I've been tagged

So, I've been tagged by Jamie. (The rules....link your tagger and list these rules on your blog. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.)

Fact 1 - I love to read. I probably read 3 to 5 book a month, plus magazines. Mostly I read fiction and I love thrillers, mysteries, and historical fiction, but I'll read just about anything if it looks halfway interesting. How do I have so much time to read you ask? I don't watch much TV and I always carry a book when I travel to help pass the downtime while in transit.

Fact 2 - I hate ranch flavored anything and everything. Ranch dressing is the devil's work. I don't what it is about ranch, but even the smell of it turns my stomach. So many people love it, but I would rather eat dirt than anything ranch flavored.

Fact 3 - I think I should have been an architect. I can't draw worth a damn, but I love buildings and looking at how materials, textures, colors, light, and space interact to create different types of environments. I took a couple of architecture and landscape architecture classes in college and really enjoyed. If you ever look at my photo albums, you'll notice I don't take many pictures of people, but lots of pictures of buildings. Who knows, maybe I will become an architect one of these days...

Fact 4 - I have really stretchy skin on the back of my neck and head. Maybe it's normal (not like I go around pulling on the skin on people's necks) but I can pull the skin really far away from my scalp in certain places. If hope I don't get weird drooping back-of-neck rolls when I'm older.

Fact 5 - I have never understood the appeal of Seinfeld. One of the dumbest shows ever.

Fact 6 - I played the viola for 5 or so years when I was a kid and was a member of the Spokane Junior Orchestra. I can play the cello a little bit as well although it's been years since I've touched either so I would probably totally suck at it now.

Fact 7 - I think I have really nice ears.

I don't think I even know seven people with blogs so I won't be tagging anyone else, but hope you're enjoyed some random facts about me.

Selçuk

It's Sunday afternoon here in the small town of Selçuk, our base for touring the ruins of Ephesus, and it's hot. Must be in the 80's which is actually pretty nice unless you're walking around a lot and sweating. Good thing I brought my sunglasses and some sunscreen. We walked around Ephesus yesterday and it's an amazing site with ruins of old baths, the Library of Celsus, an old amphitheater, lots of temples and gates, and the marble road that runs through it all. I would have loved to see the city 1,500 years ago when it was all still standing. We also visited the Temple of Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, but today only a single column remains so it's not much to look at.

We also visited a little village outside Selçuk where they produce wine. I didn't try any of the wine at the wineries, but I did have some homemade wine with my lunch. Let's just say it had an interesting taste - not quite wine, not quite juice, definitely homemade. Along with my wine I had an eggplant pancake - mashed eggplant wrapped in homemade flatbread and cooked over a wood fire. Then it was off to buy some soaps and knitted slippers before heading back to the hotel.

Today we visited the site of the Seven Sleepers and in a couple of hours we'll be heading back to the airport to catch a flight back to Istanbul.

Istanbul

Have been in Istanbul since Monday and have to say that this a great place to visit. So far I have seen the Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace, the Underground Cistern, the Grand Bazaar, the Spice Market, the Mosque of Suleyman the Magnificent, and took a cruise up the Bosphorus. The mosques and old Ottoman buildings here are amazing, making Istanbul a must visit destination for anyone with an interest in history or architecture. Although it was raining a bit on Monday evening, the weather has been great ever since - sunny and warm. Perfect sightseeing weather.

Turkey is a Muslim country, but it's much more progressive than it's Middle Eastern counterparts. Women are not required a wear a head scarf, although some do, and many restaurants serve alcohol. I have noticed that women are more modestly dressed in public - not a lot of exposed legs, arms, or cleavage - but that seems to be a matter of personal choice. The vast majority of people here look similar, dark hair and eyes with slightly tanned skin, although some people look more European and other more Middle Eastern in terms of their facial features (mostly the nose really).

This afternoon I'll be catching a plane down to Izmir and heading out to Ephesus, sight of a many old Roman ruins, then coming back to Istanbul on Sunday to finish out my trip before returning to the US on Tuesday.

'Nawlins, Part 2

Not feeling like a want to type too much right now, so here are some pictures from my trip. First pic is the signboard outside the House of Blues, second is Jackson Square in the French Quarter, third is some random statue I came across, and fourth is Aleesha (college friend) and Derek (her co-worker) as we were leaving Pat O'Brien's.

'Nawlins

Having a great time in New Orleans. Staying in the French Quarter which is touristy, but I gotta say, I love the old brick buildings and all the balconies. I totally want a NO style house - all window and balconies and courtyards. Went to Audubon Park yesterday, it's like NO's Central Park. Then made the mistake of walking back to the French Quarter which was about a 3 hour walk back along Magazine Street. Great area for shops and restaurants if you are ever down here.

Turns out one of my friends from college lives down here, working for Lockheed, so I met up with her and her frends tonight and hit the local hangouts. So much fun. I don't know if I could ever live here, but it's a great place to visit if you like food and live music. Damn never every place has live music every night which is so great. You must go to Pat O'Brien's if you are in NO. Two copper plated pianos, a great staff, and a huge music selection. Not to be missed. Other suggestions:

• Red Fish Grill - touristy restaurant in the FQ, but good food. The hickory smoked red fish with crab is fantastic and the bread pudding is something else. It's so rich, one is enough for a couple of people to share.
• Coop's Place - dive bar a block from the vendor at the French market. The kitchen is in the courtyard and you can watch the employee's smoke and play cards while they cook. Awesome. They have rabbit jambalaya.
• Pat O'Brien's - just off Bourbon Street. A must if you are in town.
• Lafitte's - possibly the oldest bar in the US. They don't have electricity inside, just candles.
• DBA - neat local bar just past the French Quarter. Lots of local bars in this area.

More to come...

PDX Airport

Arrived at the airport about 6 am this morning and am now sitting at the gate waiting for my flight to New Orleans. Getting up at 4:30 am to head to the airport is not my idea of a fun Sunday, but what can you do? Unfortunately there are no direct flights from Portland to New Orleans so I have to connect in Denver and won't arrive in the Big Easy until around 5 tonight. And then I'll probably end up eating and heading straight to bed since I'm super tired from 2 nights of going out. A whole day wasted. But at least I'll have the rest of the week to explore the French Quarter and see what New Orleans has to offer.

Quick Update

After a long hiatus, here's a quick update on what I've been up to:

• Finally got everything set up in my new place in SW Portland. Not totally loving the location, but it's an nice roomy place and I finally have a deck.
• Heading to New Orleans on the 19th for a week long conference. The topic is stock plans so it'll be pretty dry, but I'm excited to visit New Orleans for the first time. I'll be staying at the W in the French Quarter which will be great.
• Heading to Turkey on the 26th for a week and a half. Will be spending most of my time in Istanbul, but hopefully also a couple of days somewhere on the coast.
• Going to Mazatlan in early December for a week of vacation. Will be a great time of year to get out of rainy Portland.

Vegas baby!

So I haven't finished unpacking my boxes yet even though I've been in my place for month and I don't have that much stuff, but I did find time to head to Vegas last weekend with a couple girlfriends from Portland. We stayed at Treasure Island which was perfect location - right next to the shopping mall and close to the Wynn and Venetian. The Wynn was gorgeous, would have loved to stay there, but sadly I don't have an extra $400 a night lying around for a hotel room.

We didn't do much Thursday night after we arrived, but Saturday we had tickets to see the Cirque du Soleil show Ka and it was awesome. So incredible with the sets and choreography and music and everything else. I think my favorite part was the shadow puppets - who comes up with this stuff? And of course we hit some clubs while we were there as well. Jet at the Mirage on Friday and Tao at the Venetian on Saturday. Tao has a great restaurant and a even better club including a rooftop area that would have been the perfect place to be if it wasn't for the heat. Anyhow it was a fun trip and next time I want to see O.

Lair Hill

It's a hot and sweaty Saturday in Portland and I just signed a lease on a new apartment. I'll be renting the lower level of an old Victorian duplex in the Lair Hill neighborhood in SW. The neighborhood isn't quite as fun as NW was, but will be good to get to know a different part of town. The apartment has wood floors, high ceilings, some exposed brick, and a small backyard. Once I get settled and do some landscaping out back, I think it'll be a nice place. The only thing I don't like is the kitchen as it has ugly cupboards and an ugly sink. But maybe I can paint the cupboards...

I been back for just about 2 weeks but Taiwan already seems like so long ago. I'm not sure I like being back to "reality" but it'll have to do for now. Going to Seattle next weekend for 4th of July (and to get a haircut). Will be nice to be back in SEA, it's such a great city. Then heading to Vegas on the 24th with some girlfriends. Supposed to be over 100 degrees while we're there, what miserable weather. Will have to stay inside or stay by the pool, but should be fun.

Ready, Steady, Go!

Today's Taiwan fun fact: You can buy "hip-hop" flavored Doritos here.

Now that I've gotten that out of the way, today is my last day in Taipei and it's been a crazy last week. Lots of lunches, dinners, and get togethers with people I may not see again. But I also managed to get out and check out some more of what Taiwan has to offer including watching hippies dance in the mud and going surfing for the first time. Let's start with the hippies...

On Saturday I headed to Taoyuan county to attend Peace Fest. It's a three day music festival set in the mountainous Kun Lun Herb Garden. After traveling by bus, taxi, and a treacherous shuttle ride up the mountain on a tiny road, we arrived at the main stage area on the festival. Normally the area in front of the stage would be sparse grass, but thanks to the rain it had turned into a sea of mud, requiring the removal of all footwear and the rolling up of all pant legs. There was a wide variety of continuous live music all day, food vendors, fire performers, and lots of people dancing in the mud. And of course, there had to be a peace circle - a giant circle of people holding hands and dancing in the rain and mud. Good times.

Sunday morning I got up at 4 am to go surfing in the town of Yilan with a group of friends. I've never been surfing before and while I wasn't able to stand up on my own on the board, it was still a lot of fun. We were on a black sand beach, the weather was great, and the water was warm. Could I ask for a better way to spend my last day in Taiwan?

While I'm exicted to head home and see my friends, I will really miss some of the friends I've made in Taiwan. Taiwanese are some of the warmest and friendliest people you will ever meet and this has been a fantastic place to spend 5 months of my life.

Ghostbusters

Had a bit of a random weekend in Taipei. On Friday night I stayed home as I was feeling a little tired and was suffering from sunburn and itchy bug bites compliments of my trip to Vietnam. Was back to normal by Saturday though so decided to join some friends at a pool party being held at one of the hotels. I don't think I've ever been to an organized pool party before, but it was fun and oh so nice to take a dip in the cold water given the heat and humidity of the city. After that we stopped by my flatmate's bar for a bit, then a few of us headed to Room 18 for a long night of dancing. As I've mentioned before, the clubs here are packed on weekends. I've never seen more people in one room than I've seen crammed into the hip-hop side of Room 18. And with cover costing $20 a pop, the owner must be raking it in. Maybe I should stay here and open a club...

Sunday I got up in time to have lunch with my flatmates. It was the day of the Dragon Boat Festival which is when Taiwanese people traditionally eat zongzi, steamed glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo leaves. My flatmate Katrina had gotten some from her mom so we had that for lunch while Katrina and Vivid filled me in on some of the Chinese legends related to zongzi and the dragon boats. They also explained to me that the bundles of herbs I would see tied to our doors and many others were there to keep the ghosts away. Keeping ghosts away is a big thing in Chinese culture.

After lunch I headed to Daiji River Park to check out the dragon boat races. Honestly, it wasn't too exciting and I was surprised how slowly the boats moved given that there are about 20 people paddling. But they have short narrow oars that don't move much water, hence the slow speeds. One of these days maybe they'll change the oars and it'll be more exciting to watch. But it was good to see once.

On Monday I was supposed to go hiking with a friend from the office, but that got canceled due to thundershowers. So instead Katrina and I headed to the National Museum of History to check out a special exhibition of the works of the French painter Jean François Millet, on loan from the Musée d’Orsay in Paris. Then it was home to eat some ice cream and relax before starting my last week of work in Taipei.

Vietnam

I'm happy to report that I manged to get in one last trip before leaving Taipei, a 6 day visit to Saigon and the Mekong Delta, and I had a blast. I arrived the afternoon of the 29th, met my friend Dave (who I was staying with) for lunch, and spent the rest of the day wandering around Ben Thanh market and the shops on Dong Khoi street. Saigon is a great place to shop for furniture, silk, lacquerware, and purses. It's probably a good thing I don't have extra room in my bags otherwise I would have been tempted to buy all sorts of stuff... Crossing the streets is an experience though, every time I did it I felt like I was laughing in the face of death. There aren't a lot of traffic lights and people just kind of drive around each other at intersections. If you want to cross the street you have to walk out in the traffic and keep on walking in a straight line while the cars and motorcycles zoom around you. I was a little freaked out the first few times, but used to it by end of my trip.

On Friday morning I headed to a travel agency at 8 am to start a 1/2 day tour to the Cu Chi tunnels from the Vietnam War. There were about a dozen people in my group and we traveled to the tunnels via a 2 hour speed boat ride up the Saigon River (way better than sitting in a bus). The weather was hot but fantastic and the boat driver let me sit on the bow which made it even better because not only did I get a really nice breeze but all the little kids we passed would yell and wave which was fun. After arriving at the tunnels we watched a short video on the war (lots of talk about the "American devils" attacking innocent Vietnamese villagers) and then walked though an exhibit of various booby traps used by the Vietcong. Let me tell you, those traps are very simple but extremely brutal. Then it was off to a firing range where you could fire an AK-47, M30, or another big gun. I would have done this if I could have bought just one bullet, but you had to by rounds of 10 so I skipped it. At the end we got to crawl though the tunnels, either just level one, or levels one and two. Even though the tunnels have been widened for tourists, they're still tiny. I could crouch and walk through level one, but I was on my hands and knees in level two. The tunnels stretch for miles and it's pretty amazing that they were dug by hand and that Vietnamese soldiers spent several days at a time in them.

On Saturday Dave and I set off on an overnight tour of the Mekong Delta, southwest of Saigon. The Mekong Delta is an extensive network of rice paddies and canals that produces about 2/3 of rice consumed in Vietnam. During our two days we explored the area by boat and bicycle and checked out the sights including a local floating market and a brick factory. There are a ton of brick factories in the Mekong and it doesn't look like the process has changed much in the last 100 years. Clay is dropped off at the factory, mixed with some ash, then extruded to form the bricks. A woman with a wire frame cuts the bricks to the proper length and then they're stacked in a wheel barrow and moved into the sun to dry for 3 days. After 3 days they're moved into giant brick kilns where they're fired for a month using rice husk for fuel. One thing I noticed about the brick factories (and the rice paddies, and just about everything else) is that most of the workers are women. A couple of guys were mixing the clay, and I saw guys fixing boat motors or working on motorbikes in the towns, but mostly they just seemed to be sitting around. Not cool.

As I mentioned, we did an overnight tour so Saturday night we stayed in the home of a local family. Like many homes in tropical climates, the house was open to the outside and didn't really have doors or sealed windows so lizards and bugs run around everywhere. The "shower" was a small brick enclosure with a cold water tap and a bucket, and the toilet was some boards suspended above a small pond, typical of the Mekong Delta. But the family was friendly, we got some pretty good local food, and as an added treat, some liquor out a bottle containing a baby cobra. Tasty. Sunday evening we returned to Saigon and although I enjoyed the tour of the Mekong, I was happy to be back in the city.

Monday and Tuesday and I did more window shopping and spent some quality time at the spa. $6 for 90 minutes massage?! Sign me up. I got a 90 minute massage, an hour facial, a french mani and a pedi, and my armpits waxed for a grand total of $35. The facial was the most expensive part since it required the use of various products, but what a deal! I manicure alone would set you back that much at some places in the States. Vietnam, and Thailand, are great places for pampering.

Anyhow, I really like Vietnam and would like to go back and explore Ha Long Bay and some of the beaches one of these days. But for now I'm counting down my last 10 days in Taipei and plotting my next adventure.

Indy!

Saw the latest Indiana Jones movie on Sunday. It was good, but not as good as the old ones. Harrison Ford is a little too old to be running around fighting communists, but I gotta say I like Shia LeBeouf as Indy Jr. Before heading to the movies, I checked out the Taipei Museum of Contemporary Art. Small museum but still worth checking out on a rainy afternoon. I've mentioned this before, but one of the best things about Taipei is how cheap the public attractions are. It cost me about $1.75 to get into MOCA and most other museums are in a similar price range. Way more affordable than the $10 it costs to visit the Portland Art Museum.

While I like the cheap museums here, I HATE the mosquitoes. I'm allergic to them anyway, but the ones here are especially horrible and evil. I got a bunch of bites when I was out on Friday night and by Sunday about 1/2 of them started blistering and the other 1/2 turned into huge, blood red splotches. And they itched liked crazy! I thought I might have to make a trip to the doctor, but luckily they are looking a bit better now and not itching so much. I'm going to have to bathe in deet while I'm in Vietnam.

Speaking of Vietnam, the plan is to do an overnight Mekong Delta tour while I'm there. It'll be a combination of travel by car, boat, and bike including spending the night with a local family. I head to Vietnam on Thursday morning, can't wait to check it out!

Jianguo jade and flower market

Been a week since my last post, guess I'm falling behind on blogging as my last day approaches. Haven't been doing anything too exciting although I made another trip to the weekend jade and flower market last Sunday. I've been before and it's a great place to spend a few hours wandering around. The market is huge with one section selling jade and a few other precious stones, while the other section sells flowers and gardening supplies.

The jade market is one of the largest in Asia, with ~600 vendors selling some amazing jade carvings, necklaces, and bracelets. Prices range from a few dollars to several hundred depending on the piece and the quality of the jade. I took a jade class a few months ago to learn the basics of determining quality, so I can spot obvious fakes (plastic, glass, poorly treated low quality jade) but luckily Taipei has some of the most honest vendors around. Last time I was there I bought a necklace featuring the Buddha holding a lotus leaf. This time around I bought a jade ring, about 8mm wide, made of higher quality jade than my necklace. You'll see me wearing it when I get back to Portland.

Across the street from the jade market is the best flower market ever. Stall after stall of trees, orchids, cut flowers, pots and vases, and everything else related to flowers. Taiwan has beautiful orchids and they're dirt cheap. You can buy an orchid plant for as little as $1.50 and the plants that sell for $30-50 back home cost about $5 here. My flatmate told me that a lot of orchid breeding is done in Taiwan so there is a much wider variety of colors and shapes than you typically find in the US. I love, love, love orchids and lilies (also readily available at the market). I wish I could live in the flower market.

I'm not sure what jianguo translate to in English, but last night I learned a little bit about Taipei street names. I live on heping which means "peace," zhongxiao roughly translates to "filial piety," and xinyi is "justice," representing some of the eight Confucian virtues. Now you know.

30 days

Let the countdown begin - I have just 30 days left in Taipei. Time seemed to drag on endlessly when I first got here and didn't know anyone or anything, but since I've gotten settled, time has flown by. I can't believe I only have one month left before I return to Portland. One month left and so much I still need to do! Haven't been to Alishan or Taroko Gorge, never made it to Haulien, only been to the hot springs once... Going to be a very busy month if I'm going to get all that stuff done. I also have one more trip planned, this time to Vietnam. Will be staying with a friend in Ho Chi Minh City for a few days and exploring the surrounding area for a few days. I've had a great time here, I'll be a little sad to leave. According to the lines on my palms, it's good for my career to be overseas. Combine that with the fact that I love traveling and I think I have a case for coming back to Asia...

Yingge

Had another good weekend in Taipei. I spent Friday night hanging out with friends and then on Saturday I finally made to Yingge, a small town about a half hour south of Taipei known for its ceramics. First stop was the ceramics museum, one of the coolest buildings in Taiwan. While most buildings in Taiwan are ugly concrete blocks, the museum is a beautifully airy and open combination of wood, steel, concrete, glass, and water. In addition to the museum, there is also a large sculpture park and a couple of underground galleries on the park grounds. I think it's a place worth visiting if you're ever in Taiwan.

After wandering through the museum, my friend Jessie and I headed to the ceramics old street to check out the teapots as a teapot is the one thing I wanted to bring back from Taiwan. There were several shops selling teapots of various quality, but we eventually found one that had a nice selection of small handmade pots and cups. After spending over an hour and a half in that one shop comparing teapots, picking out cups, tea tasting, and getting instructions on the proper way to care for the teapots and make tea, we each left with a pot and two little cups. While most people in the US drop a tea bag in boiling water and call it good, tea preparation and drinking is an art in Taiwan and was a cool of the shop owner to spend so much time with us explaining everything. It's was also good that Jessie is Taiwanese so she translated everything for me as we went. Thank goodness for local friends. After we made our purchases, the shop owner even drove us back to the train station. Gotta love that kind of customer service.

When I got back to my apartment, some teenage boy and I have never seen before followed me into the building and asked me to help him up the stairs because something was wrong with his foot. He seemed nervous and I was wondering if he was going to try to steal my purse or my purchases. Decided I would help him out, but if he tried to steal the teapot I just spent an intensive hour and a half picking out I was prepared to kick his ass. But we made it up the stairs without incident and my teapot is safely packed and awaiting the trip back to the US.

Is that the ice cream truck?

Every once in a while I hear a vehicle playing music as it drives through the neighborhood. A kind of simple, sunny, happy music you would associate with carousels or ice cream trucks. So I was thinking, "Great, they must be selling something. Maybe ice cream or Hong Kong sweets, or something else delicious." I even had a picture in my head of a little slightly beat up, brightly colored van roaming the streets and selling tasty treats out of the back. Alas, when I finally found the source of the music I was in for a surprise because the vehicle was... drum roll please... a giant yellow garbage truck.

I suppose they play music to let people know the truck is in the neighborhood in case someone forgot to take out their trash. Not a bad idea really, although as a foreigner I find the choice of music a little odd. I've run into the weird music thing a couple of times here, most memorably on a train. As the train approached each stop, it would play calypso music. You're sitting there surreptitiously checking out your fellow passengers and the next thing you know you're singing, "Day-o, day-ay-ay-o, daylight come and he wanna go home." Anyone remember that scene from Beetlejuice? Anyhow, I have yet to see a real ice cream truck in Taipei.

On a completely unrelated note, I got an email from the couple I gave my cat, Aya, to when I left. It's like an open adoption and they give me updates on how Aya's doing, pictures too. I felt terrible about giving her away when I came here, but I'm glad she's got a good home with people who enjoy having her.

Movie madness

Saw a lot of movies last week here in Taipei. My flatmate Katrina owns a bar that shows movies on Tuesday night so last Tuesday I dropped in to check out a Taiwanese film called the The Wayward Cloud. It won some awards in Germany, but honestly I'm not sure why. The plot revolves around a porn actor and a girl he likes meeting during a water shortage in Taiwan that causes the sale of watermelons and watermelon juice to skyrocket. The film contains a lot of porn and musical numbers, and has very little dialogue. As one person explained it to me, the movie is about how porn and easy sex (watermelons) have become so pervasive in modern society while true love (water) is hard to find. Hmm, yeah, maybe. I would suggest passing on this film should you come across it at your local video store.

On Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday it was off to check out some films at the Urban Nomad Film Festival. On Wednesday they showed a homemade Finnish Star Wars parody called Star Wreck: In the Pirkinning. Unfortunately, the English subtitles weren't working and watching a movie in Finnish with Chinese subtitles isn't very interesting, so I kept falling asleep and headed home early. On Thursday they showed a mini documentary, called Dengue Fever, about an LA band of the same name. The band plays music that is a mix of Cambodian pop and 60's surfer music and the film follows the band's first trip to Cambodia to share the music with the people who inspired it. Cool music and an interesting film.

Friday was a Chinese film called Mei Mei about a gay drag queen of the same name living and performing in mainland China. It was interesting in the sense that it gave a glimpse of how homosexuality is viewed in China, but I didn't find it particularly engaging and left before the end. From there it was off to Barcode, Room 18, and Luxy for a late night at the clubs.

Saturday night a group of us went out to dinner at a Yunnan/Burmese restaurant and then to a club called Underworld to check out a friend's band play. If you've never had Burmese food, I would recommend checking it out. One of my friends knows the owners so we just grabbed a table and ate whatever they brought out - steamed cabbage, fried eggplant sprinkled with vinegar, some sort of marinated pork and pork tendon dish, pickled veggies, a chicken curry, and a dish of sliced liver, tongue, and other assorted meats. My favorite was the eggplant, but it was all pretty good and a nice change from the typical Chinese/Taiwanese fare. As for the band, they were called Blood Orange and I wasn't quite sure what to make of them since hard metal + trumpet is a strange combination. They played some softer songs that I could get into, but the death metal stuff isn't my cup of tea. Anyhow, I headed some around midnight, went to bed, and enjoyed a nice lazy Sunday of drinking tea, doing laundry, and watching a bunch of episodes of CSI.

Who shaved the cat?!

As some of you already know, I'm no longer living with Kirk. He broke up me with less than a month after I moved here and, as you might imagine, it was a really difficult thing to go through. I was completely miserable for a while, but life goes on and I've been trying to make the best of the remainder of my time in Taipei. I now live with two Taiwanese women, Katrina and Vivid, in another part of town. I also live with two cats - Miss Q and Hester. But since Miss Q has really long hair, Kat shaves her every spring. As you can see, she is only 1/2 way through the process.

Paintball!

Had a pretty busy weekend in Taipei. On Friday night met up with some friends after work to grab pizza then headed to a lounge called The Bed. Bed has kind of an Eastern/Middle Eastern vibe and has areas of raised padded seating (kind of like a giant mattress) as well as normal tables. We grabbed a table, a bottle of Johnnie Walker, and some dice and hung out there until they closed around 3 am. People were coming and going all night so it was good time with lots of interesting people. After Bed closed we headed to Fuxing to grab some of those delicious rice and egg rolls I mentioned in a previous post, then it was home to my own bed for some sleep.

Saturday I went hiking south of Taipei City in an town called Xindian. It was a beautiful day and the hike was great although I was a little tired. There were a lot of platforms and lookout points along the trails which made nice places to stop and take a break. One thing about Asia in general is that safety regulations are not the same as in the US. None of the platforms had side rails and some of them were a good 20+ feet above rocky, sloping ground. Falling off of one of them would result in serious injury. But I guess they figure if you're dumb enough to get too close to the edge and fall off, it's your own fault. Personally I tend to agree.

Sunday was my first ever game of paintball. Nine of us met up and the paintball park for several hours of google wearing, gun wielding, sweaty fun. We played against another team and against each other on a couple of different courses. I only got one serious hit - on the inner thigh during the last game. It barely hurt yesterday, but this morning it had turned into a pretty ugly bruise. One guy got hit in the neck, wonder how he's doing today... Anyhow, it was a good time and something I would do again.

Japan continued

On days 4 and 5 we did a lot of more walking around Tokyo. We mainly explored the Asakusa, Ebisu, and Ueno neighborhoods. Asakusa is an older, more peaceful neighborhood in the northeast part of the city. There is a big area of outdoor shopping stalls around Thunder God Gate, and a large five story pagoda and the city's largest temple, Senso-ji, nearby. From Asakusa we took a boat ride along the Sumida River to a big park where there were still a few cherry blossoms left.

Ebisu is in the southwest part of the city and has lots of high end shops as well and a section of vintage clothing stores. It's a nice area, but some of the stores are hard to find since they're down side roads and back alleys, and it's pretty pricey. I think Shibuya and Shimo-katazawa are better for shopping.

Tuesday was our last day so we headed headed to Ueno to walk around for a bit before catching the train out to the airport. There is a huge park in Ueno which includes a zoo and a couple of museums. We just walked around the park and checked out a couple of the shrines, but it was nice ending to the trip.

Sato-san

Today is day 3 in Japan and I think it's my favorite country in Asia so far. We arrived on Friday night and spent a little time walking around the Roppongi area including visiting a pretty cool bar called A971. Mostly house music but a lively crowd and a good mix of locals and foreigners. Then Saturday morning it was off to the town of Nikko about 2 hours outside Tokyo to visit the hot springs. We stayed a traditional hot springs hotel which means one big room with tatami floors, robes, obis, and wooden sandals to wear around the hotel, and traditional Japanese dining (lots of fish and pickled things). I previously thought we were staying there 2 nights, but it was actually 1 night which was plenty.

Then it was back to Tokyo. After dropping our luggage off at the hotel we went in search of some lunch. We ended up eating a tiny little sushi restaurant where no English was spoken so ordering included a lot of pointing and gesturing. But this awesome older gentleman, Sato-san, was sitting next in the seat next to me and took it upon himself to order us all drinks and more food and show us the proper way to eat it all. Of course he only spoke Japanese and we only spoke English, but he was so sweet and cute and friendly, it was awesome. One thing I've noticed here is that people will just keep speaking to you in Japanese even when you clearly don't understand. They don't speak more slowly or anything like that, they just continue on like you understand every word.

After lunch with Sato-san we headed to the Harajuku area to check out the Meiji Shrine and of course, all the kids in the crazy outfits. Lots of goth looks, as well as Victorian, school girl and a variety of other styles. From there was walked to Shibuyu to check out the stores and also see the world's busiest pedestrian intersection. There are tons of cool shops in Tokyo. Like Taipei, the first floor of most buildings contains small shops or restaurants and I wish I had a week here just to shop (and the $$ to do so).

But Japan is clean, people are friendly even if they have no idea what you're saying, and it's quite a beautiful place.

A quiet week

Been a pretty quiet week here so far. I did go see the U2 (the band) in 3D movie on Sunday night, so cool. You don't realize how much you miss when you watch a regular movie until you see one in 3D - it feels like you're there. I'm not big on TV but I love movies and am eagerly awaiting the release of Indiana Jones 4, which comes out on 5/22 in Taiwan.

Finally got my taxes done, but sadly I won't be getting a refund. I need to buy a house so I have something to write off. But thank goodness for TurboTax, it makes filing pretty easy.

Other than that I've been planning my trip to Japan. There are 3 of us going so it should be a good time. I have a couple of Japanese friends here and they provided some English language maps and directions on how to navigate the subways and find our hotels. We leave this Friday and will be there for 4 nights - 2 in Tokyo and 2 at a hot springs resort about an hour and a half outside the city. We've been warned about the subways during rush hour (they literally shove people into the cars) and the lack of English speakers (people can speak English, but they won't for fear of making a mistake). The rest of it we'll just figure out as we go.

An interesting evening...

Going out in Taipei is fun. Since it's a big city there is always something going on. Last night I started at birthday party in a home that had the most beautiful furniture I think I've ever seen - full of antique Chinese tables, chairs, doors, and carvings, yet in a modern setting complete with a huge Andy Warhol-ish Marilyn Monroe painting on one wall. A couple owns the place and the wife, Linda, not only has excellent taste in furniture and design, but she is also an amazing cook. I thought perhaps the party had been catered, but turns out she made everything but the cakes.

One thing about the buildings in Taiwan is that the outside is no indication of what you might find inside. Most people in Taipei live in apartments as there are very few single family homes within the city. While the newer buildings are tall highrises like you'd find in any other big city, the older building are mostly 4-8 story concrete boxes with 2 or 4 apartments on each floor. You typically walk in and see a dingy concrete stairwell with broken light bulbs and wonder what you're getting yourself into. But I've been to a couple places where I wasn't expecting much, only to walk in and find a nicely remodeled modern apartment. As they say, you can't judge a book by its cover.

After the birthday party it was on to Carnegie's to see a local band. Now Carnegie's is a place I would normally stay away from since it has a reputation for being a place where older expat guys will go to pick up local girls (although they do have good food). The band, The Moneyshot Horns, typically plays jazz/blues music but last night they were playing more Carnegie's appropriate music - old covers but with a funk twist. They're good musicians and a lot of fun to watch. But it was even more fun to watch the balding, 50 year old Taiwanese guy who got up on the bar and starting do the worst version of the robot I've ever seen - arms flailing, head turning, big smile on his face. Absolutely hilarious.

Then it was off to Lava, a big nightclub not far from Taipei 101. The crowd was pretty young and it's not a place I would normally hang out, but a friend knew the MC so we stopped by. One big difference between clubs in the US and in Taiwan is that in the US, if you're really drunk and look like you're going to pass out, the bouncers will make you leave. Not in Taiwan. I saw numerous people passed out on couches and tables, and several others being carried through the club by friends. You only have to be 18 to legally drink in Taiwan and there doesn't seem to be a cut off time for serving drinks so people just get wasted. I got tired and headed home around 3 am but it was a fun night out.

All about Thailand

Thailand is a great place to visit. If I were to go again I think I would avoid Bangkok as it's so busy and congested, and you really do have to watch out for all the tourist scams the guidebooks warn you about. But the people are friendly, things are cheap, and there are many interesting things to see. 95% of the population is Buddhist and although I'm not a religious person, you can't help but respect the devotion the Thais show to their gods and all the work that goes into creating such beautiful temples. One thing I'm bummed we missed is the Songkran (Thai new year) festival that started this weekend. Songkran involves throwing a lot of water - pretty much at everyone you see - and also bathing images of the Buddha in water. It's also a time to pay respect to elders and the Buddha, but I'd totally be up for a giant water fight under the hot sun.

What Wat?

First let me say that I will not be taking the train again anytime soon. Maybe it was just the train we happened to be on, but it was a long (12 hour), uncomfortable ride. I did manage to sleep some, but it was the kind of sleep where you nod off for 15 minutes then wake up again. But we made it safely to the city of Chiang Mai in northern Thailand.

The most notable thing about the city is the number of temples (wats). They are absolutely everywhere, and they're beautiful. Lots of carved wood, mosiac work, and old, old stupas built in the 1300's and 1400's. Today I saw what was either the best wax figure or best preservation of a human body I have ever seen. It was a monk sitting inside a glass box in one of the temples. It was actually quite creepy, but amazing at the same time. Tomorrow it's off to ride elephants, see an orchid farm, and go rafting.

Bangkok

Arrived Friday night and so far so good. Hotel is fantastic, the temples are awesome, the food is good, and the people are friendly. Taiwan has some nice temples, but the temples here are something else - so much detail and some huge Buddhas. Lots of jewerly for sale, haven't bought anything yet but may pick up some silver in Chiang Mai. I did get some clothes though - made to order pants and a top. Not cheap, but not any more than I would pay for the same thing in the US given I have to buy pants at Nordstrom or Saks to find the right length. I went to the fitting today and everything looked good, will have the final product delivered to the hotel when I'm back in Bangkok on Thursday. Taking the overnight train to Chiang Mai tonight, should be an interesting experience.

Ugh, I thought I left the rain in Portland

Another rainy day here in Taipei. Not only has it been raining all day, but it's been raining hard. Last night was even worse. I was planning on going out to meet some friends, but decided to stay home rather than risk getting swept away in some flash floods. Having lived in Seattle and Portland for the last 10 years you'd think I'd be used to it, but it's really starting to become a drag. Maybe I'm just getting old... I'm heading to Thailand on Friday, if it's raining there I'm going to ask the powers that be to refund my expenses.

Puppet show

Tonight I learned about Taiwanese puppets at the See-Join Puppet Theater Restaurant. After the performance everyone gets a small puppet (about 8 inches tall) to practice with and they teach you basic movements and how to properly pose the puppets. Then everyone gets to practice with a large puppet (about 2 feet tall) and put on a show for the rest of the audience. It was a little difficult for me to follow since most of the show and about 1/2 the instructions were in Chinese, but the puppetmaster was pretty funny and one of the shows that two guys from the audience put on was hilarious.

Cloudgate 2

Went to see Cloudgate 2, Taiwan's premier dance company, perform last night. Very cool show and amazing dancers. Wasn't able to film any of the show, but here is a clip from one of their other performances.

Breakfast

There is food for sale everywhere in Taipei. I don't think it's possible to walk more than a block without running across a restaurant, food stall, or fruit seller of some kind. Every morning I pass a row of food stalls on my way into the office, but have never eaten at any of them because I can't read the menu. Today though I decided to stop and try my luck at a stall selling what looks like big empanadas. So I walked up to the stall, smiled, and pointed at an empanada. The guy behind the counter said something to me which I couldn't understand and then showed me two bowls of the empanada filling. Both bowls looked to be filled with different combinations of veggies (sometimes they sneak pork into stuff so you never can be sure) so I just picked one and said 'yes.'

So what did I end up with? A pretty tasty empanada filled with steamed corn, lettuce, shredded carrots, mushrooms, and cellophane noodles. I also bought what I thought might be soy or rice milk (both very popular breakfast drinks), but was actually a slightly vanilla flavored milk with some sort of pudding/jelly stuff in the bottom. All in all, a successful breakfast adventure.

I ♥ bendy straws

I thought bendy straws had gone the way of the El Camino and all but disappeared, but let me assure you they are alive and well in Taiwan. Virtually every drink of any kind is served with a straw, typically a bendy one.

Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall

After a slight lull in sight-seeing activities (my 'two-month slump' if you will) I was back at it today, visiting the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall.

Air Quality - Portland 1, Taipei 0

Taipei is a great city in many ways, but the air quality here is terrible. It didn't bother me at first, but after being here for two months, I'm getting tired of the always hazy views and the inescapable smell of car exhaust. Many people here cover their mouths with cotton masks à la Michael Jackson when walking around the city and I've been told by locals that the rain here is acidic and will ruin clothes. Much of the pollution comes from vehicles and local industry, but some of it also blows over from mainland China.

Like many Taiwanese, I hang my clothes outside to dry. While I love the idea of drying my clothes in a sunny, quiet backyard, the reality of drying clothes eight floors above a busy street is a little different. I've noticed that my clothes often smell ever so slightly oily, no doubt as a result of the non-stop stream of vehicles passing by. Think I'll be heading to the laundromat from now on.

Bahala na

The Philippines was an interesting experience. Cities like Manila and Cebu are very crowded and dirty, but the smaller islands and towns are fantastic. In Cebu I checked out Basilica Minore del Santo Nino, Magellan's Cross, and Fort San Pedro. Then on to Bohol and Panglao Island to see the Chocolate Hills (green this time of year, they don't turn brown until late April), tarsiers, and Alona Beach.

Mabuhay!

And hello from the Philippines. My visa only allows me to stay in Taiwan for 60 days at a time so I decided to take a weekend trip to the Philippines as it's just a few hours away by plane. I arrived last night and my plan was to do some sightseeing in the city and then head to the nearby island of Bohol to hit some beaches, but I'm not sure the weather is going to cooperate.

So far my favorite thing here is the jeepneys - colorful minibus that are the most popular form of public transportation.

When I was a kid...

...I used to dress my cat up in doll clothes. I haven't seen any dressed up cats in Taiwan, but I've seen an awful lot of dressed up dogs. I've also seen a few people with pets in strollers (no kids in sight) or carrying pets in other child transportation devices. Small dogs are popular here, as are labs and retrievers.

Mahjong

Got my first taste of mahjong last weekend at a dinner party and have to say it was a lot of fun. I don't entirely understand the all the rules (there are a lot) and I had some trouble deciphering the Chinese characters on the tiles, but I had a good time. It's kind of like playing poker, but with 16 tiles instead of 5 cards. The goals is create 4 sets of three tiles and pair. I can't even begin to explain the rules, but I hope to improve my game while I'm here.

Yangmingshan & Maokong Gondola

Met up with my friend Jessie this morning and headed north to Yangmingshan National Park to check out the flower festival. The flowers were pretty, but the waterfall was the best part. Would be a great place to have a picnic on a nice day. After walking through the park we headed back into town to grab lunch at one of the night markets. Unfortunately the market wasn't open yet, so we stopped at a kind of outdoor food court to grab something to eat. I tried a fried egg and oyster dish (tasted a lot better than it looked) and finally tried the infamous chou dofu, or stinky tofu, which is a popular treat in Taiwan. The smell is unpleasant, but the taste isn't bad and it has a really nice texture for tofu.

After that headed to the Maokong Gondola which runs through the hills in southern Taipei. I'd heard of the gondola and thought it was just a short ride to the top of a hill, but turns out it's about 2.5 miles each way as the gondolas go up and down the hills into the tea growing area of Maokong. I wasn't able to get any good pictures of the hillside, but it was kind of like floating over a jungle - very dense greenery everywhere you looked.