Imperial Taipei - Formerly Intercon

... pyorimaan Etela-Taiwaniin joksikin aikaa. "Maaseutumatkailu" antanee vahan laajemman kuvan Taiwanilaisesta vieraanvaraisuudesta (Ihmiset taalla todella ystavallisia), eika ole kuuden tunnin junamatkaa voittanutta (Sielun matkasta tiputtavaa lentamista on jouduttu/ ja joudutaan harjoittamaan nyt vahan liikaa). Taiwan taynna luolia, vesiputouksia, viidakkoa ynm. joten matkustusmaisemissa ei pitaisi olla valittamista..

"..to explore strange new worlds.."

-IOI-

... with its true potential. Coming back, I went straight to bed (11:30pm) and slept well until my roommmate arose at 6:42am. No problem, I went back to a light sleep. It's not time to attempt part 2 of my solo travel- taking a cab to the Fo Guang Shan (henceforth FGS) shuttle pick-up spot. Hopefully it won't be as difficult as locating the hostel. I'll check with the laoban to make sure the address is legible. Until then~~
PS: forgive typos, I'm in quite a rush.

... out of there... The Food: From raw meat and vegetable skewers grilled on the spot upon request, to individually wrapped and pre-spread strawberry jam on bread, to dumplings with mystery meat, to seaweed potato chips, to steak and eggs wrapped in rice, to probably the best and cheapest sushi I have ever eaten (rivalling only that of my favorite restaurant in Kitsilano (Vancouver), Canada, to hardboiled eggs and tofu (and everything else) marinated in soya ...

... talking about here is barebones, no-frills tourism: Your mode of transportation (except to and from the airport) is by foot, and your meals are not going to be journeys to a gastronomic wonderland. But with an adventurous spirit, you can still have a good time; and more to the point, get your business at the visa office taken care of quickly and cheaply. AIRFARE and ACCOMMODATIONS Typical airfare for a one-person, round-trip ticket on Air Macau will run you between NT ...

... Shockingly hot water and a belly full of seafood will do that to a person. After a much deserved nap, we all drove back into Taipei. We had an early dinner at a popular restaurant close to the bus/train station. More fantastic food. Orange chicken...crab in chili sauce...candied sweet potatoes...steamed eggplant...tofu cubes with a creamy center...beef lung and stomach. Yeah...I thought you'd like the last one. I certainly did. Over the course of the entire day, Elbert ...

Well we lasted two full days in Korea before we decided to pack up and leave. Our first night was a blast in Seoul, Korean thanksgiving was quite entertaining but after that we realized that for the most part Korea is dirty with not much going on. We may have stayed longer but the rain and cold came in and we saw that Taiwan was 87 and sunny. We tested ...

... there was a Traditional Arts Center so we went there and checked out some Taiwanese traditional arts, whcih also serves as a university where students come and study/learn the traditional arts. We were able to see some of the artists at work and also able to meet a few of them. The place is huge with a lake, a fish pond, dozens of crafts room, residences and a large park area. That evening we ...

... length of the tent to one side. At 5:30 sleep is over. I feel like as if a truck has run me over. It had stopped raining, but just when I want to dry my things it begins to rain again. At 8:00 I pack my tent nd luggage, but today also the tent packing does not work. The father helps me and shows me not to roll the whole tent from the beginning, but to fold it at first and only at the end to roll it. Since then I have tried it many times and it really ...

... products and a coffee shop. Unluckily here we are not done yet, many more kilometers follow till Shang Baling. We see a privately run coffee shop with a beautiful view - it's 1:30 pm, throw off our backpacks, sit down and order fried rice and noodles and coffee. It's a sunny day with beautiful views. When we walk further down I go up the a beautiful wooden homestay which I know , but see noone. When I get back to the street, one of the owner ...

... but she always looked so hurt when we didn't accept her generosity. But I think she really won me over by loving every joke I (or Jon) made. No matter how ****** they were. She's the perfect audience with an addictive laugh. For these few reasons and countless more subtle ones I could never recount, I was enthralled to see Sarah again. And her friend Christie, whom she was picking up from the airport earlier, turned out to be very similar to Sarah in all respects. (Except ...