Dried everything!
Polish cakes and candy in the Shilin night market - Taipei
Chiang Kai-Shek and his lovely wife
Characters to form a face
National Palace Museum
Chiang Kai-Shek's estate...gardens on gardens
Lu Kai Ling and Shi Mei Ling
National Museum of Taiwan History... outside grounds
National Museum of Taiwan History
A rainy day on Sun Moon Lake
Anping Tree Houses
One of the many unique coffee shops in Taiwan
Little kiddos...SO CUTE
Chih Kan Tower
Old architectural ruins
MY FAVORITE PART...the Ocean! Kenting is the Southernmost tip of Taiwan. This is Maobitou Plateau
Eluanbi Lighthouse
I don't have pictures from the actual beach because I was afraid of losing or destroying my camera and phone. But it was beautiful and the water was so clear! Reminded me of Turks and Caicos. Of course I got stung by a jelly fish the first five seconds in the water.....it was a small blue bubble with a long blue rope-like tail about five feet long. I was a little freaked out at first, but the tingling and red marks on my stomach and legs disappeared after an hour. What's traveling without some exotic-creature-encounter-excitement anyway...!
Surf shops and neat vendors in the Kenting night market
We visited a tribe on the east coast of Taiwan called the Bunun. They did not want pictures taken of them but allowed videos to be taken of their performance. I will try to put up a video on my blog later!
Pineapple fields for daysssssss
Paradise. I want to move to Taiwan.
On the windy road to Tarako National Park
The cliffs!
Moira and Em!
Could not stop staring at this little one!
Michael Jackson moves
We took a break from our bus and took the train for an hour to avoid falling rocks on the windy road back up to Taipei. Our teachers were notified of past tour groups being crushed by falling boulders on that particular road.....
Reminded me a little bit of my Bago....but I have refrained from touching any dogs here in China and Taiwan so far for fear of rabies and/or fleas. It is quite hard for me to ignore the dogs :(
Jiufen, where I climbed three hundred steps to wander into this coffee shop! "Ocarina Coffee"
The view from our table. Not too shabby
Hard hats were distributed at Tarako. I wonder if they would actually provide much protection if a large rock was coming for you at high speed.....
I am now back in Shanghai and had such a fun weeklong trip in Taiwan -- I did not want to leave the warmth and the kind Taiwanese people. I pick up classes again tomorrow and apparently have a powerpoint presentation to give.....should probably start that now. In two more weeks I am traveling with six other CIEE friends to Thailand for a week for Spring break, starting May 3rd! I am very excited and I hope to find another elephant to make friends with! We are all looking forward to the authentic Thai food and the daily average of 85 degrees F.
I am not sure if any of you have heard about the Avian Flu here in China, but it is getting increasingly worrisome to the Chinese Government. Shanghai is considered "the center" of the H7N9 flu and has lost a handful of people to this Avian Flu. As of April 13th, China has now reported a total of 43 cases of human infection with the new avian influenza A (H7N9) virus; 11 of which have resulted in death.
Center for Disease Control website says:
"On April 1, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that influenza A (H7N9), a type of flu usually seen in birds, has been identified in a number of people in China. Cases have been confirmed in the following provinces and municipalities: Anhui, Beijing, Henan, Jiangsu, Shanghai, and Zhejiang.
This is the first time this virus has been seen in people. Symptoms include fever, cough, and shortness of breath. Infection with the new virus has resulted in severe respiratory illness and, in some cases, death. Chinese health authorities are conducting investigations to learn the source of the infections with this virus and to find other cases"
But I am safe Mom, Dad, Dahma! I am avoiding eating chicken and eggs and I trust what my host Mama cooks because the family also eats it. She is very aware of H7N9.
If you want to read further: http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices/watch/avian-flu-h7n9-china.htm
Hope you enjoy the pictures! Zai Jian for now
