#13

Hi!

Apologies for the massive gap between this blog and my last one! Frankly, there wasn't much to report... but now I'll have to squish it into one BIG post!

In March I joined a new band, fresh from the streets of Kaohsiung called RICE AND PEA. A quirky bunch of men, including a tall and oaf-like scouser (on bass), a poetic drunk from South Africa (M.C), a loud-mouthed Londoner (south of river, also an M.C), a straight laced blond bombshell from Watford (M.C), a ping-pong fanatic from the USA (on keys), a polite and cheeky West Country bumpkin (on bongos) and a laid-back local metal drummer. Not sure where I fit in, or whether any of us fit... but we make a good sound. We made our debut in Tainan at their annual MAYJAM. It was fun! Hot but fun, and we got some good feedback. Our next gig is in Kaohsiung, on the 16th of June at the Brickyard Beergarden. Anyone who is living here and is reading this MUST come.

My mum and dad came to visit in May. They were here for 8 days and we managed to cram a lot of stuff in! Kending, Kaohsiung, Tainan, Alishan and Taipei. Unfortunately, I didn't manage to take that many photos. I forgot my camera mostly... but here are a few anyway.

At Ruifeng night market:

The magnificent sun-rise at Alishan:  

The moon!

We went up to the viewing spot by train, but walked back down.

Huh?!

What animal do you see?

Alishan is an amazing place. Definitely worth a visit if you can! The town is interesting. Due to the constant comings and goings of tourists, there is an empty, sterile feeling to it to the place. But there are some really nice places to eat and the highest 7/11 in Taiwan! We loved it, and the hotel (Da Fong Hotel) was pleasant and clean.

After a quick shower and some breakfast, we caught the next shuttle bus to Chouyi to catch the High Speed Rail to Taipei. My parents were flying back from there, so we thought we'd have a look around before they left. That evening, we paid a visit to the 101 building, the 3rd  tallest building in the world!

This pic doesn't really give the building justice.

The big yellow thing is the background is called the Tuned Mass Damper which holds it all together when there's an earthquake or strong winds.

On the MRT!

 The National Palace Museum: (well just the outside)

 Shilin night market:

It was fantastic having my parents share the wondrous sights, smells and delights of Taiwan. They had such a great time.

Our friends Lucy and Simon had a BBQ on their roof.

Debbie and Rob

The gals

Meatballs!

Girls at the BBQ!

Well that's all for now folks!!

Bye! xx

The Leylands come to Taiwan! #10

On the 28th of December at 7:50, Ed parents Alice and Tony arrived at Kaohsiung Airport. Despite it being the end of December, Alice and Tony seemed to be delighted with Kaohsiung's winter weather, not surprising since they had come from cold and frosty England. We escorted them to their hotel, near Kaohsiung Main Station, dropped their stuff off and headed up north to have some food and a drink.

Tony and Alice on the MRT!

Plus Ed at Beer Belly.

 They bought us a late Christmas!

Crackers and everything!

My parents had sent our presents to Tony and Alice so they could bring them to Taiwan. I got a Kindle and Ed got some awesome head-phones! Thank you!

For their first weekend they stayed in Kaohsiung and took them to Dream Mall.

We had Teppanyaki, it was yummers! (as you can see, they literally take the raw ingredients, like beef or pork plus the veg, and fry it on these massive hot griddle. Pretty cool to watch!) Ed had wild boar!
After lunch we went SHOPPING! but more importantly, we took Alice (Tony hates heights) up to the roof to show her the amazing amusement park/fun fair...

A child 'zorbing' on a pool! on a roof... 

Air hockey! Alice's favorite!

Dodgy (!!!) pedal powered machine that took you round a section of the roof... eeeeek! 

Pretty high! 

That evening was New Years Eve! We took them to our favorite restaurant near Central Park. We ate beef-fried rice, 5-piece chicken, cabbage and bacon and some pork.

Happy New Year!!

On Sunday we visited Cijin Island to catch the sunset.

But first we had to catch the ferry!

Tuntex Sky Tower or 85 Building in the middle 

Monkey Mountain!

Fun fishes! 

We got to the sea shore just in time for sunset over the South China Sea

We then had a look around...

Peruvian musicians 

This was an extremely long fish market... but just full of dried fish. And to be honest, it stunk! So we quickly had a look and then left!

Some of the dried fish  you can buy!

One of the temples we saw.

Ed and I managed to get some time off work, so we all headed down to Kenting!!

        

Super lush!

Arcade!!

The first sunset on the beach.

Larkin' around on the beach!

This is the view from our room.

On our first night we went down the main high street and had some dinner

Tony looking slightly crazy... 

 Day two:

AHHH the beach.

The infinity pool and water spa!

Having just been for a dip in the sea!

Kenting High St

Tony at Ocean Blue... a bit too much rice 'ey?! 

Blue Ocean restaurant 

My banana split!

Eating it!!

Sun set

 Day three:

Anyone of croquet?!

Find the spelling mistake...

The Sea View elevator!

Kenting was brilliant, we had such a good time! Can't wait to go back!

While I was back at work, Ed took Tony and Alice to the Lotus Pond.

The next day we headed to the city of Tainan, just north of Kaohsiung.

On the High Speed Rail to Tainan

The Confucius Temple 

Turtle pond! Complete with a dead one... (bottom left)

We finished Alice's and Tony's visit with a trip to Conways restaurant to eat a traditional British roast lunch:

Yummy! 

Ed tucking in!

Thanks for reading! 

Happy New Year!! xx