Reading recommendations

Even though times have been busy lately I forced myself to start reading a book my friend Jess recommended to me - The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls.  It's the true story of her life growing up in a dysfunctional family and how together with her siblings, how they dealt with living in poverty with neglectful parents.  It's a sad story with a somewhat happy ending.  You will not believe the things she went through and how she ever managed to become a successful best-selling author.  The story is being made into a movie starring Jennifer Lawrence.

Also recommended if you like The Glass Castle is the book by Canadian author Wally Lamb - She's Come Undone.  I read this one last year and it isn't exactly a new book, but it reminded me a bit of The Glass Castle because it is also about a female protagonist who grew up with many struggles.

Hopefully I can keep the reading going... I have a stack of books waiting to be read on my bedside table plus plenty more on my Kindle!  Have you read any good books lately?

The Big Duck

On the weekend John and I walked to what many people refer to as "The Big Duck."  This huge rubber ducky measures 22×20×16 metres (72×66×52 ft).  It is actually a travelling art piece by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman, and it was stationed in HCMC for the past month and will leave at the end of May.

The artist actually called this travelling duck tour "Spreading joy around the world."  He started the tour in 2007 and the duck has travelled to many countries on every continent so far except Africa.  By creating this giant rubber duck, Hofman's goal was to recall everyone's childhood memories.

I read online that while the duck was in Taiwan several years back there was an earthquake which actually deflated it!  I wonder where the duck is headed next... ?

A4A - version 3.0

Last week we held our annual Art for Action event at school.  It was a lot of work to organize but our committee did it with the help of a lot of other teacher volunteers who helped the night to run smoothly.

We had visual arts on display (2D and 3D), musical performances, dramatic arts, and also interactive art areas where students could decorate a tote bag or get a henna tattoo.  I worked at the merchandise table for the evening and we were able to raise hundreds of dollars for charity - all going toward helping out underprivileged children in the country.  Great event for a great cause!

Whodunnit?

This weekend Jess and I hosted a Murder Mystery dinner at our place.  She brought the stuff from back home for us to use.  It was so old that it wasn't a CD but a CASSETTE TAPE which she played on her WALKMAN that she brought back from Canada.  It had been years and years since anyone had used a cassette or walkman... we almost forgot how annoying it was to rewind and fast forward tapes.

Anyway, before the event we passed out character cards to all our guests.  Everyone was responsible for finding a costume and staying in character.  I was Martin X, a political activist who most people think is crazy.  Jess was Wiggy, a model.  The story took place in the late 60s in England, so you can imagine the ridiculous accents that we tried to put on.

We made some guacamole and sangria, complete with the classy snack of Cheetos, and ordered pizza for dinner.  I cued up some 60s/70s songs on my phone, and the night ended up being a blast!

Eating our way through Taiwan!

Taiwan is a foodie's dream come true... it seemed like everywhere we went there was something delicious waiting to be eaten!

The best places for eating were the night markets.  Cheap, fast, and tasty, with anything you can possibly imagine being served up on a stick.

Candied strawberries on a stick!

Seasoned potato on a stick!

Meat, mushrooms, or squid on a stick, anyone?

Taiwan also likes to fry stuff...

Huge fried squid

Deep fried Oreo, Snickers, or Twix...

Of course, sticks and fried food go hand in hand... 

 

Fried dough drizzled in chocolate sauce then placed on a stick... don't mind if I do!

The ultimate... hotdogs, battered, dipped in potato cubes, then fried and placed on a stick (of course)!

One of the best things about food in Taiwan is that it is cheap and prepared right before your eyes.  

"Taiwan pizza" aka egg and spring onion pancake

Steak grilled right up as you wait in line... $3 for a box!

When you're not able to stomach something from a greasy grill or deep fried, you can just duck into a noodle or dumpling shop and find some warm, hearty, Asian comfort food.

Steamed dumplings are everywhere

Beef noodle soup, a specialty in Taiwan

Noodles with dumplings, seasoned to perfection!

Of course food must not be eaten alone - don't forget the delicious drinks!

Want a roadside mojito?  $3!  You can even drink it in public on the street.

Bubble Tea - the #1 drink in Taiwan - in any flavour imaginable

The orange juice tastes so fresh - no need for any extra sugar or preservatives here!

For the health-conscious, you will be thankful to know that everything in Taiwan is not fried and served up on a stick.  There is an abundance of fresh fruit ready to be sampled by you!  You will be amazed at the variety available.

I'll take one of everything (minus the smelly durian!)...

During our one week in Taiwan, it felt like we never stopped eating!  If you visit Taiwan, I would recommend to snack throughout the day rather than have big, filling meals... you'll be able to try more of the food that this place has to offer!  Don't be afraid to try all the street food, but make sure to walk it off later, though...

Kenting, South Taiwan

From Taroko we headed to the southern Taiwan beach town of Kenting via train and bus.  Kenting is a sunny town with a row of guest houses and an awesome night market.  This town had more of a touristy feel than Hualien, the city we based ourselves in for our Taroko visit.

We visited the beach in Kenting but the waves were too high to swim in, so we played frisbee until sunset instead, followed by a trip to the night market for some snacking of course!  We ended up staying up late our first night in Kenting, and the only place that was open was a bar.  We wandered in and then found out quickly it was a gay bar complete with lady boys dancing around, oops!  Haha... they were pretty nice and entertaining though!

In Kenting we rented motorbikes again for a beautiful drive along a coastal highway to Jialeshui, the top surfing beach in the area.  The road had hardly any traffic on it, and was unbelievably scenic.  We stopped off at a few lookout points including a place called Longpan Park for amazing views of the land and sea.

Upon reaching Jialeshui, we were hesitant since there were no people on the beach and only a few surfers in the water.  Where was everyone?  Turns out, it isn't summer yet in Taiwan so it was the shoulder season for surfing, but that didn't stop Alex who rented a surfboard and caught some waves with the local surfers.  It was special to have a beach like that nearly all to ourselves.

Taroko Gorge

While Taiwan in general isn't very "touristy," Taroko Gorge is definitely its number one tourist destination.  It's no surprise, as Taroko Gorge was absolutely gorge-ous (haha, sorry bad pun)!
From Taipei we took a train to Hualien, on the east coast of Taiwan.  We rented motorbikes to drive less than one hour to Taroko National Park, easily accessible via one uncrowded highway.  You don't have to pay an entrance fee to go to Taroko.  You are free to hike, drive, and explore on your own.  The highlight was definitely an area of the park called "Swallow Grotto."  It's a place where the road going through the park twists and turns, hugging the cliffs, and around every corner is another brilliant photo op.  We stopped so many times to take pics!

A man-made highlight of the park was the Eternal Spring Shrine, a memorial built for the 212 people who died while constructing the highway during 1956-1960.  The shrine has been destroyed by landslides twice, and was most recently rebuilt in 1989.  The name comes from the waterfall, which is eternally flowing.

After visiting the main area of the park, we drove outside down the highway to see the Qingshui Cliffs, huge cliffs that just drop into the ocean below.

Taroko was definitely the highlight of our trip to Taiwan, and is not to be missed.  The best way to see it is by motorbike.  Taking a tour bus will not allow you to have time to appreciate the sights, and you won't be able to pull over around every twist of the road to take photos.  Walking through the park is not practical since it's huge and you won't cover all the space.  This place should be on every nature-lover's travel list.

Time out in Taipei!

Our week-long trip to Taiwan was just the break I needed before beginning to wind down the school year.  From HCMC we flew 3.5 hours directly to Taipei via China Airlines.  Our previous experience flying in China with other airlines was not very pleasant, but China Airlines was top notch - movies in flight, good food, friendly attendants, comfortable seats...

During our time in Taipei we visited the following places:

1.  Taipei 101
-  Formerly the tallest building in the world (that title now belongs to the Burj Khalifa in Dubai), Taipei 101 is made up of a food court, shopping mall, a bunch of office buildings, and a few floors for tourists.  You don't have to pay to go in the building, but if you want to travel in the world's fastest elevator (1010 metres/minute) 101 stories above ground, it's totally worth paying the $15 entrance fee.  We spent several hours there, checking out the hazy view, browsing the expensive gift shops, and drinking ice cream beer floats at the cafe.  Taipei 101 also has a massive 730 ton tuned mass damper inside.  Since the tower is only 660 feet from a major fault line in Taiwan, the building needs to stay protected from earthquakes and typhoon winds.  The damper acts like a giant pendulum to counteract the movement of the building.  Pretty cool, huh?

2.  Shilin Night Market
-  Night markets are all over Taiwan, but Shilin is one of the biggest.  You can buy all sorts of clothing (including t-shirts with very bad/weird English) and other goods, but the real draw for me was the FOOD.  You can't go to Taiwan without visiting a night market and indulging in some deliciousness.  While some of the food can be very tasty, other items may be an acquired taste, such as the famous "stinky tofu" we tried.  It's tofu that has been fermented and has a very strong odour (and strong taste).

3.  Beitou Hot Springs
-  Easily accessible via the efficient Taipei Metro, Beitou Hot Springs was a nice way to relax for a few hours.  These public hot springs are just on the outskirts of the city, and can be accessed for the admission fee of around $1!  They have several hot pools (the hottest being 45 degrees Celsius!) and a few cold pools as well.  I couldn't stand to be in the hot pools for too long, and I didn't even bother going in the hottest one.  There were some elderly men and women who looked like they were regulars, with towels on their heads, soaking in the hot pools without even wincing at the temperatures.  The hot springs also had a few guys going around with whistles (the "hot spring police").  They were there to blow the whistle on people who violated the rules, such as standing up in the pools, dipping only your feet in, or not tying up your hair.  At one point there was an unruly child in the pool who received stern warnings and whistle blowings from the hot spring police.  I found Taiwanese people to be so nice and friendly, but when it comes to their hot springs they don't mess around!

4.  Ximending
-  A hip area of the city with lots of restaurants, shops, and cinemas, Ximending was a fun place to spend an evening.  This is a place where all the young people hang out.  We definitely followed the saying "When in Rome, do as the Romans do..." If we saw a restaurant, food cart, or store with a long line, we joined it.  Things must be popular for a reason if all the hip young locals flock to it!  After wandering around and trying not to eat everything in sight, we bought tickets to see the new Spiderman movie.  For about $8 you get a ticket in a theatre with a huge screen, plus a popcorn and drink included.  Nice deal!

5.  Danshui
-  Also known as Tamsui, this place is accessible by the last stop on one of the metro lines.  Danshui has a bit of a fishing village feel, and was a great place to bike around.  We rented bikes and toured around the water and Fisherman's Wharf, then made our way back to the old street where there was another awesome night market.  Since we visited on a weekend, it was quite busy and we had to maneuver our way around many other bikes and pedestrians.  It was a nice break from the big city feel of downtown Taipei.

Overall, people in Taipei (and Taiwan in general) were so kind and friendly.  There were a few times when we were a bit lost on the streets, and people stopped without us even asking for help.  Even if they didn't speak much English, they did their best to direct us to where we needed to go.

Another great thing about Taipei was that it was much cleaner and organized than I expected.  The city has lots of green space and traffic didn't seem to be too hectic.  Streets were clean and everyone followed traffic laws.  The metro was super easy to use and cheap, and people even line up to get on instead of pushing their way to the front in other countries we've visited.  I was very impressed with Taipei as a city and would recommend it to anyone who appreciates a good city stay!