Adventures in Taipei

2006-10-29T21:30:00.000+08:00

Last Friday we celebrated Halloween a few days early. The school's grounds were scattered with mini fairies, pumpkins, Harry Potters and Mr Incredibles aswell as a towering Sorcerer and Count.

2006-10-29T21:26:00.000+08:00

From across a crowded room of 3 foot tall kiddies, Li manages to snap this shot of possibly the coolest man ever to don a cape and fake eyebrows at a kindergarten.

2006-10-29T21:24:00.000+08:00

Li's favourite Halloween fairy - Mindy.

2006-10-29T21:14:00.000+08:00

Rich's cute little fairies from K2B

2006-10-29T21:09:00.000+08:00

Welcome to the first collection of hopefully many in the series of weird photos from Taiwan. This old dude was a busker at a shopping district in Taipei. Note the surgical facemask with a hole cut in it....practical yet elegant. His glasses were made of cardboard. Must have been disposables......

2006-10-29T20:49:00.000+08:00

Nothing to add here really......

2006-10-29T20:26:00.000+08:00

From one cock shop to the next...........

2006-10-29T14:30:00.000+08:00

This dude had finished a hard day's work standing next to a sign and he was taking it home the safest way possible...on a scooter. As long as there was a tailwind he'd be ok.

2006-08-28T21:39:00.000+08:00

Berjaya Tioman Island Resort off the east coast of Malaysia was our perfect getaway. No phones, no computers and no gyms (guilt factor - zero). The pool-bar got a good workout though!

2006-08-28T21:33:00.000+08:00

Competition was furious for the best "seats in the house" and we got 'em every day. Pool-side and beach-side day beds - we were in heaven!! We became resort-savvy very quickly.
TIP: Sneak in before the pool opens and mark your territory with a few personal items.

2006-08-28T21:29:00.000+08:00

When you've got a good spot you keep it. We did move during the day though... to the pool bar and back :)
(You can see Rengiis Island in the background... where we did some snorkelling.)

2006-08-28T21:23:00.000+08:00

One of the *insert adjective here* sunsets we enjoyed whilst on Tioman.

2006-08-28T21:16:00.000+08:00

Monkeys are to Tioman Island as possums are to any campsite in Australia. Raiding rubbish bins was a far more delicate operation for these mammals however. They seemed to live happily along side the resort guests rather than be a disturbance. This one was called Monica - she enjoys long walks on the beach and sipping pina coladas at sunset. She also enjoys flinging poo.

2006-08-28T21:11:00.000+08:00

A small lagoon within the resort complex was home to an extended family of the rarely spotted wide-screen monitor lizards. These things are big!

2006-08-28T21:06:00.000+08:00

In a futile attempt to work off some of the Long Island Ice Teas, we took to the water in a double kayak around the resort and near by Rengiis Island.

2006-08-28T21:05:00.000+08:00

2006-08-28T20:59:00.000+08:00

The snorkelling was like being dunked in an over-stocked aquarium!! The water was beautiful and warm and crystal clear and the amount of sea-life was breathtaking (pardon the pun). We hope the photos do it justice.

2006-08-28T20:57:00.000+08:00

2006-08-28T20:42:00.000+08:00

2006-08-28T20:31:00.000+08:00

We finished our holiday in Singapore to visit my (and soon to be Rich's too!) family - where we ate, visited the night safari, ate, shopped, ate, saw some sites and ate some more. Here we are posing in front of the Merlion - the symbol of Singapore.

2006-07-11T15:33:00.000+08:00

This is my HB2-4 class on their last day. Most of them were great but a few of them were little turds.

2006-07-11T15:26:00.000+08:00

This is Hedy. She was so upset that it was our last day. It's hard not to get attached to your students when they are this cute and affectionate.

2006-07-11T15:23:00.000+08:00

Cheeky Felicia and snoozy Ruby. I'll let you figure out which one's which......

2006-07-11T15:11:00.000+08:00

Little Hedy again being very sweet.

2006-06-24T11:12:00.000+08:00

Last Friday we had a Suang Lien School slumber party where all the K3 kids put on a show and stayed the night.

We were all a bit tired by the end of the night and got a bit silly with the camera .....

2006-06-24T11:11:00.000+08:00

2006-06-24T11:08:00.000+08:00

2006-06-24T11:04:00.000+08:00

I have two Erics in my class - we all refer to them as "Small Eric" and "Big Eric". This is "Small Eric". I wonder if he will grow up thinking his first name is "Small"......

2006-06-24T11:02:00.000+08:00

Jenny and Betty say "cheese" in Taiwanese

2006-06-24T10:57:00.000+08:00

Meet Frank and Willy everyone!

2006-06-20T15:48:00.000+08:00

The Taiwanese believe that the secret to eternal happiness lies within this vending machine.

2006-05-25T09:00:00.001+08:00

Last Sunday we climbed the tallest building in the world. Taipei 101, for a charity event organised by the Canadian Society here. It was hot work in a stairwell without aircon but it was a fun day.

2006-05-25T09:00:00.000+08:00

35 minutes and1899 steps later and we were there. It was fun at the top. A live band, food, drinks and an amazing view of Taipei.

2006-05-14T16:20:00.000+08:00

A week to two ago saw a little journey out of the city to the Lin Family Gardens. A well known historical mansion surrounded by beautiful gardens and ponds bursting with carp. Mmmmmmmm - carp.

2006-05-14T16:19:00.000+08:00

2006-05-14T16:13:00.000+08:00

There were big ponds, bridges and big stone walls everywhere.

2006-05-14T15:59:00.000+08:00

Li's first orchid certainly brightened up our room.

2006-04-09T10:22:00.000+08:00

This past week, we have played host to Molly and Greg, Li's parents. It has been lots of fun being a tourist again, this time another visit to Chang Kai Shek Memorial Hall followed by an awesome meal at Din Tai Fung - Taiwan's most famous dumpling restaurant.

2006-04-09T10:18:00.000+08:00

On Wednesday we battled the humidity and the heat and trekked up the Jingmei Trail. There are lots of hiking trails all over Taipei that are conveniently located within minutes from MRT stations.

2006-04-09T10:16:00.000+08:00

A section of the very ornate roof of the Jingmai Temple. This is typical of the temple decorations here.

2006-04-09T10:13:00.000+08:00

Some of Li's little angels.

2006-04-09T10:05:00.000+08:00

Got no arse? Hips just a distant memory? Heres the solution!!! Join the millions (and millions) of satisfied Taiwanese men and get yourself into a pair of High Pants. Pockets are conveniently located under your armpits and your belt also doubles as man boob support. (Manssiere, Bro)

2006-03-26T17:35:00.000+08:00

Last Sunday saw a pleasant journey to Taipei Zoo.......

2006-03-26T17:33:00.000+08:00

Observing animals in their habitat without distubing them requres skillful camouflage.

2006-03-26T17:30:00.000+08:00

2006-03-26T17:26:00.000+08:00

We think the sign says it all.....Sign design by "Turd Baby Signs". (See Jan 31st post)

2006-03-26T17:23:00.000+08:00

Looking for some hot turtle action? Taipei Zoo is the place for you. A menage a turtle no less!!!! Good to see they are all wearing protection.

2006-03-26T17:18:00.000+08:00

Well, at least he wasn't flinging poo.......

2006-02-21T17:32:00.000+08:00

When you say you are just going to have "a couple of beers" in Taiwan it's still gonna be a big night!

2006-02-21T17:24:00.000+08:00

Now thats a whoop ass can of beer. As opposed to a big can o' whoop ass which is illegal in Taiwan. 940mls of fun for less than AU$3. Thats value in any city.

2006-02-16T08:58:00.000+08:00

Thanks to the clever folks at Google, we have Google Earth. A patchwork quilt, if you will, of many satellite pictures all conveniently sewn together into an easy to use program. Get it at http://earth.google.com/ . Anyway, here's that island of Taiwan. It's smaller than Tasmania and has 22.5 million people on it. And check out the amount of green there is. Thats all mountains. That makes the bits where people live very crowded!

2006-02-16T08:54:00.000+08:00

Taipei from above. We live north of downtown Taipei.

2006-02-16T08:51:00.000+08:00

Tien Mu and surroundings. About a 45 minute hike to work for Li.

2006-02-16T08:35:00.000+08:00

Our neighborhood! Tien Mu in all of its glory. A mere 10 minute walk from home to work.

2006-02-16T08:17:00.000+08:00

I always though that lanterns were just used to light up your house. This one would be most impractical in a blackout.

2006-02-16T08:14:00.000+08:00

One of the lantern floats. This one telling a story of a woman with poor peripheral vision.

2006-02-16T08:09:00.000+08:00

The Chang Kai Shek Memorial again. This time on the night of the lantern festival. There were bands, acrobats and lantern displays (obviously).

2006-02-09T08:36:00.000+08:00

It was a great day and everyone felt relaxed and snoozy on the bus ride home.

2006-02-09T08:31:00.000+08:00

A "marble bath". Jets of water are sprayed down on you. It's like a massage. Please note the sexy yet practical headwear. Believe it or not, there is a chocolate factory just out of shot.

2006-02-09T08:22:00.000+08:00

Naturally sourced hot springs north of Taipei were welcome warming relief after a chilly, rainy hike when the bus driver incorrectly dropped us off about an hour from our destination. It was only the kindness of some locals that cut our walking time down considerably when they stopped to give us a lift.

2006-01-31T17:47:00.000+08:00

Danshui - We were promised a quaint seaside fishing village but what we got was half the population of Taiwan converging on a seemingly endless promenade filled with dried squid vendors and bad sideshows. Their fishing boats are kinda cool though.

2006-01-31T17:32:00.000+08:00

The only shining light in Danshui. Needless to say, the store was shit. Makes me happy with the knowledge that Li and I will have work here for quite some time as English teachers.

2006-01-30T21:08:00.000+08:00

Taipei 101. The tallest building in the world. The line to get to the observatory was almost as long as the building is tall but it was worth the wait. It also has the fastest elevator in the world. 89 floors in 35 seconds.

2006-01-30T21:05:00.000+08:00

Extreme closeup!!! Also please check out the red carpet at the Chang Kai Shek Memorial.

2006-01-30T20:57:00.000+08:00

A view from the top of the CKS Memorial. The two impressive structures in the background are concert halls. The two impressive structures in the foreground are Rich and Li.

2006-01-30T20:50:00.000+08:00

The Chaing Kai Shek Memorial. Not to be confused with the Chaing Kai Shrek Memorial which is green.

2006-01-29T21:15:00.000+08:00

Finished the evening off with some reflexology..... bliss!

2006-01-29T21:01:00.000+08:00

Snake Alley (a night market that we just happend to come across) had some unusal delicacies.... tortoise anyone?

2006-01-29T20:57:00.001+08:00

Temple offerings at Longshan.

2006-01-29T20:42:00.000+08:00

We put on our tourist hats today and set out to explore the Longshan (Dragon Mountain) temple. We were told the city sleeps on New Years Day ......glad we caught it on a slow day...?
PS Where's Wally?

2006-01-29T20:33:00.000+08:00

2006 - Year of the Dog.... the Taiwanese take their Chinese horoscopes quite literally.

2006-01-28T18:05:00.000+08:00

When I think of Taiwan, I now think of dumplings.....
Kate, Shaun and yours truly on our first day in Taipei with a feast of local delicacies.

2006-01-28T17:53:00.000+08:00

Well, Dumplings101 lives!!
Stay tuned for more.........