Happy Year of the Tiger!

My Chinese New Year got of to a pleasent start with a trip to Shuangxi with Rebecca to spend New Year's Day with her family. Shuangxi is a very small burg nestled in the mountains about two hours north of Taipei. While I was a bit nervous about spending the day with Rebecca's family (mostly because none of them speak English), it turned in to a very good day.

The day started with me getting on a train in Taipei that was so packed that I could not even take my hands out of my pockets (I bought my ticket too late to get a seat). At every stop, the train would get more and more crowded. It seemed that for every two people got off at a given dtop, ten would get on. Finally, an hour into the trip, at Ruifang, the train literally emptied out. I found out later that Ruifang is a major transfer stop for people to catch trains going south. The simple fact of being able to move my feet and breathe made the rest of the ride quite bearable.

Rebecca and one of her brothers picked me up at the train station and we went to Rebecca's mom's house, a nice little farm house tucked away in a valley surrounded by mountains. I was introduced to the family and spent the time before lunch playing with her niece and nephew and butchering the few Chinese phrases Rebecca tried in vain to teach me. When we were called into lunch, which was cooked by Rebecca's older sister (sister-in-law?), I was treated to some of the best food I've eaten since I've been here. There was chicken, pork, steamed shrimp, baked fish, squid, and a variety of vegetable and tofu dishes, all of which were fabulous. There ain't nothin' like home-cooked food to do a body good!

After lunch, Rebecca and I took a drive up the north coast of Taiwan. I hadn't realised how close Rebecca's family home was to the ocean, and it was a very nice drive. We stopped for some coffee at a little roadside stand and listened to the waves crash on the rocks below. You can really see Taiwan's geological history in the layers of black volcanic rock jutting out into the sea here. After that, we went to a temple that Rebecca goes to when she is in Shuangxi. If I wasn't already kicking myself for not bringing my camera, I really regreted it when I saw the temple. The roof was covered in some of the most exquisite carvings of dragons and other mystical creatures. I am constantly amazed by the temples here because of the color and detail of the roof carvings. They make you wish you could climb on the roof to get a better look (or at the very least make you want to go buy a higher powered telephoto lens for your camera).

After the temple, we went back to the house and played some poker. It seems Rebecca's family are enthusiastic game players and have no compunction relieving visitors of their money. I did hold my own though and managed to break about even when we stopped for dinner. The evening meal was as fabulous as the first and was followed by some more cards and Mah Jongg. I graciously declined to play Mah Jongg for the two reasons: I've never played before (or seen it played for that matter), and they were playing for money. I figured that being slapped around playing a game I did know (poker) was enough abuse for one day. Rebecca did well against her two brothers and a sister-in-law and came out a couple of thousand NT$ ahead (she apparently lost most of it this afternoon, lol).

After the Mah Jongg was over I thanked them all, said my good byes and jumped on the train back to Taipei tired and quite content.

The rest of the week will be full of bar sponsered holiday activities including deep sea fishing, bowling, golf, and shrimping. I'll have further reports on these things as they happen.

Snowbound D.C.

I have to laugh at the reports coming out of DC these days as they get pummelled by record snowfall. Yes, I know it's a hassle, but DC has NEVER been able to contend with snow. I lived there for ten years and was there in '96 for te last "record" snowfall. People who live or have lived in parts of the world where snow is a regular thing, often laugh at the panic that grips our nation's capitol when it snows. I've been there when the whole city shuts down for an inch of snow, let alone a couple of feet, lol.

I remember in '96, I was coming home from Montreal when that particular storm hit. I got to Union Station and fortunately found the underground metro still working. Now, you have to understand that it had been snowing for a solid 24 hours by the time I got back to DC. You would thing tat somebody would have been doing something, right? Well, when I got off the Metro at Dupont Circle at 7:00 am, which is on Connecticut Ave. (a MAJOR SNOW EMERGENCY ROUTE), there was three feet of snow on the road. Not a single plow had gone by; 24 hours into a record snowstorm!! I think the first plow made it through around 10 am.

Needless to say, I had a few days off from work as all the schools were closed for a week. It took the city almost ten days to get a plow to my street. It was ridiculous.

D.C. has a great deal going for it. I loved living there. However, dealing wit even a light snowfall is not one of the things they do well.

A pleasent weekend.

The weather this past wekend was actually quite nice, so Rebecca and I took a trip to Sun Moon Lake. The lake is deep in the mountains about three hours south of Taipei, so we actually had to start the day at the crack of dawn. However, three hours on the bus is plenty of time to catch up on missed sleep, so by the time we got to the resort, we both were relatively fresh.

The Sun Moon Lake Resort is actually two seperate parks. One part is a touristy aborignal theme park complete with sculpted gardens, "traditonal" dance performances, and a rollercoaster. Rebecca and I watched a few of the performances, had some food and wandered around the park (quite beautiful despite the touristy feel). We wanted to ride the rollercoaster, but the lockers they had to store your stuff were to small for my backpack, so we had to skip it.

To get to Sun Moon Lake, which is, according to the guide books, a favorite honeymoon spot for Taiwanese newlyweds, you have to take two seperate gondolas up and over the mountain the park is on. As you crest the peak, you are greeted with an absolutely stunning view: a crystal blue lake set deep in the mountains. Rebecca said the there are actually two lakes up there but we could only see the one in the time that we had. Regardless, the view from the gondolas was worth the trip all by itself. Once we got down the mountain, we had a cup of coffee on an outside deck overlooking the lake.

After that, it was time to get back on the bus for the long trip home. This was the only dim part of the trip because traffic on the way back turned a three hour bus trip into a five hour trip. That aside, it was a great way to spend a sunny day in Taiwan.