Made In Taiwan

Following on from my previous blog, after Greg and I returned from Beijing it was back to school, but on Thursday it was Greg's birthday, so I bought a cake and card and got all the teachers at Sunny's school to sign it, which I think went down well. That night we headed out in Yeonsu-dong for a few beers/tequilas, and then back to mine for some late night Pro-Ev (football game on the Playstation 3).

The following weekend we headed into Seoul for the 3rd Seoul World DJ Festival. I had been last year but Lisa, Greg and Neil were new to the event. After the lenghty walk to the venue (it is in the middle of nowhere, by the Han River, near the World Cup Stadium) we settled down on the grass to watch some of the bands/DJ's and have some Soju and Lucozade! Later on, we did a wee bit of dancing and got a massive pizza for dinner.

Our massive pizza. That is my camera case at bottom left.

After I returned from Beijing Lisa had said she had been given the next two Friday's off work (lucky for some!) so I managed to get the 15th off from my work and we booked some last minute flights to Taipei (the capital of Taiwan) with Cathay Pacific. We got up early on Friday morning and headed out the airport for the flight. Taiwan is only 2 and a half hours from Incheon and only an hour behind time, so it was quite an easy flight. Upon landing in Taipei we got a bus to near our pre-booked hotel in the centre. Our hotel was the 'Tango Nanshi' , which according to TripAdvisor, is the #1 ranked hotel in Taipei (http://www.tango-hotels.com/). For me, it certainly deserves that accolade. It was very cool, both in temperature and appearance (the former being very good, as it was 30C outside) and our room was amazing, King size bed, big TV with surround sound, a bath with spa jets and a big TV inlaid to the wall, and crazy toilet that opened and flushed automatically. Lots of gadgets...my kind of place!

Lisa has a few friends that had been to Taiwan before and they had recommended hiring a scooter, so Lisa had been in touch with an English guy called Jeremy who rents scooters to foreigners in Taipei. After we checked in it was off on the subway to meet him. He was a really nice guy, he met us with the bike (a 125cc scarlet coloured machine) and gave us a thorough tutorial on the do's and dont's of driving in Taiwan. Originally, Lisa was going to do all the driving (as she has a license, unlike me!) but after a few trial runs she didn't fancy it so I stepped up! The scooter itself was pretty easy to drive, automatic transmission, excellent acceleration and brakes, but the surroundings in which you are driving took a bit of getting used to. There are literally thousands of other scooters on the road, as well as buses, cars and people, so you have to be acutely aware of what they are all doing too. Also, in Taipei, scooters are not allowed to turn left at intersections, meaning you have to use the green man for pedestrians and then park up in a little box reserved for scooters. So every left turn has to be done in two stages. Furthermore, there are a lot of roads or lanes of roads where scooters are not allowed, so you have to be careful in that respect too. We had at least one stray into a bus lane that we shouldn't have been in, and there was a lot of pulling over to consult the map, but overall it was a thrilling experience.

After we had picked up the scooter we headed back towards the hotel via the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, an impressive blue and white building where we watched the changing of the guards. Below is a picture of the building and a link to the Facebook album.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=256992&id=777495416&l=aac862cd73

That night we headed to one of Taipei's famous night markets, though didn't buy anything, although we did have dinner nearby, which included some delicious lamb chops. I really miss lamb, you don't really get it in Korea at all.

The next day, we got up quite early and set off on the scooter to explore the Northern coast of Taiwan. We had a hard time getting out of Taipei at first, and manged to take a few dead ends before finding the correct route over the mountains, thanks to a helpful Taiwanese couple who we followed for a while, and who treated us to some fried sweet potato at a roadside cafe. We found Taiwanese people to be VERY friendly, I would say it is the most friendly nation I have been to in Asia so far. Here is a video of us riding along the mountain road. Be warned, it is loud!!!!

Once we reached the North coast the first stop was Yehliu Geopark, a outcrop of volcanic rock that due to wave action and erosion now has many strange formations on it.

We headed along the coast a bit further and stopped at a lighthouse at the northernmost point of Taiwan (the name escapes me), not quite Skerryvore but nice nonetheless.

Then along a little further to a beach where I went for a quick swim. The beach was very busy, and they weren't letting people go very far out, but the water was refreshing after being on the bike for most of the day.

The last stop on our tour was the town of Danshui, a popular spot for watching the sunset. We arrived just in time, and the sun did not disappoint.

After a quick dinner, it was back on the scooter again, only this time in the dark! Fortunately, there was a scooter lane most of the way back to Taipei, so we made it back safely, albeit very burnt and pretty tired! But we had a great day, so it was worth it.

Here is a video of a portion of the night ride back to Taipei. It's like something out of Wacky Racers!

The next day, we got up and rode to Taipei 101, currently the tallest completed skyscraper in the world (until the one in Dubai is finished). It certainly was huge, and the elevator up to the top (the fastest in the world) was amazingly quick. 5th-89th floors in under a minute. Here is a video of the display panel inside the elevator as we ascended

The views from the top were a bit hazy, but we were still able to get a good idea of the size of Taipei (about 6 million I think) and also how high up we were! After we headed back down we dropped the scooter off with Jeremy and caught the bus back to the airport for our afternoon flight back to Korea.

Looking up at Taipei 101.

Here's a couple of other photos from Lisa's camera.

The massive gold damper inside Taipei 101. It is designed to counteract wind forces on the tower (basically, the tower leans one way, it leans the other). It weighs over 600 tons!

So, that was Taiwan! I was very impressed, Taipei was a cool city, friendly people, things are pretty cheap, quite a lot to see, and flights from Korea were very cheap. I may well return before I leave this part of the world.

Talking of that, this week I have agreed a new contract extension with my bosses at GnB. I will now finish in April 2010, and my plan is to travel in South-East Asia for a month or so before flying home. Included in the extension contract is an agreement that I can go home for the Christmas/New Year period, and that I also have time off next month. Why? Because Stewartie is coming to visit! I'm so excited, it will be brilliant to see him and show him some of my life here and the sights Korea has to offer. He will arrive on 19th June and stay until the 1st of July, so that should be a good length of time to experience some of Korea I think.

And last but definitely not least, a huge CONGRATULATIONS to one of my best friends Neil Munro, who is getting married in July. He has been with his Korean girlfriend (Kyoungmi) for over a year and they seem very happy, so the wedding is planned for the 25th July in Seoul. Greg and I will be joint best men, so we have a stag doo and a speech of sorts to organise! I still can't believe it is happening, but they are so happy together I know it is the right thing for Neil to be doing.

Right, off to get ready for a wee night out with the boys.

Speak soon,

Beijing jing jing

Hello,

The original intention was to have one post-Beijing blog, but as will become clear in my next post, there is the need for two. This one will detail the Beijing trip only.

So, in what seems like an age ago, Greg and I headed out EARLY on Sat 2nd May to board our China Southern flight to Beijing. I was a bit apprehensive about CS but they turned out to be good, not excellent, but perfectly OK for a two hour flight. Upon arrival at Beijing airport we caught the airport express train into town and then rode the subway a few stops to get near our hostel. The hostel was called the Sleepy Inn, and rightly so. It was located in a 'hutong' which is a traditional area of Beijing. There used to be hundreds of 'hutongs' and they constituted the majority of housing in the inner city, but due to population increase and China's insatiable appetite for growth many have been bulldozed and replaced with faceless apartment blocks. Thankfully this is yet to happen to the one Sleepy Inn is located in, so we were greeted by meandering lanes filled with bicycles, a lake with old men fishing and playing mah-jong, and people generally taking it easy. Here's a couple of photos of the hostel entrance and the lake nearby.

After checking in and unpacking, we headed down to a clothes market to get suits fitted. I didn't have a suit before this trip, but after some hard bargaining we managed to get a deal. Mine cost around 120 pounds, which I think is a pretty good deal for a tailor-made suit! After all our bargaining we were pretty tired out so went went for dinner back near our hostel, and then headed out for a few beers.

The next day, it was up bright and early for a day of sightseeing in Beijing. First stop was Tiannamen square. it's the largest public square in the world, and we were glad it was so big, as there were thousands of people there. We had a stroll around, took lots of photos and drank lots of water (it was very hot!). At this point it's probably a good time to roll out the Facebook album link, here it is for our Beijing trip.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=252141&id=777495416&l=59c21b3dbf

We made our way over to the Gate of Heavenly Peace (the one in the above photo with the huge portrait of Chairman Mao on it) and passed underneath the Chairman's giant picture, all the time being watched by lots of Chinese guards. We continued on along with the crowds of other people and bought our tickets to the Forbidden City. Back in the day, only the emperor, his assistants, lady friends and other approved people had access to the place, these days, anyone with 60 Yuan can get in! It really is a massive place, lots of different buildings each with its own function, and miles of walls, paths and a huge moat encircling the whole thing. My photos don't really do it justice, I think it's one of those places you really have to see to believe. We made our way slowly through the complex and exited out the other end, slightly overwhelmed by it all.

After our morning exploring the history of the Forbidden City, it was time to see some more up-to-date structures, in the form of the main Olympic venues. A lengthy taxi ride eventually dropped us off at the 'Birds Nest' the nickname of the main Olympic stadium. It is an incredible piece of engineering, with all the girders intersecting and giving the birds-nest-like appearance.

Inside is equally impressive, it is huge. They have covered the running track and infield, so although you can't see where the athletes were treading it does mean you can walk around almost anywhere inside. Greg and I even did a bit of sunbathing in the middle! After some time soaking up the arena we exited and took a short walk over to the main aquatics centre, the 'Water Cube'. Another amazing structure, it has this translucent double skin in a honeycomb like structure, really cool. Unfortunately, some genius at the Cube decided to locate the ticket office on the other side of the entrance, so we had a long walk there and back before we could head inside. It was weird sitting in the grandstand staring down at a perfectly still swimming pool and watching the cleaning ladies at work. It made me want to go for a dip!

After seeing the Cube we headed back to the hostel, freshened up and headed out to our pre-booked table at a recommended Peking Duck restaurant. The duck was delicious, it comes already sliced and you make little parcels with onion, sauce and these thin pancakes, very tasty. We also had some deep-fried scorpions, which are my least favorite animal! I had to build myself up to do the first one, but they were definitely dead and didn't really taste of much, so it wasn't too bad really!

The next day, we caught a bus out to Badaling, the site of a restored section of the Great Wall Of China. There are various different bits of the Wall you can visit from Beijing, but Badaling is one of the most popular. There are those who say that it is perhaps not a good experience, being stuck on a restored section with hundreds of other people, but I really just wanted to see the Wall you see in books and postcards, and Badaling offers that. There were a lot of people, but for me it didn't detract from the experience. We hiked right up to the 'top' of our section of Wall, negotiating the crowds and steep gradients, but were rewarded with great views and the accomplishment of having climbed one of the new 7 wonders of the world. It's something I won't forget in a hurry.

Greg near the top of the Wall

Having hiked our way up, we thought we deserved a break so we hopped on the cable car for the journey down. Then it was back on the bus to Beijing, sweaty, but satisfied! That night we went to pick up our suits and do some more hard haggling to buy a few other bits and pieces (polo shirts and shorts for me)

Us with the tailors!

Our final day in Beijing was a bit more relaxed. We got up later, enjoyed bacon and eggs at the hostel, and then headed to the nearby lake where we hired a battery boat (basically a pedalo but you don't have to pedal) and headed out onto the lake for some initial boating and then latterly, sunbathing.

A hairy encounter on the lake. As you can see, the sea conditions were pretty nasty, I had to work really hard to keep the boat pointing in the right direction!

Sadly, we couldn't stay on the water forever so it was back to the hostel to pick up our bags, and then a taxi back to the airport for the flight back to Korea. When we got back to Incheon we met Lisa who was returning from her trip to Hong Kong, so we all shared a taxi back to Yeonsu-Dong together.

Overall, I was very impressed with Beijing. There is so much to see there, much more so than Seoul. Korea work hard to promote tourism but it is easy to see how they struggle to attract people given what Beijing, Tokyo and Hong Kong have compared to Seoul. I don't think I would like to live in Beijing, but for a visit, it was incredible.

To be continued........with Greg's birthday, the DJ festival, and a trip to Taiwan!