32 weeks: Typhoon Morakot brings cooler weather

Typhoon Morakot has come and gone, leaving behind cooler weather. Thank goodness! The time before a typhoon comes is always hot and muggy, and there's nothing like swampy steamy weather to make one feel particularly pregnant.



Thankfully we suffered no damage, although I saw on the TV news today that a hotel (mostly due to shoddy construction) in the Jhihben (知本) Hot Springs area of Taitung County (台東縣) had collapsed into the swollen river. I believe it was Jhihben that I visited as a child on a trip to Taiwan; back then it wasn't so developed and you could just play in the river and lie on a stone as warm water gurgled over you. Perhaps we'll take our little boy there someday - not during typhoon season, of course!


No one was hurt as the hotel had already been evacuated. (Photo source: Taitung Government Department of Culture and Tourism)

So what do we do when there is a typhoon? Stay inside and relax, of course! I hope our baby doesn't mind Mommy poking around as she tries to figure out what is the head and what is the butt, and which way he is facing. Just checking to make sure he's in the right position.

I'm sure he thought beach time was more fun:


(photo taken on July 26)

Update: here's a video of the hotel collapsing into an overflowing river.

23 weeks: company trip to Hualien & Taroko Gorge

This past weekend we went on my company trip to Hualien and Taroko Gorge. I was afraid it might be one of those Taiwanese-sit-on-the-bus-hop-out-for-photo-ops affairs, but it was actually quite fun and active. We got up at an ungodly (for us) hour to catch a 7am train to Hualien. Then we got on a tour bus and went to Rui Sui Farm 瑞穗牧場 (which was pretty but rather small and boring - you can buy stuff to feed the koi fish, cows, and ostriches and buy snacks made from their farm's milk), and then a visit to the awkwardly named Lin Tian Shan Culture Studio 林田山文物展示館. Now this was very interesting - it is a restored former paper milling company village that dates back to the Japanese colonial period.



Many of the buildings feature Japanese architectural touches, and there is a village theater that is made of aromatic wood with the original early 20th century movie projectors on display.



We bought homemade mulberry juice from a grandma that was absolutely delicious and refreshing.

Afterwards, we went to Carp Lake 鯉魚潭. Many co-workers were encouraged to participate in a company 5,000-meter race or a relay. Carp Lake is very scenic - you can rent bikes, paddle boats, and kayaks. We opted to do a short nature hike - there are many well-marked trails to choose from. I'd definitely return - it's a great recreational area for families.

On Sunday, we went to Taroko National Park 太魯閣國家公園. It was a beautiful day and we did two hikes, the 1km Swallow Grotto Trail and the 4km Baiyang Waterfall Trail. Unfortunately, my camera battery ran out and I haven't gotten photos downloaded from the hub's iPhone. I'll post them up soon!

In the meantime, here's a classic pic of Taroko from Monad (Falling Spirit)'s Flickr stream:

In typical fashion

Oh my gosh, this is my first post for 2009?!? This will be unsuprising to those who know me well - on Sunday we went to pick up my stimulus check/consumption voucher.* Pick-up times were from 9:30am to 5:30pm on Sunday. Of course, we wanted to enjoy a leisurely Sunday at home, so we slept in, had breakfast, made tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch, surfed the web...until I looked at the time and realized it was almost 5pm. We hurried out of the house and Neil pulled up to the Post Office where they were distributing the vouchers and I hopped out and ran in through the door at...5:29pm. Talk about cutting it close!

In other news, I'm still not fully unpacked from our trip to the States, I still haven't posted pictures from our ski trip to Korea last year, and we got a new camera (Canon PowerShot SD790IS), which I love and am working on (slowly, of course) getting the photos downloaded to my computer and uploaded online for all to see.

Some highlights of our trip back:

Neil picking kumquats from my Uncle Ted's backyard.


Close-up of the kumquats.


AMAZING "Papa's Portobello" burger at the Veggie Grill, one of the best meals we had in the U.S. My brother Galen took us there. It is really good (and yes, I'm using omnivore standards here). Go, go! You will be so glad you did.


We ended up behind "Obama '08 / GO V3GAN" at an intersection in L.A.

More to come...I promise!

*Instead of cutting checks to the people, the Taiwan government have cleverly decided to stimulate the economy by issuing vouchers worth NT$3,600 (about a little over US$100; they come in NT$500 and NT$200 increments). These vouchers can be redeemed participating retailers around Taiwan - it's sort of like universal gift certificates. Clever, huh?

Our neighborhood goes Vegas

About a week or two ago, I was pleased to see a line of red lanterns snaking up the hill to the temple next to my home. "Great!" I thought to myself, "If anyone comes and visits, all they need to do is follow the lanterns."

Then, as I turned around the corner on my way home a week ago, I ran into this:


The local neighborhood temple had gone Vegas. We had flashing Christmas lights, colored landscape lighting, lit animal sculptures, and more. I'm not quite sure what the temple was celebrating, but after a week or so of a very colorful spectacle (including a two-day Chinese opera-looking performance in a temporary theater set up by the side of the road) and some firecrackers, they packed everything up yesterday.

It was fun while it lasted.

Return to the peak and beach

Went to the beach for the first time in a long time and boogie boarded. Thankfully, the water is not yet cold!



I've fully recovered from my second trek up Jade Mountain. I was definitely less fit this time around, which probably explains my small bout with altitude sickness. But, we had great weather, and the peak was so much more pleasant with windproof gear!



It's beautiful up there, but I think that will be my last time to the peak - been there, done that (and my knees will thank me).

to Turtle Island and back

The waters around Daxi have been flat, flat, flat this weekend. So yesterday Neil decided it was perfect weather to take the jet ski out to show me Turtle Island. Turtle Island is a few miles off the coast of I-lan County that is off-limits to regular folk as there is a military installation there. The cool thing about Turtle Island, besides just getting to see it up close instead of from afar, is that it was formed by sulfurous vents in the ocean. So many of the rocks are mustard yellow, and part of the ocean that surrounds it is a Peptol-Bismol aquamarine. Apparently there are large sea snakes that live below, but we just went around and back.

V-day, Green Island, errand girl

Oh my. I may be taking a break, but my days are filled with running errands. More notable events: Taiwan's first ever production of the Vagina Monologues and a trip to Green Island for more scuba diving. I'm off to Hong Kong and Shanghai for a little weekend fun.

Southern Taiwan, Norah, cooking, and more

A re-cap of the past two or so weeks: saw Taiwan's southernmost point, near Kending.



On Monday, I saw Norah Jones in concert. She seemed to be a real sweet gal, and told a clean joke that I enjoyed, even though others thought it was cheesy. Too wholesome for them, perhaps. I'd forgotten my regular camera, thank goodness for camera cell phones.



Thursday night I made Eating Well's arugula and strawberry salad, soft polenta, and pan-seared steak from Everyday Food. Yummy!

Yesterday I hiked about 8 kilometers of the Tsaoling Historic Trail in Ilan County. Great cardio workout, sweat pouring down my face, and pretty stepped fields and a gurgling stream.

dive baby

I was in Kending this weekend, SCUBA diving again. No underwater photos, but I finally got one from Bali. Enjoy.