Break from Blogging

I'm back from my pseudo-break from blogging. After taking a little trip around the world, fighting with jet lag, and returning to work entirely too quickly, I am proud to report that I feel almost human again. Almost.

Here are some highlights from the trip:

Unfortunately, my preference for taking relaxing vacations was trumped by Monica, who likes to see everything she can in the shortest amount of time humanly possible. [Gratefully, however, she did allow us to take some breaks without which I would have d-i-e-d.] In fact, all the walking we did gave me so much exercise that I didn't experience my anticipated 10 pound weight gain. Lest you think my trip was a total waste, I am proud to report that my cheeks did, in fact, get quite a bit chubbier during the course of the week.

At the same time, much of our speed walking/running came in the form of trying to catch trains and busses (and then folding our bodies in a way to allow us to fit in said vehicles). Let the record show that traveling in Taiwan and taking mass transit isn't the most relaxing way to travel--note Monica on the left, smashed in and ducking between people for this photo op. I guess asians do like living (or at least traveling) in small spaces.

YeLiu Geopark, otherwise referred to as the Goblin Valley of the East. Check out the sweet rock formations behind us, which have been formed by years of wind and water erosion. Unfortunately, the excitement of this trip was dampened by two things: (1) the long bus-ride-o-death at unsafe speeds up a windy mountain road, causing carsickness that was repeated on the way down , and (2) the "exit" to the geopark which brought us into a market filled with fish carcasses and other assorted sea-originated products that smelled less than desireable.

Shopping! It has been a long time since I last stepped foot into a Taiwanese supermarket. We loaded up on treats made by Asian and US Manufacturers that are only distributed in Asia including Oreo wafers, peach yogurt mentos, chocolate almonds, cuttlefish chips, buddah milk, spicy pea crackers, mango hi-chews, etc. [Lest those things sound gross, let me reassure you... a large portion of my life revolves around eating. I self-proclaim myself as one with good food taste.] Also, note our cart escalator approaching its exit in the picture to the left.

We then went shopping for electronics (where we would always play the 'pirated or not' game), traditional Chinese clothes (where the salesladies kept trying to convince me that the jackets I was trying on were 3/4 or 4/5 sleeves, either because they were trying to close the sale or sensing my impending doom and shattered self confidence over SO not being Asian-sized), and large original paintings of Asian landscapes.

Shopping at night markets four or five times clearly deserves its own category. At the time we took this picture at the famous Taipei-area Shi Lin market, it was considered 'not busy', as opposed to a couple of hours later when we shoved our way out. Assorted goods purchased at the night market included a Totoro massage/beating stick (a stick with a stuffed Totoro on the top for hitting the sore spots on your back), some personalized leather bracelets, Pumas not sold in the states, and fake le sportsaq bags. I was glad to be accompanied by my mom, who is a MASTER bargainer, though I almost felt bad for the vendors.

EATING! I accumulated a list of about 30 things I needed to eat during my seven day stay in Taiwan. As a result, I stuffed myself daily, and only repeated a meal once--it seemed merited, given the enormous size of the amazing hot pot buffet. I am sad to report, however, that two items on my list--lu wei (random items cooked in broth)and kao rou (BBQ)--were missed during the visit. I passed a number of street vendors selling those items, but as a pansy, I could not get over the clear lack of any sanitation of the carts. Sad. (Shown in the picture is "buddah head fused with pineapple" on the left, and "wax apple" on the right, which my mom calls 'temple fruit' for obvious reasons.)

To close out this report, it seems appropriate to include one of the last pictures I took... in a bathroom stall... at the airport. I apologize that the picture is blurry. However, I turned my camera's flash off so that an unsuspecting bathroom user wouldn't be shocked (and appalled) by a flash going off in a stall. This "emergency pushbutton" was located to the right of the toilet. What is this button for? And, if I may ask, who will be summoned when this emergency button is activated? I suppose I will never know. Tragedy.

So that, my friends, is a brief overview of the events of the past week. My stretched out stomach is grumbling. I'm off to feed the beast.