Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas here in Taiwan. Especially in Taipei. It's wonderful. There are lights and holiday decorations everywhere. It's hard not to start feeling jolly with so much holiday spirit.

Last week, Rooney and I ventured to Taipei for lunch and to see something worth seeing. Lunch was good and American - Gordon Biersch. It was delicious and it is at the City Hall stop on the MRT. There were Christmas decorations everywhere! It was great. And right outside there was a HUGE Christmas tree that you could take pictures in. It was awesome. There was also a game to play, so we did. We thought we were playing against each other and so sabotaged ourselves rather than working together. Haha.

After lunch we went to the Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall. Originally we had planned on going to the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial but it was much further away from our lunch stop.

Yellow scarf was the art director

changing of the guards

hahaha

101 and kites

sys mh

The Sun Yat Sen MH is huge. I didn't realize it would be so big but it is filled with art galleries and historical galleries. It was pretty cool. And the grounds were awesome. There is a lake, lots of gardens, and some awesome views of Taipei 101.

When we arrived at the hall, the changing of the guards had just started. It was pretty cool to see. He was the first president of the ROC and influential in the revolution. The three branches of military take turns guarding his statue that sits in the entrance hall of the memorial. After we had walked around outside, we saw a little boy doing that guard's routine. It was adorable. He was so focused and serious.

Outside there were some old men flying kites. They were so high. It was really cool! We stopped and talked to them for a couple minutes asking who's kite was who's. They were such cute old men. Haha.

But the best part of the day was when we asked a fellow picture taker to take a picture of us in front of Taipei 101. So she took one and then we thanked her. She insisted on taking another one. So we obliged and then thanked her. And then she started directing a photo shoot that ended with a picture of Rooney and I sitting back to back, arms crossed across each other, and symmetrical legs. It was hilarious. I was dying. The pictures are actually cute, but it was something else. I truly felt like I was on some set and she was the art director. She was having people move things, telling us where to put our hands and feet, etc. Hahaha.

Danshui

On Sunday, a group of us went to Longshan Temple and Danshui. It was Ting, Rooney, Cristelle, Alex and myself. Ting wanted to take us to Danshui and then added the temple in as well. It was kind of on the way - in Taipei. 

Longshan Temple is really cool. It is a huge temple in the middle of the city but it is a gathering place for many different types of people. As soon as you come up from the MRT there are swarms of people. Old men playing some sort of game, old women standing around talking, vendors, homeless people, tourists, people coming to pray, monks, and more. In short, it is a great place for people walking. 

When you enter the gates of the temple, there is a pretty good sized waterfall. It was cool. And the temple itself is gigantic. Ting walked around with me and told me all sorts of interesting things about the temple. There are always tables that are loaded with food that the people bring to give to their ancestors. But she told us that when the person leaves, they take the food with them so it is always food that the person wants to eat themselves. Haha. Needless to say there was a lot of fruit and cookies. 

After the temple, we walked around the surrounding area. It was a big day market that sold loads of food and other things - some normal, some weird. At one point, a homeless guy came up to Rooney and started talking to him (in Chinese of course). Then he started doing KungFu and we thought there was going to be an altercation. And then it turned into a dance off. Haha. It was hilarious. We were snapping pictures and thanking the Lord it wasn't us who were forced into the competition. 

After the temple area we hopped on the MRT and headed to Danshui. It is a little port town that is no longer a port but still has a lot of the charm. It was so crowded. The weather was wonderful and it's right on the coast so it's a perfect spot for sunset. We ate "linner" at a Mexican restaurant. It was DELICIOUS. So good. I had a burrito and we had a pitcher of margaritas. It was great! We were all very happy.

As we walked back along the water, there were so many games and so much food. It was like a carnival. There were all sorts of shooting games. Rooney tried his hand at one and to the surprise of us all, except maybe himself, he excelled. He won a toy which he then gave to some passing child. Haha. But he had a lot of fun doing it.

When we made it back to Taipei we decided to walk around the Shilin night market. It is one of the biggest and after walking around it I'm not surprised. It is huge. You can find everything there. And then you can find it all again. It is crazy all the things they sell there. We tried on a lot of crazy clothes and accessories. It was a good laugh. 

Alex, Rooney, Cristelle, Ting, Me @ Longshan Temple

Enjoying the Margs!

Sunset in Danshui

Rooney's dance battle

Longshan Temple

Praying

The offerings

Lights and Candles

Sunset

It was a great Sunday! And it was nice to have some company for once! 

Yehliu

On Sunday I headed out to Yehliu Geopark. It was a success.

I went alone, as many as my Sundays turn out. I wasn't thrilled about that but it ended up being okay. The park is a bus ride to Taipei and then a bus ride from there. I was pretty convinced that I was going the wrong way and was going to end up somewhere totally different. But with the help of a few different, very amiable Taiwanese people, I made it.

The town of Yehliu is great. It is a little fishing town with a cool harbor and all the shops sell fresh fish and ocean things. It as nice to walk around and be by the ocean. I didn't realize how much I miss it! I took a couple wrong ways trying to get to the park but eventually found it.

It is really awesome. It is on the north east coast and made of sand stone. Because of the roaring wind that whips through there, the rock has been transformed into crazy shapes - mushrooms, turrets, and even one that looks like Nefertiti bust. It's pretty cool. It was swarmed with people, but I managed to wander around long enough to find a place where there were fewer people. I plopped down on a rock right on the ocean and watched the fishermen and people walking by. It was really peaceful and so nice.

The place is really cool. It's a trek getting out there but I thought it was worth it.

Thanksgiving

So, this being my second Thanksgiving away from home, I consider myself a vet. This Thanksgiving was both similar and different to my Czech one.

The Menu

Rooney and Ting! 

The food. 

A few days before, Rooney and I found a restaurant that was serving Thanksgiving dinner - turkey and all. After (very) briefly entertaining the idea of having everyone over to our house to eat, we decided that going to the restaurant and letting them deal with all the clean up was a much better idea. So we rounded up the troops and got everyone excited for dinner!

Thursday day, a small group of us went to the park and played football. It's not really Thanksgiving without some sort of physical activity/competition. It was a fun game and the weather couldn't have been nicer. It was nicer here than it was at home.

Dinner was great! We all headed over there after work and were treated to a huge meal! We had turkey, vegetables, salad, soup, mashed potatoes, stuffing (but it was weird), and pumpkin pie. We all ate way too much, but again, what's Thanksgiving if not a time to eat yourself sick!?

All in all it was a great Thanksgiving. The only thing it was missing was my family! But I got to skype them, so that made it a little better!

Happenings

Here are just some happenings in the day to day of life in Taiwan. 

Last Tuesday, Rooney and I went to the batting cages right by our house. It was really fun. We bought the least amount of tokens and quickly decided that wasn't going to be enough. All of the bats were way to big for me but I hit my fair share of home runs. At the batting cages they also had a lot of arcade games and stuff. We played a couple including basketball (which I failed miserably at), bowling (which I won, best two out of three), a freaky throwing game, and Rooney did a 'how hard can you punch game'. After that, I decided I wouldn't take Rooney on in a fight - he got the highest score on the machine, ever. 

Wednesday, we went into Taipei for the art exhibit by Ai Weiwei. It was really interesting. He does a lot of really freaky stuff, but some really cool stuff too. In the entrance hall of the museum where his exhibit is housed, he has an installment. It is all the heads of the different Chinese Zodiac animals. It was pretty cool! I couldn't remember what animal I was but later found out I am a dragon - super bad ass, and the envy of Rooney who is a rat. Haha. But we both agreed it could be worse, we could be a pig. 

After the museum, we walked around the area. It is right next to the place where they had the floral exhibit last year so there is some really cool stuff. We wandered around and took lots of pictures! 

 Friday, we went back to Taipei to go to the top of Taipei 101. It was pretty awesome. The people there warned us that the view wasn't very good because it wasn't clear. But we were both happy we went up. The view was still pretty amazing. The building is pretty awesome as well. 

Friday night, at 1130pm Rooney and I decided to go to see the newest Twilight movie at 1220am. We were supposed to go with a big group but that didn't end up working out and he was PANICKING that he wasn't going to get to see it. So we rushed out of the house in pajamas, sped over to Taimall and cursed everyone who slowed our elevator's ascent to the seventh floor. I thought Rooney was going to start taking people out on our sprint to the ticket line. I was laughing so hard. The movie turned out to be entertaining but there is no doubt, he was more excited to see it than I was. 

Sunday, we played ultimate football. That is ultimate frisbee rules with a football. It was pretty fun but a lot different than using a frisbee. Some of the boys also went over and challenged some Taiwanese guys to basketball, sure that they would obliterate them. Well, didn't really go as planned. The game was over in about six minutes - pride crushed. Haha. But it was funny to watch. 

Monday night brought the usual bowling games. Our team did amazing. We had the highest score of everyone again - by about one hundred pins - and so won the money. I did really great. I bowled a 148, not too shabby. The second game didn't go as well. My first frame I hit exactly 0 pins. Yes, that's a zero, not a large 'o'. Talk about a nightmare. I think I bowled more zeroes in that game than I have before. Somehow though, I ended up with a 115. Not terrible but not great. 

Tuesday Rooney tried to teach me how to shoot a basketball against my warnings. I'm trying to become adequate but I don't see that happening anytime soon. He's a pretty good teacher though. I made the most baskets I can remember making. And that is only about 10 in a 30minute window. Haha. Oh well. I'll stick to soccer and frisbee.

Tuesday night, Kay invited Rooney and I to go with her and some friends to KTV. It is a karaoke place but you get your own room so it's slightly less embarrassing. We had a lot o fun! But Kay tried to kill us. Rooney and I sang a couple smash hits including the Backstreet Boys, Taylor Swift, and Frank Sinatra. We also had a number of disaster songs. Haha. But all in all it was a pretty fun night! And Kay's daughter Vivian came so it was fun to hang out from her again (see Moon Festival). 

Lots of laughs. Lots of fun. Life is good.

The Taiwan Flower Garden

Vivian and Anna at KTV

KTV

Kay!

Doin' his thang.

Weiwei's Chinese Zodiac

Yangmingshan National Park

Another journal entry, another blog.

11/13/11

Today, I'm headed to YMS NP. I am really excited. I've wanted to go for a while but it never worked out until now. Rooney was going to come today but decided to sleep instead. Cristelle was also going to come but she is going to Taipei now with the other girls to see an art exhibit. I think I'll see that sometime this week. It's supposed to be great. But that means I'm flying solo today. I'm kind of happy about that though. I don't have much alone time so it's nice to recharge every once in a while. And what better place to do that then surrounded by beauty?

(Post visit)

So YMS NP is beautiful. Today was super foggy/misty so the views weren't great from the mountain. The whole bus ride up was gorgeous though, and you could see the mountain shrouded in mist. There were some awesome views of Taipei 101 too. 

I pretty much just wandered around. Got lost a bunch, but that's the best way to really see a place, I think! I went up and down and up and down tons of stairs - so many I lost count. Came across lots of flowers and "pavilions". Also found the waterfall that was "too far to walk to". And I'm really glad I made it there because it was awesome. There were multiple levels and so much water. There was also a bridge that crossed it at a middle level and it was great! I could have sat there all day. 

I took a little side path I found that pointed the way to Young Mountain. I'm not sure it was necessary but at least it was a great workout. In just that little section I climbed over 300 stairs. And the top was nothing. Just a clearing with a building. Haha. Sometimes you hit a home run and sometimes you miss. 

I made my way back to the bus stop and then pack to Taipei. More great shots of the metro area and Taipei 101. I decided to go to the base of 101, just to see it. The MRT was so crowded. It's easy to forget how crowded Asia really is until you're taking public transportation at rush hour - and it was a Sunday. 

It was a great day. I got my alone time and worked out. 

In other news:

Bowling league is still happening though my score has been slowly diminishing. Not terrible but not the uncharacteristic scores of the previous weeks. A few weeks ago, though we won the money for having the overall highest score for the night. Yeah buddy!

Rooney and I found an amazing movie theater. It serves you dinner, included in the price of the ticket, and you get a huge lazy boy recliner and a blanket. Definitely better than the theaters at home. And a fraction of the cost if you count the food!

My family is coming pretty soon and I can't wait! Only a little over a month! Woo! We're planning a tour of Taiwan! I just can't wait to not be forced to see their nostrils and have my dad keep blinding me with the white of his belly. The little things, you know?? 

The other night Rooney and I had Ting, our Taiwanese friend over for dinner. It was great! We cooked some dinner and she brought the dessert. But we ran out of rice and so she brought some of that too. We also learned that we really had no idea how to use our rice maker. Haha. But Ting taught us! She's great!