The Grand Hotel Taipei

... set meal, which for TWD$250, we got a hell of a lot, 7 dishes + soup. At first we thought it was just the first few dishes and that was it, and then it just kept coming. It was awesome, all of it. And there were so many dogs at this place, I'm sure it's violating some sort of health code, but they were so cute, made me miss Bobby again :(
Following lunch, we headed back into Taroko to Swallow's Grotto, basically a part of the ...

... to Tamsui old town (淡水老街), which was near the metro station. Just a short walk there, then we headed back.

At Jiantan Station (剑潭站), we took the free shuttle to Miramar (美丽华) to have some night shots of the ferris wheel. We weren't keen on being in the wheel and headed back to Jiantan Station, where Shilin Night Market (士林夜市) was ...

... is actually decent. It is chewy though. We eat 3 plates of food (and Taiwan beer of course!) and I about pass out from all the food I have eaten today. We head back to the hotel and sleep. Alas, we are finished seeing Taipei. It has been a great experience and eye-opening. The language and the Chinese characters, which are cool to look at, are totally like nothing I have ever experienced. Note to self - before returning - learn Chinese.

... to Taiwanese politics. The problem with vacations is that they are never long enough. I'm back in Baghdad now and it feels like I never even went on vacation. I guess the only real way to fix it might be moving abroad for a few years or something silly like that. No, Baghdad doesn't count as being abroad because I eat American food everyday and predominantly have American co-workers at the embassy. Next vacation......not soon enough.

... be shut out of this important new market. All five of Taiwan's active scheduled carriers have been authorised to operate the new flights - China Airlines, EVA Air, Mandarin Airlines, TransAsia Airways and UNI Air. China has authorised six of its carriers - Air China, China Eastern, China Southern, Hainan Airlines, Shanghai Airlines and Xiamen Airlines. Leading city pairs in China-Taiwan market City Pair 2005 2006 2007 Shanghai-Taipei 1,056,000 1,179,000 1,249,000 ...

... holiday foods are offered for sale with the help of megaphones - booth after booth after booth of megaphones! They delight in yelling out English phrases when they see us - 'Hey! American!!! I guess our blond hair is a giveaway! The Chin-shui Tsu Shih Temple is located nearby and I encourage you to visit. This is a beautiful Taoist Temple built in 1769 and my favorite temple with its' tranquil gardens, walkways and soothing music ...

... ESPN...just in time for the CUBBIES postseason!, HBO, and a couple movie channels). There are internet and phones in our building too. So things should be good for the next week or so and while I am here I will try to upload a bunch of photos since internet is really cheap....33cents for 16 minutes. The last few nights in Tokyo were wonderful although it rained almost the entire weekend. The Thai restaurant on Saturday night was delicious ...

Route: Taipei - Tainan - Bulao ( by bus/ police car ) Total Distance: 0 km Altitude: 0m A new start, this time the Southern Cross Highway No 20. The main reason is that the temperature in the mountain should be cooler. The humid summer temperature in the southern low lands has been the reason why I gave up my walk in Kenting at beginning of summer. This time Tasai Chin will accompany me for the cross island walk. At 7:00am we meet at the train station and ...

... very beautiful and the same scenery changes constantly as the clouds move fast around and over the mountains and valleys. As it begins to rain again, I move back to the church and drag out my departure, not knowing if and how to continue, because it not only rains, but also the wind has picked up and the temperature has dropped. At 9:00 am, the rain takes a break, I pay 200 NTD to the priest's wife, thank her and walk down to Baling. Now ...

... these dormitory rooms were separated by a shared shower & toilet. There were three bunk beds in our room and two single ones by the windows. We had two tables and a TV. My rooommates and I were on one of the beds (picture to the right), we were wearing our uniform shirts, which was required whenever we had a scheduled trip outside of the campus or had to attend an event. I don't remember all the names of my roommates here except ...