Samantha in the Philippines

Here in Taiwan, there is no time off from work for Christmas or New Year’s.  So, we Westerners were all excited to have a week off to observe Chinese New Year.  I packed my (huge) bag and left on a jet plane to the Philippines with five friends. 

Liza, Me, Vanessa, Megan, Conor, Janet

Thanks to Janet and her welcoming family, this trip was one of the best travel experiences I’ve ever had.  Janet’s family picked us up from the airport, treated us to several meals, let us stay in their Manila and Anvaya Cove condos, drove us around the Philippines, and acted as our private guides to many parts of the Philippines!  

We woke up the first morning and headed off to Tagaytay to see Lake Taal and the Taal Volcano.  Taal Volcano erupted most recently in 1911 and has been active since.  There are 47 craters and 35 volcanic cones.  Apparently, it’s one of the world’s deadliest volcanoes.  Cool.  

Lake Taal with Taal Volcano in the background

After a bangka boat ride across Lake Taal, we saddled up on donkeys to trek up the island to the top of the volcano. 

Bangka boat ride on Lake Taal

Donkey ride up to Taal Volcano

Hi-yo, Silver!  Away!

At the top of the ridge, we looked out over the yellow sulfurous lake that lies inside the volcanic crater.  In the crater lake is another island.  Crazy!  We were on an island in the Philippines (which is surrounded by the South China Sea), standing on a volcanic island in a lake, looking out over an island in the crater lake of the volcano.  Did you get all that?  There’s an island in a lake, in a crater of a volcano, in a lake, on an island, in the sea.  Whoa. 

Island in crater lake of Taal Volcano 

Sulfurous crater lake

Sunset on Taal Volcano

View of Lake Taal from Taal Volcano

The next day, we drove up to Subic Bay to stay at Anvaya Cove resort for a few days.  I think we were all in shock at how beautiful the resort was.  There were very few other guests while we were there, so it was almost like a private resort.  Just look at these pictures!! 

Lounging on the beach 

Anvaya Cove

Sunset

Anvaya Cove resort

Yep, that's real.

Pools at Anvaya

To reward ourselves for all our hard traveling, we booked massages at the spa.  Best. Hour. Of. My. Life.  That lady knew what she was doing (although I was more than slightly surprised at just how thorough the massage was....).

On our last morning at Anvaya, we kayaked out into the bay before saying goodbye with a ride on the zip line.  We ate one more delicious and unnecessarily large meal, then checked out and loaded into the car for a 5-hour drive north to Alaminos.

Kayaking with Janet.  (thanks for the picture, Vanessa!)

A trip with this group of friends isn’t truly complete without a ridiculous karaoke session, so it was off to late-night Videoke.  We were excited to have a larger variety of English-language songs to choose from than KTV in Taiwan typically offers.  Frank Sinatra and the Backstreet Boys can get a little old.....

Philippines debut!  (photo credit goes to Janet!)

The next morning, we all made a pact not to shower and loaded ourselves back into the car to go shopping for island provisions.  Supplied with a couple gallons of water and 17 pounds of fruit, we hired a boat to take us out to Hundred Islands National Park.  Lucky for us, Janet had ANOTHER family member willing and able to show us the ropes.  Cousin Howie and his “assistants” took care of us for the next two days.

Aboard the outrigger, boating away from the shore, we got our first glimpse of Hundred Islands.  In fact, there are 123 islands (124 at low tide!) in the park.  Of course we didn’t go to all the islands, but take a look at the islands we did see!  

Hundred Islands National Park 

HINP

Check out the mushroom effect!

HINP

Our first adventure was on Marcos Island, where we went cave diving!  Well, we didn’t really dive, but we certainly jumped!  After a short hike up the island, we came into a dark cave with bats flying all around.  With no fear, Conor jumped off the ledge and into the water below.  I was up next, but I was slightly less uninhibited.  Surprise, surprise.  It took me a couple moments of self-talk and a few hesitations before I finally took the leap.  The three seconds between my feet leaving the ledge and my head popping back up from under the water were some of the most terrifying and simultaneously exhilarating of my life.  I immediately wanted to do it again!  The rest of the gang jumped as well, and we all decided to go back to the boat, grab our snorkels, and jump again.  

Liza captured the moment before I jumped!

Next up was more snorkeling, this time in a giant clam bed.  I’ve been snorkeling before, but I’ve never seen such beautiful coral and colorful fish!  Oh yeah, and those giant clams.  Let me tell you, they were big.  The jellyfish were also plentiful, and that put an end to my snorkeling session.

Back on the boat, we headed over to Quezon Island, our home for the evening.  It was like living with the Swiss Family Robinson.  The island has a public picnic area and a little shop where you can buy snacks and drinks.  But we hard-core island hoppers decided to rent out one of the bamboo huts to sleep for the night.  After climbing up a set of carved-rock steps, we came to our private paradise. 

Inside the hut 

Our formal dining room

Home, sweet bamboo hut!

View from the "backyard"

Quezon Island

Public picnic area

View from the hut

This way to the store!

We relaxed the rest of the afternoon and drank maybe a few too many beers while watching the sunset.  I decided to swim out from the shore while the sun was going down, and if you have never been IN the ocean as the sun is setting over the horizon, I would highly recommend it.  Breathtaking.  After the sun was down, the stars came out.  At this point I think I had probably drank too many beers and too much tequila-coconut concoction, but I remember laying on the beach, looking up at the sky, and proclaiming, “There are stars BETWEEN the stars!”  You just don’t realize how many stars there are when they are always drowned out by ground light in the city!

As if the twinkling stars above me weren’t enough, the tide rolling in on the beach was also glittering!  Little blue specs of light washed up with every wave.  According to my research, this is caused by either phosphorus or bioluminescence.  I don’t have any pictures, but here’s a video of the phenomenon in Australia.  But the experience we had was much more awesome -- the tide was sparkling! 

The next morning, we woke up with the ocean breeze and set about relaxing and eating illegal giant clam.  Don’t ask where we got it.  No one had a watch.  Cellphones were all dead.  We were on Island Time.  

Some time in the afternoon, we packed our things and set sail for more Hundred Islands sightseeing.  Our first stop was a snorkeling/spelunking adventure in a “secret” cave.  We swam into a cave, fighting the current trying to smash us against the rocks and coral.  Once inside the cave, we stood atop a large rock and watched as bats flew above our heads (and probably pooped on us).  But this was not “secret” enough for our secret cave trip.  We were guided through an even smaller and more dangerous cave passage to a small hole just large enough for a set of broad shoulders to pass through.  Still fighting the current, I popped my head out of the hole and pushed myself out onto the other side of the island.  We had swam UNDER the island!  Crrrrrrrazy!  Swimming around the island to get back to the boat, we did more snorkeling and got stung hundreds of times by tiny jellyfish!

Our final hop was to Governor’s Island.  This island provided magnificent views of the national park.  I was told you can see 70% of the Hundred Islands from the viewpoint.  

Governor's Island 

Hundred Islands National Park

HINP

HINP

Governor's Island in Hundred Islands National Park

A quick shower, a little souvenir shopping, and a six-hour bus ride put us back in Manila for the weekend.  Our last day in the Philippines was Janet’s birthday, which gave us a perfect excuse to celebrate the person who made this entire trip happen!  Without Janet and her amazing family, there’s no way this journey would have been as exceptional was it turned out to be!  Salamat!  

Salamat, Janet!!

Strangers in a Strange Land

This Christmas, I got the best gift ever -- visitors from home!  My friend and former coworker Carey and her boyfriend Jason couldn’t stand being away from me for so long.  They gathered their documents, applied for passports, and flew across the world to say “Merry Christmas” in person!  

It’s hard to believe, but I’ve been living in Taiwan for nearly five months now.  It feels like home, and it was fun to show my friends around “my city”.  I got to spend the week as the tour guide, instead of the tourist.

Waiting to meet up with the VanDenBondes that first morning in the Taipei Main Station MRT, the holiday excitement finally hit me.  I didn’t really build up any Christmas anticipation in the previous weeks for many reasons.  There’s no snow, very few Christmas decorations (in comparison to the US), no time off from work, and no Christmas movies on TV 24/7.  So sad.  But as I ran through the crowd of one million commuters to hug my friends, I definitely felt like a kid on Christmas morning. ....Even though it was only Christmas Eve.

We took the train up to Danshui for some sight seeing and street food eating.  I quickly discovered that sampling the local street food would not be a preferred activity with my guests, but that did not deter me from getting my fill.  My catchphrase for the week quickly became, "It's good!  Just eat it!"  We walked along the crowded boardwalk and down the busy Old Street.  It was great to see Taiwan again through the fresh eyes of my friends.  I’ve gotten used to many of the things that amazed or surprised them -- and they were the same things that surprised me just a few months ago.

Less than 24 hours in Taiwan, and already fighting!  I've missed you!!!!!

Fisherman's Wharf in Danshui.  I gave Carey and Jason some alone time over on Lover's Bridge :)

Not wanting to give them a moment’s rest, I took the BondeBusches to the famous Shilin Night Market.  Nothing like jumping in head first.  Welcome to Taiwan -- and the intensely crowded and overwhelming night market experience.

The next day was Christmas, and it was the most bizarre Christmas of my life.  After opening gifts from friends and family at home, we headed north to meet some of my “Taiwan friends” in Beitou.  Most people I know spend Christmas Day around a Christmas tree, eating way too much ham and too many cookies, talking with or avoiding family members, and watching A Christmas Story.  But not us.  We ate a vegetarian feast, walked up a mountain to a geothermal valley, soaked in public outdoor hot springs, and ate ice cream from a squatter toilet.  Ahhhh, Christmas in Taiwan! 

Christmas feast!  Thanks, Papa Baker and Bonnie! 

Beitou Geothermal Valley

Old and new friends!  Jason, Carey, Megan, and Carys at the hot springs

Reunited, and it feels so good

The next couple days brought my return to several must-sees in Taipei -- Taipei 101 and Maokong Mountain.  Both were fun to visit again, and a blast to introduce to my American amigos.  Check out this video from the elevator to the top of 101.  It’s the fastest elevator in the world!  Ooo la la! 

One of the most exciting events of the week was showing Carey and Jason around Wugu.  They got to see my apartment and walk around the streets of my ‘hood.  Hopefully the charm of the Wugs was as apparent to them as it is to me!  After a delicious Taiwan steak lunch, I took them to my school.  They were even brave enough to sit through one of my classes, which I’m sure was entertaining and informative.  Now Carey knows what to expect when she moves to Taiwan to teach English next year!

I’m so grateful for Carey and Jason coming to visit me!  We’ll always be able to look back and say, “Remember that one time in Taiwan.....”  

So....when are YOU coming to visit??

12 Days of Wugu

Whether you call it Wugu District, New Taipei City, Wugs, The Wild Wild West, The 'Gu, or You-Live-Way-Out-There!?!, Wugu is my Taiwanese home-away-from-home.  It's has its pluses and minuses, but overall, I truly enjoy living in this town.  In keeping with the holiday season, here is a list of some of the wonders of the Wugs!

On the first day of Wugu, Taiwan gave to me.....

An awesome fruit market.

Delicious, cheap fruit!  I didn't even know some of the fruits existed....

On the second day of Wugu, Taiwan gave to me....

Countless betel nut stands.  We may not employ the highest-quality Betel Nut Beauties, but what we lack in looks, we make up for in numbers.  Wugu must have at least 15 betel nut stands just in the half-mile radius I frequent.  Go mouth cancer!

On the third day of Wugu, Taiwan gave to me....

Stray dogs galore.  I won't even get into the piles of poop left behind by these mongrels.  The stray dogs scared me at first: I thought they were going to attack me.  But now, I hardly even notice them.  I still notice their poop.

Sure, why NOT sleep in the street?

Watching over their parking lot kingdom

On the fourth day of Wugu, Taiwan gave to me....

One million scooters.  Or, should I say, "motorcycles."  Mopeds are called motorcycles here; I go along with it.  While very frightening at first, riding on the back of a scooter is actually fun!  Well, with the right driver.....

Riding shotgun with Anna (who is a very responsible driver)

Scooter lane to the freeway!

A small fraction of the scooters parked outside my apartment building

On the fifth day of Wugu, Taiwan gave to me.....

A wonderful school!  I was extremely lucky to land at Shane Wugu!  The staff is amazing, the kids are great, and the school is brand new!  It's a BIG change from teaching special education in Milwaukee Public Schools.  I loved my job back at home, but this has been a nice change of pace.  Several people have asked me if I ever go to work here in Taiwan.  Apparently, I've given off the impression that all I do is have fun and play on Facebook.  While I feel like I'm on permanent vacation here, I do actually work.  Perhaps I'll take some pictures to prove it and dedicate an entire blog entry to dispelling this rumor......

On the sixth day of Wugu, Taiwan gave to me.....

An evening market.  Not a night market, like most areas in Taiwan have.  No, no, here in the Wugs, we go to bed early.  We have an evening market, that as far as I can tell is open from about 3pm-7pm. This is smack-dab in the middle of my teaching hours.  So, usually I miss out on the market fun, but when I get the chance, I head down the street to get my fill of fresh fruit, butchered animals, and cheap clothes!

Wugu Market

On the seventh day of Wugu, Taiwan gave to me....

One strange gym.  The only gym in Wugu leaves much to be desired, but I have to take what I can get.  I'm almost always the only person working out, which is pretty nice.  Every once in a while, a little man will come in and walk slowly on the treadmill with his shirt off and his Crocs on.  Hott.  But the pool makes up for it!  We have an Olympic-sized outdoor pool (which, by the way, I swam laps in during the month of November!), and two indoor pools, along with a kiddie pool with slides, and several hot tubs and saunas.  Yeah, it's awesome.

Check out the equipment

Ooo lala

Way better than the pool at Bally's downtown Milwaukee....

On the eighth day of Wugu, Taiwan gave to me....

A rockin' karaoke bar.  There's not much (any) nightlife here in Wugu.  EXCEPT for the karaoke bar on the corner.  I went there with my friends to celebrate Thanksgiving, and we took over the place.  This wasn't difficult, since there were only two other patrons.  Oh, and I was told the next day that the karaoke bar is where prostitutes hang out.  So.... now I know.

Janet showing us all up

Why is this fun?

On the ninth day of Wugu, Taiwan gave to me.....

A lovely Riverwalk.  Now, coming from Milwaukee, which has quite a nice riverwalk, Wugu had a lot to live up to.  Wugu's river is small and rather stinky, but the path is nicely paved and well-lit.  At night, the lights even change colors.  OoooOOooooooo.  I like to run along the path when I can't manage to walk all the way to the gym.

Entering the river path

Along the river

Wugu!!

On the tenth day of Wugu, Taiwan gave to me....

An envy-worthy apartment.  Many of my friends have teeny tiny one-room apartments that make my freshman dorm room seem spacious.  But not me.  One perk of living out here in the boonies is that rent is cheap and space is available.  My roommates and I have a large loft apartment with a full kitchen, laundry room, and one and a half bathrooms.  And I pay a fraction of what those city-dwellers pay!  Yeah, go ahead and be jealous.

My apartment building... I'm on the 4th floor

Still standing with Wisconsin :)

Luxury livin'

My bedroom! And that's a balcony, not a shower.

View of Wufu Road

On the eleventh day of Wugu, Taiwan gave to me....

Two wonderful roommates!  I could not have asked for better roommates than Abi and Muni!  These two girls have taken very good care of me, and I am so lucky to have them as my friends.

On the twelfth day of Wugu, Taiwan gave to me....

Celebrity status!  As the token foreigner in Wugu, I spent the first two months here getting stared and pointed at as I walked down the street every day.  If you know me at all, you know I don't mind having all the attention on me, so this really didn't bother me.  Now my novelty has worn off a bit, but small children still seem to be perplexed by my pale skin and extreme height.  Luckily, the people here in Wugu are generally friendly and at least pretend to want to help me out with my very poor Chinese.  It's fun living in this "small town" and getting to know the people up and down the street.  I don't actually know anyone's name, but I look forward to saying ni hao to the noodle stand lady and the old couple who sit outside the 7-11 every day.

I'm a real Wuguian!  Or is it Wugite?

Biathlon Abroad

I’ve done a few triathlons in the past couple of years, and I enjoy the competition and feeling of accomplishment at the finish line.  When I decided to come to Taiwan to teach, I added “Triathlon in a foreign country” to my Bucket List.  

So, when my boss told me about an annual event right here in Wugu, I was stoked.  The  2011 National Wugu Highway Biathlon Invitational is an event that includes biking 22km along the 64 East Expressway through New Taipei City (they closed the freeway!) and running 8km through the streets of Wugu (they did NOT close the streets....).  I signed up, paid my $25US (only $25!!!!), borrowed a bike and helmet, and started getting ready.

My 5:30am alarm was more than a little painful -- I’m used to sleeping until AT LEAST 9am these days.  But up and at ‘em!  My two roommates, Abi and Muni, came along to be my cheerleaders, along with several other friends from their church.  I was an official member of the Wugu Church team, matching jerseys and all! 

My cheerleaders: Nick, Abi, Muni, and Oscar

Team Wugu Church

I was bib number 914, and I was in the last heat to start biking.  As I rounded the corner to start my ascent up the freeway onramp, I quickly realized that the mountain bike I borrowed from my landlord was not going to be quite as fast as my beloved road bike at home.  I also realized that the view from this bike ride was going to be amazing, and perhaps speed was not what I really wanted.  The 64 East Expressway is an elevated highway, so I could see out over the skyline of Taipei and wonderful Wugu below.  

As I cycled on down the 22km bike course, I looked out over the mountains of Taiwan, temples tucked into the valleys, cemeteries built on the mountainsides, and low-hanging clouds covering the mountaintops.  Beautiful!  I peddled harder and harder on that Giant mountain bike, and still people passed me on their speedy bikes.  But I didn’t care that I wasn’t making good time; all I could think was, “I should have brought my camera!”

At one point, the expressway tunneled through a mountain.  How many people can say they’ve ridden their bike through a mountain in Taiwan?  Well, I guess all the people in the biathlon can..... but I’m one of them!!  As I biked back towards the transition area, I got another view of the Taipei skyline.  There I was, doing one of my favorite activities -- biking -- on an elevated freeway in Taiwan, looking out at Taipei 101 in the distance.  It was decided:  This was one of the coolest things I’ve ever done in my life!

I rolled down the exit ramp in my best tuck form that I could muster, and there were my cheerleaders shouting encouragement and taking pictures!  If I wasn’t already on a biking high, that would have given me all the motivation I needed to get ready to run! 

Thumbs up

The weather was perfect for running.  It was cool, overcast, with a slight breeze.  Did I mention that this race was in November?  Couldn’t ask for this weather in Wisconsin and expect not to be laughed at.  The running course took us on a couple of loops through the streets of Wugu.  Not the most exciting or picturesque course, but the streets were lively and lined with people cheering on the racers!  I set my pace with a woman just ahead of me, who I kept calling wo de pao bu pengyou.  That probably doesn’t translate exactly, but in my head, in my own version of broken Chinese, it means “my running friend.”

Run, Forrest!  Run!

I ran the course, only walking through the water stations, and when I noticed that I was nearing the finish line, I realized that this was the farthest I had ever run in my entire life!  I’ve done 5k races without walking, but not 8k.  Maybe it’s not that impressive, but I was happy with that little accomplishment.  I looked at my watch and saw that if I gave it an extra kick, I could finish the race in under 2 hours.  I gave it all my effort and beelined towards the finish line. 

The end is near! 

Ha! Look, my feet don't even leave the ground at the same time!  I'm basically walking.

My cheerleaders were waiting for me at the end, and they were so supportive and happy for me!  I crossed the line and was handed a card telling me I was finisher number 341.  Now, I’m not sure how they decided that because I started at number 914 and I know for sure I did not pass 600 people.  But oh well, I’ll take it!  

Winner, winner!  Chicken dinner!

The race wasn’t chip timed, but I had my watch and kept up with the splits.  My “official” time was 2:00:56, with splits 1:04:21 bike, 0:03:39 transition, and 0:52:35 run.  

My exercise high was in full effect the rest of the day.  Funny how that exhilaration can last far beyond the finish line.  

The race was a biathlon, not a triathlon, but I’m going to take some personal liberties and go ahead and check that off my Bucket List.

日月潭 Sun Moon Lake

After learning our lesson about proper planning from our trip to Taroko Gorge, my friends and I came up with a true plan to visit beautiful Sun Moon Lake.

Sun Moon Lake is the largest body of fresh water in Taiwan, and it’s a popular weekend destination for Taiwanese and foreigners alike.  We took a bus from Taichung and were proud of ourselves for arriving at our destination at a decent hour.  It was still daylight, so already we’d made progress.

After a lovely lunch of assorted vegetable items (we have two vegans in our gang), we sauntered down the cobblestone streets of Shuieshe Village to the docks.  A little old lady sold us tickets for the hop-on-hop-off boat tour, and off we sailed. 

Sailing on Sun Moon Lake

Dock

At the first dock, we squirmed through throngs of tourists and photogs all trying to get the perfect pic of the lake.  I saw a trail marked on a map that lead to a temple, and it was surprisingly easy to convince everyone to start walking!  

Looking out over Sun Moon Lake

The trail to Syuanzang Temple

The trail took us up and around part of the mountains surrounding the lake.  At one point, we walked through a betel nut farm.  But we dared not steal a single nut.

Danger, Will Robinson!

Finally, we reached Syuanzang Temple.  The courtyard of the temple held a fortune-telling machine, a la the Zoltar machine in Big.  I put my money in for a wish, but I have no idea what my fortune says.  Another reason to learn Chinese...... 

Zoltar

At Syuanzang Temple

Syuanzang Temple

We boarded the boat again and rode to the next stop, the Aboriginal village of Itashao.  I’m not sure if we just missed the Aboriginal area or what, but mostly it was food stands and souvenir shops.  No problem, though.  We loaded up on street food and millet wine :) 

Millet Wine Rainbow

Aboriginals?