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.

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.
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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)
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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)
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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...

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Saturday, September 19, 2009

Taroko Gorge Video

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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.
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Sunday, August 16, 2009

Vacation Itinerary

As we'll soon be taking a glorious vacation all around Taiwan with my friend Jenny from home and won't be able to post for a while, I thought everyone would at least like to know a rough guideline of what we'll be doing and where we'll be going. Full updates, pictures, and excellent video footage are promised upon return!

Our (tentative) Itinerary:

Saturday-Wednesday: Taipei
*Of course, the main sights: 101 building, temples, and all the markets and old streets.
*Mountain tea house in Maokong overlooking the city at night
*Lots of restaurants and food, including a famous beef noodle house we have yet to try, and Yongkang Street- a long street featuring traditional Taiwanese food.
*River-tracing the JiaJiuLiao Stream to the natural rock-slide and swimming holes
*Taiwan Brewery Tour and Beer Bar.
*Shopping all over the city

Thursday p.m.-Monday a.m.: Makung/Penghu Island and the North Sea Islands
*We've booked a round-trip flight (45 minutes each way) to this beautiful archipelago off the coast of Taiwan. White-sand beaches, snorkeling, sea kayaking, whale watching, and visiting historic sites and temples are just a few of the things on the schedule for this trip. This area is also known for its impressive basalt structures that create beautiful statuesque scenery all over the islands. Penghu island is the main hub, and from there we'll take ferries and boat tours to the surrounding North Sea Islands.

Monday & Tuesday: Taipei again
*National Palace Museum, the famous building that (arguably) houses the largest collection of high-quality Chinese artifacts in the world.
*228 Peace Park- beautiful park and memorial to the 1947 anti-government uprising, called the 228 massacre, that ended in thousands of deaths and marked the start of the White Terror Period in Taiwan.
*Spicy Hot Pot dinner- Highly popular in Taiwan- cook your own meat and vegetables in a pot of spicy soup broth

Wednesday-Friday: Hualien, located on the mountainous east coast of Taiwan
*Since the islands trip will be our pampered, beach-laying vacation, we'll be camping and roughing it out a bit when we go to Hualien. We can rent a 4-person tent and necessary supplies for around 800NT (U.S. 25).
*The main attraction here is Taraoko Gorge National Park, one of the wonders of Asia. There are numerous hiking trails, sheer cliffs, the gorge that it is named after, dark caves and tunnels, waterfall walls, and breath-taking views.
*We'll try some of the highly recommended white-water rafting on a stretch of the river that leads to the ocean

Saturday-
*Goodbye dinner at our favorite restaurant and going out to the bars or clubs!

---These two weeks are going to fly by. Can't wait, wish us luck!
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Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Picture This

(Post by Alisha)
Taipei is a great city- you will be walking in a maze of crumpling buildings and crowded sidewalks breathing in air from the incessant scooter traffic when suddenly you turn the corner to find a beautiful, spacious park. Here's a few pictures from Daan Park; it's filled with palm trees, plants, cobbled paths, and best of all, this pretty vined archway we found.
Our own city in Taipei County is slightly more humble, but has plenty to boast about as well. Because the MRT will soon be reaching Sanxia, probably around when we will be leaving, go figure, city development and architectural improvements are really on the up-swing. There's some new noodle restaurants and tea shops and a Hot Pot Restaurant with mini sharks swimming in a tank on display. We also recently got a Carrefour that's a short 15 minute walk from our place- it's slightly akin to a Walmart, and it's nice because it has some items that have been really hard to find or that we've had to travel far into the city for. Here are some pictures by a new stretch of classy apartments on our walk to the Carrefour. Below is a shot of Robert standing by these giant bamboo structures, homage to the beautiful bamboo that grows all over Taiwan, and a mosaic of the Zushi Temple downtown.
Lastly I have a picture of one of the giant snails that inhabit what I have dubbed as "cockroach alley." It's located at the bus stop we always get off on when coming back from Taipei, and it's the perfect environment for all sorts of creepy crawlies. Large shady trees, little pools, and fountains of water mean tons of cockroaches that never fail to make me leap in the air and ogre-sized snails that can get as big as your fist. We named this one Seymour.
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Monday, August 3, 2009

Taiwan Images: Picture Collage

(Click on image to make larger)
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Sunday, August 2, 2009

Graduation Preparation


(Post by Alisha)
Since Uncle Sam's is a kindergarten school, the entire months of July and August are spent rehearsing for an elaborate graduation ceremony for the K6 students that will be moving on from the school and attending their Chinese elementary school full-time. Many of the students will still come back for night classes, so it's mostly a lot of hype and show for the parents. (It's really fun to be a Taiwanese student... school year-round from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., and some of them even get to go home to private tutoring. Joy. Oh, and let's not forget that you need to be able to play an instrument, so after you come home and do your homework you can practice until 11 at night.) Anyway, to commemorate this not-so-momentous event, all of the foreign teachers at our school were required to write a script for our homeroom classes (with a dance sequence) based on a well-known kid's movie. Each child needed several speaking roles and we had to find music, sound effects, and designate staging and lighting. Did I mention that my homeroom class is composed of ESL 3 and 4 year olds? This has been no easy task by any means, and we are all feeling the stress of trying to get kids to memorize lines they can barely read and learn actions, songs, and dancing on top of it.

Teacher Bacon is doing Willy Wonka with his class, the K4 Gorillas, and I am doing Finding Nemo with my K2 Dolphins. The end result will probably end up being cute and funny, but the pressure and expectations in the mean time are becoming a bit overwhelming. It's all over on August 22nd though, and after that my friend Jenny from the States is coming to visit. Bacon and I finally got our vacation time approved from the owner of the school, and we'll be taking two weeks off to tour the whole island of Taiwan. We plan on staying in Taipei for a few days and then venturing down South and maybe even to a small island off of the coast! The image of us snorkeling and laying on white-sand beaches is what is going to get us through these next few weeks...


*Below is a drawing by one of my students of Teacher Bacon and I. The orange spot above us is a "fire so hot" that is coming to get us. I think it's a pretty accurate representation of us. Notice how Bacon is wearing a dress-like outfit and has only four hairs. My arms are rather disproportionate, but given the age of the artist, 4, I think I can let that slide :)

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Monday, July 27, 2009

Swimming in the Danbau River

(Post by Alisha)
I've been really wanting to do some swimming in the rivers of Taiwan, so this weekend we ventured out to Manyueyuan again. It's near the same area we went hiking a while back, but in a different location well before the trails and mountains begin. We got dropped off by our crazy cab driver (he took corners he couldn't see around on winding mountain roads) and walked along the roadside until we spotted the place to swim. (Side note: I love just walking down a busy street and seeing strange fruit growing in clusters and banana trees towering above. I've said it before, but Taiwan's lush and varied natural scenery continues to amaze me- especially in comparison to the urban industrialism that surrounds it). We walked down some rickety stairs built into the hillside and down a dirt trail leading towards the river. A vendor selling sweet pork sausages and tangy ice cream directed us on our way- after, of course, grilling us up some of his tasty food :) A few beers and we were set for a little Taiwan river picnic.
We snaked through a very narrow grassy pathway and through a small tunnel before arriving at the river. This spot seems to me to be a perfect example of local Taiwanese culture: multitudes of families and friends gathered on the stony banks of the green and blue river under brightly colored umbrellas "grilling out." This basically amounts to making a little fire between a few large rocks, setting a small metal grate on top of them, and cooking up an assortment of vegetables and meats. Children were splashing in the river armed with many floating devices and catching little fish and minnows with nets while the adults enjoyed some pi jui (beer). The first picture is my favorite; it's such a beautiful representation of a classic Taiwanese scene.
We ate some food here and then carefully picked our way across the rocks down the banks to where the river turned into mini-rapids. There was an awesome little swimming hole next to a rocky cliff and waterfall- complete with a very unsafe rope swing. We wanted to cross the river to get to this side, but the current was very strong even in the parts of the river where the water only reached below our waist. we observed that many people started crossing until they found a rock jutting out in the water they could hold onto while the water rushed and pulled around them. That's exactly what we did, and it felt unbelievably cool, like being bombarded with pressure jets from a hot tub while trying not to succumb to the beckoning current. The water was yanking at us as we struggled to resist being sucked down the rocky stream (although this ended up happening to me later haha).
I eventually worked my way to the other side, slowly going from underwater rock to underwater rock, and finally convinced Bacon to attempt as well...he was a bit more hesitant that I was. After we crossed, we walked over to the swimming hole and watched some Taiwanese boys swing from the slippery rope, hitting the sides of the wet rocks surrounding them before dropping into not very deep water under the whooshing waterfall. Bacon said if I wouldn't let him get a scooter, there was no way he was letting me attempt the "roped death machine."
Later in the afternoon a Taiwanese boy saw me swimming about like a little fish in the water and pulled me by the hand over to him and his friends on the shore. I was excited- here was an opportunity for me to practice my Chinese! He was a big jokester, and he kept teasing me and asking me rapid questions. I was, however, much to my surprise, able to understand some of it and we talked for quite a while. Obviously much of the conversation was strengthened with actions and his little bit of English, but I still felt accomplished that my Chinese lessons were paying off in a real-life situation. One of the girls in his groups spoke really good English (she said she had been studying for three years) and she came over and did some translating. Irene was so incredibly nice, just like the majority of locals we meet here. Among the questions they asked me were:

"What do you think of Taiwanese people?"
"How do you like living in Taiwan?"
"Where are you from in America and what did you do there?"
"Why did you come to Taiwan/how long will you stay?"
...and of course, the classic: "How tall are you?!"

They kept giving us food and beer, and when I protested, they motioned to their circle of friends in a circular fashion and kept saying the Chinese word for share. They insistently informed me that sharing with friends and strangers is a major part of Taiwanese culture and to refuse is considered "unhappy to your hosts." Irene complimented my Chinese (which was nothing compared to how much English she knew) and said I was so sweet and pretty. The guy kept pretending that Bacon was going to beat him up for talking to me, and we all cracked up when they acted out a little fight scene. They asked me and Bacon, "Do you want play with us?" and we all jumped in the deep part of the river for the rest of the afternoon and splashed around.
I gave the boys some swimming lessons, which was hilarious because they're our age and don't really know how to swim at all. It was so fun making some local friends and great feeling like Bacon and I are slowly breaking down the communication barrier, at least at a very basic level.
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Friday, July 24, 2009

New Kitty Cat

(Post by Bacon)
Most of you already know that Alisha and I are huge cat people. We almost didn't come to Taiwan because we didn't want to leave our cats. Well a couple days ago, on our way to a Chinese lesson, we found a cute kitten looking for a home. It was sitting in the bushes next to the Yongning MRT station meowing like crazy. It was dirty and covered in fleas, but too cute to leave alone. We took him home and instantly fell in love with him. I just happened to have my video camera with me when we found the cat, and this is the video I made about him. I hope you enjoy. (His name is Chou, it's Chinese for stinky.)
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Tuesday, July 21, 2009

A lovely afternoon in Danshui

(Post by Alisha)
Danshui:
Step off the MRT and into the lively commotion of Danshui, a sea-side town in Northern Taipei. Fish bodies glisten and pigs feet sway in the crowded, colorful Old Street, where the fresh fish smell overwhelms the narrow alleyways. It was a great place to get a feel for a traditional fisherman's marketplace, complete with peachy pink squid and shrimp as big as my hand.

We then followed the river down to a fun little stretch of waterfront bursting with carnival games, salty snacks, and great views, often referred to as the Coney Island of Taiwan. We enjoyed some ice cream and sampled a variety of local food, from crispy fish balls to shrimp roll-ups, before finding the ferry docks. Two tickets across the river to Fisherman's Wharf cost less than $1 American and got us there in around 15 minutes.

Fisherman's Wharf features a funky little boardwalk with smoothie shops, shaved ice vendors, sidewalk artists and little benches. The towering "Lover's Bridge" creates a bright white silhouette against the sky and was created to resemble a sailing mast. It's beautiful for a stroll and a great place to view the setting sun over the river. We read books by the river for a while and munched on some delicious hand-battered and spicy-salted squid.

We wrapped up out night with dinner at Waterfront restaurant with a booth peeking right out at the water. A ferry ride back as the sun was going down was a great end to our outing in Danshui.

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Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Hohaiyan Rock Festival at Fulong Beach

Wow. This past weekend was hot, sandy and fantastic. I found out the 10th annual Hohaiyan Rock Festival was taking place directly on Fulong Beach, which is on the Northeast Coast of Taiwan. As soon as I heard the unbeatable combination of music and ocean views, I was in.


We (over) packed Friday night and left at 7 a.m. Friday morning, which should establish my level of eagerness to get there. Actually, the main reason we left so early was to beat the insane crowds of people that would be jamming in every nook and inch of floor space on the 1 and 1/2 hour train ride there. A friend who was going to moped there later asked if we would meet up with two girls new to Taiwan who would also be taking the train. We set off with our two awesome new friends bright and early, practically all glowing in our pale skin, blissfully unaware of the degree of sunburn that was in store for us later...


The Longmen Campsite has beautiful grounds just ten minutes from the beach and is only 800NT a night for a four-person tent, so we thought that would be the perfect accomodation for the night. I tried to call earlier in the week and make reservations, shakily asking in Chinese if they spoke English, but to no avail. We decided we would just chance it and check it out when we got there. Well the fact that we ended up camping on the beach under the stars should tell you how that went.


It was literally one of those perfect, straight-from-a-movie days. Deep blue skies, fluffly clouds rolling over the mountains, and waves strong enough to knock you over standing up at knee-level. We set up far enough down the length of the beach to be away from the crowds, yet close enough to hear the music playing in the background as they were setting up the stage. In the afternoon we wandered down the beach to where there were endless rows of red and white striped tents selling drinks, ice cream, snacks, beach apparel, sunglasses, etc.


We loaded up with treats and spent the rest of the morning/afternoon jumping in the waves and hanging on the beach. After we finally noticed that, despite our repeated slathering of sunscreen, we were getting fried, we went over by the pay part of the beach to where the Taiwanese were (wisely) all taking refuge from the sun under giant umbrellas, over-sized floppy hats, and tented shelters. It was too late to rent one of our own, but we made some friends and shared their shade.


Night finally rolled around, and we had some great Taiwanese food- delicious pork and vegetable dumplings covered in soy and a sandwich loaded with grilled veggies and meats, covered in different spices. A few cold Taiwan beers and our group of about 10 was all set for the music festival. We arrived at the concert area, and noticed that virtually everyone had dug deep trenches in the sand, kind of like the beach version of concert bleachers. We started digging and soon had our own comfy sand seats- we lined them with our towels and settled back to enjoy the tunes. The music from mostly local bands ranged from rock to beach reggae- Some of it was great, some was terrible, (most of it we couldn't understand) but we had a blast anyway. Randomly a band would throw in English in a song and then we would all try and sing along to the few words we recognized :)



We finally all got kicked off the concert area of the beach when the show ended, which left us all wondering what to do. We were unsure if we were going to be allowed to stay on the beach, but finally succeeded in convincing the officials we would be staying far, far down on the beach (therefore we wouldn't be a liability, as last year someone drowned). We made a bonfire and had a great time hanging on the beach until we finally succumbed to our exhausted state from the day in the sun and decided to skip the midnight swimming and try and get some sleep. Some of our friends had the foresight to bring tents, but Bacon and I just had a blanket and pillow each. It was definitely a cool experience camping out right under the stars and waking up to the sunrise, though our sunburns and sand whipping in our faces all night made it hard to get a good sleep.


We were planning on staying the whole next day, but we knew it would be not be a good idea as we were literally burned out :) We trudged back to the train station, sticking out even more than usual. All said and done, an awesome weekend that will stick out as one of the highlights of the summer thus far.


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Monday, July 13, 2009

Celebrating the 4th- in Taiwan

(Post by Alisha)


Two weekends ago, in honor of the 4th, Bacon and I decided to have a thoroughly "American" weekend. It was the first occasion tinged with wistful thoughts of home that we've had since being here. However, the feeling has since passed and we just commented to each other the day how much we thoroughly feel at home now in this country so far from anything resembling the land from which we came.


Friday night we went to a funky outdoor bar and restaurant area in Ximen for some piping hot stone-oven pizza and tasty beverages. We ate on a cute deck upstairs overlooking the action down below at a pizzeria called Alleycats. The pizza was pretty good, and on our way out the owner came up to us and asked us: "You stay in Taiwan- long time or short?" When we told him we were going to be here for quite a while, he asked for our names, snapped a picture of us, and told us we get a free pizza the next time we come in. Ah, just one of the perks of sticking out as over-sized foreigners.




Saturday night rolled around and we were armed with dangerous explosives and cold drinks, but sans the grill we wanted for a cook out in the courtyard. We ended up just ordering pizza and garlic bread, which we figured could still pass as Fourth of July food. We spent the night with friends reminiscing about American pastimes (like eating lots of food) and shooting off fireworks in a large field behind the apartments.

Though most of them were hardly what could be considered amazing, there was one rather large rocket at the end that burst into a huge sparkly display- our mission was accomplished- we felt at home :)


*We miss and love all of you-!*


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