Lazy Saturday

Bored, just playing around with the webcam...

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas all. I found this comic today, and it reminded me of some recent Christmas mornings at my house. Probably what will be happening there this morning too (ahem, Andy...) 

Also check out the "weirdest Christmas light displays in America."

Christmas, Good Grief!

Christmas is this Thursday. I'm not at all in the Christmas spirit, as was previously touched on. I know I'm not the only one out there who is having a difficult holiday season, and I'm not complaining about it.

I have to work on Christmas Eve, as well as Christmas day. I probably won't see many of my friends on Christmas, and I know I won't see my family. There probably won't be any presents for me besides the ones my mom sent (thanks mom!), and I won't eat turkey, or egg casserole, or drink egg nog, or any of the other activities that I've come to love.

I watched the Charlie Brown Christmas cartoon today with some of my students, and I realized how alike Mr. Brown and I are. I too, have a funny looking tree, and everyone around me seems to be buzzing about Christmas without any true meaning behind their words.

But what Charlie and I have is an ability to see the best in a situation. Linus tells Charlie that out of all the Charlie Browns in the world, that he is the "Charlie Browniest." He calls Charlie on being such as sad sack, and turning a wonderful celebration like Christmas into something bleak and depressing. Everyone's got things that they could be depressed about. I do too. But I've also got a lot to be happy about. I've got a job in the midst of an economic crisis. I've got a girlfriend who adores me, and I've got a place to live and food to eat. I have all kinds of distractions like movies and blogs, and I've got pretty decent weather for Christmas week.

I'm looking on the bright side, and I know that once Christmas is over, my situation will be the same. I'm thankful for what I have, and even though the season isn't what it could be, what I want it to be, I can still be positive and focus on the positive. I don't have to be the Charlie Browniest.

Here's an amazing Taiwan photo I found. Click it for a link to the source.

Members of the Tao tribe hoist a new fishing boat into the air during a traditional launching ceremony on Orchid Island, Taiwan

Fa Ra Ra Ra Ra

Christmas decorations are going up here in Taiwan. Trees, lights, giant Santas and snowmen, and candy canes. Fifteen foot reindeers leap out of the facade of a local department store. McDonald's employees wear Santa hats, and those tunes you know so well play from every PA system all the time.

So much attention paid to decorating, and yet it feels nothing at all like the Christmas that I know. It doesn't feel special at all. I understand that the real meaning of the holiday and the atmosphere it creates in places where it is truly revered may be lost in translation to many Taiwanese. I don't expect Western traditions and culture to always carry over to other places. I'm just confused as to why so much effort is put into the visual manifestation of Christmas here in Taiwan. 

I mainly see the decorating and Christmas references in stores and restaurants and places trying to sell me stuff. It seems that Christmas advertising must be  alluring to the average consumer here, since the stores are pretty much unified in their embrace of Christmas imagery. There are even specialty shops popping up that sell ornaments, trees, signs, and other brickabrack. It would seem that the Taiwanese are just as nuts about Christmas as Americans.

And yet when I mention it to any of my students or local friends or coworkers, it seems that they have a good idea of what it is, but no personal ties to it or tradition in celebrating it. I ask kids what they get for Christmas, and most say that they either don't celebrate it, or don't really give or get presents. Apparently the big gift giving holiday is Chinese New Year. Cash is exchanged in red envelopes, and kids and adults go shopping for new clothes or PlayStations or whatever they fancy.

So if the major consumer holiday is CNY, which is a full month after XMAS this year, then why is so much effort put into Christmas related advertising here? Is there a consumer force backing it up, or is is simply a novelty factor? Maybe it's all of the surplus decorations and fake snow and plastic trees making their way across the straight from China. Whatever it is, it's not enough to inspire any warm fuzzy feelings in the cold bones of this foreigner.

More dogs.

My friend Iwen is looking for a home for two more dogs. One is a husky and the other a beagle. If you know anyone who would be interested in adopting one or both of these dogs should contact me, and I'll provide you with details and contact info.

The last dog of hers that I posted about on this blog (Elsa, yellow lab) was sucessfully flown to some friends in Estonia.

The Gasman Cometh

We've had our gas shut off for about a week now. Something about the gas line being too old, slow gas leak, something or other. I finally got around to calling a repairman to come and fix it (with a little help from Ariel.)

The repairman showed up this morning a full 30 minutes early, and started to speak to me in a rapid mix of Chinese and Taiwanese. I assume he was asking about the gas lines and such, but he could just as easily have been trying to discuss the best way to flip an omelet without it breaking. My comprehension of Chinese is okay, as long as the other person speaks slowly, and sticks to the script of questions that I know how to answer.

How long have you been in Taiwan?
Over one year.
Ah, your Chinese is really not bad!
Thank you, I don't go to class.
So, do you like Taiwan?
Yes, I like it here. The people are friendly.
What do you do for a living?
I am a buxiban teacher.
What do you think about our current political climate?
Err...what...umm...nice weather today.

Finally, after realizing that I was just smiling and saying "yes, okay" over and over, the guy got to work on my gas line. He was trying to wrench the sink from its anchor on our kitchen wall, and after a lot of effort, finally broke down and called a coworker for backup.

This gave him a break to come over and sit with me in the living room, where I had been reading a book. He produced a small plastic bag from his coveralls and offered me a piece of "Taiwan ko-shiang tang" or "Taiwan chewing gum." It was, of course, not chewing gum at all, but betel nut, a palm nut wrapped in palm leaf and chewed by working class Taiwanese as a stimulant.

photo from wikipedia

He was surprised to hear that I knew about bing lang, and that I knew to remove the cap before chewing on the pulpy seed. Normally, when chewing bing lang, one will spit the resulting red juice into a cup (or on the ground if one is truly uncouth.) This gentleman suggested that I swallow it, in order to gain the warming properties that betel nut chaw has on the body. I opted out of that, since I really only accepted it out of politeness in the first place.

We had a chat, and chewed our nuts, and then his coworker arrived. They fixed the gas line, he showed me the fancy new on/off valve, and he left. Working the same schedule every day leaves me little time, or maybe just little will, to change anything about my daily routine, so having something different happen in my pre-work hours was kind of nice.

Political Turmoil on the Island

There has been a lot going on in Taiwanese politics in the last couple of weeks. Former president Chen Shui-bian was arrested last week on money laundering and corruption charges. It's a big deal in the local media.

Also, a visit from Chen Yun-lin, a diplomat from mainland China, to Taipei sparked protests from thousands of students. They are upset not only about president Ma's strengthening ties to the communist mainland, but also about the unnecessarily large and hostile police presence in Taipei surrounding Chen Yun-lin's visit.

You can read more about it in the news, and Michael Turton does a good job chronicling the developments on his blog.

Halloween

My school. 21st Century, celebrated Halloween on Wednesday. We took an hour or so to walk around the neighborhood with the kids and trick-or-treat. It sounds like fun until you consider the differences between this and actual, American-style trick-or-treating.

We were going to pre-determined locations that we had spoken to in advance and supplied with candy. This was necessary, as it was the middle of the afternoon, it wasn't actually Halloween, and because the holiday gets very little attention here except for English schools and bars that throw parties on Halloween.

Our stops included two banks, a McDonald's, a Huyndai dealership, a 7-Eleven, and a store that sold essential oils (labelled 'chemical srtore' on our itineraries.)

The fact that we had to go to these businesses, in the middle of a business day, with a gaggle of candy-hyp[ed kids in costume was bad enough, but on top of that, the kids were supposed to perform a song to the employees at each stop. I will tell you, seeing the faces of the customers, especially at the banks, was both amusing and a bit embarassing. They were not amused.

Anyweay, on to the photos. I didn't get any during the actual outing, since my costume had no pockets for my camera, and since I was told that there would be another teacher taking photos for all of us.i'll upload those to the album when I get them.











You can see more photos of Halloween, and of my school on other days, in this album.

Lunchtime

Haven't updated in a while, but I've been adding albums to my Picasa gallery. Check them out (link on right hand side of this page.)

Here's an average lunch for me. I eat with the kids at school, and we get a buffet style lunch from a local restaurant. Always Taiwanese style food. In this photo you can see my drink of choice, duo-duo green tea. It's a mix of green tea and Taiwanese sweet yogurt drink (duo duo, 多多). The fish are small somethingorother fish, and they're pregnant with thousands of eggs. A bit gross, but they tase okay. Other days I'll get more average fare such as sweet pork or fried chicken cutlets. there's always veggies and some tofu, and usually some egg and soup.

 

 

A closeup of the fish. This is why I prefer eating a small part of a big fish. as opposed to all of a small fish. Not bad, if you can get past the gore.

Couches

Nick and I got some new couches this weekend. "New" is not exatly right, as these couches were bought from a neighbor, a Canadian fellow who lives across the street from me. They're big, they're black, they're pleather. They are not new. Plenty of cracks and holes (haw) and a bit of dirt, but a lot better than the stiff, lopsided hulk we had until last week.

That thing was a pain to get out of the house. It involved lots of lifting, moderate to severe cursing, removing the hinges of our screen door, and two tall, sweaty foreigners squeezing a piece of furniture down four flights of dark steps.

Well, we got that damn thing out of there, and now we have two comforable (and surprisingly light) replacements that didn't cost but a few dollars.

We left a note saying "please take me" in English and Chinese on the old couch and chair and put them out on the street. They sat there for a few days as merely ornaments for the alrady beautiful building we live in. And then, yesterday they were mysteriously gone.

Also,I got Dad's Sling Box up and running on my TV. Now, via an internet connevted PC, I can control and watch cable TV from at&t cable in Cleveland. It's just for typhoon days, I swear.

Toxic Milk

There's been a big scare in Taiwan recently over tainted powdered milk from China. Apparently, the Chinese were cutting the milk with some other powder containing melamine, which can be toxic.

Babies were getting sick all over Asia, and the powder found its way into products produced in Taiwan, the Phillipines, and Malaysia. Some treats like chocolate and milk tea (photo below) are risky to eat right now.



I'm sick of having to worry about all of these products from China. It seems as though every few months, Chinese manufacturers cut some corner and a bunch of people get sick or die. It's difficult to keep up with all of the forbidden items, and I've been encouraged by many Taiwanese to just avoid buying anything made in mainland China. That's easier said than done, however. They make so damn many of the products I use every day. Even American brands such as Colgate are made in the depths of toxic China.

I got a new job.

I decided to make a clean break from my kindergarten job. I'm just not cut out to babysit those little tykes. I've got a new full time at an after-school English cram school called 21st Century. I'm teaching older (9-12 year old) kids.

It's just a tiny little four classroom school, but already I like it a lot more than the last place. I feel very at home here, and the kids seem to really enjoy being in my class.

I'm working later in the day (until 9PM most days) which is a bit of a downer, since Ariel finishes her work at 4, and we have less time to hang out than before, when we got finished at the same time.

Apartment/ First Week of Work

Nick and I started at our new job last week. We both teach kindergarten at the same school.His kids are 3 years old and mine are 4. Both of our classes are new students who have never been to school before.

It's taxing. They have no idea how to line up, listen, sit still, or play nicely, let alone how to learn English. I feel much more like a babysitter than a teacher. As of today, week 2, we're unsure whether we have the patience to teach such young kids. It's actually been the cause of a lot of anxiety and lost sleep over the last week.

I'm not sure now what I'll do, but I may end up working at another job.

Also, since a few people seemed curious, I've uploaded some photos of our apartment. These photos don't include Nick's space on the 5th floor, which is probably roughly 200+ square feet, or our roof area. We pay about $260US per month for this house.

The Album.

Taichung

I haven't updated in quite some time, but here it is.

I had a wonderful visit back to Ohio in August. I got to see my family, and some friends too. It felt very good to be back home. It made me realize that I really did put my life in Ohio on hold while I commenced my life in Taiwan. I hadn't thought of those two things as being separate before, but they are in a sense.

All of the people, places, and things that made up my life pre-Taiwan have changed. Upon returning, I had no trouble identifying all of these things and people and places as being part of my life, but they were different, changed. My brothers are older, my house looks different, there are new restaurants in my neighborhood, Bud Light now comes in lime flavor.

I've put all of these things on the backburner again, however, and returned to Taiwan. I'll be starting a new job next week, teaching kindergarten at Marshall School in Taichung. Taichung, a city of about a million, is located about 2 hours south of Taipei, on the middle of Taiwan's western coast.

I feel excited about this new job. I'll miss my old students and coworkers (and to a lesser extent, the town of Linko,) but I was due for a change of scenery.

My roommate, Nick, and I rented an apartment on the 4th and 5th floors of an older building on the city's near west side. We live in an area with a fair amounts of expats from England, South Africa, and North America. We live within a couple blocks of a canal, a department store, two parks, two temples, and dozens of small shops and restaurants.

My girlfriend, Ariel, lives about five minutes walking from me, and she'll be working nearby too. So it's an all around good deal for me. I'm pretty excited about the next year of my life, and I'll definitely try my best to document all of my noteworthy thoughts here.

Changes

Summertime in Taiwan

It's officially summer in Taiwan. That means typhoon season is upon us. So far, the rain hasn't been that bad, but every Monday for the last month, as if it were a big "eff you" joke, it has rained all day.

Aside from that, June is a pretty eventful month for me. My kindergarten class is graduating at the end of the month, so I've been busy teaching them their performance for the ceremony. The frustration of trying to coordinate a play, a dance routine, and a speech for fifteen little kids is akin to trying to teach a team of cats to play water polo, or something equally as stressful.

My girlfriend, Ariel, has gone to work in Missouri for several weeks, and I'm looking forward to joining her stateside in August. It will be great to see everyone again, and to relearn things like driving a car, eating a burrito, and speaking English in a normal cadence and tone.

One of my best friends from college, Nick Dietsch, is set to fly over here to Taiwan next week. He's packing all of his stuff as I type, and is planning on living here and teaching English for a year. We will most likely find an apartment together in Taichung, about two hours South of where I am now.

So after I return from America in August, I'll have a new location and a new job to look forward to. That plus the fact that I have more friends, more experience living here, and I can speak more Chinese than I did a year ago all add up to the potential of an awesome second year here.

I'll post again soon, as I anticipate a lot more going on in my life in the next few weeks.

Ma Ying-jeou

Today Ma Ying-jeou becomes the new president of Taiwan. His Kuomintang (KMT) Party replaces replaces former President Chen Shui-bian's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). You can read about it here.

Free Taiwanese Dog

My Chinese tutor and friend, Iwen, is an avid dog lover. A yellow lab named Bebe, has recently come under her care. Another case of an abandoned dog in Linko, and an example of how older, bigger dogs are abandoned or abused when they are no longer cute and cuddly. Iwen has a few dogs like Bebe already, and would like to find her a new home. I told her I'd try to help her find someone who would want a dog that's on it's last chance.

Her description of the dog is as follows:

"She is 3-4 years old. She is not the most beautiful Labrador, but she is certainly kind, gentle, sweet, and friendly. We do wish to find a good home for her, a family to love her and care for her. She is NOT old, but she has been through too much pain, torture."

If anyone is interested, let me know via email or a phone call. Iwen will be able to pay for all of the travel and medical expenses involved (yes, even to the States) with getting this adorable dog into your loving home.

dont txt me bro!

I thought this article from Slashdot was pretty interesting. Apparently, per megabyte, sending SMS (text messages) to your friends and family is four times more expensive than sending and receiving data from the Hubble telescope. It's not exactly a scientifically correct research paper, but it probably rings true (no pun intended) to anyone who's been pissed about a high cell phone bill.

Birthday

Thanks to everyone who sent me birthday wishes. It meant a lot, and I'm glad that you're thinking of me. I had a nice day, and Luke and I went out for teppanyaki on Tuesday night.

I'll be visiting home to Ohio for a couple weeks in August, so I hope to see a lot of people then.

Florida Senator to Castrate Automobiles

From Reuters:

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - Senate lawmakers in Florida have voted to ban the fake bull testicles that dangle from the trailer hitches of many trucks and cars throughout the state.

You've probably seen these. Academically challenged individuals often add these chrome cajones to their trucks, along with other hillbilly accoutrement such as confederate flag window decals, motorboat propellers, and the ever popular faux bullet holes.

Republican Sen. Cary Baker, a gun shop owner from Eustis, Florida, called the adornments offensive and proposed the ban. Motorists would be fined $60 for displaying the novelty items, which are known by brand names like "Truck Nutz" and resemble the south end of a bull moving north.

Is this really all Sen. Baker feels is wrong with the state of Florida? Obviously a man with a lot of time on his hands. Hey Baker, you can have my chrome testicles when you pry them from my cold, dead hands!

Critics of the ban included the Senate Rules Chairman, Sen. Jim King, a Jacksonville Republican whose truck sported a pair until his wife protested.

He seems like a good husband. A real role model for Floridians.

Florida, you are such a classy state. Please don't ever change.

Modern Toilet

You may laugh at me for it. I ate at a toilet themed restaurant. Modern Toilet is a chain restaurant in Taiwan that has, you guessed it, a bathroom theme. The floors are tiled, the wallpaper is that horrible floral that many people have in their bathroom, and the tables and chairs are washbasins and toilets respectively.

The food, while not bad, is definitely not the reason people choose to eat here. I'll illustrate for you with photos.

Notice the poo light fixture.

The food comes in a small toilet.

Chocolate ass-cream. Mmmm...

The only disappointment was that the bathroom there didn't look like a restaurant, like I had anticipated it would. You can see the rest of the photos on Ariel's blog here.

Flying Dogs

Still Here

I've been neglecting this blog for a while. Stuff has been happening as usual, but I just haven't felt like writing about it.

I went to a cool concert in Kenting Park on Taiwan's South coast, and I had an awesome time (pictures soon.) I've been trying to come up with some supplementary work after Hess basically left me high and dry in some ways, and I've been feeling pretty healthy now that the weather has gotten warmer.

Also, there's a lot of internet buzz about Yahoo! Live, a web app that lets you have video conference style chats with anyone with a webcam and a Yahoo account. No Skype or other software necessary. It might be a cool way to chat with people back home. I'll see if I can get it up and running and then post my username here.

Taiwan Gets Nuclear Weapons Parts. Guess Who Sent Them.

From the China Post:

WASHINGTON -- The Defense Department announced Tuesday that the United States mistakenly shipped to Taiwan four electrical fuses designed for use on intercontinental ballistic missiles but has since recovered them.

Awesome. We spend billions upon billions every year on defense, and this is what we get. Not only are we just shipping out DIY nuke hobby kits to people who don't even want them, but we're sending them to nations whose sovereignty and well being are already at stake (and where I incidentally live, also.)

The error is particularly disturbing, officials said, because of its indirect link to nuclear weaponry and because of the sensitivity of U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, which China regularly denounces as provocative. The Defense Department said an investigation of the incident is under way.

And this is hot on the heels of another fuck up:

Last August an Air Force B-52 bomber was mistakenly armed with six nuclear-tipped cruise missiles and flown across several states. At the time, the pilot and crew were unaware they had nuclear arms aboard.

How does this happen? I can understand a clerical error that results in a crate of red pens being delivered to a DOD office instead of a crate of blue pens, but nuclear weapons?! I'm not crazy about my tax dollars being spent on nukes in the first place, but now that I see how wasteful and careless the government is with them, I'm becoming especially opposed to the idea.

Jasper

Why don't you like me,
when all I do is hug you?
You poop in a box.

Springtime

It's been a while since my last update. I just didn't have anything to write about, and I didn't feel like writing just for its own sake. I;ve been feeling a bit more peppy now that the weather's gotten nicer. I've been trying to get outdoors more, so I've been taking a lot of long walks and the occasional scooter ride.

I've been doing a bit of traveling as well. Ariel has been showing me around Taichung and the surrounding areas, and this weekend we're visiting Hsinchu and Mioli, pretty close to Taipei, but I've never been there.

Luke has been spending time with some friends of Crystal. They are art students in Taipei, and they've been his connection to a lot of cool events and happenings. He's going to help them set up for the Spring Scream festival in Kenting (the lowest point of the southern peninsula of the island.)

This festival promises to be an awesome way to celebrate the good weather arriving. There will be three days of live bands, film, arts, and food. I hope to attend, but I need to find a place to stay, as I waited to long to book a hotel room, and now they're all full. Worst case scenario is that I have to sleep in the tent that our friend Jerry gave us.

I hope everyone in Ohio is surviving the last of the winter blizzards. My heart goes out to you. The very thought of getting my car out of a snow bank makes me cringe.

A Little Fun...Just a Bit ;)

The last couple of weeks have been a bit rough on me, as you can tell by my last post. Things have not been going my way with work or with my health. I've been frustrated.

Fortunately I've got a good group of friends that can help me forget my worries and relax. I'm feeling mostly better now, so I can share some of the good stuff that's happened in the past couple of weeks.

Right after I got back from Thailand, Luke and Ariel and I met with Luke's friend Tony and his wife Crystal.

Tony, Crystal, and I

We ended up going to a restaurant with a big pool in the middle. You are handed rods and you can fish for your own prawns. Actually, 'restaurant' is not quite the right word, as there was just a grill in the back and a picnic table in the front, no service, no drinks other than a cooler of beer and tea in the front. Very DIY. Much like a camping trip, only in the middle of the city.

Ariel trying to catch her dinner.

Tony and Luke fishing.

So relaxing. I feel like I'm out in a fan boat on the Everglades.

Showing off the catch.

We didn't catch many shrimp, but the guy spared us a few more, and we had a nice snack of grilled creepies before heading off for a real dinner.

Mmmmm...

Last weekend, we went to a combination going away party for our friend Jerry and birthday party for our friend Melanie.

Luke and Mel

Me, Ariel, and Luke at Citizen Kane restaurant

Luke and Jerry

Me looking very zen in front of a fake Japanese garden in a department store

Ariel preparing tea, the traditional way, at a teahouse

If I didn't have friends, or these little excursions, I don't know what I'd do to keep my sanity. I'm grateful.

Anti-Taiwan Rant in 3...2...1...

I'm having one of those weeks that the Hess training staff would call "culture shock." I don't know if I even like that term, but I'm having a hell of a time trying to be content with my life right now.

I'm ill with something. Maybe the flu, maybe an upper respiratory infection, maybe something else. I don't know. All I know is that I haven't had any energy or appetite in three days and I've had all kinds of aches and pains. I went to see a doctor yesterday, my first time since I've been in Taiwan. I was initially hesitant to go to the hospital, because everyone has told me that it's such an ordeal. Boy, were they right. After waiting to check in, finding my way to the elusive section 3D, and waiting to get my blood pressure taken, I then waited another couple of hours to see the doctor. Imagine a room full of red faced, runny nosed people, some of whom have the worst hacking-death-rattle of a cough you've ever heard. They are all waiting for their number to show up on the sign next to their assigned doctor's door. My number was 49, and I waited from the number 20. When I finally saw the doctor, he barely checked me out, didn't take my temperature, and didn't even really listen to what I was telling him, but instead suggested symptoms I was having and proclaimed it a viral infection. This whole examination took approximately seven minutes. Ten minutes maximum.

Prescription for God-knows-what in hand, I headed down to the pharmacy to collect my meds, and was again greeted by a long line of sick people. I haven't seen Michael Moore's new movie yet, but it will have to be pretty damning of the American health care system to make me think socialized health care is at all effective after yesterday's ordeal.

So I got home from the hospital and was immediately called in to work. Sure, someone with a viral infection or... whatever can teach a group of kindergarteners, no problem. I also got the news that three of my weekly classes were inexplicably dropped from my schedule, reducing by 24 my monthly hours. Great. After lots of prodding and pleading, I finally got an explanation. I guess I'm not doing as well in my classes as I should be. The only explicit criticism I've gotten yet: I've been teaching too long on my last class of the week (something I was sure I corrected months ago.)

So let's recap. For doing too much, or upsetting a delicate timetable by 10 minutes a week, I received a schedule reduction of roughly 25%, with no explanation given upfront, and no way to argue my case. I'm not only pissed about the reduced number of hours, but also with the total lack of any communication, which I am told is part of Chinese culture. No one will ever tell me that they have a problem with my work or anything. They may mention something in a nice, suggestive way to one of the other teachers that may eventually make its way back around to me, but when I try to ask anyone about these things, I'm always met with this attitude like it's the first time they've ever heard of any problem, and I'm uniformly given the response that they will talk to someone about it.

I hope I can start to be positive soon, or it will make my life here much more difficult than it needs to be.

My Vacation

I'm finally getting around to writing about my Chinese New Year's trip to Thailand after a busy week back.

We decided to go to Thailand because it's close, easy, and our friends were all telling us that it's beautiful and warm, and lots of fun. We were not at all disappointed.

We planned the trip a couple of months in advance. By planned, of course, I mean we picked a destination (in this case, the peninsular paradise of Railay Beach) and bought a plane ticket. We would sort out all of the details about where to stay and what to do once we got there. A risky plan, considering tourism was at its peak this month, but it all worked out.

We got there at night, our longtail boat gliding over the water, huge crags looming in the moonlight. We could make out lots of lights and commotion on the water's edge-- these were the rasta bars and restaurants that we would later come to know and love. As our driver cut the boat's engine and we floated through the mangrove trees and onto the beach, we all knew that yes, we had made the right decision and that this place would actually be as good as it looked in the brochures.

The first night, we checked into the hotel that we had booked at the airport. It was nothing fancy, but it was convenient, and fairly cheap. We went looking for a bar to chill at and we found that there were many to choose from on our end of the beach. We had a good first night out.

The next day, we decided to get a lay of the land. Railay, as I said, is a peninsula surrounded by high limestone cliffs. These cliffs make it a very popular place for rock climbers, and we constantly saw 20-somethings walking around with ropes looking to get 'belayed', haw. The cliffs also spared Railay from any serious damage in the 2004 tsunami. In fact, my tour guide told me that 0 people died in Railay. The peninsula is basically divided into East and West beaches. We stayed on the East beach, where all the inexpensive bungalows and restaurants were. The East beach was nothing to look at, though. The sand was stony and the mangrove trees blocked the view. There were several paths going over the land to the West beach, maybe a 15 minute walk. There we could sit on wide, white sand and see the cliffs rising out of the turquoise sea and the bikini girls playing volleyball. Ahh, life was good.

We spent the first few days just warming our bones on the beach and filling our bellies with exotic curries. We were in no rush to do anything that required the use of our bodies or brains. Rock climbing? No thanks. Kayaking? Sounds good, maybe later.

We did eventually get around to doing some stuff. One day we rented kayaks for a couple hours and explored the rocky coastline. Another day we took a boat to the nearby city of Ao Nang, looking for entertainment. We found it to be dirty and bland, too much like Taiwan. We opted for the more scenic views. Our last two days we spent taking tours. The first tour was an afternoon island hopping tour. We went to four islands, including one inhabited by thieving monkeys, and one called Chicken Head Island, where we donned snorkel masks and looked at the tropical fish. It was like swimming in the aquarium at my dentist's office. The water was that clear, and the fish were that colorful.

The second tour we took was an all day trek around the Krabi Provence of Thailand. We went to a hot spring, a crystal limestone pool, and to a rubber plantation (how exciting.) We also went to a temple on a mountain. Luke and Mike decided to be real men and take the 1200-something stone steps to the top of the mountain and visit the big golden Buddha. Will and I took the easier route up 300 steps to see a 1,000 year old tree. We also saw some monkeys humping.

Our last stop on this tour was an elephant trekking place, where we got on these big Pacific Pachyderms and headed out into the jungle. Actually, we just took a short 40 minute loop up a road and through some ditches, but I still felt like Indiana Jones. We also got to feed the elephants and that made me happy as hell.

We headed home the next day, and were treated to a week of rainy, cold, miserable weather. Still, looking at these photos makes me a bit warmer.


Joe's Photos:

Thailand - February 2008

Mike's Photos

Luke's Photos: 1 2 3 4 5 6 (some overlap with mine, but different captions)

Krazy Krabi

We're having an awesome time here. Perfect weather, sandy beautiful beaches, good food, cheap massages, and so far no dengue fever (but a bit of mild food poisoning.)

I'll upload a bit of a travel narrative, plus a whole mess of photos, when I return to Taiwan on Monday. Until then:

Thai Bound.

Just three more days until my Chinese New Year's vacation, and it can't come soon enough. The weather here in Linko is dreadful, it's been cold and rainy all week. I have had enough of work lately, and I've had enough of sitting around in my apartment because I don't want to drive my motorcycle through the rain or wind.

So in three days, Luke, Mike, Willie and I will be getting on a jet and flying here:



One picture's all you get until I get back, but a quick Google Image Search for 'Krabi, Thailand' or 'Railay Beach' will yield similarly astonishing views. Yes, I'll be relaxin' to the maxin' on the beach, beer and book in hand, and watching the waves. Maybe I'll head to Pei Pei Island for a day, or ride an elephant. I don't know, but I'm sure as hell going to relax and enjoy myself.

Cleaning Up Linko

Well, despite the loud campaigning, I guess the legislators of Taipei County are good for something after all. I just read this article from the China Post that says that Taipei county will start to come down hard on advertising vehicles parked in public spaces for long periods of time.

Those who park their vehicles at public parking spaces in Taipei County, northern Taiwan, for advertising purposes for a period of more than 15 days will see their parking fee doubled from the ordinary level, according to a resolution made by the Taipei County Council.

The county council has recently ratified a set of revisions to the statute governing the collection of parking fees at public parking lots, proposed by the Bureau of Transportation under the Taipei County Government.

Finally! For those of you who don't live here, you won't understand what bothers me without a visual aid:



These trucks, with ads for new apartments and condos that are being built all over Linko and other cities in Taipei County, take up many available parking spaces on many streets. They are unsightly, they often have broken windows or dogs living under them. Most have flat tires and are inoperable, and they also serve as handy obstructions to us scooter drivers trying to pull out into traffic. I'll be very happy if they start towing these things.

The Big Erection

Never mind the Iowa or New Hampshire caucuses in America. Never mind Obama or Huckabee or Hillary. The most important election to me right now is the one here in Taiwan. Taiwanese politics is, for the most part, still a mystery to me. I know that like America, it consists mainly of two opposing viewpoints- the pro-reunification Pan-Blue coalition headed by the Kuomintang (KMT) party, and the Pan-Green coalition headed by current President Chen Shui-bian's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP.)

Local elections are coming up soon, and all candidates fro my area are having a real go at campaigning. I don't really care who wins, and to be honest, I don't have any interest in researching their political standings right now. I just want it all to be over.

I'm sick today. Sick as a dog. I called off work and I am currently awake and typing this post instead of sleeping because these politicking bags of douche have rented vans emblazoned with their thumbs up and smiling smug selves and are having said vans drive up and down the streets of Linko, blaring political messages at hundreds of ear hemorrhaging decibels.

And if I were healthy enough to go to work, I'd pass dozens of billboards, signs, flags, banners, and other propaganda seemingly originating from only two good ol' boys from Linko, one with a green polo shirt and glasses, smiling and giving me the thumbs up, the other with a cornflower blue polo shirt and sans spectacles, but also giving me a toothy smile and a hearty thumbs up.

Shut up. Shutupshutupshutupshutup.

I know I am a newcomer to this country, and I should respect the fact that they even have democracy in the first place (and I do, believe me,) but I can still criticize the overly irritating and invasive way in which that democratic process is executed.

Say what you will about Obama or Huckabee, at least they let me get some sleep.

New Year's Eve

Luke and I went to a party through some friends of friends on a rooftop in Taipei for New Years' Eve. I was a bit sick, but I still had a good time. We had a great view of the 101 fireworks, which was easily the most impressive pyrotechnic show I've ever witnessed.


101 looked really cool, even before the fireworks.

There was normal dancing...



...and fire dancing



The main event:


(not my video)



And a few more of the evening...



Luke tooka nasty shot.

Our whole group (minus Jerry, who was taking this photo):
Full album:

New Year's 2008