Merry Christmas to everyone. Christmas is done and gone for me, but the day is still young for many of you.
Yesterday night I opened gifts with the roommates. For them I set up a wireless network in the house; they seemed to like it quite a bit. I got quite a few gag type gifts, a lot of candy and some vodka. We had a fun time. Afterwards I went up to Ael's (the French girl I went to Singapore and Malaysia with) place. Her uncle let her use the place, and his place is quite fancy. I had a lot of Mexican food, cake, and cookies and we did a little present exchange; I got a Go set (the traditional Japanese game) out of it.
Today I skipped class and spent most of the afternoon prepping around the house for our Christmas party. It ended up being pretty fun; although I was the only male and the only non-English teacher, it was good being with fellow Christmas celebrators. We also had a white elephant exchange and I got a Mountain Dew and a book out of the deal, which is an awesome present in my book.
Tonight I'm faced with whether to clean up more around here or study for my quiz tomorrow. I'm leaning towards the latter. Merry Christmas.
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Friday, December 21, 2007
A little less what's going on, a little more musing
Tonight my school had a Christmas party and an accompanying talent show. I must say that I have some talented classmates and some not-so-talented classmates. Anyways, the discussion transitioned to activities for the evening and the only one that really came up was Luxy. I've mentioned Luxy before here, and while it's a pretty durn fun club, it's also really expensive. Seeing as I somehow went through NT$5000 in the past week (a few grocery store visits, a fancy dinner or two and refilling my MRT card will do that to you), I thought I should probably save some money and have a quiet night.
That led me to the Internet, and the Blogosphere (I feel stupid for using that word). After catching up on my friends' blogs, I realized (especially after reading my humorous and fantastic writer friend Erin's TV Blog) that I can write more about what's going on in my life. Thus, a new feature to my blog: MUSINGS.
The topic for my first musing is drinking fountains (if anyone tries to correct me by calling it a bubbler, there will be retribution). At Shida, the drinking fountains are rather high-tech. After my visits to China, I used the fact that in Chinese hotels they have boiling water machines instead of ice machines as evidence that China is kinda backwards. Well, in Taiwan, the machines at my school give boiling water, cold water, AND lukewarm water! (In Taiwan a lot of people prefer lukewarm water since it gives the impression that it's been boiled.)
That's not all. The machines also have digital readouts that say what temperature the water is. In addition, the machine talks! It will say what kind of water you're pouring out and if you get the boiling water it says, "開水很燙,請小心使用" ("boiling water is very hot, please be careful"). So basically, I think they're really awesome.
Now, since I usually need a caffeine fix in the morning to keep me occupied during class, I started out by stopping by Seven-Eleven or another convenience store and buy a Coke Zero or an iced tea. This semester I noticed that not only is it probably not very healthy (especially in the case of the soda), it's also quite expensive (less than US$1/day but it adds up!). So, I bought a little mug and some tea bags at RT-Mart and I've been making my own cup of tea in class. Although I've gotten a few weird looks (including one from a teacher who thought at first glance it was beer) it's been working out well.
Well, there's some musing for you. I have a few more topics stored away, so I'll try to throw one of these in between postings. Later!
That led me to the Internet, and the Blogosphere (I feel stupid for using that word). After catching up on my friends' blogs, I realized (especially after reading my humorous and fantastic writer friend Erin's TV Blog) that I can write more about what's going on in my life. Thus, a new feature to my blog: MUSINGS.
The topic for my first musing is drinking fountains (if anyone tries to correct me by calling it a bubbler, there will be retribution). At Shida, the drinking fountains are rather high-tech. After my visits to China, I used the fact that in Chinese hotels they have boiling water machines instead of ice machines as evidence that China is kinda backwards. Well, in Taiwan, the machines at my school give boiling water, cold water, AND lukewarm water! (In Taiwan a lot of people prefer lukewarm water since it gives the impression that it's been boiled.)
That's not all. The machines also have digital readouts that say what temperature the water is. In addition, the machine talks! It will say what kind of water you're pouring out and if you get the boiling water it says, "開水很燙,請小心使用" ("boiling water is very hot, please be careful"). So basically, I think they're really awesome.
Now, since I usually need a caffeine fix in the morning to keep me occupied during class, I started out by stopping by Seven-Eleven or another convenience store and buy a Coke Zero or an iced tea. This semester I noticed that not only is it probably not very healthy (especially in the case of the soda), it's also quite expensive (less than US$1/day but it adds up!). So, I bought a little mug and some tea bags at RT-Mart and I've been making my own cup of tea in class. Although I've gotten a few weird looks (including one from a teacher who thought at first glance it was beer) it's been working out well.
Well, there's some musing for you. I have a few more topics stored away, so I'll try to throw one of these in between postings. Later!
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Other things in my life
I'm getting pretty well back into my regular routine for this semester. The biggest difference from last semester is that I used to eat lunch alone; now I eat with friends I've met through kickboxing or other avenues. I get done with class at 12:10 and sometimes go out to eat then (usually with Michal, a Polish guy I met through kickboxing, or with Ael and Liz, my tripmates to Singapore and Malaysia), or I wait until 1:30 for some other people to be done with class and go eat with them. I've discovered quite a few fun restaurants that way.
As for the weekends, I've been quite busy there too. This past one was especially action-packed. I skipped kickboxing on Saturday to go to a photo shoot. We (some people from Taipei European School, myself, and Ael) went by cab to KHS, which I think is a musical instrument company. We each posed with a few different instruments; for example, I posed with a euphonium and a trombone. (I was a little disappointed since they said I'd get to pose with a tuba.) It was fun; I got to figure out how to play a few notes on the euphonium between shots and I got a little money for my afternoon of "hard work".
This past Sunday I woke up at 5:30 to head to the Taipei Marathon. I went with May and Estefania (May's friend) on the 3k Fun Run. Here's a few snaps from it.
This is the MRT stop at 6:45 in the morning. I don't know how that many people can get up that early.
There was a marching band there! I took a video of them playing Tequila:
May bright and cheery before the run.
After the run (it was more "dodging people" than a run), we ate some breakfast, and we went to our respective places to relax. Later in the afternoon we went to Taipei City Hall where they had a Japanese culture show. They had a lot of really cool stuff there: drum shows, dances, and a mask show, to name a few. They also had a few Taiwanese acts to spice things up a bit. I caught this clip on my camera phone of a Taiwanese group using traditional Chinese instruments to play "Livin' La Vida Loca". Heh.
So, that's what's up. For now? I should really be getting some sleep. For coming up? Tomorrow I'm going to see a movie and this weekend there's a Christmas party at my school. Talk at ya guys later!
As for the weekends, I've been quite busy there too. This past one was especially action-packed. I skipped kickboxing on Saturday to go to a photo shoot. We (some people from Taipei European School, myself, and Ael) went by cab to KHS, which I think is a musical instrument company. We each posed with a few different instruments; for example, I posed with a euphonium and a trombone. (I was a little disappointed since they said I'd get to pose with a tuba.) It was fun; I got to figure out how to play a few notes on the euphonium between shots and I got a little money for my afternoon of "hard work".
This past Sunday I woke up at 5:30 to head to the Taipei Marathon. I went with May and Estefania (May's friend) on the 3k Fun Run. Here's a few snaps from it.
This is the MRT stop at 6:45 in the morning. I don't know how that many people can get up that early.
There was a marching band there! I took a video of them playing Tequila:
May bright and cheery before the run.
After the run (it was more "dodging people" than a run), we ate some breakfast, and we went to our respective places to relax. Later in the afternoon we went to Taipei City Hall where they had a Japanese culture show. They had a lot of really cool stuff there: drum shows, dances, and a mask show, to name a few. They also had a few Taiwanese acts to spice things up a bit. I caught this clip on my camera phone of a Taiwanese group using traditional Chinese instruments to play "Livin' La Vida Loca". Heh.
So, that's what's up. For now? I should really be getting some sleep. For coming up? Tomorrow I'm going to see a movie and this weekend there's a Christmas party at my school. Talk at ya guys later!
Pictures from Malaysia and Singapore finally!
The main reason I've been procrastinating on putting up pictures of Singapore and Malaysia is that I've been planning on sorting through the pictures, putting a bunch up on my web album, then putting a select few on my blog. The first two encompass a rather large task, so I decided instead of continuing to hold off on it, I'll put up a picture of every day on my trip. This was a little tough, because some days were mostly travel days and some were packed with so many different activities that choosing one photo would leave out another. I stuck to my guns and did it though! Here it goes.
11/24:
The reason I like this picture is that it shows our main activity of the day (visiting numerous religious temples, in this case a Hindu temple) with the backdrop of Singapore's skyscrapers. The immigrant population from China and South Asia make this city interesting in that it strives to be a global city representing much of Asia while also holding onto their old traditions.
11/25 (MY BIRTHDAY!):
The main activity of this day was a hike on a trail surrounding the city reservoir. That is a monkey in the middle of the picture.
11/26:
This is in the Cameron Highlands in Malaysia. We did a lot of hiking here and this is pretty typical of the sort of trail we hiked on: trees along with other vegetation on a dirt path. Many of our hikes had more hills to them, which were a little more fun, but this picture shows really well how pretty the surroundings were.
11/27:
This day was full of a lot of memorable activities, but I don't think anything surpassed the sunrise in the morning. There are hundreds of pictures of the sunrise, but I chose this one not only because the sky is exploding with colors in the background but also because I can show you the people I traveled with: Bottom row (L-R): Me (duh) and David. Top row (L-R): Janine, Ael (from France), Liz, Diana.
11/28:
Most of this day was taken up traveling to Taman Negara, but we did go on a night safari in the evening. This is one of the insects we saw on the safari, a stick insect.
11/29:
We were hanging out by a waterfall and our tour guides had some rocks that could be made into paint. My face got painted.
11/30:
This is in Kuala Lumpur. We're outside Seven-Eleven having some beers before going out to a bar. With us (on the right) are two people we met at the hostel from Australia, in Kuala Lumpur to volunteer at medical clinics. (Their names escape me at the moment.)
12/1:
Here we are at the Petronas Towers. This is after an hour and a half walk across Kuala Lumpur to get there.
I will put up the rest of the pictures soon and link the web album. I promise.
11/24:
The reason I like this picture is that it shows our main activity of the day (visiting numerous religious temples, in this case a Hindu temple) with the backdrop of Singapore's skyscrapers. The immigrant population from China and South Asia make this city interesting in that it strives to be a global city representing much of Asia while also holding onto their old traditions.
11/25 (MY BIRTHDAY!):
The main activity of this day was a hike on a trail surrounding the city reservoir. That is a monkey in the middle of the picture.
11/26:
This is in the Cameron Highlands in Malaysia. We did a lot of hiking here and this is pretty typical of the sort of trail we hiked on: trees along with other vegetation on a dirt path. Many of our hikes had more hills to them, which were a little more fun, but this picture shows really well how pretty the surroundings were.
11/27:
This day was full of a lot of memorable activities, but I don't think anything surpassed the sunrise in the morning. There are hundreds of pictures of the sunrise, but I chose this one not only because the sky is exploding with colors in the background but also because I can show you the people I traveled with: Bottom row (L-R): Me (duh) and David. Top row (L-R): Janine, Ael (from France), Liz, Diana.
11/28:
Most of this day was taken up traveling to Taman Negara, but we did go on a night safari in the evening. This is one of the insects we saw on the safari, a stick insect.
11/29:
We were hanging out by a waterfall and our tour guides had some rocks that could be made into paint. My face got painted.
11/30:
This is in Kuala Lumpur. We're outside Seven-Eleven having some beers before going out to a bar. With us (on the right) are two people we met at the hostel from Australia, in Kuala Lumpur to volunteer at medical clinics. (Their names escape me at the moment.)
12/1:
Here we are at the Petronas Towers. This is after an hour and a half walk across Kuala Lumpur to get there.
I will put up the rest of the pictures soon and link the web album. I promise.
Monday, December 3, 2007
The rest o' my journeys
I'm cold. I know that in Minnesota right now it's about sixty degrees or so (F) warmer than Minnesota and there isn't any snow to be found, but I've still got the goosebumps. One reason is because of the humidity; all the time it feels like right after it rains on a cold day. Another reason is probably because I just got back from the perma-summer that is Singapore.
Here's what happened since I last updated.
The "grab a quick dinner and go to the bus" became "grab dinner, walk around for a while, see some of the Christmas lights, struggle to find a taxi, rush back on the subway, quickly grab all our stuff and run to the bus station to get to our bus on time". Customs between Singapore and Malaysia was a little rough, just because we had no clue what was going on (it didn't help that we didn't speak any of the languages the bus driver did), but we got through them fine. Despite the windy roads I fell asleep on the bus.
When I woke up the first thing I noticed was that it was chilly out. The Cameron Highlands are about a mile above sea level, so that combined with the proximity to the equator makes the area a consistent 70-80 degrees during the day and 50-60 degrees at night year round. Some of the people with me thought it was rather unpleasant during the night, but it didn't bother me much at all. The hostel we stayed at, Father's Guest House, was great, not just because the rooms were inexpensive and comfortable but also because the employees there (especially the owner Gerard) were extremely helpful with all the questions we had.
Our visit to the Cameron Highlands was filled with lots of hiking. There are plenty of trails around Cameron Highlands with varying difficulty, and we went on some of the easier and some of the harder ones. All in all our group probably tackled 20 km in trails or so (I sat one of the two hikes on the first day due to general tiredness and blisters on my feet).
Probably the most fun part was getting up for the sunrise on the second day we were there. After seeing the sky explode in colors (there will be pictures soon!) and hearing the forest wake up, we went on a hike through the mossy forest, named as such since the age of the forest (230 million years) gives it a lot of different vegetation. At some places the compost on the ground is a few meters thick and jumping on it gives a little bounce, like a mini-trampoline. After the mossy forest we went to the BOH tea plantation where our guide told us about how tea is made. We later got to sample some tea at the BOH teahouse.
The afternoon that day was also packed with adventure. After looking at a few nearby strawberry farms, we headed down to Brinchang, one of the three cities of Cameron Highlands. We had a quick lunch there then trekked off on a hike back to Tanah Rata, the city we were staying in. This was probably our most fun hike of the trip because the weather was pleasant and the trail had a lot of hills, streams, and things to see. Unfortunately, two people on our group went quite a bit ahead of us and turned a different way at a fork in the path. We all made it back to Tanah Rata safely, but we arrived quite a bit after the other two and they were quite worried about us.
After the Cameron Highlands we were off to Taman Negara, which literally means "National Park" in Malay. The name isn't very descriptive, but it's a 3000 acre rainforest preserve. When we went there we thought we'd be roughing it from what we've heard from other people (no hot water, leeches everywhere...sounds like a fun time). However, there was a reasonably priced hotel we stayed in that had hot water, a free laundry service, air conditioning (the rainforest is quite a bit warmer than the mountains), and nice soft beds. We were sure roughing it.
It's pretty unlikely to see much wildlife near where we were staying (since they're scared away by people), but we were lucky enough to see a few deer, a boar, and a striped civet (a big rainforest raccoon). The most fun part was probably going rapid shooting (taking a motorboat through some rapids) and stopping by a clean stream to go swimming and use special rocks to paint our faces.
After two nights of "roughing it" we took a boat out of Taman Negara (on which we saw a few water buffalo) to Jerantaut where we caught another bus to Kuala Lumpur. KL is much like Taipei in that it's a modernized Asian capital and it has some tall buildings (the Petronas Towers are the 3rd and 4th tallest buildings in the world), but the similarities mostly end there. There is a strong Muslim presence in Malaysia which can be seen by what people on the street are wearing and heard when the call to prayer happens five times a day. There is also a bit more diversity: While ethnic Malay are the majority, there are also a sizable amount of Chinese and Indian, which adds color to the culture.
The hostel we stayed at was a newer one called the Hostel Cosmopolitan (I think it should be nicknamed the Cos Hos). It was inexpensive, clean, and we met some cool people there, but on the downside it was rather tough to find and there was no drinking allowed (since the owner is Muslim). The first night we did some exploring around our hostel and bought a few things (I got some killer fake Armani shades and other people got some cheap clothes) and went to the Reggae Bar, which had relatively inexpensive drinks (considering a normal beer at 7/11 cost US$2.25 at the cheapest) and we had fun until about 3:30.
We were initially planning on getting up early to go and try getting tickets for the Petronas Towers (they only give out so many a day, but they're free), but that didn't happen. Instead we took the subway to try to see some mosques and find a gourmet food festival which was supposed to be going on that weekend. We found mosques but we couldn't go inside (prayer time) and we found a market but it wasn't a gourmet food festival. We ate lunch, and since the heat and humidity has a draining effect, we went to a park to relax for a bit. After short naps we saw some other nearby parks (one had monkeys!) and decided to head to the Petronas towers for some pictures.
The Petronas towers did not look too far away. However, after a little more than an hour of walking we finally got there. I saw the path we took on a map afterwards and it was basically a diagonal across the city. I was a little tired after the walk, but the rest of my group wanted to go see things. We eventually settled on a compromise: we both go to Petaling Street (in Chinatown) where they can shop and I can sit down and drink a beer at a food market.
That was the last night of our trip. Our trip back had a red-eye flight to Manila followed by a long layover, then to Taipei. Both our flights were delayed, so we got to wait quite a bit. When we stopped in Manila we had a chance to take an airport shuttle that passed by some nearby shops, and Manila looks pretty interesting. It has a very Spanish feel to it, which can be seen in their music, their culture, and their Christianity. It may make a nice future destination on a trip.
Anyways, that's my trip in a nutshell. I should be getting pictures on Friday or sometime after Friday (I'm not quite sure yet). I just started a new semester at school, so I should be getting to bed so I'm not a zombie for class tomorrow. Later folks!
Here's what happened since I last updated.
The "grab a quick dinner and go to the bus" became "grab dinner, walk around for a while, see some of the Christmas lights, struggle to find a taxi, rush back on the subway, quickly grab all our stuff and run to the bus station to get to our bus on time". Customs between Singapore and Malaysia was a little rough, just because we had no clue what was going on (it didn't help that we didn't speak any of the languages the bus driver did), but we got through them fine. Despite the windy roads I fell asleep on the bus.
When I woke up the first thing I noticed was that it was chilly out. The Cameron Highlands are about a mile above sea level, so that combined with the proximity to the equator makes the area a consistent 70-80 degrees during the day and 50-60 degrees at night year round. Some of the people with me thought it was rather unpleasant during the night, but it didn't bother me much at all. The hostel we stayed at, Father's Guest House, was great, not just because the rooms were inexpensive and comfortable but also because the employees there (especially the owner Gerard) were extremely helpful with all the questions we had.
Our visit to the Cameron Highlands was filled with lots of hiking. There are plenty of trails around Cameron Highlands with varying difficulty, and we went on some of the easier and some of the harder ones. All in all our group probably tackled 20 km in trails or so (I sat one of the two hikes on the first day due to general tiredness and blisters on my feet).
Probably the most fun part was getting up for the sunrise on the second day we were there. After seeing the sky explode in colors (there will be pictures soon!) and hearing the forest wake up, we went on a hike through the mossy forest, named as such since the age of the forest (230 million years) gives it a lot of different vegetation. At some places the compost on the ground is a few meters thick and jumping on it gives a little bounce, like a mini-trampoline. After the mossy forest we went to the BOH tea plantation where our guide told us about how tea is made. We later got to sample some tea at the BOH teahouse.
The afternoon that day was also packed with adventure. After looking at a few nearby strawberry farms, we headed down to Brinchang, one of the three cities of Cameron Highlands. We had a quick lunch there then trekked off on a hike back to Tanah Rata, the city we were staying in. This was probably our most fun hike of the trip because the weather was pleasant and the trail had a lot of hills, streams, and things to see. Unfortunately, two people on our group went quite a bit ahead of us and turned a different way at a fork in the path. We all made it back to Tanah Rata safely, but we arrived quite a bit after the other two and they were quite worried about us.
After the Cameron Highlands we were off to Taman Negara, which literally means "National Park" in Malay. The name isn't very descriptive, but it's a 3000 acre rainforest preserve. When we went there we thought we'd be roughing it from what we've heard from other people (no hot water, leeches everywhere...sounds like a fun time). However, there was a reasonably priced hotel we stayed in that had hot water, a free laundry service, air conditioning (the rainforest is quite a bit warmer than the mountains), and nice soft beds. We were sure roughing it.
It's pretty unlikely to see much wildlife near where we were staying (since they're scared away by people), but we were lucky enough to see a few deer, a boar, and a striped civet (a big rainforest raccoon). The most fun part was probably going rapid shooting (taking a motorboat through some rapids) and stopping by a clean stream to go swimming and use special rocks to paint our faces.
After two nights of "roughing it" we took a boat out of Taman Negara (on which we saw a few water buffalo) to Jerantaut where we caught another bus to Kuala Lumpur. KL is much like Taipei in that it's a modernized Asian capital and it has some tall buildings (the Petronas Towers are the 3rd and 4th tallest buildings in the world), but the similarities mostly end there. There is a strong Muslim presence in Malaysia which can be seen by what people on the street are wearing and heard when the call to prayer happens five times a day. There is also a bit more diversity: While ethnic Malay are the majority, there are also a sizable amount of Chinese and Indian, which adds color to the culture.
The hostel we stayed at was a newer one called the Hostel Cosmopolitan (I think it should be nicknamed the Cos Hos). It was inexpensive, clean, and we met some cool people there, but on the downside it was rather tough to find and there was no drinking allowed (since the owner is Muslim). The first night we did some exploring around our hostel and bought a few things (I got some killer fake Armani shades and other people got some cheap clothes) and went to the Reggae Bar, which had relatively inexpensive drinks (considering a normal beer at 7/11 cost US$2.25 at the cheapest) and we had fun until about 3:30.
We were initially planning on getting up early to go and try getting tickets for the Petronas Towers (they only give out so many a day, but they're free), but that didn't happen. Instead we took the subway to try to see some mosques and find a gourmet food festival which was supposed to be going on that weekend. We found mosques but we couldn't go inside (prayer time) and we found a market but it wasn't a gourmet food festival. We ate lunch, and since the heat and humidity has a draining effect, we went to a park to relax for a bit. After short naps we saw some other nearby parks (one had monkeys!) and decided to head to the Petronas towers for some pictures.
The Petronas towers did not look too far away. However, after a little more than an hour of walking we finally got there. I saw the path we took on a map afterwards and it was basically a diagonal across the city. I was a little tired after the walk, but the rest of my group wanted to go see things. We eventually settled on a compromise: we both go to Petaling Street (in Chinatown) where they can shop and I can sit down and drink a beer at a food market.
That was the last night of our trip. Our trip back had a red-eye flight to Manila followed by a long layover, then to Taipei. Both our flights were delayed, so we got to wait quite a bit. When we stopped in Manila we had a chance to take an airport shuttle that passed by some nearby shops, and Manila looks pretty interesting. It has a very Spanish feel to it, which can be seen in their music, their culture, and their Christianity. It may make a nice future destination on a trip.
Anyways, that's my trip in a nutshell. I should be getting pictures on Friday or sometime after Friday (I'm not quite sure yet). I just started a new semester at school, so I should be getting to bed so I'm not a zombie for class tomorrow. Later folks!
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