Welcome Hotel Taipei

... a lot of squirrels in the trees and there was this man who was feeding them these pink looking seeds which he says are seeds from some nearby tree that dropped on the ground.

Originally I had planned to spend an hour max in the temple (I spent over 2 hours there, again thanks to some Taiwanese hospitality). I hired a free audio guide to the temple which explained all the meanings behind the walls, doors and the intricately carved wooden window ...

... the poor weather. The scenery around Wulai was good - steep mountain sides, clothed in forests, cut by fast flowing rocky streams that ultimately flow into one of Taipei's many rivers. The lunch was a minor banquet including surprisingly good small whole dried fish - spicy and crunchy. After Wulai we returned briefly to Taipei. We were not seeing Taipei at its best; rainy and foggy. However it's and Asian ...

We arrived safely in Taipei and were met by Jacy's family. From December until March we would be spending our time split between touring Taiwan, celebrating the New Year, celebrating the Chinese New Year, holding a second wedding celebration in Taiwan, touring Japan, and preparing for the rest of the asian leg of our trip. This blog entry will likely be updated several times. The first few days in Taipei were a struggle to overcome our jet-lag after changing 13 time ...

... an amazing subway system. There are like 6 lines or something going everywhere like a spiderweb. Trains come every minute and a half. The ripple effect of this is amazing, far more pedestrians walking around than K-Town. This also means far fewer scooters on the road and no nasty fumes.

In summary Taipei was awesome. I loved it, much more cosmopolitan and almost instantly felt like home. If I could do ...

... I stayed awake for the last three hours of the flight, had another meal, watched a little TV and here I am. The whole thing was much easier than I had prepped myself for. Interestingly, when the breakfast cart came around the choices were Chinese Kim-Chi, or almonds. Um, what? I thought Kim-Chi (which I'm probably miss-spelling) was Korean, and a dinner food. Huh? First little taste of culture shock I guess, just then a second stewardess came ...

... And then there's weird things like the Pringles I just picked up to try Gourmet Pringles: Thai Sweet Chilli & Lemongrass flavour.. which isn't half bad. Or going into the McDonald's to discover the clerk can't understand what I wanted to order (#5 didn't translate, but when I drew out the Chinese character for 5 she got it... then had to bring over her manager to figure out Coke... go figure.) The coolest traditional thing as when thy took me out one ...

... mainly with an aboroginal background. One of his films was also shown on National Geography and others on local TV channels. We have a talk, admire his art works and photos from films and exchange name cards. All the way this day goes up and down by between 20 and 100m again and again, but in the end we only gain 100 m up, which is bit frustrating, knowing that we will have to cross over 2.700m. On the way two cars and a motorcycle want o give us a ride ...

... more or less down to Daxi village. The trail is difficult to walk because the stone stairs are all green from moss and wet, so very slippery. One time I slip and can just grap a branch to hold on and go into a low position in order not to go down the mountain straight. The lower it gets the warmer and more humid it gets - this, plus a general exhaustion and the blisters make it difficult to advance. We are there - Juhu! - a small park ...

... the coast - the one I should have taken yesterday! How fast and easy I can arrive in Matsu village. The first sightseeing point I get to is the famous Matsu temple, also called 'Palace of Heavenly Empress' adjacent to the harbor. The temple is said to contain her sarcophagus. I step into the temple's front yard from where I have a great view of the magnificent temple and the harbor with navy vessels. It's the oldest temple in the Matsu islands and one of the most ...

... Taiwan's aborigines, despite being the original inhabitants of the island, have not always had a happy relationship with the immigrant majority, a sad state of affairs shared with other immigrant nations such as the United States and Australia. That indigenous cultures should be respected can only be a good thing, but questions remain about how to preserve cultural traditions while achieving a degree of ...