Siesta and Chiptole (Kinda)

This weekend both my girlfriend and I were a little worn down. So instead of our usual weekend, which packs tons of things into those 48 hours, we decided to take a siesta and take it easy on Sunday. Even then the day before both of us had tests and I went out to get some tailored pants

It was a good choice. Just hang out at my place, watch tv shows, eat (lots), and rest.

Then that evening we went out to a newly opened Mexican place that was assisted in business planning by a ND MBA that I know and some of his cousins. I expected a nice sit down place with good Mexican food. Instead, I got Chipotle. Not that this is a bad thing. But I was surprised since I expected something different.

Basically, the restaurant was similar to Chipotle in all but name and interior design. Still the food was good. It is a little out of the way for me but I'll probably make it back there sometime.

How to Surprise a Taiwanese High School Student

This weekend I was out in the Ximen Ding area of Taipei to see Shrek 4 (like the others it was pretty good). It was there that I inadvertently learned how to surprise a Taiwanese female high school student.

In public areas in Taiwan students will often stand there with clear boxes asking for your receipts. Each time you buy things there is a standard numbered receipt and the number on the receipt is put into a lottery style drawing. So the kids are there to collect them for whatever cause they support. They will stand there and say in unison their pitch and ask you to give them your receipts.

As I walked by one group of two students in an especially crowded area they started their pitch in unison and a little too close to me (~2 feet away). I snapped my head around to see the source of the sudden intrusion. When I looked at them they stopped cold for a few seconds then mumbled (that's the best word I can think of for it as they said it at a normal speed and volume but they were just saying gibberish) the rest of the line before breaking into nervous giggles.

Yilan!

This weekend I took a short trip with my girlfriend, her high school friend, and 3 friends of the high school friend to the Northeastern Taiwanese city of Yilan. I had never been to the city before and I did zero prep work to know the sights and attractions I wanted to see (such is the great benefit of having a girlfriend who is an amazing party/trip planner). After we first got there everyone went out to a traditional "museum" spread over a huge area of land with lots of shops and stores. We were able to see the guy below pulling sugar to make traditional candy.

I also got quite a view of one of the local hotties while I was in Yilan/Luodong.

After a quick stop at a riverside park and a roll down a hill it was decided that we would venture out for a night of shrimp fishing. Now, I had been shrimp fishing before. It is a very Taiwanese activity that tacitly encourages you to drink, smoke, and chew betel nut while you do it--maybe like bowling in the US minus the betel nut). Basically, you grab a pole and sit around a small cloudy pool put a little bait on your tiny hook and test your luck. Somehow these guys are more than slippery and despite your best efforts you dont land many of them. When you do land them then you have to be careful since they have some decent pincher claws.

When you take them off the hook that means you have to be careful. Then again you can just use my strategy of just ripping their claws off as you take them off the hook.

Once you have used your allotted time you take the catch to be cleaned and barbecued. We had 6 people and not many shrimp. But we were beyond lucky. A little Taiwanese lady who had been using what I can only imagine was super bait handed us a basket full of shrimp. Instead of having 12 shrimp we were suddenly in the great situation of having about 35 more. With the glut of shrimp we found that they made fantastic toys.

The next day we didnt do too much before going back to Taipei. As we dropped off our rented scooters we went inside a store to get some gifts. The owner and her daughter, below, were facinated by the black girl with us and her braids. So much so that they asked her to braid the her hair. The thing was the owner was really nice but the little girl was incredibly shy--to shy to even talk to us or say thanks.

As we left the owner/mother spoke to me in Chinese and said the daughter was too nervous since she could not speak English but after seeing us her goal was to be able to learn English when she got older so she could talk with foreigners.

Half a Year

Increbible really. It has been over six months since I started dating my girlfriend. In the long run of things, that really isn't in a long time and hopefully in terms of the total of our relationship that isn't a long time either. In the short run of things, it is a long time. Currently, I have been living in Taiwan for almost 2 years. So for more than a quarter of my time here I have been dating my girlfriend.

The time in the Taiwan and the last 6 months have flown by incredibly quickly and I'm sure that trend will only accelerate. Still the last 6 months have been an incredible adventure and a wonderful journey with my girlfriend. For those of you who read still occassionally read this thing, you will have to take my word for it until you are able to meet her in person; she is a great gal.

When I came back from Thailand and Cambodia I had to work on that Saturday then meet my boss for a business dinner. Even though I was tired, there was no question in my mind that I was going to meet her for KTV.

Then the next day we had our long awaited date day to celebrate 6 months. We were both tired and had a lot of work to do, but it was a great little escape to go visit Danshui for the day.

I'm looking forward to the next 6 months.

Cambodia and Thailand Trip

I didn't take a camera this time so all of these pictures are from my BlackBerry. When we arrived in Cambodia on Sunday evening the captain came over the loud speaker of the flight to announce the outside temperature was 40 C. Think of that as more than 100 F and you get the idea; I started sweating almost immediately. That night I went to dinner with a coworker at a river side pub. But as the band came on a bunch of Russians came in. They were drunk already, of course, and proceeded to harass waitresses and the singers while being all-around jackasses. My coworker, who was travelling with me, and I decided to head for the exit as both the pub owner and bouncers took the Russians aside.

The next day was a full day of meeting and running around the scorching sun of Phnom Penh in a tuk tuk. Then Tuesday we spent the day again running around the city until 2pm when we went to check out of the hotel and head to the airport for Thailand. I never in my wildest dreams would have imagined a country with no McDonalds, like Cambodia, would have a Dairy Queen in the airport.

Then we landed in Bangkok. Everyone had told us the Red Shirt protests were dying down and there was a good chance of a negotiated solution in the coming days (we arrived on Wednesday). That said, there was still some danger in the city. But the danger was contained in a few areas of the city and the rest was safe. Thankfully I had been to the city about 10 times so I knew how to get around and avoid trouble.

The next morning I woke up for a full day of meetings. Then we were off for a meeting close to the protest zone. Again, we were lucky as at that time things hadn't really kicked off. Below is the area near the protest zone from about 38 floors up.

At night we headed to the night market for dinner and shopping.

Along the way I found a stall selling some bugs, including some huge cockroaches.

Then we settled in for a nice meal outside. Thankfully they had cold beers and fans since it was about 38 C and humid. I have no idea how people lived there before the advent of AC.

It was all good until the next day. I woke up at 4:30am feeling terrible and knowing I needed to visit my most important customer for a big meeting at 10:00am. Lucky for me I had a cocktail of Imodium, water, and powerful antibiotics. It seemed to do the trick and I was able to hold it together. That night we began to hear news about the protests.

We were still in a safe area. So safe in fact you could not tell there was anything amiss in Bangkok. But after a nice dinner we did notice lighter traffic. Throughout dinner we were getting reports from the protest zone (via our customers at the table) and given the expectation that things might go south (it actually took about 3 more days for that to happen) we decided to leave early in the morning for the airport. The next day I was up at 5am and was able to catch some early flights back to Taiwan.

As for being sick, I am still not 100% better but the worst is past.

Thailand Protests

Well, it looks like the government and the military were able to disperse the protests by the Red Shirts from their central area. But I think they may well have fanned embers that fall throughout the country.

This is sad. Thailand is a wonderful country with fun and welcoming people ("The Land of Smiles"). Seeing a country tearing at itself is one thing but to see a country that I have visited about 10 times and enjoyed doing this is never fun.

That said, the struggles that we see going are on are in many ways proxy fights between the real powers that be in the country. Certainly we can all hope the situation improves soon.

Back Home

Well despite what you have seen on the news Thailand was fine, for me at least. There are serious fissures in Thai politics and in society in general that have been on display for the world to see. It would take a long blog entry for me to give the political problems the air time they deserve. But it should suffice to say that the news has not done well at providing the complex view that is necessary.

Thailand is a young democracy and it is going through turmoil and still working to define itself. The news has shown this as two sides, Red Shirts and the government, facing off. If only it were that simple--then it would already be over. From my count there are at least 4 sides and each of those sides has multiple internal divisions and competing agendas. Pictures of the violence make for good news but the real story is much deeper and involves fundamental political changes that are afoot in Thailand.

All of that said, I was in Bangkok from Tuesday night until early Friday morning. Not once did I see a protester or encounter any violence. Bangkok is a large city and the protests are confined to a limited area. So other areas are not impacted. Yes, there was a degree of tension in the city but by in large life went on as usual and away from the protests you would hardly know what was going on.

With the exception of one meeting in the vicinity of the protests I was in the safe zones the entire time. Still on Thursday night things seemed to be going south so my colleague and I made the decision to play it safe and leave a little early on Friday. Now I'm back in Taiwan and all is well, for me at least.

Thailand

Well now I'm in Bangkok. The protests here seem to have died down and the word on the street is that the situation will be resolved. Still I am staying away from the affected areas. When I get back to Taipei (Friday) I'll try to provide more updates about this trip.

Back in PP

I'm back in Phnom Penh for the first time in almost 6 months. But it has changed a lot so it feels like I've been away a long time ago. Yes, today is Mother's Day but I was able to talk with my mom yesterday on Skype to make sure that she heard my best wishes.

I thought Taiwan was hot. I was wrong. It's 38-40C here and humid. Unreal.

I'll be here for a few days then, despite the protests and apparent danger, I am going onward to Bangkok. Things are smoothing out there so hopefully all goes well.

Summer is Here?

There have been multiple times this year where I have fired up the AC at night. Then, almost inevitably, within a day or two I have to break out extra blankets since the weather is cold again. Such is life in Taiwan during the spring. A few days of warm weather and a few days of cold.

Now, I think, that dynamic is changing. It is getting closer to summer. When I say a Taiwanese summer what I mean is ~90 degrees hot on a normal day with oppressive humidity that makes saunas unnecessary.

I can feel it coming. The last few days have been really hot and have been increasingly humid. The summer is on it's way. Luckily for me there will be a good period this year where I will be outside of Taiwan for the hottest of the heat, but that will be discussed later.