Visa Run

I am still recovering from my world wind tour of Hong Kong. I barely slept while I was there and have been in bed and lazing on the couch since I returned yesterday afternoon. I stayed in a clean, modern, and small dorm room at a hostel on the main island. So small that the bathroom was literally a water closet, with the shower head directly above the toilet with a miniature sink. I introduced myself to fellow bunk mates and said I was travelling alone and was looking for someone to pass the time with. There was a guy in my room from Ontario/Quebec (who lives in Japan) and I had great fortune as his friend was a local who had spent a good part of her childhood growing up in Canada. They were kind enough to let me tag along. On Friday we left the main island and travelled to another island where a giant Buddha was perched high in the mountains. We took a gondola up and like hundreds of others climbed our way up to this massive structure. We then toured around some temples and caught a bus to a fishing town that is entirely on stilts. The town is old for Hong Kong (around 80 years old) and is somewhat of a historic site. The residents are mostly older and they make a modest living by selling fish which they often dehydrate in the open air. We wandered around and found some mudskippers - which I had heard of (from Ren and Stimpy and nature programs), the little buggers are camouflaged and impossible to photograph but cool none the less. We took a boat tour around the town and out onto some open ocean for great photo opportunities. We made our way up to the New Territories which is on the main land and closer to main land China. Maggie's family owns a local restaurant and her parents and sisters joined us for a meal. The tables are sort of open to the air but there is a roof to keep off rain. It is a very simple place with folding tables and plastic stools. You have to put your bags on a stool to keep them off the ground because of the rats. They treated us to any dish we wanted and I was finally able to sample a variety of the local cuisine, all of which was tasty. Paul and I made our way back to Hong Kong Island and got off at the central station to view the massive buildings by night.

The following day we went to the famous Stanley market on the main island. I really wanted a traditional silk dress and tried a few on but they are not made to fit my curvy Canadian build and it was rather hopeless, so I bought some silk purses, scarves and gifts. Then we caught a ferry over to Kowloon and finally got to see a view of the sky line. We ate at another local street restaurant and went to another market that sold knock off everything.
That night a guy showed up in our room that was from New Zealand. He had been living in England for a couple of years and had spent the last 5 months backpacking around Europe and was on his way home. I woke up in the wee hours with some food poisoning but managed to keep it down with gravol and rubbing my belly all night.

Matt joined Paul and I for my for my final day of site seeing, we went for breakfast and I had the shakes so I again attemped to order French Toast and specified no pork which confused the waitress. This time I got a fried egg sandwich full of peanut butter - different but tasty. We went to a really busy market. We also went by the cultural center and saw some Chinese Opera. The singing is rather painful really and I had no idea what it was about but the costumes were very colorful. The previous evening we had gone up to the peak and found ourselves in a cloud and unable to see the city view below, so we thought we would try again. The line up for the tram was hours long so we found a tower in their central park and climbed up just in time for sun set - got some great shots. Later we went to the local 7-11 for drinks and partied with our roommates till 3am. Paul and I had to get up at 5:30am to get to the airport. I was so early that the check in wasn't open yet - an hour and a bit later I was at my boarding gate and laid down on the bench to sleep. I passed out and missed all my boarding calls. A flight attendant woke me up for the final call and I was the last to board the plane -oops! Now I am home in Taiwan and will get back to work.

I got more than I bargained for in my visa run.

Island Tour

Well, were do I begin. . .
I kept a journal for my tour so I wouldn't forget the details - this will be a bit of a day in the life and a bit of a recap so here we go:
It all started with a pleasant trip down to Kenting National Park. Immediately after arriving and bartering for a hotel room we found a beach and dove right in - it was absolutely paradise. We stayed until we lost the light and then wandered our way back into town to experience the cuisine of the local night market on Main Street. Some things were a hit and other things like the stinky tofu need never to be repeated again!
The next morning we had a disastrous local breakfast - with excitement for the french toast we had just ordered we could barely deal with our disappointment when they brought us fried egg bread with sweet shredded fibre pork and a fried egg sandwiched between the so called "french toast" - no cinnamon, no syrup. But that was nothing compared to Russell's bowl of watery rice - the local Taiwanese breakfast.
We made our way up the mountain to the national forest reserve and had a magnificent day exploring the wonders of the jungle. We climbed down into a bat cave which was named the fairy cave - it was pure magic down there. And later found our way to a cave with stalactites and stalagmites in it.
The next day we caught a train up to Taitung and made our way to the Gringo Hostel which the lonely planet guide listed as popular with the backpackers . . .
We are sitting in the most modest room I have ever experience - but for $7 CAD a person per night you really can't expect more, there is barely walking space around the hard old double bed and yet there is a cot crammed in here on which I will spend the night. We do have a bathroom and AC so really it is all we need. Thank god I brought my thermarest to save my back from the two large metal bolts poking through the broken foam. We have been living off of sweet buns from 7-11, it's kinda sad but we have not had the best of luck with the local cuisine. Lunch is never in our budget and we always go way too long on empty calories before we eat dinner - usually so hungry we can barely think. There is no front door on our hostel, so we will upgrade first thing tomorrow morning. Guess this will build lots of character.
The next morning we caught a bus up to Chihben Hot Springs. We went to a spa that pumped the natural spring water into a different pools. A variety of jets existed to massage different parts of your body. It was a tropical open air spa on the side of a misty mountain. We soaked the pains of the previous few days away and had a magnificently relaxing time.
Then we caught a train to Haulien, the next day our plans got rained out so we wandered the streets in the rain for nearly 8 hours and caught a movie at the local theatre. The following afternoon we went to the most famous spot in all of Taiwan - Toroko Gorge. . .
4 hours on the bus for 1 hour in the most serene beautiful place I will likely ever see was a fair trade. Sheer marble cliffs with the misty mountains looming far above - we climbed up to a Buddhist temple nestled in a small Atayal village at the top of the pass - amazing! There are no words, I was so moved I could have cried.
The bus back filled with small school children that probably have rarely ever seen white people. They were all staring and giggling and it turned into a frenzy of excitement when we tried to take pictures of them - they would all duck behind their seats and hide - it was really cute.
The following day we made our way to our final destination - Taipei. There we stayed in the most disgusting place ever! They wouldn't let us look at the room before we paid but we didn't want to be wandering down the back roads of a city of 10 million people with our backpacks so we paid first. There was water dripping from the ceilings and the place smelt of mildew and mould. There were no windows and the bathroom door was rotting off and the bathroom floor was covered in black mould and cockroaches .
The state of the room forced us out to spend the rest of the day on the town. We found a night market and ate supper from street vendors - everything was fantastic. Then we caught the mass transit system (MRT) to the oldest temple in Taiwan it was really beautiful. On the same street there were 3 other markets - but these ones were selling everything you can think of. We ended up on the famous snake alley and tourist markets. And yes there were snakes - and anyone that knows me at all knows about my severe phobia, I would get Angela to tell me when to cover my eyes and I would walk really really fast. But I did accidentally see one and started to cry a bit. Thank god the shopping distracted me and we found a handful of really pretty Asian things.
The next day was busy - we went to Taipei 101 - the tallest building in the world. One of the highlights of the trip - and ended things with a world wind tour of the national palace museum were we saw a glimpse of the largest collection of Chinese art in the world. The next night we stayed in a slightly nicest hotel but there were more cock roaches which we trapped under some cups and left for the maids to deal with.
Now I am back in Kaohsiung doing homework and Russ and Ang are in Bangkok. Two more sleeps until Hong Kong.

Master of the Mountain

Well I guess it's always a good thing when you are so busy you have no time or energy to sit on your computer. So I will try my best with this week in review:
Dave and I did a walking tour of Cijin Island which runs parallel to the city; it was a fantastic day with sun and rain. We walked up to the old battery which is a historic site, used to be an old fort on top of a cliff overlooking the ocean to protect the city. We made our way up to the lighthouse (also a historic site) and then down to the beach and out onto the pier. Kinda of a magical day really.
Russ and Ang were running a week behind so Dave went off to Kenting alone and I stayed and started to paint and relax. Went to KTV with some locals one night and sang a couple of songs - KTV for those that don't know is a private room for karaoke - but they kept my wine glass full so I didn't mind all the Chinese singing. The next evening we had a party at the apartment - actually we had friends over to play a board game (cranium) and our neighbours got really mad at us and called the landlord - even though it was only 10:30pm on a Saturday night - so we took the party to the streets and sat on the sidewalk a couple blocks away and had a few more drinks until 3am.
Russ and Ang finally arrived on Sunday and they have been doing pretty well adjusting to the time change. Dave took Andrea, Shanwen and I out to the 85 building for a fantastic buffet dinner on his last night.
On Monday Russ, Ang 1, Ang 2 and I went to Lotus Lake, there are all sorts of beautiful temples around the lake - it was a great first day experience for people eager to take pictures. Some temples are confusing as to what religion - it would be like going to a church where Jewish, Catholic and Baptist all share the building and in different sections are different sculptures to worship depending on your belief. I enjoyed the Confucius temple because it was simple. There were no sculptures just a nice serene courtyard.
Yesterday was more relaxed - Andrea treated us to an afternoon at the spa. It was really amazing, it is all water but there is all sorts of jets that you can turn on to massage different areas of your body - I will definitely be going back there.
Last night we went shopping at a night market - Russ and Ang were too tired and overwhelmed to process the experience I think - plus the polluted air has been a big shock to their system. But we did buy a few things.
Today was Angela's birthday so I planned a nice walking tour away from the over crowed city. This morning we went to Monkey Mountain, we were confused about where the park began - than a kind old man asked "do you want to see monkeys? There are many many - follow me!" So we did and he took us on a 2.5 hour hike. He walks the mountain everyday and is 75 years old - he knows everyone that we came across and we stopped at the top of the mountain at this jungle gym type thingy and shared some hot tea with some kind strangers. One told us that we had met the master of the mountain.
We continued our tour onto a Buddhist temple and over to the Former British consulate which is a historic site that sits on top of a cliff overlooking the ocean. In the basement of the building is a dungeon maze. We finished the tour at the north gate which is another historic site on the ocean where there were once cannons protecting the city.
Friday we embark on a journey up to coast through the mountains back to Taipei. And on the following week I head off to Hong Kong for a few days - currently I am going alone but my fingers are crossed that I find a friend to come along.
That's it from the east.