Day 8 CNY Scooter Trip 2013

Day 8
Sunday February 17, 2013
7:30 a.m Ling-Dung Temple near Shihtan, Taiwan
 
Breaking camp went relatively smoothly yesterday morning. The one big wrinkle was that I noticed that interior of my tent’s fly seems to be deteriorating. The waterproofing tape that covers the seams has completely fallen apart and is peeling off and turning into dust. The material itself also feels sticky to my fingers as if …

Day 4 CNY Scooter Trip 2013

Day 4
Wednesday February 13, 2013
11:30 a.m. Taichung
 
As you can see from my byline above, I did make it to Taichung. I made it here and I am currently writing on the sofa in a friend’s living room. We were up until nearly five in the morning, so she is still upstairs sleeping. I have never been able to sleep in no matter how late I …

Day 2 CNY Scooter Trip 2013

Day 2
Monday February 11th, 2013
7:20 a.m.
Well, where in the world to start? I’ve only been on the road for one day and a night and it feels like I’ve been gone for weeks. It always feels that way, which is one of the reasons I enjoy travel so much – time dilates and it feels like there is so much more to life. A day …

Day 1 CNY 2013 Scooter Trip

Day 1
Sunday February 10th, 2013
6:45 a.m. Taipei
I am heading off on a short trip this morning. I don’t know that this will be an exciting trip, but I am going to do my best to make it at least interesting.
It is Chinese New Year in Taiwan. In fact, it is officially the first day of the new year (the year of the snake) – if …

Vaccinations and the Human Race as Bread Mold

Things that come up in this post:

travel vaccinations for Japanese encephalitis, rabies, and polio at the NTU travel clinic
cycling around the world
the life cycle of the human race is like the growth of bread mold
woodblock prints exhibit at the National Museum of History in Taipei
Changsha porcelain exhibit at the National Museum of History in Taipei
the eight deities in ivory, oracle bones, and silver ingots that …

Yingge, Taiwan – Ceramics and Horses

Sunday January 20, 2013
8:00 a.m. at the 7-11 on Chang-an road in Taipei
Despite all the day trips I’ve taken in the Taipei area, I’d never actually been to Yingge, that small town just outside of Taipei that is famous for its ceramics. It’s surprising because Yingge is probably up there in the top ten or even top five of places that people are encouraged to …

Snacking and New Year’s Resolutions

Sunday January 6, 2013
8:00 a.m. over a morning coffee at 7-11
This is too early to be up this morning. I can feel that my body and mind didn’t get enough sleep. However, as usual, I had no choice. I was lying in bed and quite aware that I wasn’t going to be able to go back to sleep. I could either lie there or get …

An ESL Class – And I Survived

Thursday January 3, 2012
10:30 a.m. at the 7-11 on Chang-An Road
Another rainy and gloomy day here in Taipei. The rain, at least, isn’t pouring down. It’s barely even making the effort to be rain. It’s just trickling a bit here and there. I didn’t even bother to break out an umbrella for the walk from my apartment to here. I was the only one walking …