Off to the Philippines (28 th March- 5th April)

But right before going to the Philippines a little food pics update for Kozitto i Ziomal :*

Korean food again

Every Tuesday after the gym, together with Kitty, Weimu and usually somone else, we would go to "Marta's favourite places" right behind a KFC. I love egg on the rice, little sweet potatoe stickers and either fish or chicken in there. Oh yes :)

Seaweed. Nothing special in fact, usally served as vegetable.

My favourite vanila cake while studying Chinese^^

Asparagus juice!!!! Not bad, though.

 

 

"See of clouds" and pork ears

Early in the morning on Friday we took a bus and got southern from Taiwan (3,5 hours) to Sun Moon Like, which is definietely the biggest lake in Taiwan, and probabaly the only one in here too. One part of the lake is said to look like sun, while the other one resembles moon, and that's where the name comes from. It was actually drizzling all the day long, and that's way apart from the misty aura around the temples we could have enjoyed almost no tourists at all.

Two big lions guarding the biggest temple around the Sun Moon Like, and us.

The whole trip team together- Agathe, me, Ania, Lucie.

Sun Moon Lake

In the afternoon we took a bus to Shuili, from where we were supposed finally get to Chiayi, the closest town on the way to Alishan National Scenic Area. In Chiayi I had my first couchsurfing experience in Taiwan, which was great. Steven made us eat pork ears, though! He wouldn't have succeded if only he hadn't tricked us with not saying what it was. Altough we didn't really sleep a lot at his place, as we were supposed to wake up at 2 am to catch the taxi-bus, it was an unfrorgettable night in Chiayi.

A lovely train station in Shuili on the way to Chiayi. For the first time in Taiwan we could have felt slightly like an attraction for the local people, as Shuili is a small town, not that often visited by forgeiners.

Shuli Station

Couchsurfing in Chiayi and eating pork ears with our host Steven!!!!

At 3 am we took the taxi-bus to Alishan to see the sunrise on the highest mountain there - it's said to be spectacular, redish and yellowish, while being seen from above the clouds. Unfortunately it was very cloudy that morning, so it never happened. At least we saw the breathtaking "see of clouds" and monkeys jumping on our car.

The mackacks didn't even mind the bunch of terrible shouting Americans, whom we joined for the bus. While we couldn't stand their company, the monkeys seemed not to bother at all. Oh, how I missed my dear Americans from Vienna that morning.

The see of clouds at 7 am.

Yeliu Geopark or Księżycowa Kraina Małego Księcia (by Zosia Jabczyńska)

Yeliu Geopark with its odd rock formations was formed thanks to sea and wind erosion. The park is very crowded, and becouse of that doesn't really impress at first glance - visitors would queue to take pictures of themself with one of the rocks, all in perfect order. Unless you go further, slightly off the beaten track, take stone stairs right after the sign "danger" and get down to the sea level. The park is then stretching into the East China Sea and finally down there we saw the marvolous scenery looking like it was on another planet... An incredible trip still not far away from Taipei.

Thanks to Ania for letting me post your photos :)

Tons of visitors in the area dedicated for tourists

And on our way off the beaten track:

Master's Saturday

The weather is great, international students all on some hiking trips or alike, and me all happy - the first 3,5 pages of my master thesis came to world.

That's how the NTU library looks like. So beautiful that even wedding couples would take picstures in front of it. It's within 3 minutes walking from my dorm and is open 24 hours. Actually you can always see some Taiwanese taking a nap there, perheps they never come home.

However, nothing is better than the SGH's library with its Pan Bogdan and others :)

fot. Joanna Lui

Stinky tofu

It happened - the worst dinner so far checked. The stinky tofu both smells disgusting and tastes obnoxious!!

Fried stinky tofu

 

"I am Chinese anyways"

  

Mashrooms from hot pot with stinky tofu inside.

Wikipedia:
Stinky tofu or chòu dòufu is a form of fermented tofu that has a strong odour. It is a snack that is usually sold at night markets or roadside stands or as a side dish in lunch bars rather than in restaurants.

Stinky tofu can be eaten cold, steamed, stewed, or most commonly, fried and is often accompanied by chili sauce. The colour varies from the golden fried Zhejiang-style to the black typical of Hunan-style stinky tofu.
From a distance, the odour of stinky tofu is said to resemble that of rotten garbage or manure Some people have compared it to the taste of blue cheese while others have compared it to rotten meat. It is said the more it smells, the 'better' its flavour.

Karaoke

Saturday night was my first KTV night in Taiwan.

Quite well known is the fact that Asians love it, and so I joined some friends heading to one of numerous KTV spots in Taipei, although singing is rather none of my intrests. KTV in here resembles idea of booking a room for a house party actually, while 7 seats are reserved only for your group, and that's all of your audience.We went there at 11 pm, since it is cheaper to book a room from late hour up to 7 am than for 3 hours in the afternoon.

Well, I was impressed by my friends performance :)

You can bring there your own beer, however KTV evenings don't seem to be about enjoying alcohol, but music ^^. fot. E. J.

Sascha sining in Chinese, wow, wow, wow, wow, wow! 

Coming from Switzerland, he speaks fluent Chinese. Reading traditional characters as pictured above is even more impressive than dealing with simplified Chinese, that most of the Chinese-speaking forgeiners are taught back in their countries. 
fot. E. J. 

Some of the weekend images recorded by Hanno, Claire and me.

A lovely Friday trip to Danshui. It was finally around 26 C and we swam in the ocean! Kevin aiming to show his muscles. Łukasz, Ania and me rather impressed.

Maokong is a hilly region in southern Taipei known for its tea growing history and many teahouses today, and that's where we went on Saturday.

Hello Kitty in a gondola up to the Maokong hill.

 Hello Kitties while waiting for the gondola.

The whole group up there.

 

View on the city seen from the temple pictured below.

The tea ceremony in one of the teahouses in the Maokong. Firstly we were introduced to the whole process by the teahouse's owner, then continued on our own for another hour. One important fact is that you don't drink the first tea you brewed, since the first "round" is meant to "clean the tea". You can get us much hot water and stay in the teahouse as long, as you wish to. Self- service, though. The Oolong tea, that we chose, is one of Taiwan's specialities.