Huh? How Do You Pronounce That?

I was able to covertly take this photo the other day on the subway. It was just another commute to work until the little girl and her mother sat down next to me. I was standing up near the door when I noticed the curious name-brand on the little one's shoes. As nonchalantly as possible I managed to take out my camera and snap a few pics of her well-worn sneakers.

Sometimes, Chinese name-brands just don't translate too well when they are printed in English...lol. This is the best angle/resolution I could get considering I had to do it surreptitiously.

Huh? Signage Madness!

OK, this one had my head spinning. Catherine and I were running some errands over by her school when I came upon this jewel. Is it a restaurant or an art gallery?....hmmm Can't believe they managed to misspell both words.

"Egyption" and "Dali"...and the judges say PERFECT!

Rootin' Tootin' Facelifts

A salon that offers cosmetic help and perhaps a shot of whiskey while you wait?

What exactly does "preventine" mean? "Saloon"...this one makes me dizzy...lol.

Tien-Lai with Catherine (tons o' pics)

Yangmingshan is great. We had a wonderful time. Catherine and I had a relaxing stay in the mountains. It was nice to get away from the city for a few days.

We hopped on a bus in Taipei for the trip to the park. The bus was packed and we were stuck standing up. After about 20 minutes, we both decided to ditch the bus as soon as possible and grab a taxi. The bus dropped us off on the way up there. This getaway was about relaxation so I wasn't keen about a roller coaster ride on a crappy bus. After a few minutes Catherine spotted a taxi and we resumed our journey. About 40 minutes and US$20 later we arrived at the hotel. The resort is very nice. Incredibly comfortable and quiet.

I was on a mission to give Catherine a birthday to remember. I think we had an excellent time and she won't soon forget her big day.

Check out the following pictures for the story of our stay, they aren't in any particular order because my brain just doesn't function that way...

These are the first things in the hotel room that Catherine noticed, they are the coolest slippers I have come across.

A view from the balcony of our room. Very quiet. I didn't see a car roll down the road while we were there. I just enjoyed sitting out there and listening to the birds and bugs.

This is one of the spring pools. They have about 15 of these little pools all with different compositions. This one is a hot one with rose oils added to it. This one was my favorite, it was just the right temperature.

The waterfall pool. It felt great to sit under the falls. I liked this one even though it was a bit cold.

The hotel has two separate buildings. This is the lobby in the newer building. This is the building we stayed in, it was beautiful.

The view from the balcony outside of the restaurant. You can see the newer building on the right.

Our bath. This is on the balcony of our hotel room. The bath is fed directly from a hot spring. I thought it was so cool to have our little hot spring in our room. The knobs allow you to temper the heat with some cool water. It has little doors on the left that open and let you soak in the bath and look out at the mountains. Notice the two entrances onto the balcony, one from the bathroom and one from the bedroom, good stuff.

I love this shot. She is soooooooo cute! We were getting ready for the BBQ dinner on Sunday night.

In the lobby of the old building. Very tastefully decorated. I was shocked how empty the place was. It was nice to not have to fight crowds like we do every day in Taipei.

Another view from the balcony of our room. The local architecture and mountains made me feel like I was back in the U.S., somewhere in the southwest.

Another picture of my cutie pie. She seemed to really be enjoying her birthday.

Here she is in the green tea spring pool. I never thought anyone could possibly look good in one of those silly swim caps, she proved me wrong.

It's customary to rinse off between turns in the various pools. The water jets in the middle made it fun between dips.

The hotel should use this shot in their brochure. What a sexy girl!

The view from the elevator. You can see that there were very few cars in the parking lot. We picked a good time to be there.

Catherine in front of the really cool waterfall swimming pool.

The same pool at night. The far side of the pool looks like it falls off the side of the mountain.

Perfection! The cutest legs and feet I have ever seen. Catherine isn't crazy about me making this picture public but I can't help it, it's too fun.

A view of the newer building and the BBQ area. The meal was delicious. Several cooks constructed 2 giant fire pits and made some very tasty dishes.

The juniper spring pool. Catherine explained the benefits of the various pools but I forgot most of them...ugh.

One of the many lovely views of the mountains.

And another.

And again. I think I was a bit overwhelmed by the serenity out there. I have been trapped in Taipei for far too long.

Another swimming pool. I believe there were 3 large pools on the property.

The insanely comfortable bed. A western-style bed with VERY expensive bedding is enough to bring me to tears...lol.

The entrance to the balcony/bath from the bathroom. The front desk said this was a Japanese style room, I guess the door and bathroom area is what they were talking about.

Getting ready to chow down at the BBQ.

Feeding our faces. We tried lots of different dishes. The salad was really fresh and they had some scrumptious thousand-island dressing.

Relaxing after dinner. I just can't resist taking pictures of Catherine...

OK, this is embarrassing. This was her first time playing goofy golf and she beat me! Nothing like losing to a first-timer to bring ya back down to Earth.

The entrance to the European side of the property. I am not sure what the difference is between these rooms and the Japanese styled ones we stayed in.

Another look at the spring pool area.

Just before we left on Monday, the hotel invited us to chow on some cake. They had several different kinds including a tasty coffee mousse. It was a nice extra provided by a very well run hotel.

I just had to snap this one. Mango PADDING?? Ya gotta love the butchery of the English language.

I hope you enjoyed this seemingly endless tale of our stay in Yangminghan. If this looks like a place you'd like to check out, feel free to contact me, I have some good info on the hotel.

It was a lot of fun...I love you Catherine.

Saturday Night at Warner Village

Last night, Catherine & I went to the movies. We decided to go to the theater at Warner Village, an area of the city that closely resembles a shopping zone in the U.S. It's just a stones throw from Taipei 101. Lots of expensive shops and American-style restaurants.

We wanted to see "Shooter", but the only seats available were way down in front and neither one of us likes to sit that close to the screen. Instead, we ended up seeing "Premonition", a disappointing movie starring Sandra Bullock. In Taiwan, you have to reserve your seats when you buy your tickets, it's not first-come, first-served like in the States. I didn't like the movie, but I enjoyed spending the time with Catherine, as usual.

I managed to snap a few pics of some things we saw while waiting for the movie to start, enjoy!

Not sure what to call these folks...they sorta look like tree people. They are very good, had us mesmerized for a few moments.

More from the kinda scary tree people. Catherine & I debated on whether they were men or women. I think the one on the right is a man. She thought they were both women...

This is a giant version of one of those claw dropping, grab a worthless prize machines. It's impressive. This is on the main walkway through the shopping district. If you look closely, you can see Lebron James in the background. I would like to try it just to see what crap you can win.

I'm speechless. I took this picture earlier in the day outside my local subway station. This is a public service poster. It uses the word shit four times! Can you imagine the reaction such a sign would get in the U.S.? Too Funny!

Pics!

Another silly sign I found. This one can be found above most urinals here in Taiwan. Not sure what a "snipe" is? It's important to be discreet and clean!...ya...lol.One of the little cuties I have so much fun teaching...she was practicing for an upcoming competition. I had to get a pic of her, she is a little angel. With her is Megan, one of the many very pretty teachers I have the pleasure of working with.

Pictures!

A few random shots. Be sure to click on the pics to get the full effect.

This is Olivia (in front) and Sandra. They are truly a joy to teach. Such wonderful kids. They work really hard and enjoy themselves at the same time. Sandra is the girl I have written about many times, she is amazing. Olivia is my pal, she hangs with me at my desk and practices her English.

A fine example of the butchery of English here. Click on this picture and check out the funny wording on this sign. I see it every day, it's at the train station. I love the "For railway crossing passing, no resting on tracks is most intelligent."

Sherry. What can I say about her? She is why I love my job so much. She shines. As I said before, she is not my best student but it is a priviledge to be in a position to teach her. Words fail me when I try to explain what a joy it is to be surrounded by such greatness.

Taiwan is not so removed from the U.S.. Starbucks and Blockbuster on the same corner. I was on my way to pick up my Domino's pizza when I snapped this one...lol. Thank god for the westernization of this city.

A temple smack in the middle of the busiest market in Taipei. It's currently getting a facelift. The poles and wires aren't normally part of the temple. I love how ornate the roofing is.

Pictures!

Couldn't resist taking this one. This billboard is at the entrance of my local subway station. To Taiwanese people, pasty white skin is ideal. There is a huge market here for products to make you ghostly white...odd. Folks here are totally freaked out by the sun. It's not uncommon to have to dodge umbrellas on a perfectly sunny day.
Fridge magnets! An insanely popular collectible here. I have been sucked into the magnet mania. Every time you spend a few bucks in one of the local convenience stores, you get a free magnet. There are three major convenience stores here and they use the magnets to draw customers, it works! The ones at the bottom are highly coveted...I have a zillion of them...lol.
Sogo, the monster department store chain in Taipei. This is actually one of their smaller stores. I love the design, not the prices.
A common sight here. Temples are constructed in alleys amongst all of the towering apartment buildings. This one is next to my local supermarket. It's a beautifully ornate little building.