Rob of the mountains...

Rob pauses from his adventures in photography to pose majestically before the verdant trees, sublime mountains and rolling grey sky. 

That's all folks!

So after watching Sheep Abuse, we packed up and got ready for the long climb back up to the parking lot and our cars. 

Trio

Narissa believes she can fly, but Monica and Apollo aren't so sure! 

Another Valley Shot.

A final shot from the top of the mountain before we left... 

We're staying with the Adams Family...

After our adventures in Sheep Sheering, we packed up and went to our hotel. This is one of the secondary buildings of the hotel, the main building being behind it. The guys had rooms in this section, and they were quite modern and nice, with an amazing view of the valley. A great place to stay that I would recommend to anyone visiting Chin Jing! 

Hotel Room

A view from the back corner of our room at the hotel, it was just one giant room with a small bathroom stuck around the corner to the right of this shot. It was very comfortable and nice. The inside of the hotel itself was very open, modern and airy. On the first floor was a giant open lobby and a connected dining room where they had buffet-style meals. Unfortunately this means the food had MSG in it, so I wasn't really able to eat much. 

Room II

Connie crashes on our bed at Dream Forest Villa. The room was very nice, with beautiful hardwood floors as you can see. We all took a short nap once we got there. I was staying with Connie, Monica and Narissa, while the other guys shared a room in the other building. Their view was better, but I was with three beautiful women...I think I won! 

The very old-style tub and sink in our bathroom. I felt like I was back in a Canadian farmhouse for a moment there. The pipes you can see running along in the background even looked to be copper, and the floor was an extremely slippery-when-wet tile. The only problem for me was the mirror, which was angled downwards for use by Taiwanese people, and too low for me! 

Connie and Monica...

Connie and Monica looking bright and relaxed after a long night of snoring...I mean sleeping! 

The lonliest farm in the world...

Unfortunately due to the distance you can't see this very clearly, but this is a farm sitting on one of the plateaus on the mountainside. A full green farm with lush green fields growing something besides tea, but stuck way off alone over this huge valley. I can't imagine what life would be like for the people who live here, especially the ones who live their whole lives up in the mountains. Going down to the cities would be so....flat. I would think it would be hard for them to live anyplace else. 

Breakfast at Starbucks

Our intrepid team of adventurers settle down for a nice breakfast at Starbucks to start off their final day before we leave Ching Jing. David is playing with his camera, as usual, he took a lot of shots while we were there, probably far more than me. You can't see outside the windows because it was too bright.

Tea Farm and Hotel

This is a shot of our hotel taken from a nearby parking lot. The furrowed green areas you can see between the camera and the hotel are tea bushes. I couldn't get enough of the beauty of this place, and was sad to be getting ready to leave it. 

Top of the World Fast Food!

I just had to get this shot before we left, the world's highest Starbucks and the world's highest 7-11 side by side. Capitalism knows no limits! Actually I expect this place is in the process of turning into a real theme-park type place due to all the construction going on here, it's a real victim of it's own success. 

A parting shot...

With this picture we left Dream Forest Villa and Ching Jing farm Monday morning, made our way down the mountains and went to PuLi. PuLi was actually the center of the Earthquake in 99 that destroyed the school where I worked in Nantou, which is quite nearby. We went to the PuLi Wine Museum, where I tried many delicacies made from wine, the best being Wine Popiscles which were quite tastey. After that, we snaked our way across the land to Miao Li to drop off Ryan (who had an appointment that evening), and went to a beach to watch the sunset. (I curse my low batteries, it was quite beautiful and I wish I'd gotten pictures of all this!) After the beach, we had dinner at a small Hakka restaurant, and then headed back to Taipei. It was quite a day, and a wonderful end to a great vacation. I had a wonderful time with all of Connie's friends and co-workers, and thank them all for giving me this chance to travel into Taiwan's heartland again and getting some fresh mountain air! Thanks guys!

Sunday Sunday

So, a few weeks ago Connie and I decided to spend a Sunday afternoon wandering around Taipei's famous XiMen-Ding shopping area. Ximen-Ding is near Taipei Main Station, and in the past was a major market area, but has since become a very trendy place for young people to hang out, buy clothes and check out other young people. Think of it as Taipei's trendiest mall, and you'll have the right idea. If you want to find youth culture in Taipei, it's the place to be. 

Those who hunt Elves

You can't see it here, but as we walked into the maze that is XiMen-Ding we found a long lineup of mostly teenage girls clinging desperately to CDs and posters that stretched nearly a whole block. Now, what caught my attention about these pack of autograph hounds was that a number of them had used tape or other means to give themselves pointed ears! It was like finding a bunch of kids waiting to get Mr. Spock's autograph! Did I pass through a time-warp back to the 60's? 

Elves!

When we got closer, we saw the reason for all the ears. A local pop-boy band who apparently have an elf-motif going on. I'd call them Vulcans, but they're way too cute and fluffy for that, so Elves it is! The giggly schoolgirls were anxiously skittering up onto the stage in groups to get their CDs and posters signed by their favorite Elf. If you look at the picture closely you can see the ears on this one as he signs autographs. 

The Crowds

XiMen-Ding on a Sunday afternoon from the window of Starbucks at it's center. Connie and I spent a few hours here reading and watching the crowds. It was also interesting to watch the food-cart sellers plying their illegal trade of fruit, sausages and other snacks. One moment they'd fill this area, then they'd get word the cops were coming, and they'd all vanish like mice when you turn on a light in a dark room. A few minutes later, they'd be back again, and the game went on. 

A Taste of Russia in Taipei

Since coming to Taiwan I have definitely picked up the Taiwanese love of good food. Part of that has been making a point of trying new restaurants whenever I can, partly to have a new experience and partly to avoid going to the same places too much. This past weekend Connie and I set off to the Salt and Bread Russian restaurant/cafe/bakery located on DunHua South Road. I'd never really had much Russian food, so I thought this might be a cool new taste to try. As it turns out, I actually had had many of the things on the menu at various times, it had just never registered that I was eating Russian food when I had it.

Connie ordered some Glazed Salmon with Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp and I ordered some excellent Chicken Kiev. While we were eating a Russian man carrying an accordian came out in a traditional Russian folk costume accompanied by a similarly dressed woman and the two of them launched into various Russian songs. I have to say it really perked up what had seemed like a stuffy atmosphere at first, and before long we were smiling and tapping our fingers to the music.

Then came dessert... 

Dessert!

For dessert, Connie and I decided to order one of the house specialities. Shortly after that a chef pushed a cart up to our table with a bowl covered in the silver bell you can see in the background of this picture. He removed the bell to reveal this chocolate bubble, and I really wasn't sure what was going to happen next so I quickly whipped out my camera and snapped a picture. (I didn't feel too bad, the tourists at the next table were taking pictures every 15 seconds, I think the guy had bought a new camera!) 

Chocolate Flambe!

The chef pours alcohol (Vodka, I believe) onto the chocolate bubble and lights it on fire! 

Boiling Point

The Chocolate liquifies under the heat from the burning alcohol and collapses onto what turns out to be three scoops of ice cream hidden under the chocolate, instantly coating the hard ice cream with it's hot chocolate goodness. 

Voila!

Add a few walnuts and voila! A hard-chocolate sundae, with scoops of rum-raisin, chocolate fudge and coffee ice cream. I couldn't wait to dig in! 

The Finished Product!

Connie: "I can tell you're really full, so don't worry about eating this. Just leave it to me, dear. I'll take care of it and you don't have to worry about it being wasted."

Samurai and Tanks!

I was walking by the local movie theatre and saw this poster for an upcoming film that looks to be a time-travel story involving tanks, apache gunship helicopters and samurai. How can you go wrong with that combination, I ask you? Having never quite seen anything like it before, I took a picture, and who knows, I might even see the movie someday! (On DVD, if it has English subtitles...)