Earthquake

Cleaner in Taipei

Green spider we found at the hot springs.

Waited in line for a panda's butt. He doesn't look impressed.

If you don't want to pay for the hot springs, dip your toes in the ward river. It is fed by a boiling hot lake so is nice and warm.

Golden Buddha

Its almost the end of the week yay. We had an earthquake yesterday was the strongest I have ever experienced. I was lying in bed semi conscious just dosing not wanting to wake up, when boom I was being shook awake. It was surreal not knowing if you have been jolted awake by some plunge in a dream or if it that shaking feeling is the end of the world. I turned to see Pra groggy, puffy eyed looking at me replying with the same gormless face that I was giving him. The panelling on our tatami style sliding door was rattling and the whole bed was shaking violently. Before I have experienced a few tremors which was like the swaying of a hammock or something like that. But this one was next level I almost had a heart attack. Which as I have heard before can be one of the biggest killers in earthquakes- those without much damage but with enough shock factor to kill you without ruining your house. As soon as it came it was gone only lasting a few seconds. I came out to see R patz in the kitchen looking as shook up as me. We later heard that it was a 6 on the ricther scale and originated in Taitung. You forget about earthquakes until they hit you boom. It's strange living in a country with natural disasters. England is a nice safe country no killer spiders/ snakes etc. 

Just a short one today feeling pretty tired out. nothing left to report.

TCRC bar Tainan

Night market scene.

Chikan towers at night.

One of the many graveyards dotted around the island. The richer you die the better your tomb.

Calming Koi carp.

The green tunnel Anping.

The week begins again, time is flying. Had a good weekend went to the beach and ate some yoghurts, laughed at the willy shaped cloud and swam in the sea. Many Taiwanese have told us that it is dangerous to swim in Anping sea. It seems so shallow tho I can't imagine it being dangerous. Our landlady told us that there is a month when no one goes near the sea as it is ghost month. During ghost month you should not partake in any dangerous past times such as swimming, as a ghostly hand could potentially drag you down to join them. She is very superstitious not something I particularly believe in. Met up with H man, this cool sudanese guy. He was very messy from the night before. He's my broken arm twin. We share the same scar on our arms. 

Everything is sorted out for our trip to Green island. i am really looking forwards to it. Got the Wednesday the 3rd off from school which is good. Some girls we know tried to book the train but it was too late and they were all fully booked. They seemed peeved I didn't book it for them but I can't be held responsible for booking 9 peoples holiday cut me a break.

Went to TCRC a little bar tucked down a side alley. Its really unnoticeable, even when you go in you don't realise that it opens our into a bar round the back. They lovingly make you any coctails. They are a self professed no menu coctail bar so you can ask for whatever you want. I didn't rock the boat and requested a mojito. it was lovingly made in about 30mins but was worth the 250nt. It was delicious, big and strong just the way I like my coctails. i felt tipsy after just the one. I saw other tasty looking coctails floating around the bar, one in a wine glass with lots of fresh fruit, very girly. The bar itself is small and cosy but very nicely decorated it's like stepping back into the 1940's. Behind the bar there are big long wooden shelves practically up to the ceiling with every booze you could possibly imagine. They have those cool sliding ladders so they can climb up and go get a bottle. Octopus showed us the place and introduced us to the manager. Would like to go there again but not sure how they would cope with a busy Saturday night. 

Anping Beach

Stinky Tofu, smells well lets just say stinky and tastes, lets just say stinky. Is Taiwan's national dish, I tried it when I was hungover not the best plan willing to give it a second go but not my favorite dish I am sad to say.

Taken at the same temple with all the Buddha statues.

Three little duckies.

Up past cloud level.

The heaven and hell temple Tainan.

Well, it's been about a week since I last wrote something been super busy my time is flying past, almost 6months since i arrived a freshie off the plane. Went to Anping beach this weekend with Nat, Stickler and Bboy was really hot, so much so that Pra sunburnt his back. Boys are not very good with suncream. The taiwanese ladies looked at me and Nat in astonishment as we brazenly strolled down the beach in our bikinis and jumped in the ocean. They sheltered their fair complexions behind unbrellas and long sleeved tops. It's funny how no nation seems to be content with their skin tones. In England everyone wants a tan and in Taiwan everyone is bleaching their skin and going to extreme lengths to avoid the sun. I look forwards to the day when we can all be blue pink and green. It was a relaxing day at the beach, Anping beach is no Thailand beach it has dark sand and some trash. But the ocean is warm and frequently you can see flying fish skimming over the water. Apparently Brandon saw ten. The sand is soft and really hot and a good place for a bbq/ some impromptu fireworks/ or a sunset. Anping is a really cool place to visit, there are loads of old alleys and eateries to explore. There is the place called the tree house which is an abandoned building overgrown by impressive banyan roots. Its fantastical but busy on weekends which slightly spoils the atmosphere. Everyone has got a camera so you will be sure to see some photoshoots there. Then there is the big fort Zeelandia which is cool but not my kind of thing, after the thrill of the banyan tree i got bored by the historical ness of the place. I think it was made when the dutch colonised the island. I feel bad saying that it is boring it is a really impressive building but give me a water fall or a forest any day and i am far more happy. But I love love anping one of the coolest places in Tainan. 

We got lost again in the Taxi with the four tones it is so hard to get any where. went to KAiana lu instead of Hai an lu. The guy was so nice that he didn't charge us, very decent of him. Hai an lu is another really cool place in Tainan lots of restaurants and bars. It has a really arty feel the buildings are painted and decorated one being completely blue like a blue print. There's a market there and other cool things to find. Had some BBQ food was a little pricey tho!

Dropped into Armory to look for Hancock our buddy. It was 12pm the morning after the Irish themed st patricks day night before. It was grim in there. There was about 10 people still left gurning and singing bad karaoke they looked sweaty and sallow, the place looked like a crack house, complete with large black lady asleep propped up against a wall. We soon left.

Better go, I have a Chinese lesson tomo with a friend Poppy and it's getting late.

High Speed Rail to Taipei.

Going Shrimp fishing on Chinese New year holiday.

The rude plant.

The flower festival in Tainan park, Chinese New Years.

My friend outside Taipei 101 the 3rd tallest building in the world, presently.

The view from Taipei 101.

Well this will have to be a short one, I have had a long Monday feeling hungover and dopey, drawing comments of 'Oh you look so tired' from my co teachers. Just about starting to to feel back to my bubbly self. Plus I want to watch walking dead... super hooked on these cliff hanger esque series. 

Apart from losing the answer sheet in an exam and being swamped with worksheets today was okay. I had my tutorial with Kyle he a loveable boy and very sweet. He gave me some grapes which I promised to plant in some soil to grow a grape tree. I didn't have the heart to tell him they were seedless nor that I ate them soon after he gave them to me. He he. Had my extra class aswell with two brothers who are the best students. I mean they see me to the dorr, provide me with bottles water and give me indoor shoes when i come in. Very polite. A quick stop to my old favourite lunchbox place afterwads. 24hr chicken , veg, rice and noodles and only 80nt which is about £1.60. 

Been looking at my Taipei photos was a really good trip. We had a week off work for Chinese New Years. sweet. We went up by HSR which is 300 kph I think. it's really posh. It hums through the countryside, there's loads of leg room and you can swivel the seats round to face each other. Plus it's so much faster than the regular train. Truth be told its much more expensive than the regular train it costs about 60 UK pounds return but saves you 8hours travelling time compared to the slow train which is about half the price. I know which I would rather pay, I have done those 24hr coach trips to to Amrsterdam and you know what pay the extra if you can afford it. I hate sitting on a train i can max about 2hrs without feeling restless. Taipei was so busy had to queue up for everything, the Taipei 101, the pandas at the zoo, the sculptures in the national palace. Plus I lost my silver bracelet was gutted for a day. The Tapei 101 has a fancy elevator which is the fastest in the world. It takes only 40secs to get to the top with minor ear popping. They even have some star lights in the ceiling accompanied by etheral fancy music. The views cool but i guess the piece de resistance is the weighted ball which stops it falling over in an earthquake. Kinda looked like it was made of polystyrene tho. 

anyways as i said walking dead is waiting....

Tainan city

Tainan City, Friday 01/03/12.

 

It's been four and half months since I first arrived in Taiwan and I've decided to start keeping a diary mostly so that I don't forget whats happened. These are some of my favourite photos I've taken since I have arrived. Taiwan is a crazy place, imagine busy nightmarkets selling all kinds of random, bbq, shrimp, fruit, noodles, pancakes, duck tongues and stinky tofu- we'll get to that later. Rammed up back alleys caked with petrol spewing scooters. The most seven elevens you will ever see. Infact Taiwan has the densest population and also most amount of seven elevens. Why you ask? Because you can do everything at seven. food, bills, booze, taxi's, internet the list goes on. Tea shops too with my favourite beverage DO DO LOOOOO dot every corner. Food places everywhere, for a skinny people they sure pack away a lot of greasy unhealthy food. Where does it go? intimidating stray dogs rule the streets hunting in packs skulking along the railroad tracks. They'll chew up TOTO thay little fluffy white dog from the tea shop so thats why he's not allowed out of the garden. Strangely sweet foods and weird ginger man pubes which is infact pork floss speckle shiny sugar cakes from 85 cafe. People everywhere and at any time it truly is a 24hr place.

Well thats a brief overview of course there is still a lot to add and add I will as the days pass.

Today was an ordinary day as in uneventful but also placidly normal. I went to the gym today and bussed out some moves in the pool. Me, SAm and RIk are on our get ripped quick scheme. We invested in a smoothie maker a great investment as Taiwan is a 12 season country, every month there is some kind of tastly tropical fruit being sold for pennies. The abumdance of papayas and passion fruit is sometimes too large for the population to consume and they start browning on the 24hr shop shelves. At the moment it is Papaya and weird strange apple pear fruit season. So after indulging in a nice cooling swim- it was 27C today we ate a fruit smoothie feeling smug withourselves. Followed by an unhealthy lunch at seven eleven. Fried shrimp balls, sushi triangle and coffee sets me up for a day at work. 

I work at a buxiban prononced busiban one of the largest cram school chains on the island. I enjoy working there but they are so bloody disorganised at times it drives me crazy. I had a one to one tutorial with a lively seven year old. He is a very intelligent, violin, piano playing studios boy with a love for fiddling with paper and anything he can possibly fiddle with. He almost had a hulk moment today. He couldn't understand the work and to be honest his enthusiasm has been waning recently and I thought he was gonna full on temper tantrum. Luckliy I had a little chocolate coin in my bag. I feel sorry for the poor little buggar. These Taiwanese kids wake up at 6.30, head straight to school, finish school at 4.30 head to the buxiban for maths and english, then go home and do homework. They even have to go to school on a Saturday sometimes. So I can understand he would get grumpy. I lighethened the mood with a game and the green faded from his cheeks. 

Rode the scooter home at 8. Its been about a month since we bought the scooter and the novelty is yet to wear off. I don't wanna get in to a crash it's so easy to get complacent. And the poeple here drive like maniacs. They wear facemasks whenever they get a cold but strap their children onto scooters with homemade chair devices and no helmets, cutting you up at every possible chance. Its madness. It's surprising who the worst drivers are.  I mean there are the boy racers thats to be expected but the crazy grannies who come up the wrong side of the road with ten big bin liners tides to the scooter their mirrors all bent- you know they are not using those. There is actually a red white and black triangle sign with a granny with a big cart. BEWARE the grannies. Then you got the young, i'm not gonna stop for nothing girls. Who ride around in stillettos going through red lights. But I'm used to it, through the chaos there is order, there is predictable madness so I'm used to it. Plus if a car hits you they are always in the wrong so they stay away from the scooters.  Still since i've been here two of my co workers have crashed. They were boys however with a penchance for dangeroud driving.

Well I'm staying in tonight, I'm almost 27 now so can't be fucked with endless shitty bars like I used to love. I'm going out tomorrow so that will be my weekly dose of booze. As i said trying to get ripped quick and trying to save money. If you go out you will honestly spend more money on drink than on your rent its pretty pricey comparitively. Looks like its movie night with the boys.