Holiday Inn Express Taoyuan

... either much too big for me to wear or I just didn't like it anymore) and a bunch of stuff that I gave away to charity. Result...90% of my wordly belongings now fit in one 75 L (plus an expandable 10 L) backpack. I am rather proud of this...as I...being of the female gender find it rather hard to NOT accumulate stuff. Being a minimalist is NOT easy...unless you're a nudist. LOL. After I did all that...I felt that I was fully ready and prepared to ...

... soldiers everywhere there. Due to its proximity to China...the Taiwanese do have to keep security beefed up there. Just in case the Chinese decide to invade one day. The second day we toured the entire Island of Beigan on our scooters. We saw the cool army tunnel and drove up to the highest peak on the island as well as went on this sea-side trail hike. Got lots of cool pictures and videos. The next day (Sunday) we took the ferry to the biggest island: Nangan. We ...

Finally, after being in Taiwan for almost six months...I felt that I had the sufficient time and capital to start taking Chinese classes. Meghan had been taking them for some two months already and so I was anxious to get started. I was nervous...because my perception of Chinese was that it was simply insanely difficult and borderline impossible to grasp unless you were born in a Chinese-speaking country. But, a lot of the foreign teachers ...

... was a balmy 78 degrees F and there was not as much humidity as I expected. During the ride in the car we passed many construction zones, most of which appeared to be apartment buildings. In about 15 mins we were outside a new and very modern glass and steel train station. We waited while Dr Wu bought our tickets to Tainan for the Taiwan High Speed Railroad (HSR). The station itself was beautiful, but ...

... It has been over 2 years since I last stepped foot in a Costco and had actual North American food. It was hard not going nuts and just buying a shitload of stuff. I managed to keep it down to salsa, tostitos, tortilla wraps, spare ribs, bagels, cream cheese, cranberry-raspberry juice, muffin multi-pack and an assorted cheese platter. The Mexican food goodness was the best part...I missed Mexican food like nobody's business. Especially salsa. That is truly my favorite ...

... LOL) - Khazakstan. Some other countries in this region may be interesting but not very stable at this moment, such as Tajikistan, and yes...Afghanistan... 4. The Rest of Ukraine and Moldova: Wait! Have I just visited Ukraine last year? Yes, but only to the western city of L'viv. The L'viv experience, though frustrating, actually increase my interest in seeing more of this former Soviet country. I would like to go to Kiev, Odessa, and the beautiful ...

... trace the development of human skills in the production of a whole range of basic items from basic tools and bowls right through the range of materials that man has managed to control over the centuries. Night Tour to Mongolian BBQ dinner after surviving an amazing tropical downpour of the sort Victoria would love to see right now. The dinner consisted of a large range of prepared food laid out for customers to serve themselves into a bowl to be taken along to one or two cooks ...

... A man stops his car and walks over to me. His name is Mark and he stayed in Japan for 5 years. He now runs a homestay with his family somewhere along the road. He gives me his name card and wishes that I will come in for a drink. I say I will do if I see his place. I have a long lunch at a 7-11 with a bien dang. By phone confirm my next stay in a youth hostel/homestay in Wudje, which shall be near to Luodong. From there I walk on and from Sanming I leave the more ...

Ok so the japanese took over a lot of taiwan and china in their imperialist campaing during WW11. This base was where the kamikaze pilots came and drank "emperor's heavenly wine" the night before their suicide run. They sure didn't get the short end of the stick.

... That probably should have been a good clue as to what it was going to be like, but still. I've made up my mind not to go there again since I didn't really agree with anything the pastor said. But the good news is that after church we all went to a Chili's!!! So the day was saved, I guess you could say, and ironically enough, by food. The prices though were even more expensive than normal Chili's prices back in the States. I think I paid about 9 US Dollars for my Chicken Caesar ...