tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48365734616307802082011-11-27T20:05:36.925-05:00wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.comBlogger671100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-67659470945725909802010-07-31T20:53:00.000-04:002010-07-31T20:53:53.517-04:00

Lunch time in the pharmacy.

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-65329826813209611772010-07-30T22:24:00.000-04:002010-07-30T22:24:49.716-04:00

Our first morning back in Taiwan I woke up and heard lots of loud music outside. Music that can only be associated with Asian cultures. Then I started to hear lots of drumming. In typical fashion, it took me a while to realize I was missing something. So finally I grabbed my camera, keys, and went downstairs to check it out. The entrance to the apartment building is at the top of a T

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-72344532510669670542010-07-30T21:26:00.001-04:002011-07-23T22:24:32.687-04:00

Here are some mua ji we bought. They are made with sticky rice flour and have different fillings. Soft and yummy! We got one of each flavor at this particular stand. I got scolded for taking photos inside of the shopping mall. This shot is in the dining area of the Shanghai apartment. On the couch. Last violin practice in Shanghai. The mag lev train approaches. 301 km/h. That's 187

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-19494824935017936552010-07-30T20:41:00.000-04:002010-07-30T20:41:44.869-04:00

We ended this particular evening with a massage. All 5 or 6 of us were in the same room, on separate tables. No one took their clothes off.

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-36831189511787394762010-07-08T18:29:00.000-04:002010-07-08T18:29:00.795-04:00

Joy had fun in a science museum. This is inside a submarine. She made some friends outside of the museum. We took the subway to see this building. In the subway on the way home, this girl got her parents to stop us. She wanted to give the picture to Joy.

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-52466008339692198482010-06-30T16:55:00.000-04:002010-06-30T16:55:45.137-04:00

After some confusion and exchanging of tickets, we took a high speed train from Shanghai Railway South Station to the city of Hangzhou. It was a 1-1/2 hour trip and I had a standing only ticket. I didn't find that out until we were almost on the train. I didn't know it was that long of a trip either. We waited a little in the Hangzhou train station while Mei-Jen arranged our return tickets, then

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-56765029749670766372010-06-25T16:40:00.000-04:002010-06-25T16:40:12.594-04:00

After visiting Tiger Hill, we boarded a long and low boat to tour some of the canals. Engagement or Wedding photos?  This was at the end of our tour.

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-62643242236750778812010-06-25T15:34:00.002-04:002010-06-30T16:54:51.449-04:00

It's a fairly large garden for such a humble guy. Moments after I got this shot the area behind HL and Joy filled up with thourists. Tea House Joy tried on hats while we walked the gauntlet of shops at the exit of the garden.

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-40170919966569044242010-06-24T16:29:00.000-04:002010-06-24T16:29:12.205-04:00

This sign should have been at the World Expo in Shanghai.  Waiting for a customer. Relaxing in the shade.

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-12174224857712386272010-06-20T16:12:00.002-04:002010-06-21T10:01:23.045-04:00

Tiger Hill is the #1 sight in Suzhou, at least according to the sign. We hired a guide and rode an electric cart to the top of the hill. Yuanyansi Pagoda sits at the top. It has a 3 degree lean. Got this shot from the moving cart on the way up the hill. After visiting the pagoda, we worked our way down to the bottom on foot.

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-66595764785394439612010-06-20T11:02:00.000-04:002010-06-20T11:02:51.070-04:00

Thursday, June 3 we took a van with a driver to Suzhou, a water town, located on the lower reaches of the Yangtze river in the province of Jiangsu, China. It is sometimes referred to as the Venice of the East, due to its canals.We stopped at a rest stop along the highway. Saw these in the rest stop store. I didn't buy any, but Hui-Ling did buy some duck tongue. First we went to Hanshan

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-30726531857799705652010-06-18T12:12:00.000-04:002010-06-18T12:12:03.661-04:00

In July 2009 there were approximately 307,000,000 people in the United States. China had about 1,324,000,000 people. I've read that there are over 360,000,000 smokers in China. That's more people than in the entire United States! I certainly witnessed quite a bit of smoking in China. Someone was smoking in nearly every restaurant we ate in. Sometimes there were a lot of smokers, making for a less

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-34717804541363682832010-06-16T23:32:00.002-04:002010-06-16T23:34:53.408-04:00

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-56968113794192824612010-06-15T23:47:00.001-04:002010-06-15T23:47:40.586-04:00

Xin Tian Di is a shopping district in Shanghai. It also houses a City God temple. Almost as soon as we got out of the taxi, we started getting approached by vendors hawking lasers, watches, toys, and iphones. I'm disappointed I didn't bargain for an iphone, even though I know it would have been a knock off.

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-32726287281185731792010-06-15T23:47:00.000-04:002010-06-15T23:47:05.355-04:00

Shanghai We spent a little time walking around across the river from this. There is an elevated walkway from which to view the buildings.

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-67016554883233654582010-06-15T23:36:00.000-04:002010-06-15T23:36:57.420-04:00

XinTianDi, Shanghai, China We tried to go the day before, but it was closed. Mei-Jen pointing out the hours. Lighting Incense Burning the Incense The Main Altar

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-26493985809834019032010-06-14T17:54:00.002-04:002010-06-14T18:02:32.948-04:00

That's my sister-in-law holding the umbrella, heading for the door. Placemat The Menu We had a good chicken and noodle lunch here, although I'm not too keen on the way duck, goose and chicken is often served in China and Taiwan. It tastes good, but I prefer to grab a hunk of meat and eat it without having to separate it from the bone, or worrying about small pieces of bone that broke off when

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-14255318487104779722010-06-14T17:49:00.000-04:002010-06-14T17:49:44.745-04:00

Shanghai

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-23355480931305014302010-06-14T17:48:00.000-04:002010-06-14T17:48:26.909-04:00

It's nice to be back. I enjoyed my trip, but coming home is always good. The journey home was uneventful, and I'm thankful for that. Slight delay in Chicago. Keep checking back as I put up more stuff about China and Taiwan.

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-86877253782644782192010-06-10T22:16:00.002-04:002010-06-10T22:16:45.417-04:00

In a market in XinTianDi, Shanghai.

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-87760000672936409422010-06-10T22:16:00.001-04:002010-06-10T22:16:30.226-04:00

This is in the stall at a vegetarian restaurant in Shanghai.

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-62068448744189847392010-06-10T22:16:00.000-04:002010-06-10T22:16:19.586-04:00

Ke Ko Ke Le in Chinese is "delicious" and "happy". Coke got lucky with their name! I wish I had taken a photo of REEB in China. It reminded me of KLIM Powdered Milk I've seen in Taiwan and Asian markets in the US.

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-31541888104499680462010-06-08T11:15:00.001-04:002010-06-08T11:17:39.540-04:00

Jia-En was in Taiwan, Guo-Yen was in Shanghai working. They hadn't seen each other for a while.

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-22742206175684441112010-06-08T11:06:00.000-04:002010-06-08T11:06:37.908-04:00

Mei-Jen, Hui-Ling, and Hui-Jen try their new hats in Shanghai.

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-75728432864852924312010-06-08T11:03:00.001-04:002010-06-08T11:16:50.799-04:00

A local breakfast joint. I like it. It's about 1/2 block from the apartment. Egg cake Green Onion Pancake Dumplings

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-1345472066360292462010-06-08T01:21:00.000-04:002010-06-08T01:21:02.931-04:00

One of the many temples in Taiwan. This one is in the center of the road. It's a few blocks down on the same road as the pharmacy.

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-8432719100571995152010-06-07T19:18:00.000-04:002010-06-07T19:18:40.064-04:00

Monday, May 31 we went to the Shanghai World Expo. We had to walk quite a way to get from the street entrance to the security check point. Then we took subway into the actual expo site. It’s very large, and we only saw a small amount of it. Wait time to get into the various countries’ building ranged from ½ hour to over 3 hours. We went into the Indonesia building. It was very much like a

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-52423654868338551352010-06-07T01:00:00.000-04:002010-06-07T01:00:10.436-04:00

I just noticed that the photos I'm posting are getting cut off on the right side. I need to tweak the layout. Click on the photos to see them fully. I'll try to fix it later.

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-7525915568266878352010-06-07T00:52:00.000-04:002010-06-07T00:52:39.579-04:00

Cast: Hui-Ling, my wife Joy (Jia-Xin) our daughter Ama, Hui-Ling’s Mom (not her name, but her title) Agong, Hui-Ling’s Dad (not her name, but his title) Guo-Shu, Hui-Ling’s older brother Hui-Jen, Hui-Ling’s older sister Guo-Yen, Hui-Ling’s younger brother Mei-Jen, Guo-Yen’s wife Jia-En, Guo-Yen’s son Amber, daughter of Mei-Jen’s friend

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-15909208189542437432010-06-07T00:49:00.000-04:002010-06-07T00:49:07.217-04:00

We flew EVA Airlines from Kaohsiung, Taiwan to Shanghai. It was a nice flight that took 1 hour and 45 minutes. Joy slept through most of it. I am becoming quite envious of her ability to sleep on airplanes. Of course, she’s still small enough to curl up on a seat and be comfortable. The space at our seats seemed much larger than on the American Airlines plane. Even the seat was more comfortable.

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-48216832960696396292010-06-07T00:47:00.007-04:002010-06-07T19:21:01.787-04:00

Taiwan is full of gasoline scooters. China, or at least Shanghai, is full of electric bikes and scooters. It’s much quieter which is nice. It's also better smelling than all of those gas scooters, which are a bit like a bunch of lawn mowers going down the street. The only problem is hearing them coming. I almost got run over my first time crossing the street. I had not yet realized how much

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-76429468186907165352010-06-06T19:23:00.000-04:002010-06-06T19:23:11.938-04:00

It was raining when we arrived in Taiwan. It rained pretty hard off and on our first night here. This was the first significant rain Taiwan had since October 8, 2009. The rain helped cool things off, but it was still hot and humid. I was sweating just standing around in the pharmacy.

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-47890621160155477702010-06-06T19:22:00.000-04:002010-06-06T19:22:35.592-04:00

Blogspot is blocked in China. I couldn't post anything the whole time we were there. Now that we're back in Taiwan I'll try to get caught up. Meet Haibao. He's the mascot for the Shanghai Expo. Got this shot at the luggage pickup area in the Shanghai South Airport. On the left is Amber. She's the daughter of a friend of Mei-Jen's. On the right is Jia-En, Mei-Jen and Guo-Yen's son.

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-85517910171257299082010-05-29T15:31:00.001-04:002010-05-29T15:33:14.723-04:00

Sunday afternoon we'll be flying to Shanghai. This will be the first visit to the mainland for Joy and me. Hui-Ling's younger brother works in Shanghai. Expo 2010, or in other words, the 2010 World's Fair is happening now. We plan to visit. The photo above is Chinese Yuan, which we'll use there. Taiwan has it's own currency.

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-17631348904299819612010-05-28T13:59:00.000-04:002010-05-28T13:59:57.653-04:00

Did I get your attention? After we took our things to my sister-in-law's apartment, we decided to get a snack. Across the street is a goose restaurant. These blocks of rice are the first things that were brought to us. I tried one, suspecting a certain ingredient was present. I was correct. These are made of rice and goose blood. Actually it was not bad. It's 1:57 AM here and I just about fell

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-19969728174525551672010-05-28T13:49:00.001-04:002010-05-28T14:00:26.139-04:00

Thank you for visiting.  The photo above is our first plane, waiting for us at Harrisburg International Airport. We had a great friend drive us there, and saw another friend there who works there. We made it to Taiwan with no problems. Left the house at 5:45 am. Flew Harrisburg to Chicago, Chicago to Tokyo, and Tokyo to Kaohsiung (pronounced gaoshung). We had layovers of at least a few hours

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-47343103363481819222009-12-18T18:28:00.004-05:002009-12-18T18:36:38.924-05:00

Starting to think about our next trip to Taiwan. Hui-Ling has a friend who could take us on some great sight seeing trips. We might also get to the mainland and see the Great Wall, among other things.In the meantime, I may start teaching djembe again. If you're interested, check out http://sites.google.com/site/tomsingerdrums/ for more info.

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-43008427558721371832008-03-01T11:24:00.003-05:002008-03-01T11:28:43.008-05:00

Some new buildings went up since the last time we were in Kaohsiung. They are on the right side of the photo.

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-60429019084035473212008-03-01T11:00:00.008-05:002008-03-01T11:22:48.650-05:00

I wanted to take some photos of the lights at Love River. We finally got there Friday evening, the day before I was to leave Taiwan. There was a lantern contest. We walked through the tents of lanterns and then waited for the good evening light to arrive. I met up with HL, Dad and Joy after I had taken some shots of the river and the lights. As we were walking back to the road to catch a taxi

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-49843043591236163302008-02-20T04:56:00.002-05:002008-02-20T04:58:21.409-05:00

Thank you Rich for taking care of Crummy and our house while we were gone. You did it all, even though I gave you the wrong key. Cool!

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-67563414922905556302008-02-20T04:46:00.002-05:002008-02-20T04:48:29.775-05:00

Here's the address:http://www.flickr.com/photos/wofungla/sets/72157603511916872/

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-89815500588434933982008-02-17T16:18:00.003-05:002008-02-17T16:22:32.451-05:00

The rest of our trip was uneventful. It's nice to be back in Lititz. I miss HL and Joy.I had planned to post lots of photos to my flickr account. I didn't get many good shots. It was almost always hazy, and the sky turned out totally white in a lot of my shots.Hui-Jen has a nice internet connection, but it was too slow to upload photos. If I post more, I'll mention it here.Thanks for reading!

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-35396920508488140762008-02-16T21:19:00.006-05:002008-02-16T21:38:28.058-05:00

Dad and I left Taiwan around 8:20 am on Saturday. When we checked in we noticed that our flight went to Dallas instead of Chicago. When we got to Japan we had to check in again to get our remaining boarding passes. I asked why it said Dallas and was told "sit over there and wait, it may take some time to figure this out". It didn't take too long. Our Chicago flight had been cancelled.So we flew

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-36355397512394527682008-02-14T19:57:00.012-05:002008-02-14T20:26:36.014-05:00

Last night we saw some amazing Chinese Acrobats from Sichuan. The show was at the temple we visited a few nights ago.HL, Dad and Joy got nice large plastic chairs with back and arms and were allowed to sit in a special area up front. It was reserved for older people and people with small children.I could have sat there too but I wanted to make sure there were not too many people in front of me. I

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-26059073566114234102008-02-14T10:14:00.010-05:002008-02-14T10:38:42.591-05:00

Chijin is a long, narrow island running north/south on the West side of Taiwan. We visited Chijin two days in a row. After letting Joy play on the beach a little, Guo-Yen, HL Joy and I rented some bikes. We rode to the ferry and crossed back to the main island. We ate some good flavored ice there and rode around the small harbor.On the next day Dad, HL, Joy and I rented bikes and explored some

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-42222298375220206982008-02-14T09:59:00.006-05:002008-02-14T10:14:04.689-05:00

We visited some friends of Mei-Jen's that are in the horse business. They have a stable with a riding area. They also offer lessons. On our last trip Joy was afraid of the horses. This time she loved them.Mei-Jen had a good time whipping Guo-Yen into shape for fatherhood.

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-78094319167319169122008-02-09T18:48:00.000-05:002008-02-12T20:08:34.539-05:00

Here's another place I read about on the internet before we came to Taiwan. http://www.maolin-nsa.gov.tw/maolin/?lang=enI had actually forgotten about it when I was told we were going there. We went on Sunday the 10th. It takes about 2 hours of driving to get there. We first stopped at the Maolin National Scenic Area Visitor Center. I walked across a nearby suspension bridge. Then Kevin, Guo-Yen

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-20420826828296535792008-02-09T18:22:00.000-05:002008-02-09T18:53:21.648-05:00

I read about a wetland area around Cheng Ching Lake and asked to go there. Kevin and Hui-Jen took Dad and I there while HL and Joy were visiting friends.I thought I saw it on previous trips past the lake. I pointed it out as we drove past it, but Kevin didn't think that was it. After driving around looking for it for a while we went to the Three Pagodas to walk a little and ask for directions. We

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-68758395186883913922008-02-08T23:56:00.000-05:002008-02-10T21:12:37.360-05:00

February 8, 2008After lunch at Mei-Jen's parents' house, we went to Fangliao, Pingtung to meet one of Mei-Jen's college friends. Fangliao is on the West Coast. We have not been in the north or on the East coast yet.We walked around the seashore area for a while. Later we ate tangyuan. They are sticky rice balls in a sweet soup.

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-12260706315924950612008-02-07T20:30:00.000-05:002008-02-07T21:09:23.842-05:00

The other evening I told Kevin I wanted to get some photos of red lanterns. He took me to a local temple, but it was too windy to get long exposure photos. After Joy's Birthday meal, Kevin, HL, Joy and I went to another temple.-- I just heard firecrackers outside. It's 9:30 AM. This set lasted about 15 seconds. "We haven't heard as many firecrackers and I expected. There were quite a few on New

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-57238050979031414252008-02-07T20:21:00.000-05:002008-02-07T20:30:18.110-05:00

Dad and I were resting at the apartment after the hot pot lunch when I decided to walk back to the pharmacy. When I got there, only Mama, Baba and Mei-Jen were there. Everyone else was at Costco. They came back with a Birthday cake for Joy and a pizza. They were both good. The pizza had ham and pineapple on it. The cake was white with pieces of peach inside.

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-31689640552700121092008-02-07T20:16:00.000-05:002008-02-07T20:21:40.751-05:00

We went to a flower show today. There was a large line of cars outside waiting to get in. Admission was free. We walked around just a little bit and took a family photo. Then Mama and Baba went home. We only stayed a little while longer. We didn't even enter the main exhibition area.

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-50357598582943767232008-02-07T02:52:00.000-05:002008-02-07T21:11:32.378-05:00

Today is Joy's 3rd birthday. Happy Birthday Joy! It's also the first day of a little thing called Lunar New Year, often called "Chinese New Year". We went downtown to Sogo Department Store to see a Lion Dance. There were a lot of people waiting in line to get into the store. The first 300 people could purchase a bag for $100 NT (New Taiwan Dollars). That's about $3.25 US. I'm not sure what else

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-70556733295761563532008-02-04T05:03:00.001-05:002008-02-04T05:21:01.852-05:00

Joy, Dad, Hui-Ling and I all will celebrate our birthdays on this trip. Mine was first, Jan 26. Dad was next, Feb 2. Joy is Feb 7, the first day of Chinese New Year this year. The date changes on our calendar since the Chinese New Year is determined by the Lunar Calendar. HL's is on Mar 29.We took Dad to the Outback Steakhouse here in Kaohsiung. We made reservations. I was shocked, but I guess I

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-67767140026787249292008-02-04T04:28:00.000-05:002008-02-04T05:21:27.646-05:00

Sunday, February 3A drum festival in Tainan and bad weather equals great opportunity for us! Mei-Jen's friend took us to the Ten Drum Culture Village Festival today. On the way there it started raining. It got worse the closer we got to the festival, although it was never raining very hard.The first thing we did was see a performance by the Ten Drum youth group. They were excellent. If you know

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-91127297654763658982008-02-02T10:11:00.000-05:002008-02-02T10:51:03.174-05:00

Saturday, February 2On my first trip to Taiwan we went on a hike to see monkeys. Dad did not go along. On our last trip here, we took Dad on a hike near there, but not exactly the same place. We only saw a few monkeys from the car. This time I wanted to take Dad to the place he missed on our first trip. After a small amount of searching, Guo-Yen found the same place. It starts out with concrete

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-1372174631729031582008-02-02T10:01:00.000-05:002008-02-02T10:11:52.704-05:00

Friday, February 1Dad got approached by a little boy in the mall today. First he asked Dad how tall he is. Then he came back and asked where he is from. Then he came back and asked for a photo with Dad. After each answer he would run back to his parents and talk to them. The same thing happened to Joy and I. Some girls, maybe early high school age, asked for a photo.I was taking photos of Mama

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-70886578796523376792008-02-02T09:59:00.000-05:002008-02-02T10:01:00.334-05:00

Friday, February 1We tried to get someone to take us to exchange money right from the beginning, but no one would do it. HL said Mei-Jen told us to use a jeweler instead of a bank to get a better rate. After waiting for a few days, HL walked to the bank across the street from the pharmacy. They would not take our money, since it was too new. They don’t want the new style bills. On our way to the

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-35402420445817426102008-02-01T17:55:00.000-05:002008-02-02T05:16:51.523-05:00

Friday, February 1We’ve been having either egg cake or fan tuan for breakfast every day. Egg cake is a beaten egg, fried flat with a soft tortilla-like disk on top. After it’s been cooked a while, it’s turned over and cooked some more. It can be plain or have ham, bacon or other things inside. It is usually served with a salty sauce. They are delicious.Fan tuan is a stick of rice with things

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-2661066037534389232008-02-01T08:49:00.002-05:002008-02-01T17:53:01.121-05:00

Thursday, January 31Late this afternoon Dad and I took Joy to the park across the street so she could play. After a while some other kids came and Joy tried to play with them. I heard Joy calling herself “English Girl” in English. I think she heard them say that in Chinese. She was talking to them in English. They were not responding, at least not in English. I don’t think they knew Joy could

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-70564161911953194122008-02-01T08:33:00.000-05:002008-02-01T08:48:56.440-05:00

Thursday, January 31This morning we went to see some elementary school kids practice their drumming. One of Mei-Jen’s friends visited us last night with her husband and son. They invited us to see the rehearsal. We drove about ½ hour to get to the school. We only saw about 10 minutes of rehearsal, but it was interesting. We’ll go back to that town on Sunday to see a drumming (I think) festival.

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-40182890588515307402008-02-01T03:24:00.000-05:002008-02-02T09:59:02.241-05:00

Wednesday, January 30This afternoon, Guo-Yen was going to pick up Mei-Jen (his wife) at her parents' house. I decided to go along. Guo-Yen asked if I had my camera since we would see a temple.Mei-Jen's parents live in a new house. We met her parents there and a niece. After eating some fruit and drinking some juice, we walked to the local temple. Mei-Jen's mother did not come along. Wow! This is

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-74431913689911378342008-02-01T02:07:00.000-05:002008-02-01T03:23:45.441-05:00

Wednesday, January 30, 2008Today we went to Chengching Lake. I figured this would be a good place to do some site seeing. Guo-Yen (younger brother-in-law), Hui-Ling, Dad, Joy and I went. The weather was warm, in the high 70's to low 80's. The ever present haze was there. A family friend met us outside of the entrance and got us in free of charge. How nice! The first thing we did was go to a

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-27658878896531732082008-01-30T04:10:00.002-05:002008-01-30T04:17:19.275-05:00

This blog is to primarily share my experience in Taiwan. The name of the blog is incorrect pinyin for “I am crazy”. I used it to make my first personal email account and don’t want to change it now to the correct “wofengle”. Hui-ling was trying to teach me Chinese, but neither of us knew about pinyin so I made up my own spelling system.I didn’t find this site until it was too late.The photo at

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-26985287050710067722008-01-30T04:10:00.001-05:002008-01-30T04:27:09.682-05:00

We booked a hotel room today. It’s cheaper to stay at a hotel near the airport than to park our car in longterm airport parking! I really didn’t want to leave our house early enough in the morning to make a 7:30 AM flight. We’ve got a free shuttle to and from the airport too.Sure, friends offered to drive us, but I hate to take someone up on that offer. Also, we wouldn’t all fit in any of our

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-23152631209534908502008-01-30T03:57:00.000-05:002008-01-30T04:27:27.504-05:00

We made it to Taiwan with almost no difficulty. The only scary part for me was at BWI. While checking in, we realized that HL forgot her Alien Resident card. Getting back into the US without it could be difficult. Luckily I am coming home a month and a half before she is. I can send it to her with plenty of time to spare.The flight from BWI to Chicago was uneventful. Chicago to Tokyo Narita was

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4836573461630780208.post-17165999323696198042008-01-30T03:46:00.000-05:002008-01-30T04:27:41.427-05:00

On the drive from the airport to the pharmacy (where Mama and Baba Tseng live) I saw street lights pointing up with flower petal shaped reflectors that bounced the light back down. I immediately thought of strobist.com. What a great site. Check it out if you like photography.

wofunglahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767924429107136881noreply@blogger.com0