Farewell Taiwan

I will be heading Down Under in February next year. I've been invited to sing in a concert at the Sydney Opera house which is a fundraiser for Koalo-bear cloning.....whatever! I'm going to study building design for 1.5 years in Sydney. It's been my dream for a long time to get into architecture - so this man is happy, to say the least!

SO....I realised I had to do some emergency CPR on my blog so that you can see what's going on over here in Taiwan before I'm back in SA! It's very sad to leave here, but with such a great opportunity lying ahead, it's impossible to wipe the smile off my face!

Ode to my ageing scooter...

FDC 710

I don’t want to forget her:
Not her strained laughter, or her shrieks when the heavens cry,
Not her illegal soul, or her scars of selfless devotion;
I don’t want to forget the coarse touch of her hands on mine:
Hands kissed by the rain,
Baked by the sun,
Caressed by the wind

I don’t want to forget us:
Not our cold arguments on wintry mornings, or our Salsa twists on mountain roads,
Not our conversations through iron bars, or our anxiety in waiting rooms;
I don’t want to forget the tunes we twisted together on the twilight road:
Tunes howled by us,
Inspired by freedom,
Conducted by the fading, dashed line on the road

I don’t want to forget her:
I the lover,
She the loved:

FDC 710

Our school - Hsinchu Royal Academy

Tanya taking a tea-break! (Computer room in the background)


Tanya in my classroom for..... ummmm..... a...... for a curriculum meeting!


Just revising my ABC before class. Can't afford make mistakes!



I said give me my camera and sit down!


Test time... so quiet!

Jiali Mountian

This weekend we tackled Jialishan (2220m) with our Camel Adventure pal, Chris, and his girlfriend Peggy. What an EPIC weekend high up in the clouds!

Taking a breather on the way there...
(Peggy, Chris, and Tanya)



The most beautiful mountain scenery on route to Jialishan....
Our base-camp...

Our hike begins! Into the mist we go......


Tanya giving it stick...

We hiked all the way in thick fog through this stunning forest...

Been there, done it! Chris and I at the top of Jialishan...

Again...what an epic weekend!

Pinglin Camping - Oct 2006

After our stay with Lalin's abo family, Tanya and I hit the long road to Pinglin in the Noerth-East corner of Taiwan. A 5 hour drive brought us to this stunning campsite.....















Where we got to know this amazing ex-RSA family...
Tanya with:
Shelley (15 years old - fluent chinese!)
Andre (born to ride a motorbike)
Mish (the source of all kindness and calm)















The river is popular for kayaking and tubing. I'll be a little more adventurous next time and actually get my ass wet! Looking forward to the winter rains...















Views to fix anybody's "chi" - your body's natural energy level - so they say:)

Weekend with Lalin's aboriginal family

Tanya, Christo, Iutian, Marisa, and I had the priviledge of spending 2 days with an aboriginal family near Wufong. We stayed in a sheet-metal mountain shack for 1 night and were spoilt by the views, food, and adventure. Hunting for flying squirrels with a 2m long home-made rifle took 1st prize in the "new experience" category.















Our group:
Tanya, Iutian, (my other pink piece of crap scooter), Marisa, Lalin, Christo















Thanks to our hosts:
Lalin's mom: our chef, cleaner, singer
Lalin's son: who was naughty as hell
Lalin's dad: No.1 drinker, smoker, betel-nut chewer!

Hong Kong

Hong Kong rocks! It's buzzing, it's modern. It's dirty, it's clean. People are dressed to kill and somehow they always look busy...as if they're about to pocket another million in their next meeting which they're almost late for. As a tourist, you spend your time shopping (for cheap fakes and clothes for your sisters and girlfriend). Otherwise you're cruising around on the underground, trams, or ferries.

You often find yourself staring at the buildings and thinking "How the $%^&!!"

This is the view from Victoria Peak behind the Central District.


Spot the odd one out.... (you'll have to click to enlarge the photo)