Taipei Zoo!!!

Last Saturday, I went to the zoo with two friends! :) (I had already been there twice, two summers ago). The weather was rather fantastic; it was sunny, but not too hot (which is miraculous in Taiwan). We were probably at the zoo for 3 hours or so; it took us that long to visit probably 85% of the exhibits. We skipped over the huge bird section, because none of us cared about birds. I made sure we saw all the cute animals! :) :) Koalas, penguins, zebras, giraffes, elephants etc.

Best part, it costs ~$1 CDN to visit the zoo (as a student). That was probably the cheapest entertainment- EVER! It was rather fantastical!

What is a blog entry w/o photos? Here they are:


My delectable breakfast at The Diner


A small giraffe who came out and played!!


Emo monkey and regular monkey.


Serious monkey...


So King Kong likes carrots!


The African elephants! :)


A yawning lion... Looks dangerous!


Of course, my favourite- Emperor Penguins!!!

We all had a blast, especially for $1CDN!! Good timing too, apparently the MRT line that the zoo is on will be shut down every weekend from December through January. Ha! Who beat the system? We did!

Weekend Trip to Kenting (Heavy on the photos)

Today is Friday, and I've finally gotten around to writing a blog entry about our Kenting trip LAST weekend. My dilemma was that I hadn't sort through and edited my photos, and there was NO WAY I was writing an entry with no photos. So here goes! :)

Thirteen people (including myself), decided that we wanted to pay a visit to the southern tip of Taiwan, called Kenting. It's famous there for beaches and warm weather. Pam was awesome and pretty much planned the whole trip- I helped out by going to the train station with her to pre-purchase thirteen train and High Speed Rail (HSR) tickets.

We left on Friday night; our train left Taipei at 11pm and would arrive in Kaohsiung around 6am. A whopping 7 hour ride that stopped a a million little stops. I was lucky and managed to sleep on the train, probably for about 4-5 hours in total. However, at around 3am, this man walked into our car SCREAMING "ben-dong." He was selling lunch boxes. At 3am. In Taiwanese (a local dialect). He managed to walk through our car twice... But besides that, it was an okay train ride. Not terribly comfortable, but I can sleep anywhere. Some people thought it was too cold on the train, but I fared alright with a hoodie. :) Yay for being Canadian and used to the cold.

After arriving in Kaohsiung, we had to get to Kenting. We managed to charter a 12-person van and cram 13 people into it. (Nothing is illegal in Taiwan- apparently). The van ride took about another hour and a half. If you thought we could have slept some more, you would be royally wrong. Because being ASIAN, there was a karaoke system available. And again, being ASIAN, most of them felt compelled to sing at 6am.

Because very few of us (read: 2) could ride mopeds, there was no way we could get around Kenting to do any sight-seeing. So we managed to hire the driver to drive us around all day (9 hours) for roughly $11 CDN each. The weather wasn't fantastic... it was grey, with occassional light showers. But we did managed to see a lot of famous places (and more):
- 出火: A place with natural gas beneath ground, and cracks in the ground. So given an ignition source, there can be fire coming out of the ground. People roast corn and popcorn there...
- 風吹沙: Literally translated to 'Wind blows sand." This was close to the ocean, and super windy. We're talking intense hair blowing around your face windy here. It was quite amazing.
- 佳樂水: A preserved area along a coast where they will take you in a shuttle (read: a truck with benches installed in the bed) and check out the view.
- 鵝鸞鼻: The southern most tip of Taiwan

Below are some photos of things and places we saw on Saturday:

We visited a small sand museum. There was a fenced off region where the sand was mainly composed of really fine shell. There were these little bins of sand, and we drew a heart in one :)


(Almost) Group shot at 鵝鸞鼻 (of course we were super silly).


A lighthouse (apparently famous) at 鵝鸞鼻. Too bad the sky was so bleak...


Rock Star and hermit crab. Both were at 佳樂水. The rock star was just a close up of a rock with a lot of holes weathered into it. Oh, ocean!


Along the coast. We basically watched waves crash- a LOT. It was really awesome. And sounded awesome too.


Have I mentioned how much I love crashing waves? ;D


Sometimes the waves would be this super neat turquoise colour, and it was just beautiful!

We saw all that, and more of Kenting and the area around it. At night, we got to walk around the Kenting night market (situated conveniently close to where we lived). There was a lot of food, and I finally started souvenir shopping. Basically picked up cell phone charms. Haha. I'd better get on that soon... We also had a lot of snacks, but nothing too special. I bought headbands. And also picked up two pairs of sunglasses for ~$5CDN (for both). Yes, I love Asia. We were super exhausted, and I went to bed right after midnight. Apparently some of us went out and played with fireworks and sparklers- but I got a good night's rest.

On Sunday, we got to wake up around 10am (to check out by 11), which was glorious. We heard there was a beach near by, so we went and scoped it out.


This was the beach that was located less than 5 minutes (walk) away from where we lived.

The beach may look deserted, because it WAS. When we arrived, there were people, but they left shortly after we arrived. We got to frolick in the waves, jump around, take pictures, scream a lot. But then, we were told that we couldn't go too far in the ocean because the waves were strong that day. After a little while, frolicking got boring, and 3 of us (including me!) decided that we wanted to go snorkeling.

The lady who owns the place where we lived got us hook-ups. And we got to go snorkeling for ~$15CDN. That included gear renting (wetsuits, life jackets and snorkel masks), an instructor dude, and the trip from where we lived to where we got to snorkel.

I had never snorkeled in my life before- in fact, I haven't gone into the ocean past my waist since... well, EVER. After I squirmed (it was difficult) into my wetsuit and we got transported to the ocean, I started freaking out. I didn't know how to breathe through a tube!!! The instructor guy had to lead us out past the waves, where there was a make-shift dock made out of 5 thick styrofoam pads tied to the bottom of the ocean.

He lead us out by getting us to hold on to a life preserver and swimming out. He wanted us to lay flat on our stomachs with our heads underwater (breathing through our tube). I tried that, freaked out, started taking breaths that were too shallow. So I ended up holding my head above water most of the way out to the dock. Baaaad idea, since I got a nice mouthful of sea water EVERY time the waves crashed (which happened a lot). Finally we make it to the dock and climb on it. I start breathing normally, still tasting salt everywhere.

Before I even get to regulate my breathing, they asked us if we wanted to go on a banana boat! There had already been 5 other snorkelers at the dock, and they paid for banana boating. But since the banana boat sat 8, the 3 of us apparently scored a free ride. We got into a speed boat and went further out into the ocean. (Still freaking out). The boat driver stops the boat and gets us to climb onto the banana boat. I flat out refused, still freaking out. So I got to sit in the speed boat for a little longer... Then the boat steerer made this SUPER sharp turn, and as I looked behind me, I saw all 7 people fly off of the banana boat. I laughed to myself as we backtrack to go save them all.

After they get back into the speedboat, they decided that they would, once again, get onto the banana boat. And this time, I couldn't get out of it. I was peer pressured (by all 7 other snorkelers, the snorkeling instructor AND the boat driver) into getting on that banana boat. As soon as we started moving, I started screaming like a baby. Haha. It was super bouncy... In hindsight, I'm glad I did it. But boy, was I petrified. Another turn later, I saw the 2 people in front of me fall off. And as I look behind me, I noticed that the 5 people behind me has also fallen off. Yes, indeed, I was the sole survivor of the banana boat ride. Go me! :D :D :D

We finally make it back to the dock, and the instructor takes the 5 other snorkelers back to shore and left us out there to explore on our own. Too bad I was too scared to leave the dock. So I basically snorkeled around the dock, while holding on with one hand at all times. I still got to see a lot of fish!!! They were super colourful and very close! I never got to touch one though- they are way too speedy. It was quite a surreal experience, and the water was a nice temperature (with the wetsuit). I think we snorkeled for about an hour before we headed back. It was a real pain getting out of the wetsuit, and an even bigger pain when I had to comb my sea-salted hair. It was very nice when I got to drink water though! :) Salt water was not meant for human consumption.

Around 6pm, we got back into the van and headed back for Kaohsiung for the High Speed Rail. We decided that we would take the HSR on the way back because it would be faster. And it was!! It took an hour and a half to cover the same distance that took SEVEN hours on the way south. Haha. The HSR was very fancy too- reminded me of an airplane; it travelled at ~280km/hr. But it didn't actually FEEL any faster than the MRT (Skytrain/subway of Taipei).


Okay, this is actually Saturday's sunset. :)


The front of the HSR


All in all, this weekend trip was a blast! I got to see a lot of scenic spots (to which I've apparently been when I was young...) and try snorkeling and banana boating! I didn't sunburn either, and the weather wasn't too hot! I had a lot of fun; I think we all did.

Botanical Garden

On Friday, I didn't have to go into lab. Since the weather was nice, a couple of us headed to the Botanical Garden in Taipei. It was a pretty big garden, but the fact that it was November probably attributed to the fact that there were very few flowers. It was still pretty green though! I think I've been there before when I was young, but I really can't remember.


These were little floaty pads in some planters


One of the very few flowers we got to see


I have no idea what these are, but they are fuzzy!

Halloween!

Halloween in Taiwan isn't a big holiday at all!! But all the exchange students got together, dressed up and had our own little party in our dorms. But before that, we had to go on parade- yes, Foreigners on Parade, around campus and giving out candy to strangers. Aweeesome! As if we weren't weird enough to start with. It was pretty awesome, and photos follow. We also played some games, ate food, and just hung out.


The nerd solved the Rubik's Cube!! :D :D


Gladys was a ninja turtle, and I gave her the idea of using paper plates for her shell. Yay!


Marilyn Monroe, rabbit, masked dude, Snow White, and a nerd

Nice People

After returning back to the dorms from class today, I noticed that a row of bikes (including mine) had fallen over. Trying to right my bike, I realized that the bike next to mine's pedal was caught in my spokes. I attempted to separate the two bikes with great difficulty, even tangling it more at one point. A girl offered to help, but we didn't know what to do. Then a crowd of 7-ish people walked by, some girls and some boys, and they totally helped me untangle my bike.

I thought it was really awesome, and I am super grateful. I don't think I would've gotten my bike out of that mess without them. :) May good Karma come around to all of them.

Beach Day!

Yesterday was a gorgeous day, so we decided to go to 福隆 which is on the northeast tip of Taiwan. I've been there two summers ago, where I walked along the shore for close to two hours. It was nice to go back again- especially since the weather was so beautiful. It was super sunny without being too hot or humid. We walked around, took photos, and waded in the ocean a bit. The only tragic thing was getting massacred by mosquitoes. We all came home with over 15 new bites. Ick!


My day would not be complete if I didn't jump around.



Photos of the sand and waves at FuLong.



A piece of driftwood at the lapping waves



Sharleen took this photo of me by a decrepit house



I, of course, had to stand on these bricks!

Danshui

Friday the 10th was the National Holiday, so we got the day off from school. It was nice to have a long weekend, especially since it'd be a long weekend back in Canada too (Thanksgiving).

The weather looked so nice before we left for Danshui, so we were super duper excited. However, upon arrival, it started to rain :(

We walked around and ate a bunch of food- a very Asian thing to do apparently. Walk around and eat. Food vendors are EVERYWHERE. Luckily it did clear up for a little bit, allowing me to take these next few photos! :D


My super adorable roommate!



So happy that the sky cleared up...



I thought the fishing boats were pretty rad...

CKS Memorial Hall...

This past weekend, we went to CKS Memorial Hall, which apparently had a name change.. it's now called 自由廣場 which means "Freedom Square." Don't know the long story, but apparently that is also why the previous government collected all of CKS's statues and put them in one communal place. I don't understand politics, nor do I want to get involved in this gongshow... But I will leave you with some photos! Finally took out my nice camera- it's been collecting dust P:



A picture of a roof at the top of the memorial



A random roof, from underneath


The whole Memorial, seen from afar

Typhoon 3

A third typhoon has rolled through Taiwan in the three weeks I've been here. This one was a strong one though... even classes were cancelled yesterday. It was pretty unnecessary to cancel class, since it was calm by the time we woke up in the morning. But it was nice to have a free day off! :D

20 days

It's been twenty days since I've left Vancouver,but strangely, it feels like it's been longer. I am definitely missing my own bedroom and a non-stinky bathroom. But other than that, dorm life is pretty awesome. :) Haven't had a boring day since I arrived. But all this sleeping late business is not faring well with me, as I slept in and was 10 min. late for class yesterday. It's also true what they say, the closer you live to school, the later you will be. Ugh.

So I've bought a lot of stuff already P: But everything is so cheap and awesome... it's so hard to resist!!! I think I've been to most of the major shopping districts, haha. Taking a toll on my wallet. :D

I went clubbing for the first time on Saturday, and it was pretty cool. Prior to that, I rode a bike across campus whilst carrying someone on the back of a bike. Keep in mind that I hadn't ridden a bike since I was 10. I thought that was pretty amazing... Oh, and the MRT system here closes super early because we left the club at 1am, and the MRT was already closed. So we walked for an hour from the club back to our dorms. That was exciting P: The worst part about it was that apparently the club was super smokey... I washed my hair 5 times and I could smell smoke. Bleeeeeeeeech, lung cancer...

The Typhoon

Things happening during the typhoon that took place this weekend. Which consequently made everything super wet... Since it was Mid-Autumn festival, I got to spend the weekend at my relatives' houses. I even got to hit up Costco and Carrefour to stock up on snacks... That made walking in the rain (back to the dorms) really hard, as I had one small umbrella and three huge bags...

The typhoon has caused major havoc around this tiny island. Insane rainfalls and heavy winds... We're talking waist-deep water in places, and winds so heavy that people can't walk forward and signs are ripped from the side of buildings... Such a scary weather phenomenon.


NTU students at a Clubs Day fair. The entire gym was packed...



The view out of the NTU library. It looks out onto Royal Palm Avenue.



Some palm trees that line the main road of campus (and the dreary grey skies)...



I tried to take this three times. :) Finally. I just really like the splash...



This is to show the ZILLIONS of people in Costco due to the typhoon. Either avoiding the weather, or stocking up on food...



Another photo depicting the people jam



The torrential downpour that had me trapped at the library today...

The last couple of days- with photos

Photos from the last few days.


A sign that's found in my dorm building. It's supposed to translate to 'watch your step,' not 'watch the step.' I should stop being such a smartass.



We went to eat this shaved ice stuff at the ShiLin nightmarket. Let me tell ya, this stuff is AMAZING. I had this two years ago (same thing, actually). :)



We went shopping at a place called WuFenPu, which is a crazy shopping mecca. There are a billion tiny store fronts with clothes for CHEAP. We're talking 100NTD (~$3 CDN) per item, on sale. Most things are under $10 CDN. The alleyways are super narrow, and jerks on motorcycles still insist on riding through.

Good stuff though, I bought some clothes/accessories (8 items) for < $40 CDN. Sick.



This is one of the MRT transfer stops during rush hour. I don't think I can get used to this gross amount of people in this city. EVER.


There's a typhoon coming in this weekend, so the weather has been so schizophrenic. There'd be sunshine (And > 30 deg), then within a couple minutes, it would start POURING. Good thing I packed board shorts and flip-flops. Standing out in that rain (even with an umberlla) still soaks your clothing and shoes. Torrential downpour doesn't even describe it. Hopefully the weather will calm down soon! :)

New Friends!

At the student orientation yesterday, I managed to meet a lot of new people. During the orientation, we had a 1-hr campus tour. I am sorry, but that tour wasn't very useful at all. Maybe I just have a high standard for tours, haha. But walking in the sweltering heat and gross humidity for an hour is not my idea of fun.

We also went looking for bars around campus yesterday. We found one and stayed for a bit; then we attempted to find another. Ended up circling campus (and going 4 blocks EXTRA) for a long while. At least it was nighttime and cooler (that's just relative; it was still WAY too warm).

This morning was international student registration, so I had to pay for dorms & internet access. I also got my student card :D

The weather here is pretty schizophrenic... It'll be super sunny and then the clouds will come in and it'll start to rain. I bought an impromptu umbrella today because I was NOT prepared for rain. (It was > 30 deg. and super sunny when I woke up). Boo.

Supposed to go to the nightmarket tonight. Woot.

Asian Oddities

Here are some things that may strike you as strange, but are perfectly normal in Taiwan:

1. A two-layered bike rack outside my campus

2. People using umbrellas for the sun



3. People chauffeuring others on the back of bicycles (with umbrellas)