Why is existence better than non-existence?

This is a toughie.

Formosa Formosa!

Ok ok. It may seem like I very the free, traveling everywhere. But really, you have to see me in between. I is very the busy one. Only rare chance got time to go see see things, meet meet people. So must cherish the moment. Anyway, Taiwan. Shiokanadenmatology!

I got a free ticket because I claim mileage on Singapore Airlines. SQ hwaaa! Is good man. So much better than all the other airplanes. Acherly, I think any Asian airline is much better than any US airline. Ok back to the story...

Touchdown at Taipei airport and went to Bei Pu to have lei cha. This is where you use the stick and grind the tea leaves into powder. And eat muah chee. And grind and grind and grind until your chiu sng already. Then the tea become oily oily. Then ask the lady add water. Then and only then, can you drink your tea. Maybe is because you work so hard. The tea taste great. Then, after tea, we head to Changhua. Spend the night there, get pampered. Wake up to lots of fruits! Very healthy breakfast. And then, its off back to Taipei.


Went to eat xiao long bao at the original Ding Tai Feng with Zhimao. The bao is so juicy. I say, better than the Ding Tai Feng in Singapore. Very good. Can go again. There were a lot of people waiting in line. For some weird reason, they were mostly nihon-jin. Don't ask me why. So we eat eat eat. Then we walk walk around Taipei. Go to the 101 building. Their MRT exactly the same as Singapore one man! They also got the LOVE sign.

Then during dinner, we also meet Charlene's lab people to eat eat eat again at some Japanese teppanyaki style thing. Then we went to her small sister's place to spend the night. Next morning, we got up, went to get tau hway and Taiwan mian sian for breakfast and watched Transformers movie. Then its off to Hualien!

Hualien is beautiful. The place where mountains run into the ocean. The Pacific ocean to the east, the mountain ranges, Taroko Gorge to the west. Cliffs that hit the ground at ninety degrees. Water as blue as the sky. The sky as blue as the water. Rocks with lines and holes and rivers. All the color and texture coming together to make you feel that you are at home in the earth. We spent the night first at Bright Moon home stay in Hualien, which is a very cool and quaint place where you stay in a family like situation. We check out the ye shi there also. Eat and eat some more. The famous niu pai of course! And guan cai ban. And bbq sticks. I miss ye shis. And then we spent the next night at Taroko Gorge, Formosa Hotel.

Then we came back to Taipei and had dinner with the sisters at this cool yakiniku place. Very nice food and a fun time. Spent the night at Yuan Shan hotel (check out Ghost in the Shell, SAC 2nd Gig). Next day had niu rou main. Then fly fly away back to sg. Going back there again soon!
Check out the other pics [click here]

Nihon Nihon!

Some of you may or may not be aware (what kind of stupid statement is that anyway?), that I went to Japan for holiday. Shiokanaden! Subarashi! Hontoni hontoni! The food is good. The service is great. The people are gentle, and ...interesting. The sights and sounds are captivating. And did I mention the food is good? I never bluff.

The first day, we arrived at Narita. Took the Kensei line to Ueno, transferred to Ginza line to go to Asakusa. This took all about 2 hrs or so. But it was a pleasant ride. The most impressive thing about it was the train itself. Absolutely quiet! Acherly its going very fast lah. But then you don't feel it at all. How do they do it? Some weird nihon-o technology must be.

Then we arrived in Asakusa. This is where the Kamenarimon is. The Thunder Gate! Mon= men2 = door, by the way. We stayed at Ryokan Shigetsu. Very decent priced, very nice experience. Sleep on tatami floor and all that. There was also an onsen on the roof. I soaked in it. You are supposed to do it with other people naked. Separate for guys and gals lah, of course. Koki, a friend we met at a conference in New York, brought us around there with his girlfriend.

After Asakusa, we went to Hakone. Dai kirei da! This is near Fuji-san and lake Ashi. Take the romance car, the odakyu-sen, to Hakone-Yumoto. Then take a bus to Hakone-machi. We stayed at Ryokan Yugiriso. The whole package man! One night. Dinner and breakfast. Sushi lah, hot pot lah, pickled stuff lah, and a lot of other things dunno what it is. And of course, got onsen. Sleep on tatami. Can cry ah. Then after that, can see see the area. Very nice scenery in front of the lake. And also can go shopping at Hakone-Yumoto, very nice rustic charm.

Next is back to Tokyo, Shinjuku. We toured Akihabara where there weird people acting out anime and singing on the streets. We also met Niwako who brought us around the Meiji Shrine and also dinner at a sushi place in Shinjuku station. I tell you, so many cool things...can die already.

I took so long to put all these down because it seems that words cannot describe lor. Anyway, next time coming again. Check out the pictures [click here].

Goose or Noose?

This is a simple way of collecting data. Please indicate whether you think the two birds below are from the same species or no. Please also indicate your ethnicity and which country you come from.

Use the following template:
Answer: Same / Not the same
Ethnic Group:
Country:
1st Language:
Age of Acquisition:
2nd Language:
Age of Acquisition: