Foot Massage
Aquarium
Beach in Kenting
Night Market
Memorial Hall
Street Performers
Taipei
Taipei 101
Weather Forecast for the trip
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Taiwan
All week prior to our trip the weather in Taiwan was calling for rain. When we arrived at our boarding gate there was a sign posted with a 3 day forecast. Rain, Rain, Rain. Not such a great start to vacation, especially when the plan was to lay on the beach.
When we arrived in Taipei we had no real plans, especially due to the weather. We took a bus into the city where we were the only white people. I think as soon as we arrived I noticed some major differences between Taiwan and Korea.
1. Language, almost everyone spoke English.
2. Appearance, although they are both Asian countries the people in Taiwan have a more westernized look.
3. Size, people in Korea (men and women) are very petite and thin. Taiwan were taller and bigger.
4. Dogs, In Korea dogs are not treated as pets, and if you have a "pet" it usually lives outside and is not taken care of. In Taiwan people have dogs as pets and take them for walks/ care for them.
5. Tattoos, In Korea tattoos are shunned upon, and it is illegal to be a tattoo artist here. In Taiwan they were everywhere and not covered up by clothing.
6. Street smell, Korea stinks like sewer about 75% of the time. Taiwan had a few areas with "street smell" but nothing like Korea.
Saturday we spent the day traveling Taipei. We checked out Taipei 101 (the only real attraction) and a couple markets in the area. Taipei 101 is the tallest building in the world and the view from the top is great....minus all the fog. We did a quick trip to a memorial hall, but when all the information is in Mandarin its not that interesting.
Sunday we ventured to the south coast of Taiwan to a small town called Kenting. The south coast offers the best beaches in the area, and we were looking for a couple days of sun. On a map Taiwan seems like a small country, but when we went to get information on a bus from Taipei to Kenting we found out it was going to take us 7+ hours. Instead of the bus we opted for taking the high speed rail which took about 2 hours, and arrived in Kenting just in time for prime time tanning. Sunday the weather turned out to be beautiful. We spent the day soaking up the sun...later we both ended up with a bad sunburn. I will blame it on the lack of tanning beds in Asia. There is no opportunity for a base tan here. Although laying on the beach for 6 hours in the sun for the first time all season might have something to do with it. Sunday night we went to a street market in the area, nothing overly exciting but something to do in the evening.
Monday we enjoyed the morning at the B&B and hit up the beach in the afternoon. It rained late in the afternoon. At the time it could of snowed, we were just happy to be away from work and kids. Monday evening we checked out the aquarium. It was a task and a half to get there, Kenting is a small town and not many people spoke English and there are no taxis. This is where I realized I know more Korean than I thought I did. In Korea I would be able to communicate where I wanted to go, but in Taiwan they speak Mandarin and I know none. We eventually made our way to the aquarium just before closing, but we lucked in and got to see a feeding which was cool. We did a quick run through before heading back to Taipei for the night.
Tuesday was our last day. I spent the morning having a relaxation foot massage. I will say it was relaxing. Before the massage they assess your energy and organ function. All were working fine except my liver which had a value of 78 (20-30 is normal). I was told I should detox. I told her it was Korea and Soju that made my liver work over time.
It was a quick trip but a very nice mental break from Korea/ kids. I'm not sure I would recommend Taiwan as a vacation location or a must see, but it was perfect for us. All we needed was a beach, and the south coast provided that. Also traveling to countries in monsoon season is not recommended. It becomes a little depressing when the forecast calls for rain, although we lucked in and the weather didn't prevent us from any activities.
When we arrived in Taipei we had no real plans, especially due to the weather. We took a bus into the city where we were the only white people. I think as soon as we arrived I noticed some major differences between Taiwan and Korea.
1. Language, almost everyone spoke English.
2. Appearance, although they are both Asian countries the people in Taiwan have a more westernized look.
3. Size, people in Korea (men and women) are very petite and thin. Taiwan were taller and bigger.
4. Dogs, In Korea dogs are not treated as pets, and if you have a "pet" it usually lives outside and is not taken care of. In Taiwan people have dogs as pets and take them for walks/ care for them.
5. Tattoos, In Korea tattoos are shunned upon, and it is illegal to be a tattoo artist here. In Taiwan they were everywhere and not covered up by clothing.
6. Street smell, Korea stinks like sewer about 75% of the time. Taiwan had a few areas with "street smell" but nothing like Korea.
Saturday we spent the day traveling Taipei. We checked out Taipei 101 (the only real attraction) and a couple markets in the area. Taipei 101 is the tallest building in the world and the view from the top is great....minus all the fog. We did a quick trip to a memorial hall, but when all the information is in Mandarin its not that interesting.
Sunday we ventured to the south coast of Taiwan to a small town called Kenting. The south coast offers the best beaches in the area, and we were looking for a couple days of sun. On a map Taiwan seems like a small country, but when we went to get information on a bus from Taipei to Kenting we found out it was going to take us 7+ hours. Instead of the bus we opted for taking the high speed rail which took about 2 hours, and arrived in Kenting just in time for prime time tanning. Sunday the weather turned out to be beautiful. We spent the day soaking up the sun...later we both ended up with a bad sunburn. I will blame it on the lack of tanning beds in Asia. There is no opportunity for a base tan here. Although laying on the beach for 6 hours in the sun for the first time all season might have something to do with it. Sunday night we went to a street market in the area, nothing overly exciting but something to do in the evening.
Monday we enjoyed the morning at the B&B and hit up the beach in the afternoon. It rained late in the afternoon. At the time it could of snowed, we were just happy to be away from work and kids. Monday evening we checked out the aquarium. It was a task and a half to get there, Kenting is a small town and not many people spoke English and there are no taxis. This is where I realized I know more Korean than I thought I did. In Korea I would be able to communicate where I wanted to go, but in Taiwan they speak Mandarin and I know none. We eventually made our way to the aquarium just before closing, but we lucked in and got to see a feeding which was cool. We did a quick run through before heading back to Taipei for the night.
Tuesday was our last day. I spent the morning having a relaxation foot massage. I will say it was relaxing. Before the massage they assess your energy and organ function. All were working fine except my liver which had a value of 78 (20-30 is normal). I was told I should detox. I told her it was Korea and Soju that made my liver work over time.
It was a quick trip but a very nice mental break from Korea/ kids. I'm not sure I would recommend Taiwan as a vacation location or a must see, but it was perfect for us. All we needed was a beach, and the south coast provided that. Also traveling to countries in monsoon season is not recommended. It becomes a little depressing when the forecast calls for rain, although we lucked in and the weather didn't prevent us from any activities.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
This weekend brought beautiful weather to Korea. The week was a fairly busy one. Wednesday we had supper and drinks with some LG workers. Our new friend teaches the LG business men so we went out with them before heading to Waegook. Friday we enjoyed an evening with friends in Indong at a Hookha bar. Saturday was a beautiful day so we spent the afternoon downtown and at Gumeo mountain. We went for a nice walk around the lake which offered some great photos. Saturday night was Craigs farewell at Waegook. He is heading back to Canada so we felt the need to send him off in style with a Waegook very sloppy party. Sunday a group ventured into Daegu to check out a Samsung Lions baseball game. It would be comparable to the MLB at home. It was a great day for a ball game, and to work on a base tan for Taiwan. Korean's hate the sun so many of them were wearing an insane amount of clothes, and hats made from just about anything (empty boxes, newspaper, flyers etc). It is almost funny to see because Koreans are very self conscious about their looks. They constantly look in the mirror or take pictures of themselves, but they will sit at a ball game with a beer box on their head. They see skin color as a division of social class. High class work in offices and have indoor jobs, where as lower classes work outside doing manual labor so they have darker skin. At the game we also sat behind a family with a small Korean girl. She was amazed by all of us foreigners, and probably one of the cutest, well behaved children I have seen here to date. After the game I met up with a friend from home for supper. Nick and Dave both work with Moon Kkkang in Daegu so I spent the evening with them before heading back to Gumi. So great to have people from home here, and nice to have a getaway in Daegu even if it is just for a day.
This week is the start of a new series for me at work, so today I will be getting a few new kids in my classes. Learning new names should keep me entertained for this week.
This week is the start of a new series for me at work, so today I will be getting a few new kids in my classes. Learning new names should keep me entertained for this week.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Sunday, April 18, 2010
This past weekend I was able to take in a few more Korean cultural activities. Saturday I attended my first traditional Korean wedding. I have to say it was VERY different from anything I have seen or expected. The bride and groom both wear Korean outfits which are very brightly colored. I wouldn't say there is a "wedding party" but since it was a Korean girl and a foreign guy there were a couple of best men. When we got there on Saturday the bride actually asked some people on the spot to help out with the wedding service, and they all got changed in the middle of the reception area. The actually wedding it self was in Korean so I didn't understand, but there was a lot of bowing, and drinking of tea. Very few guest were dressed up, and people were eating in the middle of the wedding. No kissing of the bride, no cutting of the cake, and no party/dance. Just a small outdoor service and buffet. No one really was paying any attention to what was going on. I have to say in Korea your wedding day is definitely not all about you, or very organized. The wedding was in Ulsan, so on the way home we stopped by a small beach for a couple hours. The weather is getting nice here so it was a beautiful day to soak up some sun. The beach was very rocky, and the water was extremely cold, but I loved every minute of it.
April has been a busy month it seems, and I am not sure where the time has gone. We are still trying to plan a temple stay and a hike, but with weddings, going away parties and a trip to Taiwan it looks like it may be postponed until May. Time is flying by here. I cant believe it has been 4 months already!
April has been a busy month it seems, and I am not sure where the time has gone. We are still trying to plan a temple stay and a hike, but with weddings, going away parties and a trip to Taiwan it looks like it may be postponed until May. Time is flying by here. I cant believe it has been 4 months already!
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Its been a while since my last post. Things here in Gumi are still great, and Moon Kkang is still growing. The weather has been nice, and Gumi is starting to blossom with beautiful cherry trees. We arrived in the winter so it is nice to see spring, and a fresh look to Korea. Without snow to cover all the dead winter look, it is not the nicest place during the winter months. The roof top of our apartment building has been our new favorite hang out. It has a nice area to sit and read while soaking up the sun. It is almost wrong to soak up sun in Korea. They love their white skin and many people wear a ridiculous amount of clothes, hats, face masks and SPF 50 while out during the day.
We have discovered Costco in Daegu, which has been a great find. Lots of home comforts (cheese), and it is a quick/cheap trip by train from Gumi. The past couple weekends we have done day trips to Daegu for a Costco trip. We have also discovered a resturant called The Holy Grill, which is owned by two Canadians. Being Canadian they even have poutine on the menu.
Last weekend we enjoyed an Easter dinner with some friends. Easter is not celebrated here like it is at home. People celebrate the religious part of Easter, but there is no Easter bunny, or egg hunts.
Other than that it has been a quiet month of April in Gumi. We have a couple events planned for the coming weekends. A concert, temple stay and vacation to Taiwan. All things we are looking forward to.
We have discovered Costco in Daegu, which has been a great find. Lots of home comforts (cheese), and it is a quick/cheap trip by train from Gumi. The past couple weekends we have done day trips to Daegu for a Costco trip. We have also discovered a resturant called The Holy Grill, which is owned by two Canadians. Being Canadian they even have poutine on the menu.
Last weekend we enjoyed an Easter dinner with some friends. Easter is not celebrated here like it is at home. People celebrate the religious part of Easter, but there is no Easter bunny, or egg hunts.
Other than that it has been a quiet month of April in Gumi. We have a couple events planned for the coming weekends. A concert, temple stay and vacation to Taiwan. All things we are looking forward to.
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