Weekend in Kaohsiung (高雄)

Annie and I had a wonderful time visiting Southern Taiwan a couple weeks ago. We loved the warmth of the people in Kaohsiung as well as the sunny weather and relatively laid back culture. Here are some more photos for you all to enjoy. Perhaps we will move to Kaohsiung next fall if I am accepted to a University there to continue my Chinese studies. Happy Thanksgiving!

kaoshiung

Slideshow:

Trip to Keelung City

Here are some photos and a couple videos from our trip to the port city North of Taipei: Keelung (基隆). The city is most famous for its amazing night market food which attracts thousands of tourists every night. You can learn more about Keelung here

We hiked up a small mountain to an old fort which overlooks the ocean before heading to the night market to enjoy some of Keelung's most famous small dishes.

keelung

Slideshow:

Trip to Wu Lai

After finishing my first full week of classes at National Taiwan Normal University, Annie and I went to a special place 30-40 minutes outside of Taipei City called Wu Lai (烏來). According to Wikipedia, Wu Lai gets its name from the Atayal phrase kirofu ulai meaning "hot and poisonous" -- It is most famous for its hot springs and beautiful scenery. We got off the bus a little early so that we could hike a couple Kilometers to Wu Lai along a trail which follows the river. We took some pictures along our hike as well as at the hot springs / river where we went swimming and enjoyed the natural baths.

Click on the small picture below to view the album in Picasa, or just enjoy the Slide Show embedded at the bottom of this page:

wulai

End of Summer

The closing of summer is quickly approaching here in Taiwan and this means two things for Annie and me: Chinese classes at National Taiwan Normal University (師大) will be starting next week, and many kids are going back to school, ie. more English teaching/ tutoring opportunities for Annie. So we both will getting a little busier these next few weeks which is a good thing.

I have decided to use picasa online web albums for our photos just because it is too cumbersome to post more than a few photos onto blogger, so you can go here to see some of our photos from the end of the summer time -- some of them are from our trip to Dan Shui (淡水) -- you can read more about this place here on wikipedia

I've been here many times but this time the weather was perfect and we have a great time sitting by the seaside overlooking the meeting of the Dan Shui River with the Ocean.

Some of the other photos are from my recent visit to Hualien (花蓮 ) to visit an old friend my days of teaching english in Taichung. Hualien is on the East Coast of Taiwan, and is quite simply one of the most beautiful places on the island. If you are interested in learning more about Hualien and other scenic spots on the East Coast, check out this website run by the Taiwan Tourism Bureau: East Coast National Scenic Area. I have been there once before in 2007, but this time I got to go to see more of the local scene which was really interesting.

end of summer

Slideshow:

"Algae" Concert and More

We recently went to a free outdoor concert near ZhongXiao XinSheng MRT at the "Creativity Park" -- it is the old Taiwan Beer Brewery / Factory -- featuring a Taiwanese band called "Algae" whose lead singer is named Deserts Chang -- a folk singer here in Taiwan.

Lunch at Korean BBQ with Nathan and Grace -- really good and only $3 USD per person

Two other Taiwanese joined us from an English Bible Study Nathan teaches

The Venue of the Concert 4 hours before the show

Annie and I showed up at 1pm for the Show -- but they changed it to 5pm due to the Heat



We walked around the "Creativity Park"



Nathan and Grace

I climbed 1/4 of the way up the old Taiwan Beer Smoke Stack

The Venue started to fill up around 4pm after a couple hours of rain which cooled down the weather nicely

Annie getting ready to hear the Band

My friend Fleming came to the concert and brought his wife and two Sons (Ian is the older one, the 2 year old has no English name yet)





The lead singer's English name is Deserts Chang -- she is famous for her song "bao bei" which means "baby" or "darling" in Chinese -- she also likes to talk alot during her concerts about how bad the big record companies areMostly Students from the nearby Taipei Technology University showed up

The Rest of the Band



I recorded part of her folk song "Bao Bei"


Afterward we went to Dinner with Fleming and his family near the Venue -- the shrimp omelet was pretty good

Our New Place in Taipei

Breakfast shop near our Place -- two eggs, tuna, and some turnip cake for about $1

Police Office is very close to our home -- its a really safe neighborhood because some important politician lives nearby

This is the Taipei Wholesale Flower Market next to our Place


The Mountain which keeps our neighbood's air a little less polluted

We live near Roosevelt Rd. and XinLong Rd. Intersection

Inside the Flower Market Near our Place

Vendors at the Flower Market

Our Alley

Our Apartment

The Front Door to Our Place

Shopping and Visiting Friends

Traditional Market near our new apartment

A small temple inside the Traditional Market

New Hope Christian Fellowship -- our bilingual church home in Taipei

In the Night Market near Annie's Mom's Home

On the Bus to meet Sabina and her Sister for Lunch

Annie and her best friend Sabina

Sabina's Dog "Duo Duo" "多多"

Michael Jackson's death is big news in Taiwan