Gondola Ride in Taipei

 

We are really packing the weekends trying to do all things possible. On Saturday we took the first train to Taipei and just barely caught the last train back to Hsinchu! This was a fun Moutain ride! It was about 30 minutes long and moved faster than I thought it would.

 

At the top stop of the Gondola were tea fields, tea houses, and some hiking trails.

 

Here is a view of part of Taipei city and the surrounding county area from the Gondola.

Taipei Zoo

 

Note what the sign says at the end. It compares the monkey's bottom to a favorite food. Heee Hee HEEE! We saw the bottoms in person and didn't quite agree.

 

Yummy...sushi train.

 

Who doesn't like monkeys. This one was especially happy swinging around in the trees. Monkeys are great.

Mango Ice

 

It is starting to get hot and mango is in season. Yum this was good!

Bao zi

 

We really have to learn how to make these steamed buns! But it really looks like hard work. Nothing in this place stands still. The customer line is always growing and shrinking, change is being made, steam is flowing, fans are blowing and of course the workers are zig-zagging about the shop. our favorite bun is either the cabbage or red bean.

Live Music Finally!

 

We went to Taipei to see a live Taiwanese Hip Hop group that has conscious raps in a mix of Mandarin Chinese, Taiwanese, and I think another aboriginal language from Taiwan. Pretty good show. We have a link to their MySpace page...check it out! Bet you never heard anyone rip the mic in Taiwanese before!

 

This was a kick-butt Night Market in Taipei. It is by the Songsan train station. It is by what use to be the largest wholesale clothing area in the world during the 70's.

 

This by far is one of our favorite foods, green scallion pancake with basil and egg. Oh and some hot sauce. This guy was great at making them. All yours for the handsome price of 35NT=$1.00.

 

This is the Taiwan verison of the Thai spring roll (not fried). Except that the wrapper is not clear, but solid. Every stand puts their own unique twist to it, but the basics are: bean sprounts, toasted sweetened onions, peanut powder, steamed cabbage, and some other stuff. The owner of this stand was especially proficent at making them.

 

Crazy night market! We love it!

 

A friend of ours came in for the Tomb Sweeping holiday to visit his family. We met up for dinner and strolled around Taipei. We are at a Japanese Garden at the top of the department store SOGO.

 

We stopped for dessert at a place that specializes in sweet tofu. You get the tofu, the white softness, and you can add different things to it. Two of the bowls are taro, one is peanut, and Jonathan went for the combination bowl. Yummy!

Grass Jelly and Rice Fields

 

Hot grass jelly with red beans, green beans, and tapioca.

 

Cooled grass jelly (it gets more like jelly as it cools, the jelly is naturally occuring in the plant) with taro balls and some cream.

 

Jonathan chillin in front of some rice patties that where by the ocean.

A View From Our Roof

Funny we did not post a picture of this earlier but here is a view of our school (the first building in the middle of the shot) from our apt rooftop. It has been clear lately and we are enjoying it before the rainy spring!

Other Countries Protesting

By Europe correspondent Rafael Epstein

Leaders from the Czech Republic and Poland have declined invitations to
attend the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Beijing, in protest
of recent crackdowns on Tibetan protesters. Czech President Vaclav Klaus says those who voted to give the Games to China should now not be surprised by the recent trouble.

"China is what it is," he said.Mr Klaus and some Czech ministers will
boycott the ceremony.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk questioned whether world leaders
should attend, given China's conduct. "The presence of politicians at the Games'inauguration seems inappropriate," he said. Mr Tusk says he will try to convince other European Union countries that they should speak out more strongly on the issue of Tibet.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who is currently visiting London,
repeated that he may also boycott the ceremony.

But British Prime Minister Gordon Brown says he will be attending.