Reflections of a month and half in Taipei

I'm lacking a bit of focus today as I am hungover and in a frenzy trying to pack for my trip to Tibet.  Hopefully, sitting down and writing down my experiences so far in Taipei will help me regain some focus and kill some time as I wait for my laundry to dry.


It was March 2nd that I left Toronto.  Sitting on that plane, I wasn't sure if the queazy feeling was the excitement of leaving my life behind or from the three gin and tonics that I had with dinner.  I was coming back to Taipei for the fifth time in my adult life but this time, for a longer stay than my past four visits combined.  


My first couple of days here, I was determined to relax - the weeks leading up to my departure were packed with dinners with friends, packing up my place and making sure all of my affairs were in order before I left.  I can safely say that I was more useless than a three dollar bill - all I did was eat, sleep, shower and more sleep.


Living with my family here has made me really appreciate my Taiwanese roots.  I've never had dinners with family back in Canada, but here, I sit down with my grandmother, my dad, my stepmom, and various extended family members every single night.  We have great conversations over dinner that is prepared by my grandmother's maid, Tina, and the food is incredible.  All the dishes are my grandmother's recipes and since she's too old to cook up a storm anymore, she's passed them all to Tina, who's skill to replicate them is beyond words.  And of course, with dinner, everyone drinks.  Shit, I thought I drank a lot when I worked at advertising, I think I've in fact drank more here than I did back in Toronto.  

Mmm...Liquid dinners.

With all this food and drinking, my clothes were quietly hinting to me that I needed to get my ass to the gym.  I think I heard my jeans scream during my second week here - they weren't kidding around when they named them skinny jeans.  I first started running outside, but with March / April weather consisting of rain, followed by more rain, I started searching for indoor facilities.  Thankfully, my dad helped me find a city government gym that is a bus ride away and a really cheap monthly pass - 1500 NTD ($50 CDN) for 30 visits.  I think when I come back in September, I'll try one of the other locations as they all have different and cool facilities - my gym had a rock climbing wall and archery court, the one near my grandmother's place has a gun range.  Not sure how firing a gun counts as a workout, but I shouldn't judge.

My gym pass - 30 for 30!  That's dedication.

Besides the gym, I spend most of my days wandering around or grabbing a coffee at Starbucks and reading a nice book.  I've read five books since I've been here (which is more reading than I've done in the past year alone) and had a chance to re-read one of my favourite books ever, The Chinese In America by Iris Chang.  A well-written account of the three massive immigrations of the Chinese people over to the US and the struggles of the Chinese people after immigrating.  I'm a sucker for history books and this one merged my love of history with trying to learn more about my roots.


I've learned a lot about my own roots by going through old family albums and having great one-on-one chats with my grandmother.  She's old, but still as sharp as any one my age.  She's such an incredible woman, having raised five children, she worked full-time (which was uncommon for women back in the day), she's well educated and she's a firecracker - always telling jokes and laughing but also pretty quick to scold you when you do something wrong.  She's an incredibly generous woman - always making sure if you have had enough to eat or if you needed anything, I can see where my father learned that trait.  I'm glad I've had the time to spend with her, as she's been a key part of me discovering and piecing together the history of my dad's side of the family.


I've had a chance to travel by myself to Kenting and see the sights and sounds of south Taiwan.  I survived and much to my surprise, my Mandarin isn't as bad as I thought, being fully able to communicate with the hotel staff, taxi drivers, and other tourists.  Having hiked for about four and a half hours on my second day in Kenting, I was awestruck by the beauty of the south coast, in particular the cliffs of Maobitou and the neon green seaweed at White Sands Beach.

Breathtaking White Sands Beach

I haven't been very homesick, but it's always great to hear from friends.  Many thanks to those who I've spoken to over Skype and to Franky, who mailed me a card - my first and only piece of mail here in Taipei!

Letters are fun!

There's so much left in Taiwan to explore and I hope to do that when I return for a couple of weeks in late May and then in mid-August.  If my last month and a half have been as great as this, I can't imagine what three months in the fall will be like - especially when I start up my Mandarin lessons.  Reading and writing Mandarin will be a fun challenge to conquer and to be a student again, that will also be a fun challenge to face.  


I leave on a plane tomorrow for a new adventure - Tibet.  I am sure I'll see even more things that will open my eyes and arouse all my senses.  I face another big challenge - being disconnected from the world.  No phone, no laptop, no internet, NO FACEBOOK.  Let's see how much fun my dad will have dealing with a Facebook junkie going through withdrawl.  I must google "internet cafe Lhasa" before I depart.


Alright...back to packing...

I can only procrastinate so much.

Countdown to Tibet - 2 days.

It's hard to believe that within 12 hours, I'll be on a flight bound for Shanghai then heading towards the region known as the roof of the world - Tibet.


It was the day after I handed in my resignation at work that I called my dad to let him know of what I did and ask him if I could stay in Taipei for a bit.  Clearly, I didn't go about things the right way as most considerate sons would have asked their dad first before making an important life decision, but like I've already blogged, I'm a bad son.  However, my dad is clearly a better person than I am, not only did he say yes to me staying with him in Taipei, but he asked if I wanted to go to Tibet with him and my uncle.  And he offered to pay.  This decision to quit and travel the world couldn't have come at a better time.


14 days - the total length of the trip.  We first stop in Shining, China, where we'll be taking the Qinghai-Tibet railway to Lhasa, where we'll spend the majority of the time in Tibet.  I've never travelled for an extended period of time by rail, and the total trip will take three days to give passengers the time to adjust to the altitude.  


I've been trying to decipher the itinerary more, but due to my lack of Chinese reading capabilities, all I have been able to do is figure out that we might be taking some day tours in a 4x4 Toyota SUV - the only thing that is in English.  In reading up about Tibet (thanks Wikipedia) I cannot wait to see the Potala Palace in person.  Lhasa, translated as "The Place of the Gods", was made the capital of Tibet in the 7th century and as it is a place of the Gods, I look forward to staring at many temples.  I'm sure the phrase "Same, same but different" which I learned in Thailand, will be used again.


The three things I look forward to on this trip - 1. having the time to spend with my dad, 2. being totally disconnected from the world (I doubt there's an internet cafe I'll be able to waste my time at, but who knows) and 3. getting to explore a place that very few can say they've been before.

A fun day on the Maokong Gondola

Making your own schedule is a lot of fun.  Yesterday, I took advantage of my empty afternoon and decided to go for a ride on the Maokong Gondola in the southeastern part of Taipei City.  Comprised of only four stations, the gondola stretches for about 4km along the mountain ranges surrounding Taipei.  For about $3 - $4.50 CDN, you get a return trip (depending on where you stop on the gondola line).  

The view of Taipei City from
the Gondola

From Taipei Zoo station to Maokong Station takes about 12 minutes - sit back and enjoy the spectacular views and the heights you'll reach and dip throughout the ride.  There's only two stations that you would want to stop off and walk around - each walk around should take no more than an hour to see all the fun sites.

To really enjoy the ride, I suggest that one take a full trip up to Maokong first - there are also a special Gondola called Crystal Cabins that have a glass floor for you to have a great view of the jungle canopy below - you'll have to wait 15 to 20 minutes for those carts though, regular carts are every 30 seconds.  I didn't want to way, and besides, the regular gondolas provide great views anyway.

The tea plantations.

Maokong station has a great hiking trail that takes about 30 minutes to walk - provides great views of the countryside and the tea and rice plantations that climb up the mountain.  I have a phobia of mosquitos and there weren't that many up there, thankfully.  If you're a tea lover, there's plenty of tea houses and tea museums for you to visit.  If you're tired from all the walking, there are a series of great cafes along the hiking trails that have patios that overlook the sprawling metropolis below.

After your hike, take a rest at lookout point at the base of Maokong station - a breathtaking view of greenery is a great R&R stop before getting back onto the gondola.  Grab a drink and a bite to eat before hopping on the Gondola as there's no food consumption within the vehicles.

The Pagoda at Dachen

I suggest a stop by Zhinan Temple station, the first stop on the way down from the mountain.  Two Taoist temples flank the gondola station, one right when you get out of the exit and another about a 10 minute stroll down a hill.  Dachen Hall is marked by a gate and a pagoda at it's base.  But it is not as breathtaking as the Zhinan temple.  This temple sits at the edge of a mountain overlooking Taipei.  It is enormous, with large steps to climb and spacious temple rooms reserved for the statutes of Taoist faith.  

Make a small offering to the temple and stroll around the grounds taking in the smells of the incense, the notes hanging from the prayer trees.  Finally, take the time to stand by the white bannisters that hold you back from falling off the cliff to the city below and marvel at the juxtaposition of nature vs urban sprawl. 

Zhinan temple

Wandering around the grounds of the temple some more and you'll discover neat statutes, many more adorned prayer trees, large golden incense urns and beautiful exotic flowers and century old trees that wind its way around the architecture of the temple.

All in all, a great way to spend an afternoon - three to four hours of incredible sights of Taipei and its surroundings, and all for under $5.

Here are some other photos:

A view of Zhinan Temple from the Gondola with the Sunset.

A prayer tree

The Lanterns at Zhinan Temple

Me and my Dad

"I know, okay!" - that's what I'm used to saying to my dad whenever he tries to share some of his fatherly knowledge with me.  Ever since I was young, I've had this strange way of talking back to my father that most kids would never dare to do.


After being back in Taiwan for over a month now, and living under my dad's roof, I've had to check myself a couple of times before I lashed out at him for trying to teach me something I already knew.  In fact, if I was anyone else watching myself behave this way, I'd likely slap the shit out of me already.


I had a great discussion with my stepmother tonight (we bond over several drinks at dinner) and she and I talked about this very issue.  She's always found it hard to address this with me, mostly because she never felt it was her place to do so.  However, it's great to get your ass kicked once in a while when you really deserve it.


My dad and I have always had a strained relationship.  After my parents divorced, he was villainized by my mom's family, he ultimately left Canada because he had no income left to support himself, let alone my brother and I, and we  had a stint where we didn't talk for two years between when I was 15 - 17 years old.  We only reunited after he learned about my mom's passing (he found out two years after she passed) and it's been a long road to trying to patch up our understanding of one another.


That should not be an excuse for my poor behaviour.  What's been great about this time off and being able to interact with him everyday is that we're literally reclaiming the time we missed out on when I was a child.  He's in a way trying to parent without over parenting, I'm trying to be a son without acting too much like a child. 


When I told my father of my decision to quit work and leave Toronto for a bit, he didn't hesitate to support my decision or to offer up the fact that he would like me to go to Tibet with him.  For all his overbearing qualities, he is one of the kindest people I know, and I have much to learn from him about how to care for others.


What I'm more grateful for is that I have a chance to still work on our relationship, spend three weeks with him in Tibet with nothing but the scenery and good conversation to fill our time, and hopefully years left for us to make up for the time that has been lost due to silly actions in the past.


Countdown to Tibet - 11 days.

Sights and Sounds of Kenting - at the tip of south Taiwan

I spent most of today recuperating from my trip to Kenting, located on the southern tip of Taiwan.  Originally, I wanted to go to check out the Spring Scream festival, the Taiwanese equivalent of Lollapolloza, but tickets were pretty costly and with my limited amount of time (April 5 - 7) I decided to check out some of the other (cough) cheaper (cough) sights and sounds of Kenting.

The trip to Kenting from Taipei takes about 4 - 5 hours depending on your preferred mode of transportation.  I decided on the fastest - a high speed rail express ticket from Taipei to Zuoying (in the city of Kaoshing) and then the Kenting Express that was easily available right outside exit #2 at Zuoying high speed rail station.  Cost wise, you're looking at about $120 CDN for a comfortable ride to and from your destination.

 

I arrived in Hengchun, a sleepy town about a 10 min drive from Kenting, the hotel was new and was about $65 CDN / night, so it fit the bill and well, everything was already booked in Kenting by the time I got there.  I hopped into a cab and asked the driver to take me to some of the must see sights of the area.  Kenting county is made up of two small peninsulas, identified as east and west.  My driver took me to the east side, hitting some great sights that allows for views of both the Pacific Ocean and the Bashi Channel.  

Some must see points on the eastern peninsula:

Longpan Park - Cliffs overlooking
the gorgeous Pacific Ocean

Longpan Park - this park features stunning views of the Pacific from high above.  The cliffs of the park overlooks the waves hitting the rocks on the shores below for about 1/2 a kilometer.  I didn't walk that far, around the cliffs, just enough to see some incredible rock formations jutting out from the reddish soil with patchy pieces of green grass making the whole area look like some giant Chia Pet.  The winds were calm on these cliffs, not like the hurricane force winds I experienced at Maobitou (read on, I'll get to that later).

Beam me up Scotty.

Erlanbi Park and Lighthouse - this is the official most southern point of Taiwan.  In a short 500m stroll from the parking lot to lookout point, all you see is a horizon of blue while standing on the strange Star Trek like statue that marks the furthest south you can walk on the island.  Be sure to wear bug spray and plenty of it, as the path down to the lookout is swarming with hungry mosquitos and my legs found that out the hard way.  A short ways away is the white lighthouse that also overlooks the area.  Unfortunately, that was closed off when I went as the Spring Scream festival uses the park as a venue for their concert.

Sandland Beach

Sandland Beach - just as it sounds, this is all sand, all over the place with incredible light blue waters gently washing up and dropping off all of the debris from the Bashi Channel.  The sand is actually fine pieces of shells and give you a prickly foot massage as you walk towards the water.  One should be careful as the same jagged rocks you find all around this area are also present and a misstep could cause for some painful foot injuries.  

Youth Activities Park Square

Kenting Main Street and the Youth Activities Park - I saved this area closer towards the end of the evening as the night market starts around 6pm just in time for dinner.  Before filling my stomach, I felt that there was still some more walking left to do and visited the Youth Activities Park which sits at the end of Kenting main street strip.  The Park looks like a village out of some old Chinese kung fu movie.  The centre is arranged with various buildings which surround a main square.  The place was pretty empty, however, it doubles as a Youth Hostel during this busy season and I could hear some random music and chatter which echos through what appeared to be an abandoned town.  The main street was where everyone went for good and cheap eats.  My dad, before I left, warned me to avoid the street meat as he's somewhat of a germaphobe.  But where else can you get Taiwanese sausages for $0.60 CDN and 3 squid skewers for $3 CDN?  While Spring Scream is going on, the strip is transformed into some crazy Mardi Gras type atmosphere where skimpy clothes are the norm and police don't bat an eye to the heavy drinking taking place on the street.  Friday and Saturdays are when the street is crammed with people, good luck trying to find anyone and you just have to walk with the flow.  After the night market, I retired to my room, slightly drunk and full of food - a good way to end a day.

The strip on Thursday night.  Thankfully, not as busy as the Friday
clusterfuck I experienced on Day 2.

Day 2 and I decided with the overcast day, the best thing to do was to go for a hike around the western peninsula.  My hotel concierge thought I was nuts when I told her I was going to walk to Maubitou (the southern most point of the Western peninsula) and White Sands Beach.  Frankly, I thought I was crazy after I walked the 15/16 kilometers to reach those two points.  

Maubitou Point

Maubitou Point - This park is named after a famous rock that sticks out of the water and looked like a cat's head (which is what the park is named after).  As expected, a breeze flows from the ocean - however, the breeze was almost hurricane force when I got there.  However, while it was brisk enough that it could blow someone off their footing, the wind was not cold as I've experienced with other ocean side visits before.  I was able to comfortably walk around in tshirt and shorts, however, the wind did a number on my hair.  The park looked more like a snapshot out of an Ireland tourist book and it was so interesting to see the difference between the cliffs of the different peninsulas.  The reddish sands of Longpan park were not present here - the soil here were beige, making the rock formations look more like a smaller version of Stonehenge.  There was also an interesting bamboo tree that jutted out of the rocks near Maubitou rock.

White Sands Beach - My feet were all bruised and blistered thanks to my poor decision to wear flip flops as 

The neon green seaweed at
White Sands Beach

opposed to sensible walking shoes.  At least the therapeutic waters of White Sands beach helped soothe my poor soles, the perfect reward for a day's worth of walking around the southern countryside.  The beach is flanked by two groups of rocks that are covered with green algae and seaweed.  Unlike the name suggests, White Sands beach doesn't really have white sand, which didn't matter as the view of the beach is just as serene regardless of the actual sand colour.  Again, the warm ocean breeze makes for a great companion (thankfully not as forceful as the winds at Maubitou) and you can wade in the waters for hours without feeling cold. 

I wrapped up my day with another walk around the Kenting main street strip, mostly for the food.  It was crazy busy with loud obnoxious drunken youngsters, so I called it an early night.

My final day in Kenting, I decided to wander around the old city of Hengchun.  If the US south had a town with all Chinese people, Hengchun would be the perfect match.  The people speak Mandarin with a slight drawl, everyone moves at a slow pace and the small hamlet has a neat little history as a staging point for the Japanese military when it had possession of Taiwan pre-1945.  There are two main things to check out in Hengchun - the old Hengchun main street and the old city walls.  Main street has old stores that haven't changed for decades.  At the end of the street, there's an incredible rock garden with a monument that sits on top of a steep pyramid.  You can quickly then walk to the south gate entrance which is the only gate that is fully restored out of the four main entrances of the old wall.  This walking tour is quick - about 2 hours and ends near the Hengchun bus terminal.  Reward yourself with a small pastry from the bakery that's nearby.

 

Hengchun South Gate

All in all, I had a great time.  It was great to travel on my own and test my Mandarin abilities without having to rely on my family to help me translate.  This was just a taste of the adventure in store for me as I travel the world - and it was fantastic.

What you shouldn't say to the unemployed

Please don't pity me.

I recently read an article about what to and not to say to a person who is grieving for a loved one.  As I read the article, I saw striking similarities between the grief one experiences with death and losing their job.


In the movie Up in the Air, George Clooney plays a Career Transitions Specialist, who has the grim duty of firing and letting go of people from their jobs.  It's a fantastic film, and well timed having hit the theatres right after the 2008 recession where many people lost their jobs.  In one of the more dramatic scenes in the film, Clooney's character Ryan, coaches a man who's angered by his termination and tells him to look at this situation as a rebirth.


I remember my first experience with a mass layoff - I was at my first agency, all bright eyed and naive to the fact that things like lay offs happen.  Being friends with most people in my workplace, I thought, hey, if you did your job, you'd have a job.  Cue the big Family Feud X button sound and my first "holy crap" moment of advertising.  It was February 2007, I had just been hired as a full time Account Executive the month before after being an intern, and I walked into work on the Tuesday morning full of rainbows and sunshine.  It wasn't until 1030am that I started to realize that something wasn't right, and by the time noon hit, an email went out saying that X number of people were no longer working at the agency and that they were thanked for their service.  I was freaking out internally, but everyone around me didn't bat an eye.  You see, this was so common for them that this attrition email could have been another all-staff about the coffee machine being broken, which in fact would have probably caused more sensationalistic responses.  


While upset, news like this didn't hit as hard as when it happens to people you truly care about, which it did about six months later, when a great friend of mine got fired and I was floored.  I don't think I personally recovered from that news and it certainly left a bitter taste in my mouth, in particular to those responsible for the firing.  No matter, that lovely friend of mine got to live her dream, moved to Paris, and is now more successful than ever (what a rebirth!)


That's the thing with sudden unemployment, while it feels like you've lost a big part of you, there's still an opportunity to start anew.  I'm fortunate that I have never experienced being fired or made redundant, I've voluntarily placed myself in "fun"employment.  However, having experienced friends and colleagues go through the turbulence that is unemployment, I've put a list together of my own of how to treat those that are going through their own transition period.  (PS - this also applies to people who've voluntarily left the workforce...don't treat us like this either.)


DON'T pity them.  We all do it, the pity face.  There's the slight kiss of the teeth, tilt of the head, scruntching of the brow, and sloutching of the shoulders before you reach across the table and cradle their hands with yours with a light shake.  "No touching!" (that hilarious line from Arrested Development) should be strictly enforced when consoling a funemployed friend.  Pity shows the fact that you're in a superior position, another reminder they don't need at the moment.  So drop the looks and the feigned sadness, and smile - that will give them hope that things will be better.

Please don't treat me as if I'm poor.

DON'T treat them as if they're poor.  A friend of mine who I went to coffee with before I left Toronto and I had a great laugh about this point.  She is also in a "fun"employment stage in her life and re-evaluating what is important for her and what's next in her career.  During her conversations with previous coworkers over meals or coffee, an awkward moment comes up at the end of the meal when the other person says, "That's okay, I'll get this one.  You can treat me when you start making money again."  Just because there is not a steady flow of income coming in, does not mean the funemployed are suddenly destitute.  While good intentioned, by taking away their power of paying for their own meals, you take away that person's independence and confidence that they can do things on their own.  If you're a caring friend, rather than a meal out where a bill might cause this predicament, be creative, invite them over for a homecooked meal, or better yet, bring a bottle of wine over to their house and have a nice laugh over 2 or 3 glasses of Jesus juice.  This nice gesture will be appreciated and your funemployed friend will not be the wiser of how you're treating them to a free meal.


DON'T avoid the subject or go to the extreme of always talking about it.  Very similar to helping your friend grieve a death, this point requires tact and an ability to balance your conversations with your funemployed friend.  Avoiding the subject makes you look like you don't care about the situation and going overboard just reminds them that they are stuck in a shitty situation.  Laughter is always appreciated, so is a lot of alcohol.  Be natural and the way you were with them before they got the boot.  


DON'T ask "So... what did you do with your time today?"  Because if you do, don't be surprised when they snap back at you with "I did fucking nothing, okay?!" and run off crying.  So they have a lot of time on their hands, there's no need to remind them of that.  The best thing to do is let them lead a discussion on what their day's activities were or try a different approach like:  "what are your thoughts on doing something fun soon?" - this will either lead them into a discussion on agreeing to do something fun to fill their time or allow them to tell you that they're actually busy with something else.  


After experiencing about 5 or 6 major layoffs during my time at agencies, these four points have been my guiding principles when helping friends through their transition.  You might not agree with some, it'll be great to hear your perspective as to why you do not agree.  

Today marks 1 month in Taipei.

30 days have past since I left Toronto.  It's crazy to think that I've been over on the other side of the world for all of March, it feels like it has passed by so quickly.  Life in Taipei has been a series of little challenges but great opportunities to learn about myself and my family.  


The great things about Taipei are as follows:


Eating is a sport.  Ever since landing in this wonderful city, food has been the number one topic of discussion with every one of my family members.  Every street is filled with pastry shops, restaurants, and food stalls.  There are regular meals and then snacks.  It's so bad that I'm pretty sure I've gained 10 pounds in the first weeks here.  I've developed a strategy.  Knowing that dinner is pretty much the time where I gain the weight, I have a decent breakfast, a light lunch, a small afternoon snack and then eat like a starved fat kid at dinner.


Transportation around the city is so easy and cheap.  Not only is the bus and subway network around this city expansive, it's super cheap.  15NTD (or $0.50 CDN) for the bus and 16 - 20NTD ($0.55 - 0.70) for the subway, it makes the TTC look even more like the joke that it is.  With about 8 subway lines in operation, all the main tourist attractions are reachable by the clean and reliable system.  Another two lines are planned to be open within the next year or so - including one to the airport.  There's something to be said about a city that embraces public transportation.  And if public transportation isn't your thing, cabs are even cheaper.  A 30 min cab ride in the city costs about $15CDN.  Blows my mind.


Spending time with family.  I've always been used to having a small family unit in Canada.  For a while, it was my mom, my brother and myself, then it was my grandmother, my brother and I.  Now it's just my brother and me.  Here, I'm exposed to a different part of my family - with two living grandparents, my dad and stepmom (and her family), 3 uncles, an aunt and a whole bunch of cousins and great uncles/aunts that I have dinner with every other night.  I've heard some great stories, learned a lot about my family's past and really felt the bond that holds this family together. 


The not so great things:


A limited social network.  Back home in Toronto, I had a great and stable social network.  It's hard to adjust to not having any friends in a new city and without having a workplace to meet new people.  I've tried starting random conversations with people at Starbucks, but have been met with weird looks or giggles.  I swear, I'm not trying to pick you up - just trying to have a conversation!  Hahaha.  To be fair, I can see why they are taken a bit off guard, I would be too.  Thankfully a few friends have tried to connect me with people in Taiwan, slowly but surely, I'll start building my network here.


Bad driving.  The stereotype that Asian people are bad drivers has always bugged me because I feel like I'm a pretty good driver.  But having experienced some near hits from scooters and sideswipes from other cars, I understand where this stereotypes come from.  Signalling, lanes and looking before you merge is rare here.  Driving here requires a strong constitution and being a passenger means gripping firmly on the handles near you.  Buckle up.


Navigating around with my limited Mandarin abilities.  So my Mandarin has never been all that great.  I'm able to speak conversational Mandarin and even that is spotty at best.  I can read as many characters as a 5 year old kid and writing is even worse.  Slowly but surely, I'm starting to build my language skills and once I'm done the majority of my travelling, I'll be returning to Taipei in September to study Mandarin full time for three months.  


I hope to post more about my time here in the next couple of days.  There's only 18 days left before I take off to Tibet and then do some travelling around southeast Asia.  That will be an experience of a lifetime.