It's early but we already covered a lot of ground. Our day started back on the public transportation to the Longshan Temple. I was really moved at the temple. We took some time to walk through and pray to the many Gods. In this culture there are many Gods to take care of all around health and well being.

Back on the train and off to see the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall. Sun Yat-sen is the father of modern Taiwan.

It's 11:15 and we are back in our room having a beer and resting before we check out of this room, and move to the next. Staying in Taipei again tonight but have to change hotels.

So far today as been a pretty big day. We took the train to the National Palace Museum. I really learned a lot about Taiwan and its history. Kuan is a pretty good history teacher. The public transportation is really the only way to go here, but you have to be prepared to "surf" the busses and trains. Everyone uses public transportation so everything is always packed. When we were leaving the driver just kept telling everyone outside that there was more room in the bus. He was wrong unless he was expecting someone to sit on his lap.

We stopped at the seven eleven and I had a Taiwan beer and a hot dog. From there it was off to Tansui stop. This is a pretty popular location being at the head of the island right at the foot of some pretty tall mountains.

The next stop was Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. This is a memorial to the the president in the 1930s to 1940s. He basically started the Republic of China by moving from the mainland and si the original president just like our George Washington. The memorial is amazing in both size and beauty. When you are sitting there you almost can't realize how large the buildings actually are.  Once you get in the center of all of them and look around, you can tell they are huge. In the background you can see the JhongJheng building that was the tallest building in Taipei until Taipei 101 was built, and Taipei 101.

As we were leaving the memorial we were headed back into the train station and a guy Taos me on the shoulder. He asks if I am from America, and if I am from SC, and if I am from Belair! More than 23 million people in Taiwan and we run into one of our neighbors foreign exchange student friend. He is from Japan and is spending this week in Taipei. Better check our lottery tickets!

Travel to Taipei

Yesterday we traveled to Taipei. We did not travel like tourist. Instead we traveled like locals. It's nice being with Kuan because essentially he is a local. My phone showed that I walked 7 miles yesterday, but the big deal is the mileage we clocked. 

We traveled on the train from Taichung City to Taipei, and we had to stand the whole trip. A lot of people were traveling to Taipei for holiday because of the New Year. The trip took a little more than two hours. Every seat was full and every inch of the aisle. 

Once we got to Taipei we took the light rail all around the city. Basically you can travel the entire city on the train system. It was pretty easy to figure out which train to take, and where to transfer. Of course again Kuan has us traveling like locals running from one train to the next. 

We took the train to Taipei 101. We could not go to the observation deck but we walked around the very flashy mall. Every brand you can think of was there and it was about four stories tall.

Our night ended at the Ximon night market and a couple beers at the local gay bar. There is a pretty strong gay culture here in Taipei. The bars are all located in the Red House district. The area is filled with artist selling their art. 

Night Market

I'm here and should have made a post earlier but the trip really knocks it out of you. You try not to be a wuss but you just feel like sleeping when you should be awake, but you really should be asleep because it's the time you normally would! Unless you've done it, you can't imagine it.

I walked around on my own yesterday while Kuan was at work. It's really a different world here and I do feel a little out of place because I can't understand anyone. That didn't stop me from walking around. The little shops are everywhere and you can buy anything under the sun.

When Kuan got home last night we walked to the night market. It's a few blocks from the hotel and well within walking distance. I got so wrapped up in what was going on so I didn't take one picture. I'm making Kuan take me back so I can some.

It's really amazing! There is everything under the sun to buy. It's shop after shop after shop. We went to get our eyes examined and ordered glasses and contacts.  We took our own RayBan frames with us, and got one pair of glasses and contacts each, with an eye exam, for $650 US. That's pretty good considering my last eye exam in the US cost me $185. That was just an exam. No glasses or contacts included.

We ate dinner also. Dinner came from several different vendors. This is way out of the box for me. I'm a pretty tame person when it comes to food. Our first stop was chicken. I should have known with Kuan because this man loves some chicken. It was a split breast and was breaded. The chicken was super crispy and a little spicy. I loved it. We ate several other things from several other vendors. Some good some bad, but I tried everything. Really an amazing experience.

Travel Day(s)

So here it is. The day of departure. Of course I couldn't sleep much last night. When I slept, I slept well, but I was up at 2:30. It probably didn't help that Fufu was in my face the minute I opened my eyes.

She is laying right beside me on the cold floor. She know's. The bags are packed and by the door. I spent my morning getting the house semi-clean so our friends don't think we are pigs! We are very fortunate to have some really great friends. We have people taking care of Fufu and making sure she gets to the Dogsitter. We have friends taking care of the cat Noodles, and getting the mail. We have friends getting me to and from the airport. We have friends that care about us and will make sure things go well at home so we can relax and enjoy our vacation. Thank you to all those friends.
Jake & Megan, Mark & Cindy, Jim & Beth, PJ & Takka, Just to mention a few.

Bags are packed, house is clean (semi), and I am scared to death. As I mentioned, I have never traveled outside North America. To do this alone is pretty brave for me. Now I'm not completely alone because Kuan is on the other end, but the getting there is scary enough. If he wasn't there I'm sure I wouldn't be able to make myself go!

My trip today is  36 hours into the future. The actual time is about 24 actual hours. Hopefully we will stay in Taipei tonight rather than making the trip to Taichung.

Getting Ready to Go

My first trip out of North America is about to commence. Kuan made the trip yesterday and arrived at his Mother's house today. He was happy to get his first home cooked meal in nine years, but wasn't happy when Mama asked if he wanted to go get a haircut. He is struggling with internet so that may make communications a little tough the next couple days.

I'm still waiting for a picture from him but I'm not going to push it until he gets some sleep. It's hard to even imagine the amount of travel it takes to get there. It was more than 24 hours from the time he left here until the time he arrived at home. I guess I'm in for a long trip!