Food glorious food

Uncle Chicken shit's favourite flip flops cheap, plasticky, blue and very sexy.

Festivities at the Heaven and Hell temple Tainan.

Scooters in the rain.

Try your skill with BB guns at the night market.

We went to an all you can eat bbq and shabu shabu restaurant. Shabu Shabu is hot pot, a big bowl of stewing water heated underneath. Inside you boil all kinds of vegetables and meats. The soup was 'herb' on the menu and contained goji berries, astragalus and other strange things but certainly felt very healthy. But we didn't really go there for the hot pot we went there for the all you can eat bbq and all you can eat we did. There seems like there is quite a few of these all you can eat places around town but this one was definitely the best value. Infact I can't imagine how they make any profit because we definitely got our moneys worth. It cost 450nt which is about 10punds with limitess sushi, sashimi ,beef, prawns, fish, squid and scallops to throw on the BBQ. Delicious. We went with Lisa our landlady and she ticked 1 of everything on the menu. It was a feast and all the protein i would need in a week. I would deifintely recommend it to a friend. It was the the stone bbq on Jhonghua road. Theres always a line so book ahead.

Went clothes shopping yesterday it was fun, for me that is, not for Pra who moped around between the railings playing the part of the bored boyfriend very well. The only problem is the size, everyone is so bloody tiny here. I managed to squeeze literally squeeze into a few things so I am happy with my wares. Infact I plan on doing more clothes shopping. Clothes here are cheap but the quality can also be poor too. 

It's Easter today not feeling very Eastery tho. Had a late one in Armory infact the stragglers came tumbling out of the doors of Armory drunkenly singing at 8am. Then we had spicy beef for breakfast. 5 hours kip then we met up with a friend called Bell who cooked us some traditional Turkish food it was really tasty. I made my very easy Salmon and cream cheese surprise. The surprise is that it is minimal effort with maximum taste. Belle has an oven so we could make it in there. It's just a little tiny thing but it gets the job done I would like to get one. Belle's really sweet. She was telling us how she is the only foreigner on her course at university and she finds it quite lonely. :( She's very good natured so I am sure we will see more of her. And a good cook. 

I've got to plan lessons now loooooooooong!!!

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.

Armory Bar Tainan

Flowers at the hot air ballon festival. Unfortunately the hot air balloon never made it into the sky due to bad weather.

Overlooking traffic from the HSR station Tainan with obligatory horde of scooter.

Cute husky dog at Betiou hot springs Taipei. Huskies are popular even though it's so hot.

Beitou hot springs, here is a pool of inviting, steaming turquoise water. Don't jump in tho its boiling as in bubbling and will steam you like a leek dumpling. horrific ending to a nice day trip.

Panoramic view of that big museum place in Taipei 

I haven't written in a few days been busy with the weekend and working. Had an awesome weekend went out to a few bars, Armory, The Underbridge and met up with some cool dudes. Brandon and Natasha are this nice American couple, Natasha is infact an angelic appearing Russian, big blue eyes and long golden hair. Brandon is an ex soldier has served in Afghanistan. He told us one drunken night just how depressed he was after leaving the army and that Natasha saved him from himself. Natasha also had her demons to fight so  i guess they fixed each others broken wings, thats what Natasha says anyways. I am happy for them. Also Katy and Graeme this scottish couple they can drink like fish and smoke like chimneys. We hung out watching funny youtube videos I really like katy I can tell she's got a big heart and would be a loyal friend to the end. It's funny out of the two she definitely wears the trousers.  

Went to Armory bar and actually ate there instead of drank and the food was damn good. It was kind of surreal being there sobre I noticed all of the twisted artwork they have on their walls. Like the 'depressed smoking man' or the 'hands for fans' or the 'Picasso is kicking you in the head' There's loads of cool and weird decor in there that goes unnoticed by the endless supply of drunk people. All the windows on one side are covered in crazy drunk pictures. My mark is there. I drew a face with an equally as wasted Taiwanese guy about a month ago with eyeliner. Its not very good to be honest. I tried some Hakka salty pork it was orgasmic. I need to get my hands on some more aboriginal foods if that salty pork was anything to go by. There are quite a lot of aboriginal tribes around Taiwan, I learnt about a few while I was doing a project at work. I really want to go and spend some time with the tribes and eat more of their salty meats! They are mostly on the East Coast though so I will have to plan something.
We are trying to plan a trip to green island in April I hope there are still vacancies. Taiwan is so densely populated and lacking in vacation, you have to jump on these national holidays to get anything booked plus all the popular places are gonna be rammed so you have to organise trains early etc. It looks beautiful fingers crossed. 


My tutorial wants me to buy him a Birthday present. He was like teacher are you going to give me my present next lesson. Ha ha He has been behaving himself especially well. Might get him a kinder egg or something! 

The weather is so nice at the moment, perfect. I know it's not gonna stay this nice and get unbearably hot but right now its about 27 with a nice breeze. Can't help but laugh at all those poor sods back home. Headline reads, no more early spring as Britain face -7 degrees. Early spring my arse it's still march. Looking forwards to this weekend gonna hit the beach!

Night Markets

 

Fancy lights in the elevator in Taipei 101

 

The weighted ball in Taipei 101 stops the building falling down in an earthquake.

 

The modern toilet restaurant, if you fancy poo shaped breads, urinal dishes and poor service.

 

Cakes for the lonely and hungry lady.

 

Shilin night market the biggest night market in Taipei.

 

 Panoramic shot of Shilin night market.

 

The metro in Taipei.

I am so tired I have taught for 7 hours today including breaks. I signed up for extra hours teaching high school students. They are all pretty well behaved, a few stroppy ones but thats to be expected with teenagers. And I was armed with my greatest weapons, powerpoints and candies. It works! These kids are very studios not like the murderous teenage youth we have in London. So in comparison any kind of strop they give you is pretty tame. For example I said what's your favorite sport and one of them said 'I don't care' so I handed said person a piece of chalk and they wrote it begrudgingly on the board. So the rebellion is not like the London riots or anything. In my sub lesson I got a chance to read diaries of some kids they were pretty depressing they were all like ' I wish I could play ipad tonight, but I have too much homeworks' non of the 'got wasted in the park drinking a bottle of cider' from what I can remember from my youth.

I went to Catiya's restaurant for a nice lunch in the sun, one of my arms now has a tan. I need to even that stuff up. Me and Gene bumped into Rams Horn. Rams Horn is an American girl I met in Tin Pan (bar) She's nice but a can be intense. She has these piercing blue eyes and is a bit of a weirdo, she has started taking peyote with some hippies in the mountains and now talks about chakras and intrinsically, sliding, metamorphis... all those kinds of adjectives. She is a lyricist, she demonstrated her mc-ing to me while drunk in the park and she is really really good. You know whatever floats your boat. 

ALso bumped into a guy called Oscar Sun a photographer, he told me about a film festival where you have to make a 5minute film in 32 hours sounds cool I might give it a try. 

Found those willy cakes in Shilin night market, they are pretty hilarious. I love the night market culture here, its a perfect place as it is so hot infact you start feeling yourself become a night person to stay away from the overbearing heat. The nightmarkets are always rammed with old and young as they meander through the crowds sampling culinary delights. They're pretty dirty so don't go there with a squeamish friends, you may see a rat or some kind of a grotty grill. But they are so vibrant, Thats one thing I love about Taiwan their society is inclusive. In England it is almost taboo to get old. You have to sit indoors with your slippers and a yorkshire terriers and a blanket because you can't afford the heating, cowering away from hooded youths on the bus. But here everyone can get out into the nightmarket, old people still have a voice, they go to concerts with young people. I miss London but I definitely don't miss that, plus when I'm an old lady I don't want to be scared to go out at night. 

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....

Yenshui Fireworks festival the second most dangerous tradition in the world I think

A horrendously obese dog outside the confuscious

temple in Tainan. With added insult to injury he had to 

wear a bow.

 

Lucky the luckiest dog in the world. He is a street dog taken in by a nice kind old lady called Sylvia. She took him in after a bear trap took his left paw. He is the happiest dog in the world he takes nothing for granted especially cuddles. He's probably forgotten me now and will bark at me the next time I see him.  

 Burning paper money for a god's birthday to bring good luck, some might call it bribery.

 

BBQ squid pretty tasty especially the tentacles noms.

The old and the new.

                             

       

A crazy temple on the east coast with hundreds of statues.

 Jasper finding spiritual enlightenment.

Well I have a very sore head, stomach and a strange feeling of shame and dissapointment, welcome the hangover from hell. All my healthy talk out of the window for a decandent night of sangria. You can't blame me fore indulging I mean there was Brie at this party, that shits hard to come by out here. So as soon as that sweet brie passed my lips healthy me went out the window and was replaced by beer swilling cheese munching me. And now that me has been replaced by hungover me. I don't like her.

It was a good night tho, the female teachers had a girly get together with dips and chips and as i mentioned cheese. i know I keep banging on about this brie but it's getting to that stage now where I am starting to miss a few of my old home foods like bacon, english sausages, marmite, baked beans, my mums chicken and cheese. I've always had an oriental palate so I'm definitely not complaining about the delicious noodles, sushi, bbq shrimp, chicken and rice boxes but you always want the best of both worlds. There is definitley no shortage of things to eat out here. It's actually not uncommon for people to not have a kitchen they literally never cook and always eat out. 

I tried bbq squid for the first time at the Yenshui fireworks festival. Sam doesn't like seafood so I delighted in making sure the tentacles hung out of my mouth as I chowed down on it. I also tried chicken feet too but i didin't really like the texture if you can imagine. This festival is supposedly one of the most dangerous in the world. Before I went I heard all the horror stories of lost eyes, lost hearing and burns so I was shitting it just slightly. You have to go fully dressed in helmets and towels and a few beers to calm the nerves help

The festival was started a long time ago when this town was being ravaged by cholera. They paraded their god statues through the town setting off firecrackers into the crowd and to this day they continue. You need a towel just in case a bottle rocket flies into your helmet in which case pray. To be honest I thought it was gonna be more crazy than it was. I mean there are mothers with children, old folk and a big outdoor nightmarket is there. I think its only really dangerous if you want it to be. They bring the statues around the streets and at different times set off the crackers. So if you don't fancy being pelted with fireworks you can go and stand at the side. Its funny to see but as the firecrackers start everyone starts jogging on the spot, this is to make sure they don't get lodged on your clothes. It was a really good experience but just remember that the trains finish early so its long to get back from. The fireworks displays were epic must have cost thousands of pounds. I feel sorry for the dogs they must have been freaking out. But then again the dogs here are a little different. The stray dogs actually cross the roads at the crossing when there is a green man. I do not lie, I've seen them do it loads of times pretty impressive. Not all of them are so clever, or perhaps more are risk takers and they do get hit by cars sometimes

I met a 8month old dog yesterday called Randy he was so dopey and excitable. One of the girls got him out of the pound. Apparently 200 dogs are put down each day in Taiwan its pretty sad most of them don't even get the chance of being adopted. I was shocked to hear her say that she wasn't taking the dog with her back to America as it costs too much. about 1600pounds. I know thats alot but you gotta pay it. Dogs not for Christmas and all that. I have 6months to work on her and her boyfriend into making them feel so guilty about Randy that they take him.

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.