Good news and bad news. Good news is that last night I found out there was a wireless network I could leech off of so I was able to upload some pictures for yesterday. Bad news is that I couldn't leech off of it today, so I can't put up any pictures of today yet.
Anyways, pretty much all I did today was go on a bus ride to the various sights of Bangkok. I went to three temples that housed Buddha statues and the National Palace, which also housed a Buddha. (They like the guy quite a bit here.) I took 100 or so pictures so I'll go through those soon and post some of the good ones.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
In Thailand! Whoa!
So after last post, I fell asleep for about 2 hours, got woken up by a call from Cynthia, got a ride from her friend, checked in at the airport, said goodbye to Cynthia, waited for my plane (at the Hello Kitty gate, which was ridiculous) and headed to Thailand.
Ridiculous.
The flight went quickly; I was asleep for the first half of it and they had built-in TVs on all the seats so I caught various movies for the remainder of the flight.
After customs and all that jazz, I took a bus to Bangkok. I knew which Skyrail (light rail) stop my hostel was closest to, so I took the bus there and figured I'd be able to ask for directions since I'd written down the address and all. Unfortunately, everyone was pretty clueless to its location. After wandering around fruitlessly for 1/2 hour or so I asked a tuktuk driver (basically a three-wheeled scooter that's a cab) and he seemed to know. So I loaded all my luggage in and went for the ride. The scooter died twice on the way and it took him 5 minutes each time to get it started. The cabbie (tuktukie?) is chatting with me in Thai the entire time. It sucks not knowing the language. After driving for about 20 minutes, we come to a clothing store. They help me with the directions and say I have to come in and look at some suit styles. I do for 5 minutes or so when I realize I left my passport in the tuktuk that was waiting for me, so I made an excuse and went back to the tuktuk. The tuktuk takes me to the aforementioned Skyrail station.
Back where I started.
I try to talk to a guy who looks like a security guard and he tries to call the hostel. No answer. I go into a hotel and luckily there's a clerk who can speak Chinese (I'm having a hard time finding people good with English here). She points me in the right direction and I find the Hostel. I get my room ready, convert some money, and take a nap.
After my nap, I start planning out the rest of my stay in Thailand. They have a bus trip to Phuket, an island area with a lot of beaches, but after signing up for it I find out it's only one way. I decide to search online for a plane trip and I find one that costs about twice as much as the bus but takes about one tenth of the travel time (and I'll end up at the Bangkok airport Tuesday evening which is where I'll need to be anyway to catch my plane to Dubai). I also signed up for an organized tour tomorrow to the various sights around Bangkok.
After the logistics-type stuff I started wandering around the city. I grabbed a meal at a fancy-type looking restaurant. Paad Thai. Delicious. Afterwards I hopped on the Skytrain near my place. The light rail system here is pretty convenient, but when you switch lines (from above ground to underground) you have to pay twice. First I went to Chinatown. They have a lot of sharkfin soup and bird's nest restaurants. Not really piquing my interest.
I leave Taiwan and the first place I think of going in Bangkok is Chinatown.
I then headed over to the Lumphini night bazaar. I looked around, realized I didn't want to buy anything, and a guy offered beer at his little outdoor patio food stand, so I had a beer and some more paad thai. He gave me a big bottle and I wasn't able to finish it before the paad thai, so I also ordered some chicken tom yam soup, which is hot, sour, and delicious. Then it started raining. Hard. Luckily I had a canopy over my head. I finished my beer soon after it started raining, and if that isn't the perfect excuse to have another one, I don't know what is.
The beer they have in Thailand is pretty strong.
I like Paad Thai.
Chicken Tom Yam Soup. Very, very good.
I had some companionship for dinner.
Glad I wasn't out in that.
Quite the feast!
After the rain died down I went and wandered around some more. They had a lot of people offering for massages. I kept refusing, but then I realized that it was about $3 US for 15 minutes, so...why not? It felt goood.
I took a few pictures, but right now I'm at a public computer and I don't think it has a SD card slot, so...you guys can wait. I think I'll go to my room, listen to the song "One Night In Bangkok" by Falco, and fall asleep. Yesss.
Ridiculous.
The flight went quickly; I was asleep for the first half of it and they had built-in TVs on all the seats so I caught various movies for the remainder of the flight.
After customs and all that jazz, I took a bus to Bangkok. I knew which Skyrail (light rail) stop my hostel was closest to, so I took the bus there and figured I'd be able to ask for directions since I'd written down the address and all. Unfortunately, everyone was pretty clueless to its location. After wandering around fruitlessly for 1/2 hour or so I asked a tuktuk driver (basically a three-wheeled scooter that's a cab) and he seemed to know. So I loaded all my luggage in and went for the ride. The scooter died twice on the way and it took him 5 minutes each time to get it started. The cabbie (tuktukie?) is chatting with me in Thai the entire time. It sucks not knowing the language. After driving for about 20 minutes, we come to a clothing store. They help me with the directions and say I have to come in and look at some suit styles. I do for 5 minutes or so when I realize I left my passport in the tuktuk that was waiting for me, so I made an excuse and went back to the tuktuk. The tuktuk takes me to the aforementioned Skyrail station.
Back where I started.
I try to talk to a guy who looks like a security guard and he tries to call the hostel. No answer. I go into a hotel and luckily there's a clerk who can speak Chinese (I'm having a hard time finding people good with English here). She points me in the right direction and I find the Hostel. I get my room ready, convert some money, and take a nap.
After my nap, I start planning out the rest of my stay in Thailand. They have a bus trip to Phuket, an island area with a lot of beaches, but after signing up for it I find out it's only one way. I decide to search online for a plane trip and I find one that costs about twice as much as the bus but takes about one tenth of the travel time (and I'll end up at the Bangkok airport Tuesday evening which is where I'll need to be anyway to catch my plane to Dubai). I also signed up for an organized tour tomorrow to the various sights around Bangkok.
After the logistics-type stuff I started wandering around the city. I grabbed a meal at a fancy-type looking restaurant. Paad Thai. Delicious. Afterwards I hopped on the Skytrain near my place. The light rail system here is pretty convenient, but when you switch lines (from above ground to underground) you have to pay twice. First I went to Chinatown. They have a lot of sharkfin soup and bird's nest restaurants. Not really piquing my interest.
I leave Taiwan and the first place I think of going in Bangkok is Chinatown.
I then headed over to the Lumphini night bazaar. I looked around, realized I didn't want to buy anything, and a guy offered beer at his little outdoor patio food stand, so I had a beer and some more paad thai. He gave me a big bottle and I wasn't able to finish it before the paad thai, so I also ordered some chicken tom yam soup, which is hot, sour, and delicious. Then it started raining. Hard. Luckily I had a canopy over my head. I finished my beer soon after it started raining, and if that isn't the perfect excuse to have another one, I don't know what is.
The beer they have in Thailand is pretty strong.
I like Paad Thai.
Chicken Tom Yam Soup. Very, very good.
I had some companionship for dinner.
Glad I wasn't out in that.
Quite the feast!
After the rain died down I went and wandered around some more. They had a lot of people offering for massages. I kept refusing, but then I realized that it was about $3 US for 15 minutes, so...why not? It felt goood.
I took a few pictures, but right now I'm at a public computer and I don't think it has a SD card slot, so...you guys can wait. I think I'll go to my room, listen to the song "One Night In Bangkok" by Falco, and fall asleep. Yesss.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
...And that's a wrap
My plane out of Taipei leaves in 6 hours and change. 5 things I won't miss about Taiwan:
5. Excessive amounts of rain and the horrible quality umbrellas to ward you from it
4. Beer's too expensive
3. The White Guy Treatment (People assume that I don't know any Chinese which can cause frustration and derision)
2. Annoying noises (Family Mart doorbell, garbage trucks, and RT Marts, in particular...I guess fireworks fall in this category too, don't they?)
1. Stinky Tofu! EWWWW!!!
5 things I'll miss really bad:
5. The ability to practice Chinese every day with pretty much anyone
4. A public transportation system that is convenient and works
3. The White Guy Treatment (People find a white guy who speaks Chinese fascinating so I get a rock-star treatment occaisionally)
2. All the assorted foodstuffs: onion pancakes, hot pot, pork dumplings, various seafood snacks...YUM
1. All the ridiculously awesome people I've met along the way. Kickboxers, volleyballers, classmates, friends of classmates, language exchange buddies, random run-ins on the MRT, and anywhere else.
Alright, now for a couple of hours of sleep before a day of traveling...
5. Excessive amounts of rain and the horrible quality umbrellas to ward you from it
4. Beer's too expensive
3. The White Guy Treatment (People assume that I don't know any Chinese which can cause frustration and derision)
2. Annoying noises (Family Mart doorbell, garbage trucks, and RT Marts, in particular...I guess fireworks fall in this category too, don't they?)
1. Stinky Tofu! EWWWW!!!
5 things I'll miss really bad:
5. The ability to practice Chinese every day with pretty much anyone
4. A public transportation system that is convenient and works
3. The White Guy Treatment (People find a white guy who speaks Chinese fascinating so I get a rock-star treatment occaisionally)
2. All the assorted foodstuffs: onion pancakes, hot pot, pork dumplings, various seafood snacks...YUM
1. All the ridiculously awesome people I've met along the way. Kickboxers, volleyballers, classmates, friends of classmates, language exchange buddies, random run-ins on the MRT, and anywhere else.
Alright, now for a couple of hours of sleep before a day of traveling...
Thursday, May 22, 2008
OH MY GOODNESS TAIWAN IS ALMOST OVER
So it finally set in tonight that I'm going to be off this island in...well, five days now. I got a text message from the guy who is moving into my room (Jordan) saying that he wants to move in on Sunday. That's at the end of this weekend. I haven't packed at all yet. Crap.
Anyways, I've been having a fantastic last month here in Taiwan. The rest of my time with Will was a lot of fun; we got to see a lot of stuff around Taipei and had some good times. After Will left I got back into the rhythm with school and my friends around the school and such. Cynthia, my language exchange partner for the past two months or so, has been a lot of fun hanging out with. I've been getting to know a lot of different people around Shida, which is kinda a downer since I'll be leaving them so soon.
I probably mentioned here a while ago that I'm taking a Guzheng class (Chinese classical instrument). On Wednesday we gave a performance where I was acting as host. Here are some pictures of the performance.
Even though Taiwan's almost done, my adventures aren't over yet.
I've finalized my plans for my trip home. Next Wednesday I leave Taiwan (at 8:00 in the morning...too early) for Thailand, where I will be spending a week. As for my time in Thailand, I haven't decided much, but I do have a list of a few things I want to do (get a suit, Muay Thai class, go see a beach). Then, the following Wednesday I take a plane to Bahrain, where I will meet my uncle and cousins, and then stay with them in Saudi Arabia for a bit. The following Wednesday I take another flight, this time through London, Chicago, and finally ending up in good ol' MSP.
Oh, and I bit the bullet and bought a digital camera. The grainy little images I get from my cellphone are pretty lame and since I'll be getting rid of the phone when I leave Taiwan most likely and will be touring for part of it by myself, I figured a camera of my own was in order. The camera is a Canon Powershot SD750 for you technophiles out there. Here are a few of the pictures I've taken so far.
Anyways, sorry about the long time between updates. Probably once I'm on the road I'll try to drop updates frequently since everything will be new and different. Toodles!
Anyways, I've been having a fantastic last month here in Taiwan. The rest of my time with Will was a lot of fun; we got to see a lot of stuff around Taipei and had some good times. After Will left I got back into the rhythm with school and my friends around the school and such. Cynthia, my language exchange partner for the past two months or so, has been a lot of fun hanging out with. I've been getting to know a lot of different people around Shida, which is kinda a downer since I'll be leaving them so soon.
I probably mentioned here a while ago that I'm taking a Guzheng class (Chinese classical instrument). On Wednesday we gave a performance where I was acting as host. Here are some pictures of the performance.
Even though Taiwan's almost done, my adventures aren't over yet.
I've finalized my plans for my trip home. Next Wednesday I leave Taiwan (at 8:00 in the morning...too early) for Thailand, where I will be spending a week. As for my time in Thailand, I haven't decided much, but I do have a list of a few things I want to do (get a suit, Muay Thai class, go see a beach). Then, the following Wednesday I take a plane to Bahrain, where I will meet my uncle and cousins, and then stay with them in Saudi Arabia for a bit. The following Wednesday I take another flight, this time through London, Chicago, and finally ending up in good ol' MSP.
Oh, and I bit the bullet and bought a digital camera. The grainy little images I get from my cellphone are pretty lame and since I'll be getting rid of the phone when I leave Taiwan most likely and will be touring for part of it by myself, I figured a camera of my own was in order. The camera is a Canon Powershot SD750 for you technophiles out there. Here are a few of the pictures I've taken so far.
Anyways, sorry about the long time between updates. Probably once I'm on the road I'll try to drop updates frequently since everything will be new and different. Toodles!
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Will and Ted's Excellent Adventure part 1
My good friend from high school, Will Cottrell, is visiting me right now in Taipei. I've been having a great time showing him around and I think he's having a good time as well.
On Thursday I picked him up at the airport in the late evening. Since he got in pretty late, we didn't do much that night (other than a brief crash course on how Taipei works) and just caught up on our respective lives. Friday I took the day off of school and showed Will the area around my school and where I usually hang out. We ate some lunch (soup noodles, very Taiwanese) and played some volleyball with my classmates in the afternoon. Afterwards we headed back home and got ready for a night out. We went to Taiwan Beer Factory (a place I have mentioned a few times) for my friend Alex's going away party. Will got to meet a lot of my friends and we gave Alex a pretty good send-off.
The next day we spent the afternoon seeing Taipei 101 and Sun Yat Sen memorial hall. Afterwards we met two of my friends Cynthia and Rui and we took the high speed rail to Kaohsiung. In Kaohsiung we met one of Cynthia's friends who took us the rest of the way to Kenting. In Kenting we tried finding a hotel room but most of the places there were booked so we ended up renting a tent and camping out. After setting that up we took a midnight trip to Frog Rock. We were looking for a beach party that we heard about but ended up getting lost and on a rocky area of shore. We decided, "This is alright" and hung out there for the evening.
The next morning we rented scooters and went to Baishawan. Baishawan is a beach about 20 minutes away by scooter from the main city and is much quieter than the beaches near the city. The beach was beautiful and there were some good-sized waves. We had a great time swimming around and relaxing on the beach. That evening Rui had to head back to Taipei (she had a test on Tuesday) so Cynthia, Will, and I rented a hotel room for the night and hung out around Kenting for a while before going to bed rather early.
The next day we woke up early to catch a bus to Liaocheng, where we caught a train to Taidong then transferred to Hualien. In Hualien we were able to rent a car (Cynthia has a driver's license) and we drove to Taroko Gorge. We spent the rest of Monday and Tuesday morning checking out the various hiking trails around the Gorge. Taroko is amazingly gorgeous, and we got to see some great sights, including waterfalls, various insects, and giant marble rocks. Tuesday afternoon we headed back to Taipei.
Right now I'm showing Will around Taipei. There's a lot to see and we've barely tipped the iceberg so far. We're going to see Shilin night market tonight and probably going on a hike this weekend. More fun times ahead!
On Thursday I picked him up at the airport in the late evening. Since he got in pretty late, we didn't do much that night (other than a brief crash course on how Taipei works) and just caught up on our respective lives. Friday I took the day off of school and showed Will the area around my school and where I usually hang out. We ate some lunch (soup noodles, very Taiwanese) and played some volleyball with my classmates in the afternoon. Afterwards we headed back home and got ready for a night out. We went to Taiwan Beer Factory (a place I have mentioned a few times) for my friend Alex's going away party. Will got to meet a lot of my friends and we gave Alex a pretty good send-off.
The next day we spent the afternoon seeing Taipei 101 and Sun Yat Sen memorial hall. Afterwards we met two of my friends Cynthia and Rui and we took the high speed rail to Kaohsiung. In Kaohsiung we met one of Cynthia's friends who took us the rest of the way to Kenting. In Kenting we tried finding a hotel room but most of the places there were booked so we ended up renting a tent and camping out. After setting that up we took a midnight trip to Frog Rock. We were looking for a beach party that we heard about but ended up getting lost and on a rocky area of shore. We decided, "This is alright" and hung out there for the evening.
The next morning we rented scooters and went to Baishawan. Baishawan is a beach about 20 minutes away by scooter from the main city and is much quieter than the beaches near the city. The beach was beautiful and there were some good-sized waves. We had a great time swimming around and relaxing on the beach. That evening Rui had to head back to Taipei (she had a test on Tuesday) so Cynthia, Will, and I rented a hotel room for the night and hung out around Kenting for a while before going to bed rather early.
The next day we woke up early to catch a bus to Liaocheng, where we caught a train to Taidong then transferred to Hualien. In Hualien we were able to rent a car (Cynthia has a driver's license) and we drove to Taroko Gorge. We spent the rest of Monday and Tuesday morning checking out the various hiking trails around the Gorge. Taroko is amazingly gorgeous, and we got to see some great sights, including waterfalls, various insects, and giant marble rocks. Tuesday afternoon we headed back to Taipei.
Right now I'm showing Will around Taipei. There's a lot to see and we've barely tipped the iceberg so far. We're going to see Shilin night market tonight and probably going on a hike this weekend. More fun times ahead!
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