Tuesday, December 29, 2009
*Christmas Cheer*
(Post by Alisha)
I was a little nervous that Christmas was going to be a holiday letdown akin to the turkeyless Thanksgiving we suffered through, but I was very happy with the way our festivities turned out.
The school allowed the foreign teachers to take off Friday (without pay, however), but we were happy at least to be granted a three-day weekend. Bacon and I spent a delicious morning enjoying a late brunch filled with some goodies from the Christmas package his parents sent, sipping eggnog, and watching a few classic holiday films. Christmas night we went to a hip restaurant in downtown called People Restaurant. The Chinese fusion cuisine was amazing and the atmosphere had a very sleek post-industrial feel with romantic touches like a wall dotted with fresh roses- it was well worth the slightly pricey menu. After dinner, we took a leisurely walk through the city among all the twinkling Christmas lights and decorations.
The next day we headed off mid-afternoon for our weekend in Beitou, an area 20 minutes north of Taipei filled with natural sulfurous hot springs. Because of the Japanese occupation, many of the older buildings, temples, and resorts in Beitou are built in beautiful Japanese tradition. We were able to view the Geothermal Scenic Area more commonly known as Hell Valley, so named because of its boiling springs shrouded in pillars of steam. Shortly after dipping our feet in the steamy public hot springs river, we headed up the mountain to check into our springs resort, Whispering Pine Inn.The resort pipes in the hot springs straight from the natural sources in Beitou, and in addition to a large stone tub for guests of the resort, we also had our own private stone pool in our room. We checked in and soon trekked further up the winding path until we found a restaurant our guide book recommended, Shann Garden. It was tucked away high up in the mountain with a beautiful view of the city below, and it was one of the best eating experiences we've had so far in Taiwan. It was an upscale buffet that featured Mongolian-style BBQ, where you get to pick your own thinly sliced meats and veggies and have them cooked on a huge stone slate in front of you. Bacon and I had beef, pineapple, green tomato, onion, peppers, and fiery red chilis all cooked in sesame oil and soy. We also enjoyed dumplings, stir-fried veggies, salad, noodles, shrimp, fresh fruit, mango frozen yogurt, and, of course, all you can drink teas and soda. After dinner, we spent the rest of the night soaking away the winter chill (yes, it was a very frosty 55 degrees) in the hot springs and drinking champagne. It was a wonderful weekend getaway.
Now we're looking forward to another short week with Friday off for New Years. This will be the last post in 2009- ready to see what will unfold in 2010!
Monday, December 14, 2009
Staring Contest: You and Me
(Post by Alisha)
Last Thursday night, a few of the Chinese teachers we work with took us out to a Taiwanese restaurant for dinner. It's such a treat going out with people that speak the language, especially in Sansia as translated menus or even ones that include pictures are scarce. We often reluctantly pass by restaurants that look fun or smell tempting because we wouldn't know how or what to order.
The restaurant they took us to was very darkly lit and completely decorated in black and red. The menu was split into two categories: big hot pot or teppanyaki with small hot pot. We all chose the second option- I got a spicy pepper chicken teppanyaki and Bacon got a sesame Asian barbecue chicken teppanyaki.
In case you forgot, Hot Pot is an extremely popular Taiwanese dish where several items- oysters, shrimp, meat, rice noodles, mushrooms, fish paste, and tofu- are boiled together in a pot with broth. We have yet to discover the reason for its popularity, but a small pot is okay to pick at the few tasty items- love the oysters. (Game: How many items can you identify from the hot pot in the picture?) Like a lot of Taiwanese restaurants, it was b.y.o.b so we also got to bring in our own drinks, cheap and fun. Speaking of cheap, our whole meal only cost 120 NT, or under $4 U.S.
The food was surprisingly very delicious, and we had a blast hanging out with some of the Chinese teachers sharing cultural observations back and forth. One example of this that came up during the course of eating is the fact that in Taiwan, they usually keep the head, feet, eyes, etc. on their food, and obviously in America, that is not the norm. It's a little unappetizing to see a whole shrimp looking up at you from your pot of food - beady eyes and all, but of course Bacon couldn't resist a staring contest with it.
Sweet somethings
(Post by Alisha)Here's just a quick picture of a beautiful flower Bacon bought me this weekend at a Farmer's Market on Old Street. Every night it's petals close tightly and the next morning they open widely to reveal this vibrant purple blossom.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Directions to the MRT from Sanxia
(Post by Bacon)
Many people find directions confusing back home. For many it's a big hassle trying to get around without a GPS. Well those people would go crazy here in Taiwan. The roads constantly change names for no apparent reason, they never run in a straight line, street signs are a luxury to find and even then they'll only have English on them 50% of the time. Add that to the fact that there are no real driving laws and you'll have a very frustrating/scary time trying to get around.
I'm posting my directions to the Far Eastern Hospital MRT stop via scooter to show everyone back home how crazy the roads are here, and this post should really help the foreigners who already live in Sanxia/Shansia/Sansia/SOONSIAA (or whatever way you insist on spelling it). It's only a 20 minute scooter ride, but it's crazy. Click the read more link below to get the directions.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Spiderman
(Post By Bacon)
Well my day came on Friday at school. One of the Chinese teachers came into my classroom in the middle of one of my lessons and said she needed my help. I left my classroom and went to her classroom to discover the largest spider I've ever seen. This thing was about as big as my hand, had thick brown legs, and could probably beat me in hand to hand combat. I didn't have a camera with me so I couldn't take a picture, but thanks to a quick google search I was able to find it. (it's actually a screen shot from this youtube video).
One bad thing about living in a warm climate has to be the giant bugs. Many of the insects here are large enough to drive cars. I have been lucky enough so far to not find any large creatures in the apartment, but some of the other teachers have not been so lucky. A few of our friends have found cockroaches larger than a deck of playing cards in their apartments. It gets talked about a lot and I knew it was just a matter of time before I would have to battle one of these beasts.
After a futile attempt to reason with it I decided it was time to fight. I took off my sandal and attempted to smash it, but this thing was way too fast for my ogre-like reflexes. I took several more swipes at it and missed every time. The spider ended up running away (it must have been a French spider) under a desk and we couldn't find it for a good 5 minutes. During this whole ordeal the students started flipping out and we had to move all of them to the opposite side of the room. We eventually found it under the teacher's desk (probably trying to learn English so we could reconcile our differences) and I was able to slow it down with some whiteboard cleaner. After using about half the bottle of cleaner it still wouldn't die so I was forced to river dance on its face. Once the spider was dead the whole class cheered and I went back to my class to finish teaching Language Arts.
This event has scarred me for life.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Eating Taiwan
(Post by Alisha)
oyster egg pancakes: ah, just some of the delightful delicacies we've experienced, in sight, smell, or taste, since we've been here. Now I know that most of you are wearing a a genuinely perplexed look right now (hey, you mean authentic Chinese food doesn't come from a Li Yang's-esque establishment with General Tsao's chicken combos and neat little sweet-and-sour packets?) but a lot of Taiwanese cuisine we've tried is generally unidentifiable at best, and cooked in sweet, briney oils at worst. Even the deserts fail to strike any chord of familiarity (think dense cubes of gelatinous goo). This isn't to say we haven't found several foods that we can't get enough of- namely, pork and cabbage dumplings, beef noodle soup, taro balls, steamed layer cake, shaved ice, fresh fruit teas, fried squid, and rice, rice, rice with just about any vegetable, egg, or brothy topping- but the craving for American food is slowly over-taking the desire to expand our palate as the days go by. While we may be getting slightly less adventurous on our weekend dining excursions, we do, however, eat Taiwanese food every day for lunch. At school, "Auntie" prepares a huge pot of white rice and about three to four trays of, for lack of a better word, toppings- no pre-packaged Sysco school lunches here. All the teachers take a small bowl and fill it about 2/3 of the way up with rice, saving a bit of room at the top to pile on whatever new dish Auntie has concocted that day. Here is a sample schedule of what any given week is like for food:
M- Fish-flavored wheat gluten, spongey tofu, cabbage, mixed vegetables
T- Pork and onion stew (one of my favorites) and a watery egg and eel soup
W- Brown tofu squares, egg and tomato mix, oily Chinese eggplant and a whole fish
T- Curry day- horray! Big chunks of carrots and potatoes in a spicy/sweet curry sauce
F- Green vegetables, sweet garlic sausages (another favorite) and cabbage
Bonus: One great thing about Auntie's lunches is her delicious, homemade soy sauce that we always drizzle on top of whatever we get- and some days, it's just rice and soy.
Taiwanese fun food fact: One of the few foods that Andrew Zimmerman- the bizarre foods guy for the Travel Channel who eats bugs and intestines like they're popcorn- cannot stomach is a particular Taiwanese fruit called Durian. It's a large, melon-shaped fruit with spikes on it similar to a pineapple. Cut it open to reveal a slightly stringy, squishy interior that honestly tastes and smells like a rancid arm-pit. Yes, I tried it- I'm glad I did for the bragging rights, but it is a truly hideous fruit.
So where is all this going? Well, up until a few weeks ago, our favorite restaurant to savor some flavors from back home was a place called "The Diner" that has- you guessed it, diner food. The menu features items like banana pancakes, Denver omelettes made with organic eggs, and breakfast burritos- all complete rarities for Taiwan. We were also pleasantly surprised to find that a lot of their food out-does most American diners. The main caveat we had was the travel time it took to get there- it's in the heart of downtown Taipei, and it took us close to an 1 1/2 trip, basically making any quick brunch we wanted to have into an all-day event.
But no longer! Sansia now has its very own The Diner rip-off, literally seven minutes away from
us. It's called "The Door," and in true Taiwanese fashion, it's pretty much a blatant copy-cat establishment- which of course is fine with us, considering our love of original! (There seems to be very few qualms here with copyright issues, and we've seen several hilarious rip-offs, including, but not limited to: Abercrombie and Fith, R.Q. Polo (instead of Ralph Lauren Polo) and Blueberry (Burberry, anyone?) The decor is very cozy and cool, with hard-wood floors, black and white photos, lime green ceilings, and brick walls. Every menu item we've tried so far has been a great success, and we absolutely love having this place right around the corner. It's open late and has all-day brunch, but the dinner items are excellent as well. Although I'm sure our days of adventurous Taiwanese eating are far from over, it's comforting knowing that a meal that reminds us of home is just a walk away.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Livin, Lovin Taipei
(Post by Alisha)
This past weekend, though nothing particularly outstanding happened, was one of those great weekends where we really felt happy here in Taipei. Saturday we met up with some friends at an outdoor flea market, which is rare for image-conscious, trendy Taipei. It was crowded- but what event, store, or sidewalk in Taipei isn't?- and while it might have been overwhelming for the average claustrophobic individual, it was otherwise a really fun afternoon spent wandering through stalls of friends and families hawking their old items. I found a cool postcard from the 70's showing an old map Taiwan that I'm probably going to reframe at some point. Afterwards, Bacon and I stopped for a few beers at Ireland Potato to chill and enjoy the absolutely perfect 75 and sunny weather that we've been loving these past few weeks. October and November are probably the most beautiful and temperately ideal months in Taiwan.
On a friend's suggestion, next we hopped on the MRT and made our way over to Shida Night Market, one famous market we had yet to visit. Shida is a student area and has a really funky, cool vibe. The night market is definitely a favorite place to hang out with friends on the weekends, try lots of different foods (goose head, anyone?), and shop at a place that's basically an inexpensive open-air mall. The night market slightly resembles a maze, with many forking streets and alleys that veer off in all different directions. Robert actually came up with a system (why wouldn't he?) of going left, right, and then straight at each intersected point so we wouldn't get stuck holding our breath and walking past the same stinky tofu vendor four times like we did at our first night market. We eventually wound up at an unassuming, but extremely popular little dumpling cart. In fact, we actually had to take a number and wait about 1/2 hour to get our piping hot, fresh box of dumplings. It was totally worth the wait- for 72NT (less than $2 U.S.) we got a box of 12, and they were gooey, fresh, and loaded with flavor. For another dollar, we each got a fresh-squeezed raspberry lime juice drink and took our treats over to the adjacent park to sit down and enjoy.
Sunday we had brunch with another couple at our school at an awesome little diner that just opened up in our area. It has a little wooden outdoor deck and fresh-squeezed orange juice comes with each meal. Later in the day we scooted up to the mountains for a break from the city and some fresh air. So far, fall has been superb- the only thing that would make it complete would be football :)
Hope you're all still enjoying reading about our adventures here in Taiwan as much as we are living them! We miss you all~
Bacon Gets a Scooter
(Post by Bacon)
Yeah that's right post by Bacon. I can do more than just edit and upload videos. I can poorly construct a written story.
As you can tell by the title of this post, I got a scooter. When we first arrived in Taiwan and I saw traffic I said there was no way I would ever ride a scooter. Well, after a few months here I got used to the horrible driving and thought I would give it a try. What it really came down to was convenience. Alisha and I don't mind using the MRT system, but we hate waiting for the bus. We also don't mind going for little walks to get food or go shopping, but we hated walking to go do a chore like grocery shopping.
(I like to drive around kicking small Taiwanese people.)
So after a few weeks of debating, we decided that it would be a good idea to get one. Buying the scooter wasn't difficult at all thanks to our Chinese tutor Twinsen. He drove me to a place to test out a few models and did all the translating with the sales lady. After a couple of hours I had a scooter and was driving home in Taipei traffic.
So far we've had the scooter for a week and it's been great. We love having the freedom to go wherever we want whenever we want. I even found an easy route to the Far Eastern Hospital MRT stop that should really cut down on our travel time. I already feel accustomed to the horrible driving habits of the people here and always do my best to be a defensive driver. The only thing I'm missing is a lame "Eat My Dust" shirt. Wish us luck!
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Swimming with the fishies
(Post by Alisha)
Some of the instructors even asked Bacon to help them hoist the girls way above their heads and launch them off flailing into the water- that's when I knew that all pretenses of safety protocol were mere formalities haha. By the end of the day, we all agreed that it was one of the coolest experiences of our trip. Next time I'd like to get my scuba diving certification and give that a try- maybe on a future trip.
As I mentioned in the Penghu post, a highlight of our trip was going snorkeling. We showed up bright and early at the snorkel place and geared up (just barely squeezing into their largest wetsuit sizes) with a group of about 8 other snorkelers and three instructors. When we arrived at the part of the ocean where we'd be snorkeling, one of the instructors began to give a ten minute speech- all in Chinese of course. The one instructor who spoke a little English turned to us and said- "safety speech." He then proceeded to give us the one-minute basic version- basically just "not good go out too far." I mean, who needs a safety lesson when they're about to swim about in deep ocean waters surrounded by odd fish?
As soon as we put on our masks and looked down, it was like being in the Little Mermaid movie. Neon-colored rainbow fish darted inches from my face, long, pointed nose skimmer fish zipped on the surfaces of the water, and mini starfish crawled about. Brightly colored sea anemones lined the bottom of the seabed along with coral and weird eel-looking fish. One of the instructors actually caught a puffer fish and we all got a chance to hold him with his spikes poking out. They also gave us mushy bread to feed the sea creatures, and electric blue fish and some creepy gray ones literally swarmed us to feast on the snacks. After snorkeling for a while, our whole group took turns doing jumps, dives, and flips off one of the out-cropping rocks into the water.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Video from our "Swimming Spot"
A couple posts ago Alisha describes a "Beautiful Oasis". Here is a quick video of the swimming hole described in that post.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Penghu Love
(Post by Alisha)
Visiting Penghu Island was without a doubt the favorite part of our vacation. We island-hopped, snorkeled in tropical zones, swam in blue waters, scootered through beautiful landscapes, and visited one of the oldest temples in Taiwan. Staying at the awesome Penghu Whale Homestay was part of the reason we got to experience as much as we did. Each morning they made us a freshly prepared Taiwanese breakfast- my favorite was a seafood rice porridge (complete with squid tentacles) and a giant pork and veggie puff. And for $15 per person a night for a place a few minutes away from the beach, you can't really beat it. The first night we arrived, one of the Homestay staff members took us out to see a couple of century old houses, sample wild cacti blossoms, and check out the gorgeous views from some basalt cliffs. The cactus she carefully cut off for us to try was bright pink in color and tasted sweet with a sour grapefruit-like after taste.
Visiting Penghu Island was without a doubt the favorite part of our vacation. We island-hopped, snorkeled in tropical zones, swam in blue waters, scootered through beautiful landscapes, and visited one of the oldest temples in Taiwan. Staying at the awesome Penghu Whale Homestay was part of the reason we got to experience as much as we did. Each morning they made us a freshly prepared Taiwanese breakfast- my favorite was a seafood rice porridge (complete with squid tentacles) and a giant pork and veggie puff. And for $15 per person a night for a place a few minutes away from the beach, you can't really beat it. The first night we arrived, one of the Homestay staff members took us out to see a couple of century old houses, sample wild cacti blossoms, and check out the gorgeous views from some basalt cliffs. The cactus she carefully cut off for us to try was bright pink in color and tasted sweet with a sour grapefruit-like after taste.
On day two we took a ferry on a multi-island tour, which probably ended up being my favorite day. I was overwhelmed by the peaceful atmosphere and break-taking views; the simple beauty of everything we saw had a very euphoric affect on me and I felt as if I could have spent all day just observing and wandering around this tiny, stunning island of Taiwan. It was one of those times that yanked me out of the reality of my daily life and shook me with the realization- "You're in Taiwan!" We spent an hour and a half touring the first island and taking in sights like Twin Hearts Stone Weir, pictured above, and then took a half-hour ferry trip to the next island, where we had a secluded beach all to ourselves. On the third day we went snorkeling, another highlight of our Penghu experience, but I'll save that for another post.
(Click image to enlarge)
The nightlife and going out to eat was also a great part of Penghu. One night we had dinner at a delicious, laid-back restaurant called RipCurl that's owned by an Australian surfer and went out afterwards for some of the island's specialty purple cactus drinks at a fun bar and restaurant called Sunny Colony. The last night of our trip, one of the homestay workers invited us out for "barbecue" with her and her friends. In America, usually when you hear barbecue you think of a casual burgers and hotdogs event, so we weren't really sure what to expect since those aren't typical Taiwan menu items. We ended up scootering to a cool outdoor patio filled with wooden picnic tables that were all set up with simple grills in the middle. You go up and pick your seafood, meat, and veggies, grab a few beers, and you're set. We tried some fantastic salty oysters and had a really fun time hanging out with some of the Penghu locals. We considered it a great end to an even better vacation. We'll definitely be going back at some point before we leave Taiwan.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
A beautiful oasis
(Post by Alisha)
This excursion still lingers on my mind as a day of pure enjoyment. There is nothing quite like taking a 15 minute cab out of the smoggy city only to discover yourself wonderfully enclosed in a paradise of green leafy vegetation and teal-green rivers. Jenny, Bacon and I hiked for a few humid hours, drinking in the sights of waterfalls and tropical canopies along the way, until we decided we were ready for the second half of our trip. Our plan was to get roasting hot with a nice-paced hike and then catch a cab or bus to a place further down that had some pretty good swimming spots. However, when we emerged from our hiking trails back out onto the main road, we were dismayed to discover that taxis would take us to our hiking spot, but would not be waiting around for a return journey. Luckily, I am used to plans going awry and just going with the flow, so while level-headed Bacon and Jenny were starting to get flustered, I suggested we just keep walking along the road to see what we might happen upon. After about 15-20 minutes of trudging along in the unrelenting sun (and still about 45 minutes from the swimming place we had planned on going to), we all heard the faint sounds of splashing and rushing water. Without a second thought, we turned off the road and followed a little dirt path around the corner, stumbling right into our very own desert's oasis. In the midst of a circlet of fern-like trees blowing in the wind there was a fairly large, crystal-clear pool of water with a small cliff towering on one side and a mini-waterfall pouring into it from the back end. A few Taiwanese people sat on the rocky banks and motioned us down. We had to cross about 10 feet of thigh-high rapids to make it to the spot ideal for swimming. For the rest of the afternoon, we swam around and did some very fun, probably semi-dangerous cliff-jumping under the tutelage of a Taiwanese man who went before us to "prove" it was safe. When the sun dipped behind the clouds we finally decided to drag ourselves away and managed, by a stroke of luck, to find a cab ride home. It was definitely one of the highlights of our time spent in Taipei.
(Click image to enlarge)
Sunday, September 20, 2009
228 Peace Memorial Park
(Post by Alisha)
So for the first few days that Jenny was in Taiwan we decide to "do" Taipei. A couple of days were devoted to the standard musts, such as gazing up at Taipei 101 and ordering plates of dumplings at Din Tai Fung, but we did enjoy finding several new places to traipse around as well. The 228 Peace Park was one of our favorites for a quiet stroll through pretty landscaping, a sobering reflection on a period in history, and a look at some impressive architecture. The 2-28 Incident was an utter massacre by the KMT of peaceful demonstrators and a violent suppression of the anti-government uprising in Taiwan in 1947. The park is a great and beautiful memorial; I just wish that some of the plaques and statues would have been written in English.
Another cool place Jenny and I found on one of our girls shopping day was a restaurant called Slack Season Tan Tsi Noodles. The chefs cook large pots of long, sinuous noodles over charcoal-fired pots right near the entrance. For 50NT ($1.50 U.S.) we each got a steaming bowl of beef Tan Tsi noodles with a pink shrimp on top. After our lunch, we stopped at a funky little frozen yogurt shop right next door and split a tasty bowl of raspberry delight topped with fresh strawberries. Although on a small scale, the combination of the two eating experiences is a classic example of the harmonious nature between traditional Taiwanese culture and the contemporary economic trends. Another example of this would be the fact that there is excellent modern health care here as well as authentic Chinese herbal medicine practices. Rather than creating a culture clash, as one may expect, the mix of new and old works side by side in a remarkably balanced fashion.
(click to enlarge)
We're back!
In true Alisha fashion, I've been dealing with the incredible amount of information we have about our vacation by simply trying to avoid it for a bit :) However, Bacon has started to compensate for this by posting a few awesome videos that definitely capture the beauty and spirit of some of the places we visited. Now I will try to overcome my fear of organization by trying to sort through some of our experiences to give you a few hodge-podge peeks at what our trip was like. 高兴回来! Happy to return...
Monday, September 7, 2009
Penghu Island Video
We had an awesome time at Penghu and the surrounding islands. Here is a video montage (Artist: Matt & Kim, Song: Daylight).
It wouldn't have been half as much fun if we didn't stay at the Penghu Whale Homestay. They literally helped us with everything: snorkeling, scooters, ferry rides, food, airport pick-up and drop-off. If you're a Taiwan visitor and reading our website then check out their website HERE.
It wouldn't have been half as much fun if we didn't stay at the Penghu Whale Homestay. They literally helped us with everything: snorkeling, scooters, ferry rides, food, airport pick-up and drop-off. If you're a Taiwan visitor and reading our website then check out their website HERE.
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