Weekend in Luo Dong (羅東), Ilan

View of the Tea Fields from Shangri La

Going to Ilan

A couple of weekends ago we decided to escape the stresses of Taipei and head into the countryside. Its been a while since we ventured out of Taipei into Ilan and thought it would be great just to head into the mountains and enjoy the "long" weekend away. Queenie booked a room in the Shangri La Hotel in the mountains (hills) above Luo Dong (羅東), we bought some bus tickets for the Friday morning and were all set to go.

The bus journey itself was short and uneventful. It was about 60 - 70 minutes and arrived in Luo Dong (羅東) at around 9:30am. However we had to wait until 10:30am for our hotel pickup. Unfortunately there were no small breakfast stands near the pickup point where we could sit, chat and drink some tea. We ended up standing in a Hi-Life convenience store waiting for our ride. It was too damn hot to wait on the road and the airconditioned store was the answer. Too bad there were no 7-11s nearby with their newly branded Citi Cafe (at least the Citi Cafes have chairs). At 10:30am the driver duly arrived and we were off up the mountain.

The Shangri La Hotel

Cabins at the Shangri La

Once we arrived we were happy to know we were upgraded to a bigger room (Room 775) which had an amazing view of the rice paddies (criss-crossed with pylons of course) in the valley below. The room itself was large with a very peculiar rocking chair, a very comfortable bed, a huge bedroom and a small verandah outside. It was very comfortable and well worth the NTD7,000 we paid for the two nights (which included dinner and breakfast).

After settling in we went off for lunch. The dining room once again had an incredible view of the valley. The lunch (and as we were to discover) and all the meals we ate at the hotel were incredibly healthy. We were impressed. The fruit and vegetables were fresh, as was the meat. Most of the food was boiled or grilled with very little being fried. We were really impressed with the meals. On the first evening we actually missed the free dinner so the hotel gave us a coupon for a free lunch on our second day (lunch cost NTD250 per person). We were really pleased with their flexibility but, after eating dinner on the second day, we were kind of disappointed we missed the first night's meal since it was all really delicious.

Once lunch was done we headed off back to the room to relax. At around 3:30pm Queenie decided we should head out to the Cold Springs in Suao. We called a taxi and was told the trip from the hotel to the Cold Spring would take 40 minutes and cost NTD500. Of course we arrived within 20-minutes and when I suggested to the taxi driver it took half the time so we should only paid half, he roared with laughter.

The Cold Spring itself was pretty funny. Apparently the water in the spring stays at 22C all year around. There were both private rooms and a public swimming area. We chose the public swimming area since it was outside and we wanted to enjoy the sun. Unfortunately the entire cold spring area was the ultimate in Taiwanese kitsch and something we have avoided for a very long time and had missed in some crazy way.

Suao Kitsch

The public swimming area was below the ground level and surrounded by red brick walls. There were also terrible megaphone type speakers blaring out the worst pop music imaginable at the highest volume. The surface of the swimming area was covered in stones, pebbles and rocks making it really painful to walk through the water. And yes, the water was cold. We took our time getting into the water and our bodies slowly adjusted to the temperature. So it wasn't too bad. There were a few screaming kids, a couple of rowdy teenagers and a bunch of adults and babies laughing, talking and screaming in the sunken cavern. The noise was amplified by the echoes bouncing of the red brick walls and only added to the cacophony of the pop music being unceremoniously directed into the bathing area. It wasn't quite the relaxing, peaceful dip in the country I had imagined, but it was Taiwan at its best and most social self.

Sunset in Suao

After more than an hour in the water we decided to head off. The sun was setting and we thought it might be too cold to stay in the cold spring without the sun. We got showered and dressed and headed went to the train station. We had decided to take the train from Suao back to Luo Dong to save on taxi fares and also because we do enjoy train rides. Since we had time to kill we decided to take a walk into Suao. Everyone who has been to Suao would perhaps agree that it is a typical rural town in Taiwan. Its on the coast and at the end of the main road there seemed to be a naval base of some sort. Another part of the town was host to a a rather large temple and even though it was now about 5:30pm, the local night market had not even started to stir. We thought the night market might actually have closed down although there did appear to be some functional stores, they were just all closed.

The trip to back to Luo Dong was 20 minutes on the train (pretty quick). The train conductors was a friendly, smartly dressed character who seemed to take his job very very seriously. We were kind of amused by him but did respect the way he took care of his responsibilities.

Once in Luo Dong we walked over to the night market. The night market itself appeared to be very popular, as popular as any in Taipei. We guessed most of the customers had driven in from Taipei for the weekend. Queenie had been there before and said when she came with her friends they struggled to find parking. I could see why. The night market itself was as good as any in Taipei with the usual Taiwanese foods out for sale, the clothes stores, some DVD shops. The park next to the night market had been nicely decorated and made the place look a little more pleasant. After drifting through the stalls, we settled for some shredded pork and rice with soup for dinner. Not too exciting but it was one of the few stands without a long line. We were hungry and didn't want to wait for our food.

Next on the agenda was a trip to the Luo Dong Sports Park. The local government had decorated the park with a lot of lights and arranged a lot different shows and activities. As we arrived a musical water fountain show started. The show was pretty cool and went on for about 30 minutes. The background to the show was the brightly decorated "Love Bridge". The decorations looked good and had attracted a fair crowd. When the fountain show ended we went for a walk (in a designated direction) through a tunnel of lights, then over the love bridge, around the lake and back to the place we saw the fountain show. Along the way we happened upon many other events and activities. There were performers on stilts, some American-Indian singers doing their native chants, a foreigner playing the panpipes, some latin american music and dancers on a side stage and another full on night market. The park was a great experience and we really enjoyed it. We were happy to have gone on the Friday night because apparently, on Satruday's, people from Taipei visit the park in their hordes. Well, we had a great time in the park, but were tired, and headed off a little earlier than we would have expected.

Love Bridge

Queenie and Paul on the Bridge

Lanterns in the Trees

A Taxi Driver's Story

The taxi driver who took us back told us a funny story. He said that once he was taking a female tourist from Hong Kong back to the Shangri La Hotel. Remeber, the Shanrgi La is not in a town, its on a mountain and to get there you go up a dark and winding road. The taxi driver said that once they had left the town and started ascending the mountain, the tourist asked him, "Where are you taking me? I'm scared." The taxi driver responded, "I'm scared too! I don't know if you are a crazy tourist or not!" We thought it was a funny story and soon the bright lights of our hotel were there to greet us.

The Second Day

On the Saturday morning we woke up earlier than usual and decided to go for a walk. We walked for about 10 minutes and then thought breakfast sounded like a much better idea. So we trooped off to the dining hall for a regular Taiwanese breakfast that included all the goodies including rice porridge. Yes, I even ate some of the water rice concotion (I am used to it now) and we thought it was a pretty good breakfast.

Once breakfast was done and dusted we went for a genuine walk. The Shangri La is surrounded by a lot of greenery and the hotel has put up some fairly good observation points. We went for a long stroll around the grounds and just enjoyed being in nature. It was on our first walk in the morning that we noticed the size of the spiders. The spiders were huge and some of them had spun enormous webs. The spiders were impressive (and scary) and not something we will forget soon. There were also some drums we could pound and just a lot natural greenery to enjoy. We had a blast. We walked around the grounds for about two hours. By this time it was 10:30am, the sun was getting up and it was getting hot so we high-tailed it back to our room to spend the late morning and early afternoon relaxing.

The Observation Points

Paul on the Drums

Beautiful Spiders

Queenie on the trail

Since our second lunch was free we went back to the dining hall for lunch at midday. The lunch was another splendidly healthy meal. Lots of vegetables and fruit with some cold chicken. It was good. And after lunch (you guessed it) we went back to the room to read and while away the time. Once the heat of the afternoon had passed at around 3:30pm we headed out again along another trail through the grounds of the hotel. The views were spectacular and walking through the trees and natural vegetation was refreshing and relaxing and something we just really needed to do. We also followed another path to the bottom of the hill and landed up in a beautiful tea plantation.

Queenie and Paul on the Trail

Talking Trees

Tea Fields

The Second Evening

We walked along the trails and on the road through the tea plantation for about two hours and then it was time for dinner. Dinner was a wonderful buffet of the freshest country food you can find anywhere. We ate quite a bit and it was all delicious. The highlight of the second evening was writing wishes on a lantern and then sending the lantern into the night sky. By this stage a couple of tour buses had arrived at the hotel as some company was sponsoring a trip for the employees so there were a lot of kids running around screaming and special shows were put on. Everyone was having fun. We bought our lanterns, wrote our messages (promising each other we will return to the same hotel in 40 years) and sent the lantern into the sky. I must say, although the lantern did go fairly high, the flight time was less then two or three minutes. It was kind of sad seeing our lantern come crashing down to earth but at least it flew for a short while.

Shangri La Lantern at Night

Wishes on the Lantern

Wishes on Lantern

Lighting the Lantern

Lantern in the Sky

The Final Morning - Death Walk up the Mountain

Temple in the Mountain

Sunday morning arrived all too soon. We had a quick breakfast and decided to take another walk down the mountain. The road ran below through the shadows of the vegetation on the mountain above so we were mostly cool on the way down. When we got to the bottom of the hill there was a huge temple overlooking a beautiful lake. The temple itself was quite an impressive and beautiful structure nestled into the side of the mountain. We spent sometime milling around there, bought a drink and then debated how we would go back to the hotel. The most obvious route was to follow the road back up. It would have taken 30 minutes or so and most of it would have been in the shade. The second option was to hike up the hill and head to the hotel along a trail cut through the trees and vegetation. We chose the latter option.

Lake View

Temple View

People we spoke to said it would take around 90 minutes to get back to the hotel through the trees but we decided to give it a bash. We started up the hill at a slow pace and rested at regular intervals. As we got higher we had tremendous views of the temple and the lake and we were well covered by the trees. The incline up the slope in the beginning was gentle and easy and within 30 minutes we seemed to be approaching the top. Queenie and I were both thrilled that we had arrived so quickly but little did we know the fun had just begun!

We arrived at the top of the first hill and then the shade disappeared and we were walking in the sun. It was hot and sticky and then, horror of horrors, the trail started to go downhill. In the beginning we thought it would just go down for a short distance but trail continued to plunge further into the valley. I am not sure at what point we realized that the trail would take us all the way into a second valley and that we would have to hike up a steeper and more difficult hill, but we were dreading the second hill. We were not to pleased with the idea but thought we had come this far, we couldn't turn back. Besides, the view of the tea planations were amazing and it really was a beautiful day to be out walking. We just needed more drinks and were racing the clock as we had to checkout by 12:oopm.

Tea Fields at Zhong Shan (中山)

We reached the half way point, Zhong Shan (中山). There was a small pavillion we could sit under and a welcome breeze that brought relief from the stifling heat and humidity. We rested up for about 15 minutes but had to continue so we could check out on time. Unfortunately the trail continued to go down for a further 15 minutes. Finally we were at the bottom and looked at the very steep incline we had to ascend. We started up the hill cursing every step. Our legs were tired and the walk was not so pleasant anymore. It took another 40 minutes to get to the top and it was heavy going. Most of it was under the trees so there was no sun beating down on us directly, but it was still hot. We finally made it to our room at the top of the mountain and crashed on to the bed gasping for water. We both concluded that we had done enough excercise for the day.

So that was the end of the weekend. It was a great weekend for both of us. We relaxed a lot, enjoyed nature and ate a lot of healthy food. What more could we want? A more relaxing walk on a Sunday morning I suppose.

Click Here to See More Pictures

P.S. Shangri La is highly recommended if you are looking to get away from the city but can be a bit pricey.

Boracay Beach 02: The People

Couple in Boracay

Filipino people to our mind are some of the most friendly, gentle and heartwarming people on earth. We have had the great privilege of befriending many Filipino people here in Taiwan and some of them have become our best friends, so we were expecting the local people, at least, to be warm and friendly. We were not disappointed. Even the touts and the vendors selling trinkets and fruit were not pushy. They would simply ask us once if we wanted to buy something. If we said no, they would leave us alone and not chase us or beg us to buy from them. Waitresses in the restaurants and all the service people and generally people everywhere greeted us with smiles.

Nemo

Nemo

The most memorable person we met was a 32 y/o dwarf, Nemo. We met Nemo on the first afternoon on the beach. We were just settling in on the beach, getting ready to swim, when Nemo came along and very politely introduced himself and offered us a wide variety of activities that we could do. We said we were just relaxing but that we would consider doing something with him on the second day. He agreed to come back and meet us then. Well, on the second morning he had some other guests so introduced us to his friend Sammy, who would take us snorkeling and jet skiing.

Nemo explained to us that although he was a dwarf, both his parents and his four siblings were of normal height. He told us he came from Manila and had been working in Boracay for three years. He started out in a restaurant but then moved to being a commission-based tour guide after a short while. He studied catering and hotel management and graduated with a two year diploma. He had previously managed a bar in Manila and worked in the restaurant industry there before deciding to move to Boracay. Nemo’s dream is to travel the world. The country he most wants to visit is America because they are rich and he believes dreams can come true there. He loves basketball and his favorite team is the LA Lakers. On one of the days he told us it was his lucky day as his team, the Lakers, had won. Nemo was interested in starting his own business but as he said, “I am waiting for my luck to change.”

Nemo Gets Ready to Ride

Nemo is an awesome guy. He usually hangs out outside the Le Soleil hotel. He is obviously fairly famous in the area. Just walking through the mall (D’Mall) with him was an experience as he seemed to know everyone. He was a good guy. Has a great sense of humor and is very polite. If you are looking for a good tour guide, I suggest you find Nemo.

Paul and Nemo in D'Mall

Sammy

Paul and Sammy

Sammy was introduced to us by Nemo on our first morning in Boracay. Nemo was going to take us out to go snorkeling and jet skiing but he had other guests so he introduced us to his friend Sammy, another commission-based tour guide who hangs out around the Le Soleil hotel. Sammy was a very relaxed, easy going character. He was only 22 y/o but already has two kids, a six year old son and a one year old daughter. He had his first child when he was only 16 years old himself. Although unmarried he and his girlfriend do live together. He told us his neighbor had 15 kids, the same as a basketball team. We asked him way he had kids so young and he said in the Philippines, their excuse is that they were “cold” and there was nothing else to do.

As I said Sammy was a pretty relaxed kind of dude. He did try and get us good prices for the different activities and he always had a smile. He was just a genuinely nice guy and we really enjoyed his sincerity and his light heartedness. Once again, if you want a great tour guide we recommend you go find Sammy, he will hook you up with whatever you want to do and will give you a good price.

Sarah

Sarah in the Bar

Sarah was a British girl we met in a beach side bar. She was there with her friends but currently works in Thailand. We didn’t really speak much to her but she was a memorable character. She seemed to really fancy the singer in the bar and kept on telling us how great he was. After a little bit of egging on from me she decided to become his backup singer. Well, a drunk English girl and an average Filipino rock n roll cover singer certainly made for a hysterical combination. After she got tired of singing she handed out a hat to collect money for the singer insisting he had a hard life. Ah well, we threw in a hundred pesos, drank a few more San Miguel’s and decided to call it quits for the night. Sarah was still dancing around like a mad girl, but we are old!

The Italian

Another interesting guy we met (no pictures or videos, sorry) was the Italian owner of a restaurant who had lived in Boracay for 30 years. He was married to a Filipino lady and had a daughter. I was later told by some other friends who went to Boracay that the food in this guys restaurant was amazing. He also owns the Tree House bar (which we never went to). We went for a walk and met this guy. He was lamenting the loss of the beauty of Boracay and the over commercialization of the island. He was saying how the beach front had been destroyed by the hotels and how the big hotel chains such as Holiday Inn were moving in and taking over from the traditional hotels that had been there for a long time. He was looking to sell his restaurant and property and retire somewhere else. He was thinking about retiring in New Zealand (he thought it was more natural and beautiful). We recommended the East Coast of the South Island. We asked him why he didn’t want to retire in Italy. He said because everyone there had become crazy. We had a good laugh at that.

So that’s it really. The trip was too short to meet tons of people and we were mostly trying to have a relaxing vacation as opposed to a wild travelling experience. The people we did meet and speak to were wonderful and friendly and our only regret is that we didn’t have more meaningful conversations with more people. That is the true fun and adventure of travel, not the places but the people.

Boracay Beach 01: Getting There

Looking forward to the trip

Sunset in Boracay

Its June, it’s hot, we have been working hard and Queenie decided we needed a break. Great! What to do? Queenie thought about going to Bali with her Mom, but Mom decided “no” so Queenie decided to “drag” her husband along to Boracay. And he followed willingly. Before leaving of course we had a ton of stuff to take care of (not packing) but work wise. I ended up working till 1:00am the night before to clear my desk for the grand trip. Queenie also got wrapped up pretty much in her world. Work aside, we were both excited. Queenie had been to Boracay years before and I have never been. Queenie was looking forward to seeing how Boracay had changed over the years and I was looking forward to my first trip to the Philippines. But of course, Boracay is its own special tourist world and does not really reflect Filipino life. Despite knowing that we were still thrilled to be going and knew it would be a blast.

Getting There!

Getting to Boracay is not easy! Everyone tells me we the Philippines is only two hours from Taipei but it take eight hours to get to Boracay. We first flew from Taipei to Kalibo, an airport on another island, then we had a 90-minute to 2-hour bus from Kalibo airport to the Ferry terminal and then 10 minutes in the boat from the ferry terminal to Boracay. Once on Boracay island, we need to take additional transport for another 10 minutes to get to the hotel. Of course you have to add in all the waiting time and the time it takes from home to the local airport. So door-to-door is about eight hours in all. Still, as you will see, it was worth it.

Arriving in Kalibo

Kalibo Airport

When we landed in Kalibo we had to sit on the plane and wait for our temperatures to be taken. In this day-and-age of H1N1 swine flu people are extra cautious about who they let into the country. Strangely, going back from the Philippines to Taipei, there were no on plane checks. I say strangely since a few of the H1N1 cases reported in Taiwan have come from the Philippines.

The airport in Kalibo is small. The immigration line for both entry and exit is in the same place. There are only portable air conditioners inside and a few strong fans. When we landed it was sunny and hot (we were not surprised by this) and were allowed to mingle on the tarmac outside the plane to take pictures. Once inside the immigration line went pretty fast and the bags arrived quickly. We had to do a mandatory customs check where everybody had to open their bags but the whole process was pretty quick. From the time we landed to the time we got through the airport and onto the bus was about 20-minutes. That is a pretty fast turn-around for any airport, and that would be the last time anything happened at speed!

We found the tour bus that would take us to the Boracay ferry terminal. Although there were four buses and we were the first bus to be loaded, we were also the last bus to leave. The tour guides kept counting how many people were on the bus and after the tenth count realized there were some people missing. It was pretty funny. Outside the airport itself, was not very interesting. A few tuc tuc (tricycle) drivers milled about. A few vendors selling refreshments and a couple of restaurants and minibuses were all we saw.

The Bus Trip

The Island Star bus that took us to the ferry was comfortable. Of course it was filled with Filipino-Chinese tour guides who had to describe everything we would see in Boracay in Chinese and the one guy waxed lyrical for about 35- 40 minutes. I was surprised that he could speak so much (says the one who writes ling blog posts) but it did give us some direction about what to expect and how much to spend on certain things.

The bus ride itself was pleasant enough. The town of Kalibo was messy and vibrant and filled with tuc tucs. But outside the town was absolutely stunning. The green rice paddies, the rivers, the mountains and the deep blue sky was compelling scenery. Some parts were very reminiscent of the South of Taiwan. Of course the nicest building we saw was the Mormon Church building in the middle of nowhere. It was a bit of an odd structure to be honest.

We also saw some particularly odd looking buses. We saw one bus with a guy standing on a small platform at the back (much like you see on garbage trucks). Turns out these buses are old garbage trucks from Manila that have been converted into buses.

Finally in Boracay

After 90-minutes we made it to the ferry, loaded our bags onto the ferry and 10-minutes later were in Boracay. Of course we had to stand around and wait for our transport to arrive but there seemed to be a delay on that so I harassed the tour guide and he arranged a tuc tuc for us. Our first tuc tuc ride was a lot of fun (and quite possibly a reason to return to the Philippines). The first views of Boracay itself was a small island populated with poor people, but once we arrived at the tourist part the beauty of Boracay presented itself to us. That actually was the paradox of this beautiful island: the hotels separated the beach from the town populated with locals that was very run down and poor. If a person just spent time on the beach (as we did) you would never see the way the local Filipinos live (we didn’t).

Anyway, eight hours after leaving home we arrived at the very comfortable Le Soleil hotel. Our double-story room came fully equipped with a kitchen, downstairs living room, massive bathroom and bedroom and a Jacuzzi on the balcony. What more could we want? Oh yes, the BEACH!

White Sands Beach in Boracay

We were all set to have fun and were really looking forward to the next few days of relaxation and fun in the sun.

Climbing Er Guo Shan

Looking up the Slope

Yesterday we had a farewell event for Queena, one of Queenie's friends. Our fearless leader Frank decided to march us to the top of the hill and march us down again. So early in the morning (8:00am) we set off from our house to the Taipei Zoo. There we met Frank, Queena (of course), Sylph, David and David's young daughter. We jumped into Frank's car and he drove us to the foot of a trail on what they told me was "Er Guo Shan" (although I could be completely wrong about that). Anyway, it was one of the "mountains" at the back of the zoo. It was actually a beautiful day for hiking and while everyone wore sensible shoes, Queenie and I decided to wear sandles. Didn't worry me to much but poor Queenie slipped quite a lot on the clay underneath.

At the Bottom

We headed up the steepest part of the "mountain" which was a small trail covered with green vegetation and the sun streaming through. It was brilliant weather for climbing. We took about 45-minutes to get to the top (maybe an hour), nothing too strenous but for us beginners a far-enough walk. Frank had to walking sticks and lent one to Queenie to help her up the mountain. Anyway, we all bounded up the mountain and a fairly brisk pace. I must say though Frank was a great leader who always took up the rear to make sure everyone got up the mountain OK.

Our Leader Frank

The good part about choosing the more difficult slope is that there were very few people on that particular trail. On other trails there were considerably more people. We were thankful though to have nature to ourselves. The natural environment was incredibly beautiful and being surrounded by trees is a rare phenomnon in Taipei so it was fun. The striking thing though is that the vegetation around Taipei is very similar to the vegetation in Durban but that is because the climates are similar.

The Vegetation

Everybody seemed to have fun.

Queenie and Frank

Queena

David and his Daughter

Sylph and Queena

As I said, it did take a about an hour to get to the top. Some of the slopes were a little steep but there were a few ropes to help us pull ourselves up. The clay was wet so made the slopes a little slippery but if careful no big deal.

At the Top

On the way down we met a couple of people. We met one 70 year old man who had worked for Chung Hua Telecom for 34 years. We also saw a "mountain biker" pushing his bike down the mountain as he was too afraid to ride. It was flat enough to ride but he didn't seem to have the desire. We also found an excellent resting point to take a long (very long) break.

The Girls

The Boys

Queenie and Queena

So after taking our very very long break, we headed back down the"mountain." It was a great walk and I think we all felt very refreshed (if not a little tired) afterwards.

Queena. Sylph and Queenie at the bottom

So that's it, the end of the hike. Goodbye Queena and good luck in London. We all wish you the best and we hope you find a job quickly and have a great time. Don't forget to come and visit us sometime and remember you will always have friends in Taiwan. Take care of yourself and next time we go hiking, please don't slow us down...ha ha ha...only joking. Anyway, all the best and good luck.

Goodbye Queena

You can see more pictures of our hike @ Hiking Pictures

Overseas Dragon Restaurant in Hsin Tien

Bitan by Night

We have blogged before riding to Hsin Tien (see Cycle Trip to Bitan (Hsin Tien). It has now become a fairly regular route and since I don't ride to work anymore I try to substitute by taking ride to Bitan once a week at least. Its a good 24km return trip from our house in Taipei, long enough to get some excercise and short enough not to get too exhausted. In the evening (especially during the week) its always beautiful and there are hardly anybody on the river side park roads. Also, the weather right now is great and perfect for riding.

On the way to Bitan

So anyway, I have started riding there on a fairly regular basis and started to eat at a restaurant called the "Overseas Dragon" pretty close to the Hsin Tien MRT stop. Its a standard Taiwanese fast food dumpling restaurant. There is always a line outside so it is fairly popular, its clean and the food tastes great.

Overseas Dragon Menu

My standard dinner include beef dumplings, sweet and sour soup, cucumber and cold soy bean milk.

Cucumber

Beef Dumplings

Sweet and Sour Soup

Of course they sell other things. They have adverts scattered all over the wall.

Overseas Dragon Advert

Overseas Dragon Advert

The best part was the meal was only NTD120. Not bad for dinner. It was a great dinner, a great ride and all and all a great time.

Five Flower Pics for Monday

Love the color

After Sunday Morning Breakfast and visiting the J.C. Kuo Exhibit at Asia Art Center we headed off to the Flower Market on Chienkuo South Road. The weather wasn't nice yesterday but the flower market is always a great place to visit. Always lots of activity and, well, flowers are always great to look at. Here are some more of the flowers we saw:

We always enjoy visiting the market and always have fun when we do. If you are in Taipei or have nothing to do, its worth the trip.

Sunday Morning Breakfast

English Breakfast

This morning we went to the Pot Pie Cafe for an English Breakfast. Not as big as the Carnegies version but still has all the good stuff and is enough to keep you full all day. Highly recommend their breakfast!