13:30 twice-a-day train up to Alishan (阿里山). This train, amazingly enough, traverses through trees and rocks up this 2000+ metre mountain. It was built originally by the Japanese to help harvest wood here. How uncomfortable was it? I don't know. Because I found a driver with a van. The train was void of seats when I arrived at Chia-yi station at 12:45. I bought a sweat shirt nearby (don't do this when you go, because you can buy it cheaper on the mountain). There were 6+driver in the van. I was the only loner. Up we went.
It took 2.x hours, inclusive of Mr. Xu, driver of the Volkswagen 10-seater, stopping for diesel, stopping for a spare tire, a teapee break, and his lunch break (bread only).
Actually I had already booked a 600NT room (a 6-share) at the youth hostel one stop from the top (二万里). But since Mr. Xu gave me a deal on a 800NT room on Alishan stop, plus the Youth Hostel was "privatized" and tried to sell me a 1600NT room, then tried to cheat me of my deserved free breakfast when I specifically asked for their cheapest room.
Turns out I made the right choice. It was a little town up there. More like a resort. Well organized. I took a little hike while most others (notably those who came in tour buses) where taken to restaurants with some light entertainment from local Alishan women. If you're Chinese you could imagine this: “大家这边看，这位就是我们阿里山的姑娘！” No trip to Alishan would be self-respecting without fulfulling the need to turn lyrics from the song into some sort of reality. Espcially since it costs 120,000NT for each Mainlander to visit Taiwan. They can come in only groups of 10, so far. I, too, I admit, knew Alishan only from this song before this day.
“高山青，澗水藍。阿里山的姑娘美如水，阿里山的 少年壯如山。。。”
Tautology Number One:
Here, of course, few cared to see the that "youth, strong and stout like the mountain".
May 24
Hours of sleep: 11pm-3am.
Train to Zhu Shan (祝山): 4:30 - 5am. This is a convenient spot for viewing the famous sunrise.
Estimated time of sunrise: 5:20am
Actual time of sunrise: #N/A -- Everyone was disappointed.
I made a couple of friends on this leg. Lucent from Bay Area and Angie from Taipei.
To Lucent from Cisco:
Sorry Lucent =P I guess you're used to it but I've always wanted to make that joke. I'm waiting for that picture you took of me. And, after we parted, I hiked down the mountain with a retired English AstraZeneca chemist. Then I tried to sleep a bit before going back to Chia-i with Mr. Xu. Then I got woken up by Mr. Xu with a message that the family who hired his van no longer want to go to Chia-i, but back up north through the mountains and enjoy Nantou County (南投县). That's when I met the Yan's, and began my tree-hugging, nature loving, oh-way-too-much H2O two-day escapade in the mountains, where grounds covered included 东浦温泉, 彩虹瀑布, 水里, 溪头森林(!!!), 日月潭.
Left: 彩虹瀑布
Right: 大学池, 溪头森林
More Photos: ethan.fotopic.net/c976358.html
I hope you made it to Tainan safe and sound, and had as much fun in Tainan as I did. Give me a call if you're still in Taiwan (0930140246). If not, best regards, and we shall try that sunrise again another morning -- another mountain?
Sun Moon Lake to Tai'chung (台中) was our last ride together. I thanked and goodbyed the Yans at their hotel in Tai'chung, where a near relative was to be married the next day.
Mr. Xu has both property in Chia-i and on Alishan. That night he was to live in Chia-i. Perfect. This connected me to the western rail tracks real quick. I got on a train (电车, 非自强号火车) to Tainan and quickly shopped for lodging.
Rest is what I need for the next day my gastric forces need to battle Tainan food ...
-- 览牛做事厂
也许有获者，
或者也许多 …
此者何其人，
"华人"，是也！
Alas! 'Tas been almost 2 weeks since I arrived in Taiwan, the first leg of my "Asian Invasion".
Recent days were a unique experience for me. I haven't been more relaxed and unpremeditated for a long time -- perhaps a long long time. The Plan, is to backpack my way across the Asia Pacific for the next couple of years. The Precursor, was my putting a pause on a career in the financial industry. I'll save a proper preface for another day, because at the moment, I've got another eye and half a mind on another application playing Bruce Li's Classic Fury of the Dragon (猛龙过江), in this all but too common Cybercafe in Tainan, the former mecca-city in southern Taiwan -- now still a centre of commerce, culture and magnet for travellers like myself.
Enough purple dialogue ...
My god! It's already my fifth hour in this cafe today. Tainan mosquitos and today's 30C temperature are keeping me indoors, until night markets open in Hai'an Street (海安路).
Tautology Number Zero:
I left HK for Taipei on May 16th, 2006, and met up with Chan-san, my buddy in Taipei. Thankfully, he and his family are my kind hosts.
Week 1:
Time Modifier: May 16 - May 22
Place: Taipei and abouts
What I did: Slept alot. Browsed night markets. Early hour scotch (Ballantine) with Chan-san, over food from 通化街 and Soul Calibur match on PS2 -- felt good!
And... Touristy stuff.
Taipei 101: Modern, Pricey. Very. In case you didn't know, it's (was?) the tallest building in Asia with, yes, 101 floors under the pointy roof. I had a good time here looking at prices, enjoying friendly service, and marvelling the archetecture; but this place doesn't really have much merchandise I can't see everywhere in HK, if not Tokyo. Well, here are banks, investment banks, gourmet, showrooms (Bose, Sony), you name it. But, I learnt later from Chan-san that a little food stand (not restaurant in any right) in the night market (通化夜市) whereabouts he lives on that sells 米粉 (Taiwan styled Vermecelli) has an offspring branch in this building. Interesting ... [ntspic]
故宫博物馆： 昔日与女友访台时慕名而去，可惜未有福一览，原因是当时维修。这次，笔人虽有幸入馆，但看到的多数锅碗瓢盆类，并没有如愿我赏画之心。 原来，只开放了部分展览。离去时得知失望的非我一人。车换车来时花了小许久，只有门前香肠对付一下，没看到画，就别去了，亦是有所不爽。微笑着的前柜姐姐告诉我：“过几天就会有的，不好意思！”。听后感觉 ~okay。。。回港前再来过，是対です！问别去哪里? -- 预算当晚与詹餐聚西门町，那还不去西门町的邻居--龙山寺。 [ntspic]
龙山寺： 这里是江湖，有吃（没试），有卖（一般便宜），有蛇，有龟，有按摩（咸淡柬有）。我一身虽低调但哪里逃得过噢卡桑法眼，谢绝后向西门町步去。
西门町：好友詹子庆这里上班。他就是 Chan-san。为甚么我这样称呼他？原来詹是女友一年前留学日本的同学，我等三人当时居东京，是促进日文学习，是入乡随俗，还是自然而然的这样称呼对方？--“O-san, Yo-san, Chan-san" 均为王，杨，詹；我，女友 Rosanne Yeung，和子庆三人。
My Budda!! Make that the 6th hour. Save some for tomorrow. Off to the night market.
再说回西门町。 Shinjuku, Shibuya, Harajuku -- this place has got genes from all 3. I could go on for hours about this joint for the young and fresh 'cause there's just too much here. Next time you're in Taipei, this is a must see. Moving on.
永和市，永和豆浆：小地方。本来我想去看看怎么回事。赫赫有名的永和豆浆是这里诞生的。台北附近的小城市，地铁可到。卖豆浆的 5pm to 12am，我去早了。
基隆市：比永和好玩。101号巴士从火车站接我去了和平岛。岛上有沙滩，岩石，小山。可以钓鱼，抓小螃蟹，玩碰碰船等。海景不错 (photo on right)。 找了块躺椅型的岩石，拿出 Ipod，睡了一会儿。天没黑就会了台北，因为当晚有K-聚。
钱柜，台北卡拉OK：上海的朋友们，无论你去钱柜还是好乐迪，收钱的都是台湾人。但是我们可以骄傲的是：上海的 KTV 比台北的好。歌多，设备先进，点歌方便，超市经营，现在有多了超好的服务。台湾的朋友：但是他们要排队，有时排得很厉害 -- 10 个人在侯 K 区打扑克。
夜市 (Night Markets) ：What are they you ask? They're stores, stands, and the like getting together to form an off-hour trading floor -- typically 7pm-1am. Merchandise? From food to underwear, to ...... other stuff. I go almost every night. Got my Nike sandles in 通化夜市, downstairs where Chan-san lives -- preparation for wetter weather in higher ground the next week.
Week 2:
May 23
Pickout 6-7 pounds of most useful gear and caught the 9am train from Taipei to Chia-i (嘉义). Plan was to catch the 13:30 twice-a-day train up to Alishan (阿里山). This train, amazingly enough, traverses through trees and rocks up this 2000+ metre mountain. It was built originally by the Japanese to help harvest wood here. How uncomfortable was it? I don't know. Because I found a driver with a van. The train was void of seats when I arrived at Chia-yi station at 12:45. I bought a sweat shirt nearby (don't do this when you go, because you can buy it cheaper on the mountain). There were 6+driver in the van. I was the only loner. Up we went.
It took 2.x hours, inclusive of Mr. Xu, driver of the Volkswagen 10-seater, stopping for diesel, stopping for a spare tire, a teapee break, and his lunch break (bread only).
Actually I had already booked a 600NT room (a 6-share) at the youth hostel one stop from the top (二万里). But since Mr. Xu gave me a deal on a 800NT room on Alishan stop, plus the Youth Hostel was "privatized" and tried to sell me a 1600NT room, then tried to cheat me of my deserved free breakfast when I specifically asked for their cheapest room.
Turns out I made the right choice. It was a little town up there. More like a resort. Well organized. I took a little hike while most others (notably those who came in tour buses) where taken to restaurants with some light entertainment from local Alishan women. If you're Chinese you could imagine this: “大家这边看，这位就是我们阿里山的姑娘！” No trip to Alishan would be self-respecting without fulfulling the need to turn lyrics from the song into some sort of reality. Espcially since it costs 120,000NT for each Mainlander to visit Taiwan. They can come in only groups of 10, so far. I, too, I admit, knew Alishan only from this song before this day.
“高山青，澗水藍。阿里山的姑娘美如水，阿里山的 少年壯如山。。。”
Tautology Number One:
Here, of course, few cared to see the that "youth, strong and stout like the mountain".
May 24
Hours of sleep: 11pm-3am.
Train to Zhu Shan (祝山): 4:30 - 5am. This is a convenient spot for viewing the famous sunrise.
Estimated time of sunrise: 5:20am
Actual time of sunrise: #N/A -- Everyone was disappointed.
I made a couple of friends on this leg. Lucent from Bay Area and Angie from Taipei.
To Lucent from Cisco:
Sorry Lucent =P I guess you're used to it but I've always wanted to make that joke. I'm waiting for that picture you took of me. And, after we parted, I hiked down the mountain with a retired English AstraZeneca chemist. Then I tried to sleep a bit before going back to Chia-i with Mr. Xu. Then I got woken up by Mr. Xu with a message that the family who hired his van no longer want to go to Chia-i, but back up north through the mountains and enjoy Nantou County (南投县). That's when I met the Yan's, and began my tree-hugging, nature loving, oh-way-too-much H2O two-day escapade in the mountains, where grounds covered included 东浦温泉, 彩虹瀑布, 水里, 溪头森林(!!!), 日月潭.
Left: 彩虹瀑布
Right: 大学池, 溪头森林
More Photos: ethan.fotopic.net/c976358.html
I hope you made it to Tainan safe and sound, and had as much fun in Tainan as I did. Give me a call if you're still in Taiwan (0930140246). If not, best regards, and we shall try that sunrise again another morning -- another mountain?
Sun Moon Lake to Tai'chung (台中) was our last ride together. I thanked and goodbyed the Yans at their hotel in Tai'chung, where a near relative was to be married the next day.
Mr. Xu has both property in Chia-i and on Alishan. That night he was to live in Chia-i. Perfect. This connected me to the western rail tracks real quick. I got on a train (电车, 非自强号火车) to Tainan and quickly shopped for lodging.
Rest is what I need for the next day my gastric forces need to battle Tainan food ...
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