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Another eBid Cap 'n Tee trip on the cards?
Yes well - my eBid cap & Tee could be going on a shortish Taiwan holiday early in the new year!:rolleyes::confused:
Bro & Sil have itchy feet again, & Bro is taking some more hard earned long service leave.:cool:
Stay tuned for further updates in the new year!:o
https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&u act=8&ved=0ahUKEwj6xMee0JTYAhWEVLwKHaN8AqQQFggnMAA &url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FTaiwa n&usg=AOvVaw2Mx6P1XjudoZXFVbW0yGkH
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Re: Another eBid Cap 'n Tee trip on the cards?
Sounds like a wonderful plan!!! Lots of pics, please! I'm just "arm chair" traveling these days ;)
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Re: Another eBid Cap 'n Tee trip on the cards?
Yep Shesa - Bro usually sends me lots of pix to choose from.:cool:
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Re: Another eBid Cap 'n Tee trip on the cards?
Look forward to seeing the photos :)
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Re: Another eBid Cap 'n Tee trip on the cards?
A little update folks!
The Taiwan trip is booked for the end of Feb
Plus
Another trip to India in November - this time a short 2 week conducted tour with rellies & friends. Will cover some new areas & other spots seen on earlier trips.
My eBid cap & Tee will be well worn by the end of 2018 for sure!:cool:
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OK people - get ready to strap in!
Bro & Sil fly out for Taipei this Wednesday night, for a quick 2 week tour.
They won't have long in each location & expect to cover as much of the island as possible.
Bus tours will most likely be their choice of accommodating this?
Subject to WiFi service (which should be great?) I'm expecting plenty of regular pix.:cool:
Naturally, my eBid cap 'n Tee will/should feature!:o
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Re: Another eBid Cap 'n Tee trip on the cards?
I wish them a comfortable flight and an (un)eventful stay. Can't wait to join them via pics
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G'day all - well the first report is in!:o Ken & Des on tour!
I'll do my usual trick of dubbing Bro's blog post directly here, so you get the full picture (hopefully)
Only have 2 pix so far, but Bro did say there were floral pix from a Buddhist temple, which must still be in the ether?
Also, that he can't wait to get to the top of the 101 Tower.:eek: Both arrived safe & well.:cool:
Hi all, Internet problems again so I'm not sure if you will see any photo's yet.
Our flight left Brisbane on time last night and a pretty uneventful flight via EVA Airlines saw us land in Taipei a bit early at 4:45am. No dramas at the Airport with a Visa not required unless you are staying 30 days or more.
On the basis that our Hotel check-in time was 2:00pm we were in no hurry - other than being worn-out through lack of sleep and wanting to have a rest in comfort.
Our initial thought of catching a bus into the City proper [about 28 klms from the Airport] was abandoned at the prospect of understanding the myriad number of options and Bus Lines on offer. Not actually knowing if we had to head north, south, east or west played a part also.
In the end we opted for the MRT train instead, and we're glad we did. It's a modern, fast, clean and efficient service and we got to see the sights on the way in.....a bit of countryside, lots of business enterprises, blocks of apartments and pools of rainwater just about everywhere.
Desley has been watching the weather reports for Taiwan recently and it seemed to have rained every day. Not today though. The train fare for the two of us was $320 New Taiwanese Dollars, this being about AUD$15.00.
Once in Taipei City we managed our usual 'holiday' exercise of walking around in circles for at least an hour and a half before a local lady took pity on us and got us on a bus to the Hotel. A nice Hotel it is too, although we are perched in the Lobby as I type this because my Microsoft Surface is weak on signal strength back in the room.
After a rest we ventured out for a walk, had lunch and visited a local Buddhist Temple - the City of God it is named. Hopefully you will get to see the photo's of the beautiful flowers and the building, Internet Gods permitting.
Now we are just about to hunt down dinner - plenty of options are available nearby so we'll follow our usual practice and go to a busy one!
Chow! Ken.
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Howdy all - the 'lost in the ether' pix have caught up! So, here they be.:cool:
On the MRT to the city
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Dong Wu Hotel room
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Outside Hotel failing to look inconspicuous
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Permanent hand warmer attachments!
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Taipei back street #1
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Taipei back street #2
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Courtyard near COG (City of God) Buddhist Temple
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COG Temple1
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COG2
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COG3
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more - PTO - for lunch!:o
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AND so to brunch 'n lunch:o
Trust Bro to find 2 wheelers! upmarket scooter Triumph Bonneville T100
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Another Triumph - sans hand warmers!
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COG4
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COG5
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Real Temple Orchids
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Orchids & Real Wife!
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An old Buddhist Monk!
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Brunch stop - 'Western Style'
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Goes well with Taiwan Beer says Bro! (whatever it is?)
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Lunch options inc. 'the little black duck'
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Stay tuned - more to follow!:cool:
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Re: Another eBid Cap 'n Tee trip on the cards?
Thank you Old, a lovely bit of armchair sight-seeing. :) I'm staying tuned!
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Re: Another eBid Cap 'n Tee trip on the cards?
Brilliant! Thanks for sharing.
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It makes me feel quite warm;)
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Howdy all - glad you're enjoying the trip so far!:cool:
The next 4 posts cover their first full day 2nd. March & includes the Taipei 101 building tour ( with high end shops inside) more food & another temple visit.
Bro finds some very special "rocks" just for my benefit, & I hope you'll like them too.
Bro's blog of the day/night:o
A very busy day - up early sorting through photos, breakfast at the Hotel (nice!) and then organised Tickets for the High Speed Train to Tainan on Monday. One of the Hotel Reception ladies took us next door to a "Family" Supermarket (similar to a 24/7 store) where they have vending machines that, amongst other services, allow you to purchase Train tickets. We were glad she offered to help though as the instructions were largely in Mandarin. I did see ticket machines at the MRT (Metro) which had instructions in English as an option so that might be the way to go in future.
That sorted we caught a taxi to the Taipei 101 Tower in the centre of Town. Not all (or many) Taxi Drivers speak English (and my Mandarin is a bit rusty) so luckily 'Taipei 101' in English sounds remarkably similar to 'Taipei 101' in Mandarin - what's the odds?
Since getting lost once in Jaipur and realising not only did we not know where our Hotel was, but also we couldn't remember its name (!), we always carry a business card for our Hotel written in English plus the local lingo. That way we can always get transport back to base irrespective of language issues.
Taipei 101 is one huge building and we spent quite a bit of time there scaring ourselves looking down the 91 stories (not the highest part of the building either!) and browsing through the very high end shops.
Back to the Hotel for a rest and then out to find dinner before our organised walk. Finding a feed is more difficult than you would think - imagine all menus written in a language you can't read and all the vendors not being able to understand you or you them. In the end I had chips, chocolate and a beer so all the main food groups were ticked off.
The walking tour was great but given this was the last day of the Chinese New Year celebrations for the coming Year of the Dog (Hi Molly and every other much loved dog we have ever had!) as well as the last night of the Lantern Festival, the joint was jumping and hence very busy. We were both happy to get back to the Hotel at about 11:00pm and hit the sack.
Enjoy the pix.
The T101
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T101 FYI
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Hold on to ya daks!
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Building wind damper
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High end shopping 5th level
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We went here!
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Near the top (hope he didn't forget that cap!)
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At the 89th
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Anything you can do!
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Venturing outside
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cont. over
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Day 2 continues!
That Cap won't escape!
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Reflect - a - selfie!
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Bottomless Pit
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Jump up & down here Dear!
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A bit hazy
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The Big Smoke
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Phew - back on the ground
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Deck of Cards building
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Foot tattoos for New Year!
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Bro says "it's udderly wonderful" - Groan
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Temple tour & food over:
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Day/Night 2 tour, high end "rock" shops & foods!
Shopping for an Alabaster Vase anyone?
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Or carved Jade
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Carved Jasper chookies!
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Gemstone bead jewellery
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A Camel Amethyst geode (spirit healing - unless dropped on the foot)
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The said Camel
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Or something smaller???
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During walking tour of Longshan Temple
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Street scene1
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Street scene2
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cont. over:
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Longshan Temple & foods!
Lantern festival lights
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Lights2
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Temple front
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Inside Longshan
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Longshan2
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Longshan3
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My Cap enjoys Dinner!
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I see squid
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AND mixed seafood
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Don't dare ask!
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couple more over:
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Late day 2:o
Anyone for fish 'n frogs legs:confused::eek:
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Fishy or Froggy:confused:;)
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enjoy your food all :rolleyes:
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Re: Another eBid Cap 'n Tee trip on the cards?
I thought I was adventuress, but I wouldn't do most of the things your bor. and sil do
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Re: Another eBid Cap 'n Tee trip on the cards?
Glad I'd had breakfast before seeing the fish and frogs legs :eek:
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Re: Another eBid Cap 'n Tee trip on the cards?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
sucadot
Glad I'd had breakfast before seeing the fish and frogs legs :eek:
Me too:eek:
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OK Guys 'n Galz - here we go with heaps of pix from 3rd March
We have 2 more temples to cover, another walking tour around town, orchids, buildings, Peace Park & food!
Tomorrow they're training it to another local, I believe - so we may have a slight report gap? Hang in there!
Hello again.
An interesting day. We visited the Confuscius and, conveniently across the road, Bao'an Temples - very nice indeed as can be seen in the photo section.
We joined another Walking Tour - this one was focussed on the historical background to modern day Taiwan. Some Countries are cursed by the geographical or strategic location and tend to be conquered by others over time.
Taiwan has variously been run by: The original inhabitants (not much is known about that part though), The Dutch, the Spanish, the Japanese, the Chinese, an exiled Chinese Government (the current ones) and, if they have their way in the future, the Chinese again. Pretty interesting indeed.
We had a very nice dinner with some of the Walking Tour participants and then back to the Hotel to escape the vast crowds out to party on a Saturday night at festival time.
Some other things we learnt on the day - 1. Don't jaywalk here - it confuses the locals and may result in your demise,
2. Don't exit a Taxi on the traffic side of the vehicle - you may destroy a Scooter and/or the rear door of a taxi, and,
3. Before you go out, ask the Hotel people to write your destination in Mandarin on a piece of paper to be handed to the Taxi Driver.
See ya.
Entrance to Confuscius Temple
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CFT1
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CFT2
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CFT3
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CFT4
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CFT5
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CFT6
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CFT7
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In the Dong Wu lobby - Yum!
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Possible luggage contraband!
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on the the next Temple:
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And so, to the Bao'an Temple & grounds! (hereafter known as B1 etc.)
B1
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B2
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B3
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B4 - Pet Tiger?
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B5 - Year of the Dog
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B6 - Fairies?
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B7
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B8 - Two Monkeys
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B9
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B10
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more B's over:
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Bao'an Temple cont:
B11
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B12
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B13
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B14 - Gotta love the carving!
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B15
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B16
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The Temple Proper
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Parked near (not part of) the Temple - Lamborghini Superieggera
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Sil loves Doors! - go figure!
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AND a Beef Noodle lunch!
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Now on to the walking tour, sites & din din:
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City Walking Tour
A 24/7 Karaoke Bar (the whole building!)
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Taipei Presidential Palace
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The Red House Theater
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Market food stall
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Unknown food parcels
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Street scene
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Custard Apple ice cream AUD$6.50
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Well - it IS the year of the Doggie!
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Entrance to the 228 Peace Park (PP for short)
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Don't feed the squirrels! (they'll have ya arm off)
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more over:
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Thank you very much for the tour. I feel exhausted with all this walking before breakfast;)
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Peace Park Tour cont.
James, our guide!
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Confused? No - Confucius!
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Too hard to explain - Bro says google it
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PP1
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PP2
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Inside the memorial
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Paper Lanterns made by children
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Ditto Lanterns
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Sore feet legend
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How to get sore feet (walk on this)
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some fun to finish!:
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End of PP Tour & Dinner
New walking tour mates at Dinner!
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The Toilet Tour
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Found a market for Old people - therefore in good company!
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Spoilt - Moi:confused:
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Till next edition - Bye 4 now!
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Re: Another eBid Cap 'n Tee trip on the cards?
Been sat here waiting for each instalment! :D
Just fantastic to see and enjoy.
If unknown food is rice cakes wrapped in seaweed I want some!
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What a lovely coffee break I've had viewing the pics - thank you!
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Just catching up - loved seeing all the different places/buildings which so remind me of our early days in Singapore over 40 years ago!
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Hi all - glad you're enjoying the ride (as I am too)
Today it's off to visit the Chaing Kai-shek Memorial
Howdy. We had a pretty lazy day today. Had planned to go to Elephant Mountain for views over the City but that involves some hiking apparently and as it was a bit hot at 29C we took a Taxi (Lady Driver - the first one we have seen) to the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial.
CKS is one of the most important historical figures here and played a large part in developing Taiwan. He made some mistakes along the way it seems (Wiki it) but still remains influential to many.
The Memorial and surrounds are a good spot to stroll around with at least one shaded area ideal to use to escape the sun on a hot day like today. We're glad we went.
Ciao.
Starting with a lazy Dong Wu breakfast
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CKS Memorial info
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The Memorial & front gardens
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CKS1
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Bit of a climb!
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CKS3
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CKS4
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CKS5
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CKS6 The Man himself
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Inside looking up to dome roof
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CKS Memorial cont.
CKS8
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Two permanent guards change every hour & stand stock still
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Wandering the gardens
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CKS11
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Building detail
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CKS13
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Changing of the guard in extreme slow motion (every hour)
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CKS15
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At the Museum-Shop-Historical area-Tourist Trap!
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Mode of transport for CKS & Wife way back
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cont. over:
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Final CKS Memorial shots!
CKS Office replica & life like model
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CKS's 1955 Cadillac Fleetwood
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A later update a 1972 Fleetwood (huge machine)
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A cool spot for our packed lunch in the 29C heat
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CKS17
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Another Bird nearby - a Malaysian Night Heron (pix x Des)
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Enjoy! :cool::o
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Hi all - OK here we go on a fast rail journey to Tainan - Plus Orchids, Hotel, Streets & Take-aways!
Enjoy!
5th March 2018
Today we caught the High Speed Rail (HSR) train from Taipei to Tainan City, the original Capital of Taiwan / Formosa.
The approx. 315 klm was done and dusted in 1hr 45min.
They occasionally show the train speed on a screen at the end of each car - 289 klm/hr was the fastest we saw.
A very smooth ride and despite the speed you could easily nod off in your seat. Well, I could.
We haven't seen much of Tainan yet but it is a big city that's for sure.
We are yet to organise our next train trip back up the west coast a bit to Taichung - should have done that today while we were at the Railway Station, dammit.
We went out for a walk late today (it was 31C degrees here) - didn't see any Temples or the like so no photo's.
You're probably sick of them in any case, gentle viewer.
See you later.
Red Bean Ice-cream (Bro says they first had this in Vietnam in 2010 after a nice dinner of Pork Dumplings & Egg & Spinach Soup!)
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A typical Taiwan foot path (sidewalk)
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HSR leaving Taipei - hold on Sil
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Ditto Bro
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HSR car#4 at speed!
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Modern Take-away Tainan Railway Station style!
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A small bit of Tainan
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Action shot - I think?
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Dinner stop shop! - No English, but thanks to pix & prices = we eat!
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Here we be - the FX - Hipster Heaven?
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Hotel & street scenes cont. over!:
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Tainan continues!
Room 1119 FX Hotel Tainan (Bro quote - kinda groovy, hipster & annoying in general)
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Each room has its own horse!
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Big TV BUT stolen paintings! (or Sil has them already packed?)
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View from 1119 - over a small part of town!
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Hotel corridor - Earthquake OR Funky?
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Hmmnn Earthquake I think
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More damaged/stolen art - Sils been busy!
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Someone relaxing after all that looting!
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View down the road (or escape route?)
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Bro suggests to Wiki out the FX Hotel Tainan - it's a bit different ie. they have a full size Ironman model to greet you upon exiting the lift at the 8th floor reception!
Next batch for my benefit: :o
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Out & about Tainan streets:eek: Drool drool:rolleyes:
FYI - Taiwan has a huge Orchid industry, & they specialize in Phalaenopsis & other orchid hybridization. (also ideal growing conditions, weather wise)
An orchid show street advert
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Large blooms are the Phalaenopsis hybrids known as Moth orchids - smaller yellow blooms at rear are Oncidiums or Dancing Lady orchids
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Drool covered keyboard here!
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OMG - I want them!
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hope the keyboard dries out B4 the next installment::p
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Quote:
hope the keyboard dries out B4 the next installment::p
So do I - this armchair travelling is great :)
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Re: Another eBid Cap 'n Tee trip on the cards?
Thank you for this thread I am loving it.