Stripped of Dignity

Kenting Beach. My higlight of the trip. First of all we finally made it to the coast and it had the blue waters that I had dreamed of. Before coming on the tirp, I had started planning to go to the Philippines but because of circumstances, was unable to go. Being from the Georgia/Carolina area in the states, we werent readily close to blue water when we went to the beaches. We would have to travel for half a day to reach a coastline offering such a thing. One of the peaks about going to the Philippines was that it sheltered the 3rd best beach in the world: complete with blue water. Who would have thought that I could find it here in Taiwan? I think that Asia could share some of this beauty with the US.
We arrived in the afternoon and were welcomed by yet another overcast day. The bus dropped us off in the middle of Kenting and everyone let us know that we could reach the coast no matter what direction we went in. As part of the routine, we wanted to find a cheap place to stay that would also permit usage of scooters. This was one of our last shots to be able to rent scooters and we werent going to pass it up. When in scooter town, do as the locals do. Most people in the area would not permit foreigners without a Korean lisence to drive. Luckily for us, we found a guy who was good friends with our hotel manager. He let us ride for....%15 for 24 hours.
Not a bad deal. The three of us had to show them how well we could drive the scooters [or better yet, convince them that we were able to do it with no proof of a lisence].
I passed first. Sarah next. El, no dice.
That was just water under the bridge for us. Ellen would have to leave in the early morning and we rationalized it to be just a fair investment for her to ride with us.
Thus- we toured the island for a good 30 minutes before picking a beach where we would set up. God thought otherwise. To get some humor out of the situation, it started pouring down rain. One of the beach ladies wanted to rent her beach umbrella for 2 hours/ $30. No dice.
When we were contemplating the rash decision for cough up the money, oone of the other renters came over and introduced himself to us. Fox.

Hideaway in the Mountains

It wasnt much of a stretch to get to our next stop on the trip. Koi split form the pack and went to a water amusement park. When we heard from him later on he said that he felt out of place becuase there were so many families/couples there. A person like him should be able to adapt to any situation he is palced in---especially if he is in cophoots with his girlfriend- BEER.

Taroko Gorge

We went straightway to one of Sarah's finds- Taroko Gorge. She had discovered this place that was nestled in the mountains while looking up palces to travel while in Taiwan. You would be amazed at how much traveling one has to do on such a small island.

Cancheon-on

Over here, thats what they say when you're stressed out....

"its going to be okay"

I cannot help but be reminded of Ingrid Michaelson in these moments.
I went over on my cell phone bill ocne again this month. Will I always continue to have this gift of gab? This is really starting to nip me in the wallet.

India Bound

Looks like for Christmas, I will be heading over to India with some friends. We will be spending the 25th [December] through the 1st [January].
We will be flying in Delhi and traveling through Jaipur, Agra, Mathura, and back to Delhi. Not too shabby. Anyone ever traveled there before?

Taiwanese If You Please

We started out our trip with a broken leg. Sarah and I had arrived at the airport and were without our third musketeer. For this adventure, we had lost Paul but gained Ellen. She was one of Sarah's buds over in SoKo who thought Taiwan would be a great ,also cheap, place to mark off her travel list.

Sarah and I had been pampered by the luxuries in business class aboard Asiana Airways. When you board the place, you are given a vast array of newspapers and periodicals, greeted by name, and given an option of champagne or juice. Due to the ambiance and surroundings, I thought the champagne would start the trip off nicely. We were given a three course brunch and then sent on our way into the destination airport near Taipei. After waiting for a short period of time, we departed by bus to civilization. We checked into Taipei Hostel, an original name for such an original place. A friend had recommended this hostel to Sarah and I and followed through with the advice. While the environment isn't the most inviting/updated....its cheap and disease free. One of the perks about the place is that it is accustomed to foreigners who are interested in traveling around. The front desk worker is fluent in English and gives good sightseeing advice.

The top places to see in Taipei are the Taipei 101 building and the Logshan Temple. There is one subway line that runs between the two places and are about 5 stops away from one another. While many may suggest that you make an appearance at the night markets, hold off until later. Tainan is the place to go [its oldschool Taipei]
The Taipei 101 building was the worlds largest building up until the past 5 years where India took the prize. Apparently, they have been battling this for ages.
Taipei 101 is designed to withstand the typhoon winds and earthquake tremors common in its area of the Asia-Pacific. Planners aimed for a structure that could withstand gale winds of 60 m/s and the strongest earthquakes likely to occur in a 2,500 year cycle.The extraordinary height of Taipei 101 combined with the demands of its environment called for additional innovations. The design achieves both strength and flexibility for the tower through the use of high-performance steel construction. Thirty-six columns support Taipei 101, including eight "mega-columns" packed with 10,000-psi concrete.

Longshan Temple was built in 1738 by settlers from Fujian, China. It served as a place of worship and a gathering place for the Chinese settlers. The temple has been destroyed either in full or in part on numerous earthquakes and fires.
During World War II, on 31 May 1945 it was hit by American bombers during the Raid on Taipei, who claimed the Japanese were hiding armaments inside. The main building and the left corridor were damaged and many precious artifacts and artworks were lost in the ensuing fire.
Taipei residents have nevertheless consistently rebuilt and renovated it, and did so again after the end of the Second World War a few months later. Longshan is seen as an emblematic example of Taiwanese classical architecture, with southern Chinese influences commonly seen in older buildings.
Like most temples in Taiwan, the Temple worships a mixture of Buddhist, Taoist, and folk deities such as Matsu [goddess of the sea].

Can anybody point me to the nearest bed?\We crashed for the night and found it hard to sleep...we were scared to touch uncovered parts of the bed. Our sheets were a twin on a full size bed.

Fukouka. Dont cuss at me.

Fukuoka was our first impression of Japan – I’m late in posting this, because I was too anxious to post my Hiroshima photos. Our first impression: “So, this is what fresh air smells like?” Fukuoka is incredibly clean and the air is incredibly fresh – and as we later discovered, so is the rest of Japan. Now, I’m not saying, “It was fresh for being a city,” I’m saying, “it was like breathing mountain air whilst standing in the midst of an urban jungle.” We were in disbelief. A week before our trip to Japan, I met a man in the subway (I’ve forgotten how the topic arose), whom told us on a clear – that is, cloud-free – night in Tokyo, one can see stars in the night sky. At the time, I half-believed him – mostly because I’m gullible and I always give people the benefit of the doubt – but after visiting the major cities of Japan and not smelling or seeing any signs of smog, I can definitely sympathize. I was able to see a star or two in Tokyo’s night sky, and after seeing the number of bikes in Fukuoka and the number of enviro-friendly cars trotting around Fukuoka, Hiroshima, Kyoto and Tokyo it’s evident why Japan’s air is so clean and fresh despite its immense population.

Sarah said it better

Superior Beings

Climbing that last stretch, we were unstoppable. No matter how long we had been hiking over the past day, it just all melted away. We were at the top and just took it all in. While we were not the only ones, it didn't matter. Nothing could take away that moment. We slowly found a resting spot away from the crowd where we huddled together for our packed lunch. God bless the station helpers who packed it for us. Unlike American brown bag specials, this had chicken, covered in rice, shaped into a triangle, and covered in seaweed. Yumm-o.
It would be that conquering mindset that would carry me for the remainder of the trip.

Liquid Crack in Metropolis-ville

In the post-Fuji window- we were hobbling around everywhere we went. Once fearless at the sight of a spiraling number of stairs, the three of us were reduced to look for an easier method of ascent/descent. We had now become likened to paralytic patients trying to rehabilitate our own selves back into a normal routine. A never ending moment in my mind’s sketchbook would be off Sarah hobbling down stairs after a nice steak dinner. Her grip never let go of the hand railing as she braced herself for every step to come. We rode the shinkansen over to our supposed climax of the trip: TOKYO. Every horror story that we were told about their transportation chaos was soon proven true. When we arrived at their main metro station, we laid eyes upon their subway lines and were amazed to its spilt spaghetti resemblance. Sarah, Paulie, and I knew that we were up to any challenge that would detour us from walking the extra mile.

Tokyo: the place I had always dreamed of coming to. It was the birthplace of animation of its kind and I was bent on being reunited with my long lost obsession. We soon dropped off our backpacks to the Capsule Inn [a literal bed in the wall as featured on the travel channel] and sluggishly ventured out into the world of Tokyo at 8pm. The first stop of the night was def. going to be shibyua crossing. For those who don’t know, it’s a well recognized place in many mainstream movies. Simply put, it’s a massive intersection of about 8 crosswalks where all of the people have a green light for a 60 second time period. Sarah pointed out a Starbucks with a coffee counter that overlooked the madness. Amazing. After getting our first glimpse of the Tokyo life, we soon noticed that small businesses were closing and giving way for nigh-life: bars, casinos, arcades, clubs. The norm. We soon realized that to get the full experience, we needed to start our day a tad bit earlier in this gimugous city.
The next few hours were spent in the comfort of our capsule beds. A truly remarkable feat. Now thinking about it, I wonder why the States hasn’t adopted something similar. It’s a big saver on space and cheap to upkeep. When most Americans think of their lives being downsized to an “un-euphamistic” “5 star” experience-
Never mind.
As expected, we got a good start on the next day. When it comes to vacation, I am all for waking up as early as humanly possible [not before 6] and trying to explore as much as possible. If I had to pay for this trip, I’m going to get the most for my money [classic famous words of my father]. The next stops were luckily along the same subway line and not as confusing as we initially thought. At this time, I had suffered a severe hit to my esteem after being turned down for tickets into Miyazaki’s Anime Studio. ><
To compensate, Sarah and Paul agreed to venture out into Akihabara [the metropolis for anything anime]. Great friends. Once we reached this literal Nirvana, we were soon greeted by several eccentrically dressed teens welcoming us into a Maid Café [Oh, happy memories of AWA].
I was bombarded with store after store offering relatively expensive anime products only seen before at anime cons. I could ramble all day about it but thats for only my close friends.
Oh what the heck- I ran into one store and literally spent bukoos of yen. Shirts, model figures, ramen, lightsaber chopsticks, another shirt, a key-chain, a wallet, candy, sodas, posters...a sign for my kitchen....
I was in HEAVEN. Good thing that Sarah and Paul were with me. I would have been misunderstood by so many.
They dragged me out of that subway stop and onto our main adventure toward Minikami. Going from such a metropolis to such country side was a shock for my mind's eye.

Minikami is in the pure country side of the Japan. Imagine a small country town where everyone knows who comes and goes, neighbors watch out for one another, and when you step out into your backyard- you can literally start walking up the mountain range.
We checked in with the adventuring company -CANYONS- and were soon greeted by a dozen so eclectic mountaineers. The bulk of the men and women who ran this company were from New Zealand and up unto this point I had mistaken them for Aussies [given their envious accent and friendly nature]. I can have lots of admiration for anyone who can rock dreadlocks for months at a time. There were several girls there who did that very thing. We were lucky in that our rafting instructor was one of these stated girls.