Taiwana come back to Taiwan

Taiwan surprised us. We had little idea what to expect but what we found we loved; bright signs, busy streets, great food, excellent hiking and hardly any tourists. Our short ten day trip was really an impromptu 'visa run' but ended up being a welcome change from our travels in Southeast Asia.

First things first we had to get some food. This was no problem as the streets were crowded with restaurants and food stalls. Here Mary is enjoying beef noodle soup. It tastes just like Aaron's Taiwanese Jewish grandmother use to make.

Then we moved on to dumplings. Originally there were nine but their deliciousness prevented us from getting a 'before' picture. This photo shows one of many varieties of dumplings available.

We were challenged by the Mandarin only menus and found ourselves pointing at other people's food as a means of ordering. This didn't deter us one bit, and if anything we tried many more types of foods than we might have otherwise.

Well fed and eager to see some sites we decided to head for the biggest thing on the horizon, Taipei 101. This also happens to be the tallest building in the world until Dubai Tower surpasses it in January.

It should be noted that large buildings on the horizon are always further than they appear. We learned this the hard way after walking for hours, but eventually we made it.

So we headed to the top to check out the view. It was hard to really appreciate the size of the structure until we looked down at the city.

At the recommendation of good friends, John McKiel and Calvin Liu, we left Taipei on the fanciest train we could find for Taroko Gorge.

Taroko did not disappoint. We found many beautiful trails and breathtaking views.

One of our favorite trails included this suspension bridge. Feeling adventurous we decided to throw caution tape to the wind and cross the rickety bridge. A local hiker advised us that it was A-Okay!

Note to the grandparents: We are being very safe and are alive and well. Please don't let this video scare you.



With our motorbike we explored the gorge, its pitch black tunnels and twisty-turny roads.



With only a few days left in Taiwan we headed back to the big city, Taipei, to enjoy a few more sights.

After a three week break from temples we had finally recovered from Angkor Wat Temple Overload (see 'the mega-post') and set out to visit our first Taiwanese temple. Shandao Temple was as refreshing as Taiwan itself. Full of locals and clouds of burning incense, it was nice to visit a temple actually being used for prayer by the people who lived there.

No trip to Taipei would be complete without a visit to the public hot springs in Beitou, so we went twice. Here we met many members of the retired Taiwanese community.

Were it not for our plans to meet a good friend in Thailand we would have stayed in Taiwan much longer. In the words of our beloved governator "We'll Be Back."

Plumbing of the World

Please enjoy this video compilation of some of the interesting plumbing we have encountered.



**Bonus Video** - Aaron investigates Cambodian toilets

Its been a long time

Somewhere in the haze of boat trips, moped exhaust, tuk-tuk rides and multi-city bus trips we neglected to post an update. Last we left you we had arrived in Phnom Penh, the capitol and largest city of Cambodia. And though we didn't stay long there, we did have time to take in a few historic, yet unsettling sights.

Below are some photos we took at the S21 prison. This school turned secret prison was used by the Pol Pot regime from 1975-1979. Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge Party came to power under the auspices of creating a classless society based on agriculture. Even though we found visiting these places disturbing we wanted to share these photos because we knew little of this recent genocide prior to visiting.








Prisoners from the S21 prison and others like it were taken to fields outside the city where they were buried in mass graves. One to two million Cambodians were killed by the Khmer Rouge in a country who's present day population is under 20 million. Below are photos of the fields and of a monument housing their remains.





Feeling the weight of too many depressing tours we decided to get back to the old tourist standbys of temples and ruins. First, we hopped a bus to the small town of Kompong Thom where we borrowed a motorbike and set out to explore the lesser known temples of Sambor Prei Kuk.



On our ride we came across a cleared mine field...


Then we stopped for lunch and were surprised to meet our youngest waitress yet. We had heard about the lack of child labor laws but this was ridiculous.


Finally we made it to the ruins. The following brick temples date back to the 7th century.



Aaron was so excited he couldn't resist showing off his motorbike skills.



Having seen some of the lesser viewed ruins of Sambor Prei Kuk we hopped one more bus and headed down the road to the world famous temples of Angkor Wat.









And though these temples are truly amazing, what really made an impression on us was this incredible video put out by the Cambodian tourism board. Good luck getting this song out of your head. Mary has been singing it all the way to Bangkok.



Hope you have enjoyed our longest post yet (aka "the mega-post"). Tomorrow we fly to Taipei, Taiwan for ten days. Plumbing posts and quizzes will be coming soon!

-a&m

Quiz Time!

This is the first edition of our South East Asia Fun Quiz. Tomorrow we hop the boat to Cambodia and bid farewell to Vietnam. Good luck and please use a number two pencil.

1. In this photo Mary is...

a. showing off hers guns for the camera.
b. navigating a real life level of Goldeneye.
c. in a North Vietnamese cave hospital.
d. enjoying our cheapest hotel room yet.



2. This little boy is...

a. the proud owner of the dopest rims in town.
b. the envy of all less spoiled children on Halloween night.
c. proof there are no driving restrictions in Vietnam.
d. All of the above


3. This is a picture of...

a. a blue boat owning, pointy hat wearing, Paddler's Convention.
b. Vietnamese bumper boats.
c. tourist canoe ride traffic jam in the Mekong Delta.
d. the last photo taken before a monkey stole our camera.


4. This establishment in Ho Chi Minh is a...

a. crazy bar.
b. crazy chillout.
c. crazy night club.
d. None of the above


5. This little guy...

a. had a few to many to drink.
b. is a good friend of our buddy Theodore.
c. turned blue from over consumption.
d. All of the above



6. This photo shows...

a. the awe inspiring beauty of Sandals Resort from their latest brochure.
b. Phu Quoc Island, where we spent the last eight days doing almost nothing.
c. our inability to resist including a cliche sunset pic.
d. Aaron unimaginably tan.



Answer key: 1: c, 2: d, 3: c, 4: d, 5: d, 6: b & d

Uncle Ho or Kernel Sanders, You Be the Judge

No trip to Vietnam is possible without constant exposure to billboards, posters and statues of the famous leader Ho Chi Minh. Likewise, we have found it difficult not to notice the abundance of Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants throughout the country. Could it be that Ho Chi Minh is actually the famous American colonel, Kernel Sanders?


And while you try to wrap your head around that one, please enjoy these photos taken in the city bearing his name.

Ho Chi Minh City as we cross the Saigon River


Dried squid is sold every night on the street. It is cooked on a grill, balanced on a bicycle, and served with hot chili sauce.


This is a bicycle and motorbike flat tire repair station. They can be found on street corners throughout the city.


Saigon online - "The green wire goes to red wire, right?"


Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica was built between 1863 to 1880 by the French and the statue of the Virgin Mary brought crowds of people when someone reported to have seen a tear fall down her right cheek in 2005.


I would need a break too if I had to clean these streets.


At night we walked to the park to watch people play Jianzi, aka Shuttlecock.



We will continue to ponder this puzzling question as we head for the Mekong Delta and the sandy shores of Phu Quoc Island.

I think I'm learning Vietnamese, I really think so...

Tôi tích con voi (I like elephant)

Aaron promised me before we started this trip that we would travel exclusively by elephant. While not entirely true, after three weeks on the coast we set out to make good on this promise heading into the less touristed south-central highlands. Many different tour providers attempted to discourage us from going alone but we found cheap bus tickets and couldn't resist. Turns out it wasn't nearly as difficult as they made it seem.

After four hours on a "local bus" we arrived in the unassuming town of Buon Ma Thout where we found the only decent hotel and the only travel agency. Having made arrangements we set out the next day with our lovely guide Tuan.


Together we made our way to Yok Don National Park near the small village of Ban Don. In the park we found a bridge.


We knew we were close when we spotted this evidence...


And finally we found the elephant!


We promptly hopped on and we have this video to prove it.



After de-elephanting we were introduced to our new friend Stuart. Aaron being ever formal managed a proper handshake. He was very excited.



We thanked Stuart for the ride and sadly said goodbye.


And because we assume your love of elephants is as insatiable as ours we have included this *BONUS* footage of another very hungry elephant we encountered later that day.