Strike a Pose

Sarah strikes a pose, originally uploaded by redjett.

After a whirlwind 9 days of traveling Taiwan and visiting with a dear friend, routine took over today. Things got started Friday (10/6) in Taipei where we spent a few days sight seeing, visiting with my Taiwanese big sis, sampling local cuisine (mmm, fresh squid and octopus), and relaxing at the hotel catching up on movies and learning to immitate the Taiwanese commercials (la,la,la so happy!). I somehow acquired a reputation as one who eats beside a trash can, but it was sheer coincidence or necessity. Come on, would you really want to walk through crowds at a night market while trying to de-gut your squid? I also had to break into some good old fashioned jumping on the bed while at the hotel - ahh, nice beds and high ceilings. Hanging out with a friend from my youth must bring out the kid in me.

On Monday (10/9), it was an island hop for a day and a night to take in a bit of snorkeling, beachcombing, and exploring tide pools by day and chilling seaside under the stars by night - refreshing breezes and lightening bugs - sweet!

From there it was a scooter trip on Tuesday to Meinong, a.k.a. Taiwan's handpainted umbrella capital. There was even time for a tea break to make some famous Meingong tea. We had the shop to ourselves and the servers brought out special costumes and props for an outright photo shoot of the foreigners dressed in Hakka garb. Finally, back home to Kaohsiung to recoup - 7 hours on a scooter in one day is more than enough for me.

Beyond Tuesday I was back to work but the week still held more treats and adventures for my guest. We met up with Becky for most of the remaining activities including Meinong, mtv, hiking on monkey mountain (I opted out of that adventure), the toilet restaurant, tepanyaki, Lotus Lake, and a hair wash.

We departed Kaohsiung Saturday afternoon for the trip to the airport. Sarah flew out late in the evening and 25 hours later, I found myself back at home. I stopped over at a friend's for the night on my trip back for a good night's rest and an overdue visit. It was funny to think that Sarah got home before I did, but sometimes the journey takes precedent over the destination. I spent the rest of Sunday catching up on, umm, sleep, and today, back to work. Sadly the visit came and went in a flash, however, it was nice to once again share my home and life in Taiwan with someone I'm close to. Thanks for coming Grasshopper!