Out on the town....finally!

I've been delinquent on my blog so I'll try to catch up. Two days ago I took it easy after going to Taipei 101. My cousin and I stayed in and watched a couple of movies and then went out to eat, nothing to exciting. My mom and her sister went to the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial in Taipei. I believe he is one of the fathers of the revolutionary movement in Taiwan. Anyway, I've included a pic of the memorial with 101 in the background, its hard to take a pic around here without it in the background. There was another reason we stayed in instead of going to the memorial. My cousin had never been out to a bar before so we decided to go. She called one of her friends from school and we all went out to this lounge/wine bar called Champagne 2. It was real nice, they had about 150 different champagne's and sparkling wines. We started out with mixed drinks and ended the night with some wine. It was nice having a few drinks with friends after the constant family get togethers. After the bar my uncle just happened to be in the area (I blame my aunt for this coincidence) and we all went to get some late night eats. Pretty nice night. Yesterday we moved to my uncles place as he was out of town and my aunt had to go back to work. After that we went to this spa which was really a pool and sauna type place. Then we went to dinner with my other uncle who brought us to this really nice restaurant, kind of like a do it yourself cooking place but much better. We ate way too much and talked into the night, and now I'm typing this blog to you. Not too much longer here so I'll keep the posts coming till the end. Tony

Taipei 101

So yesterday we went to Taipai 101 finally. In case you don't know it already, Taipei 101 is the tallest building in the world. It is designed after traditional chinese architecture and has 101 habitable floors hence "Taipei 101" We went during the day but the tickets we purchased were for the evening. It was really impressive. Inside there is a 6 floor mall with some of the most expensive stores I've ever seen. It also has a full blown chinese market and a supermarket. All of this is underground. the observation deck is on the 89th floor and it takes 39 seconds to get there by elevator. The elevators are the fastest in the world as they travel at almost 40 miles an hour. They are also pressurized so your ears don't pop as much. The view from the top was amazing. 101 is the only skyscraper in Taipei so it towers over everything in the city. Also on the observation deck you can see the damper system that most tall building have, except this one is the only building where the damper is viewable by the public. So much cool stuff about the building and not enough room here to go into it. After we came back down we ate at the market in the building, bought some cheese and wine at the supermarket and went home to eat cheese, drink wine, and watch a movie. So now I can say that I've been to the tallest building in the world!! Tony

Wood carving craziness!

So we travelled up to Taipei yesterday. The drive itself was good, I had to drive my uncle's car because he was out of town at his in-laws place. Only a little traffic and all of the toll points were free so it made the trip a little faster. We stopped at this wood carving town, not a town carved out of wood. It was really cool, lots of nice stuff and amazing sculptures. The wood is finished in this really polished and solid way that makes it look and feel like stone. I had to buy a few pieces of wood for my house. After that we made it to my aunt's place and proceeded to dinner after hanging out for a while. It was nice. My aunt doesn't have cable so we had to make a stop at the video store on the way home. We watched Mr. and Mrs. Smith. It started out ok, but quickly went south fast. If it weren't for Angelina Jolie I would have shut off the movie two thirds of the way through. Anyway, I went for a run this morning and this afternoon I think we are planning on going to Taipei 101 so I should have some nice pics tomorrow. We'll see. Only 5 more days here including today so I better get going!! The pics above are of most of my cousins and one of the wood carvings from yesterday.... Tony

Taipei tomorrow

Well it has been a slow last few days, and not much really going on. To be honest it has been real nice. All I've had on my mind is when I would get a run in and when I would get a nap in! Yesterday my cousin wanted to play some basketball, he is the captain of his college team. So I went along. We didn't have a car or other ride so we had to walk to the nearest university to play. It was a good time and I definitely had to shake the rust off. Overall though I won a few and he won a few. Then some of my other cousins showed up and we had a two on two. It was a lot of fun. So I know I said that we were heading back up to Taipei today but that plan got axed as the last minute. Now we are definitely leaving tomorrow morning for Taipei. On our way up north we will be stopping in some town where everything is carved out of wood. At least that is what my mom has told me. We'll see. The New Year's holiday is coming to an end and everyone is heading back to work, and I will be posting my next post from Taipei!!! Tony

Slow days of relaxation

So it has been a slow last few days here. Lots of sitting around and talking, catching up and the like. I went to the night market last night which was fun. Pretty much I've been hanging out, running to suppress the constant stream of food that I'm eating, and going on walks in the morning. Tomorrow we head back up to Taipei for the remainder of the trip. My aunt is planning some activities while we are staying with her including visiting the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial and the tallest building in the world both structurally and overall which is Taipei 101. I've included a link to check out Taipei 101 on New Years Eve this year (Dec. 31st) It is pretty impressive, this year was the first time they performed this. The video should play automatically, http://www.wretch.cc/blog/cornerboy&article_id=3787112 It has been fun down south but I'm ready to head back to the city and check out Taipei! The pics I've included are of my aunt burning paper money for my dead relatives and New Year's Day lunch yesterday. More to come in Taipei... Tony