Okay... no more TAI-wan...back to TY-ler

 

Maid in Taiwan :-)

let's talk about food...

So Derek was right, there is a KFC on every corner... also found on the corners are popular snacks such as duck heads, snake blood, and squid.

You've got to click on this one to really appreciate it.



Here we are at a popular "duck house"... that's duck blood on the left. Apparently it congeils and gets chewy when it's boiled. Mmmmm.



This woman is grilling squid. 30 seconds over an open fire and BAM!! Just cut it up with a pair of rusty scisors and you've got yourself a great snack.



This was perhaps the most outrageous. Those cages in front are live snakes! "You pick, we decapitate, gut, and drain the blood into a glass for you to drink". Apprently it "Keeps you up all night"... though I'm not sure in what context that was meant. I guess men drink it to "make them strong"... again... not sure in what sense... needless to say I wasn't interested in finding out. At least it's sanitary though... that is today's clean newspaper.

Back in the US of A!

Well Matt and I are back in the US. Got back on Friday night actually around 8pm... our luggage, some of it anyways, made it in at 9, and some the next morning. But it was a good trip, aside from the 52 hours travel time. What a wierd place, the food, the smells, the weather, the factories, it's all you'd expect, and a lot you wouldn't. Check out some more pictures here...


Chinese temple in the middle of the city




This is a great view of the "Science Park" in Hsinchu. Those are appartments.



Here's Matt shopping in "the Mall"... I put it in quotes because it was more like an alley covered in sheet metal with a rusty drainage ditch down the middle of it. Good deals though.. if you like that sort of stuff...



They love cartoons over there. Snoopy, Hello Kitty, Pink Panther, they're everywhere you look. Speaking of everywhere, here you can see the skooters piled up waiting to cross the road.

so as I was saying...

The Hotel rooms are really nice. Granite, Marbel, heated toilet seats... what? yeah... it's neat at first, until it's 85 degrees out and so humid you sweat sitting still... the last thing you want are your buns toasted!



This is the view from my room. Basically just buildings... too much haze/smog to see the ocean.




As I mentioned, we walked accross the street to get some stuff. I picked up some OJ (I think) and a few local beers caught our eye... we figured we should try them out and play some cards before bed. They were good, nothing special. The "Bar Beer" was the best I'd say.


So yeah... in the grocery store... looks just like Shaw's right???




Here's my room. You can't see the plasma tv or the dvd player, but you get the idea... pretty nice.

Taiwan

Well after a gruelling weekend of sitting on my butt in airplanes and airports, Matt and I finally arived in Taiwan. So far it's exactly like I expected... factories, polution, and scooters.

here are a few pictures so far. We don't leave for work until 9:30 in the morning so I have a few minutes. Basically we got here in the dark, checked in, then walked accross the street (dangerous... lots of scooters zipping everywhere!) to get a few things at a local grocery store (juice, beer, pastries)
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Uppon arrival in Tokyo Matt quickly hit up the first Sushi place he could find... twiceMmmm... is that Fatty Tuna or Sea Urchin?? ... nevermind... you can have it...


Mt Fuji from the air was pretty cool

Finally, we arrive in Taiwan.. here is the road our hotel is on.... oh yeah... the picture was taken at 9PM on a Sunday night.