Formosa: "Beautiful Island"

Alright, So here comes a new round of pictures and some fun new adventures. I'm gonna start out this time with some fun cultural facts of Taiwan. As you may imagine, life is a little different here and in adapting to the new culture, we learned some pretty cool facts/differences. Here you are, enjoy and be amazed:

1. Age brings respect in Taiwan. The elderly are very well taken care of and usually live with the eldest son and his family. They also tend to be fiercely independant - often riding public transportation and going to markets without any special assistance.

2. In Taiwan, being ten minutes late for dinner is not considered impolite. Being late for anything else, however, is considered rude. Schedules are often planned to the minute.

3. Greetings are very casual in Taiwan. In fact, no greeting at all for someone you see every day is considered ok.

4. Small bowls of rice accompany almost every meal. Hold the rice bowl close to your face and, using chopsticks as a sort of shovel, push the food into your mouth. This one takes a bit of getting used to.

5. Never stick the chopsticks in the rice bowl with the ends sticking straight up in the air as this is reminiscent of funereal incense sticks and is considered very bad luck.

6. Writing in red pen is seen as aggressive. Signing your name in red pen is considered bad luck.

So we left off at Keelung.



After going to Keelung Island, we made our way back to Keelung city. We had heard some good things about the night market, so we thought we'd give it a shot. There's no better way to impress the two of us than by giving us a good gastronomic experience. The Keelung night market was an amazing experience. Car traffic was blocked off on the main market street and both sides of the street were lined with food stall after food stall, all specializing in a different cuisine. And there were only a few people there this night.










Fish (to the left) is at its freshest here in Keelung and there were many a seafood option at the market. Tasty Tasty! Here was an option (right) we passed on. Despite its name, it looked super yummy. Maybe next time we'll give it a shot.













An impressive mound of noodles (right) that was mighty tempting!















Goodnight Keelung! ......and the market pulses with life well into the night.















OK, so life is definately starting to settle down. We're both lined up with English teaching jobs and we're both waiting for those classes to start. In the mean time, we're keeping busy by studying Chinese (which is hard, by the way) and getting our documents ready for legal employment. There are also a myriad other hoops to jump through in obtaining Alien Resident Cards here in Taiwan. We now really appreciate our weekends and opportunities to relax.




Throughout the last week of May, Taiwan celebrated the Dragon Boat Festival. This festival was celebrated all week long with simple customs of spending time with family and eating a special food item called "zhong-zi" which is traditionally made with sticky rice with mushrooms, pork wrapped in a leaf and steamed. I've heard it referred to as a "Chinese tamale."

On May 31, we went to Dajia Riverside park to watch the boats race. This was a gala affair where beautifully decorated boats (think large, narrow canoes) raced down rivers. At the front of each boat is a person that beats a drum to keep everyone paddling in sync.



















All along the riverside park, where most of the festivities were taking place, there were food vendors, clothes vendors, food vendors, toy vendors, food vendors, games for the kids, stages with music, and places to buy food. Here's a picture (below) of Rube stuffing his face with some sort of deep-fried dough pocket stuffed with vegetables and oysters. mmmmmm mmm mmmmmm! Also, on this fun excursion, we were daring enough to try the infamous "stinky tofu" which, as can be inferred by it's name, is quite smelly, but rather delicious! It's the Taiwan equivalent of France's reknown stinky cheese, or something like that. We ate various things, indulged in popsicles, watched boats, snaked through dense crowds, and had an all-around fantastic time.



Moving on, our next fun and exciting adventure was our trip to the town of Yeliu. Yeliu is situated on the North coast of Taiwan and is famous for it's crazy, out-of-this-world rock formations. We heard from friends that it was a spectacular sight, so we had to check it out. Getting there was a bit of a challenge, but when we finally made it there, we were rewarded with an outstanding display of nature.



Ellen had a field day examining and explaining how the various geological forces contributed to the spectacle before us. It was truly a physical geographer's paradise.


Here's Ellen lovin' life, tromping around outside and feeling good.


And here's Rube sitting in his rock-throne right before being crowned the king of Yeliu, quite an honor, indeed.














I've been blabbing a lot, so here's some blab-free pictures. wow!






































Goodbye Yeliu!



Ok, so our life is beginning to seem somewhat normal. Teaching English is a reality and our respective employers are in the process of obtaining our work permits so we can stay legally in Taiwan. However, some interesting things transpired which eventually led us to our next exciting adventure.

Firstly, Rube's school informed him that it takes a very long time for the government to process work visa applications so it is quite possible his visitor's visa might expire before his work visa is issued.

Secondly, Ellen's school informed her that the Taiwanese government will not accept her university diploma for some unknown reason, therefore, McGill University must be contacted and a copy of her transcripts and a letter confirming her graduation must be sent. As you may imagine, this will take some time.

So since both our visitor's visas were due to expire on June 26, and it was apparent that our work visas weren't going to arrive till some time after June 26, we decided it would be necessary for us to leave Taiwan and re-enter on a renewed visitor's visa. Translation: impromptu vacation. Destination: Cambodia.



Cambodia is an amazing country with beautiful culture, temples, and people and a tragic and heartbreaking history. We encourage anybody who doesn't know about the tragedy of Cambodia's recent history to do a quick briefing of what transpired there. It really affected the two of us in a very real way and put a very different spin on our trip.

What draws most tourists to Cambodia is the awesome temple cities of Angkor, namely Angkor Wat. And with numerous massive temples around Angkor Wat, we spent two solid days exploring (most of the time with our mouths agape) and taking in the awe-inspiring structures and carvings. These "temples which are a city" were built between 1130 to 1150 AD and are immense in both size and intricacy of it's craftsmanship.












Pictures truly cannot do justice to how amazing these temples are, but look at them anyway, they're still pretty sweet.



Here's Ellen at the entrance to a temple called Preah Khan




















Preah Khan is one of Angkor's largest complexes - a maze of vaulted corridors, fine carvings and lichen-clad stonework.
















On our first day of exploring Angkor, we visited many of the outlying temples and saved the glory of Angkor Wat for day #2. All of the temples were enormous stone fortresses with beautifully intricate carvings (many with clear evidence of missing/stolen pieces).





















And many of the still intact (and many heavily damaged) statues and figures are still celebrated and prayed upon today.


























Some parts of Angkor, have been left practically untouched since the 10th century, therefore, the trees and the jungles surrounding the temples have made their presence known. It's an interesting debate between preserving such magnificent structures and allowing nature to take run its course. Regardless, here's a cool picture (left) of the two of us at a small temple called Ta Som where this ancient tree is overwhelming this ancient temple.








Here is a picture of the temple of East Mebon. It is referred to as a "temple mountain" as you ascend three levels until you arrive to a central platform where five towers reach high to the sky. Carved lions and elephants greet you as you ascend. Quite a view from the top, indeed.




















So on to the splendor of Angkor Wat. The three main towers visible along the skyline has become the national symbol of Cambodia and it is much revered. Here's a fun fact for ya: It is claimed that the amount of stone used in creatin this massive edifice is about the same as that used in building the great pyramid of Cheops in Egypt, though at Angkor there are many more exposed surfaces, nearly all of which are elaborately carved. Take THAT pyramids.









On the first level of Angkor Wat, four galleries (north, east, south, west) feature remarkable bas-relief carvings. They are enormous in size and detail. We ambled slowly, taking it all in. There are three levels of Angkor Wat rising 211ft. On the third level, five great towers, one at each corner, and a great central spire reward the effort of climbing and exploring the expansive grounds. The area of land covered by the complex is around 500 acres and took nearly the entire day to explore. With that, we've come to another picture-full, blab-free section.


























































































So in exploring the temple cities of Angkor, we hired what's called a tuk-tuk and a driver to make our two day adventure swift and efficient. So below is a picture of us in our chariot, and a picture of our sweet driver whose name is pronounced Jee-ut (the spelling of which is a mystery, of course).



















Alright, so we left Siem Reap and headed to the city of Battambang by way of boat. We took a nine hour boat ride down a river called the Stung Sangker and passed floating villages and very rural villages situated on the river banks. It was a very beautiful, insightful, loud (we were sitting right next to the motor for most of the ride), and long journey, but well worth it. There are ancient temples very close to Battambang and they proved to be perfect day-trip destinations. Most of the temples we visited were on tall hillsides and were quite a trek to get to, but a little sweat (or a lot it turns out) never hurt anybody. The views were the reward for sure.


















The temples around Battambang (Phnom Sampeau and Wat Banan) were not as grand as those of Angkor, however, they were still definately impressive and it was nice to get away from the hordes of tourists and droves of Cambodian children trying to sell us postcards, scarves, books, or bracelets. Also, next to the temple of Phnom Sampeau, are two caves that were used as a torture and killing site of the Khmer Rouge. Very moving and chilling. Another highlight of Battambang was a Thai dinner that knocked our socks off.





















From Battambang, we took a bus to the capital city of Phnom Penh. Phnom Penh is a bustling city with a lot of character and action. Highlights of Phnom Penh include, but are not limited to:

1. Wandering around the Royal Palace and exploring the grandeur of the King and his grounds. Quite a way to live, indeed.

2. Perusing the many markets strewn throughout the city. Some touristy, some not, all bursting with life.

3. Walking along the Tonle Sap river and watching the locals devour piles upon piles of snails.

4. Visiting the Foreign Correspondents' Club, a very posh and mellow escape from the hustle of the city, and enjoying a late afternoon drink sitting in cushy chairs overlooking the Tonle Sap river.

5. Watching traditional Cambodian dancing and theater.

6. Spending time at the Tuol Sleng Museum. A former high school turned into Security Preson 21 (S-21) in 1975 by Pol Pot's regime, the largest center of detention and torture in the country. Now, a museum chronicling the horrors of Cambodian genocide. It was a chilling opportunity to understand Cambodia's past and present.








































We left Phnom Penh and bussed it to a city on the coast of the Gulf of Thailand called Sihanoukville. Sihanoukville was to be a bit of an escape from the rigors of travelling and an opportunity to visit a national park. Although the unrelenting rain soaked us to the bone for most of our time there, a relaxing time was indeed what we had.


Here's a beautiful example of how we came upon Sihanoukville. Laid-back, ready for beach side relaxation. Unfortunately, monsoon season had other ideas.













We planned to visit Ream National Park which consisted of a boat trip through serene mangrove swamps and a hike to deserted beaches for a nice afternoon of beach fun. Much to our dismay, however, it began raining and when we arrived at our beautiful deserted beach, in a downpour, we were told, "ok, here we are, relax and enjoy the beach!" So, here's Rube relaxing and enjoying his beach vacation.


It did breifly stop raining for enough time for us to do some swimming and playing on the beach, but commenced raining for our hike back to the boat. We ate a delicious grilled barracuda lunch and made our way back through the mangroves and back to Sihanoukville. A great day, if not a little wet.









While in Sihanoukville, we enjoyed some truly diverse and amazing meals. First, we tried a little Vietnamese noodle restaurant that was just delightful. Simple, tasty, and cheap - what more could we ask for. Next, we went out on a limb and tried a restaurant (a little on the fancy side) that was international food with French flair, and we were immensely pleased. Viva la Cambodie! And lastly, we had dinner one night at an Indian restaurant that was a phenomenal experience. The owner was perpetually inquiring about our level of satisfaction and was a sweet man. He was so proud of his food and with reason - it was awesome. By the way, we like food a lot.

Anyway, after a nice stay in Sihanoukville, we made our way back to Phnom Penh with enough time to do some souvenir shopping and some more eating before getting on a plane and heading back to Taipei. And back to reality.