Day Trip to Ying-Ge :)

Hello everyone !! I think the picture is quite self-explanatory, I went to the city of Ying-Ge today :)

Ying-Ge is a small town located in the suburbs of Taipei (30 minutes by train). The main speciality of the town is the ceramics. They have dozens of shops only for ceramics, crockery etc...really exciting !!

In the early morning, I left Taipei to join a friend who would take me there by motorbike :) Then, we joined the other people at the Ying Ge railway station. The first thing I noticed in Ying-Ge was the numerous markets, more than night markets.

Moving on, my friend and I went to meet the other people who were joining us on this day trip :) They belonged to the language club at Tatung University. In total, we were a group of 14 people to spend the day in Ying-Ge. 

At the beginning, I was a bit surprised to see so many people at once. The first question I asked myself was, how was I going to remember all the names... O.O Gosh ! Fortunately, most of them had English names a real relief for me !! 

We started our visit by visiting the two old streets of Ying-Ge...I found the old streets very charming, the cobblestone path and the palm trees gave a nice look, stylish and cool :)

 We headed to the local shops to see the ceramics art work which was quite impressive. Even though, it was forbidden to take pictures, I took some discretely "paparazzi style" ^^ Why hide such beautiful show pieces to the world ? 

Normally, Ying Ge's old ceramic streets are always crowded during the weekend..maybe it was was lucky day :) they listened to my prayers when I went to the Palace museum :) so crowded !

First, we went into a work shop with different kinds of crockery, like cups and tea pots :)

It was a very cute shop, with very small object everywhere with all kinds of colours, a real treat for the eyes.

Coming back to serious things, we went to do some pottery in a DIY pottery factory. At first, we were welcomed by a middle aged woman, excited to have a foreigner (me!!) in her shop. Then we had an instructor, who explained to us how to do the pottery. Obviously, the explanations were in Chinese so I couldn't understand a word the guy said...Fortunately, a friend translated to me what he said :) Even though, I was still lost...trying to remember the gesture the instructor was showing  :S

I think I got the hand of it :

I was the first to finish my work, I contained myself to do something easy and simple ^^ something I can carry back home :) But I think the others did a good job too :)

I should be able to collect it in three weeks :) so happy !! After that, we headed up to go for lunch, well deserved after so much hardwork.

After lunch, we went on doing some hiking on the Ying Ge Rock Mountain, but the way was full of embushes...let you know why... At the beginning the way was very safe with maintained stairs..

It was after, things got worse ^^

I know exactly what she was probably thinking...I had the same thought...How the HELL am I going to climb this....just ropes and rocks to help us climb...crazy!!!

But we are brave men and women, we decided to confront the challenge and climb this mountain no matter what!  That was really like the Survivor tv show..

In the end we made it to the top !!

As we got down of the mountain, I met a strange creature...like a hybrid...check by yourself :

What do you think? As for me, I think I found Simba ^^

           Nants ingonyama bagithi Baba              

 [Here comes a lion, Father]

         Sithi uhm ingonyama          

[Oh yes, it's a lion]



ants ingonyama bagithi baba




NSithi uhhmm ingonyama



Ingonyama

iyo Nqoba 

 [We're going to conquer]

Ingonyama

nengw' enamabala   

Ingonyama

This song must have plunged you in childhood...me too :)

It was a great today for me, I visited more stuff...But most important, I met really interesting people today. I made new friends and I will be looking forward to go on a trip with them..I thank them for welcoming me in their circle and making me feel so comfortable :)

Until Then,

Zai Jian ^^

Palace Museum & Longshan Temple

Ni Hao Everyone !!

The blog has reached 700 views !! I am so happy that people are enjoying my blog and I promise to keep posting articles regularly :)

Today was one the most enjoyable days I have ever had in Taipei. I went to visit around the city with four other people.

From right to left : Porridge, Janet, Dora, Me & Jeff  :)

We started first by going to the Palace Museum in the north of Taipei City. Not attached by MRT, we had to take the bus, the R30 to get there. When we reached the museum, the first shock was the number of people. Honestly, I was not expecting a lot of people, especially when you visit during the week :S

The main visitors were Chinese people. The strangest kind of visitors ever...I had never been to a museum with so much of noisy people...Seriously, Chinese people visiting the museum had no manners..they could push you if they wanted to and speak so loudly...really like villagers. 

The museum is full of small object that were brought to Taiwan by boat from China. The museum has a great Jade stone collection of different colours...I wish I could show you but cameras were not allowed inside the museum. :(

After visiting the museum, we decided to head to one of the most famous temples in Taipei, the Longshan temple.

I had never seen such a beautiful temple before...the golden ornament and the numerous carvings and wood work were just amazing :) I also decided to pray in Longshan Temple :

After the prayer, I went on visiting each corner of this huge temple...there are many gods represented here (god of sea, god of love, goddess of maternity, god of medicine...). When I prayed at the temple, I really felt very peaceful, as if all the stress and anxiety had left me :) For me, praying is an other way to meditate and focus on the essentials elements. 

After spending a good quality time in the temple, we headed to the night market...so much walking and sightseeing makes you very hungry hehe....In the night market, I tried some rice cake made with pork blood...yeah you read right "Pork Blood"...the taste was no bad but not that tasty for me :S

You can find a lot of thing in the night market, like food, clothes, toys, drinks...surprisingly this also :

Overall, it was a fantastic day !! I really enjoyed myself and spend good time with my friends :) I really thank them from the bottom of my heart for their time and energy :)

Until then, 

Zai Jian

A Refined Dinner in Heaven...

Ni Hao everyone,

Last week, when I was going through my Facebook, an old friend sent me a message telling me that he was coming to Taiwan the following day. This friend of mine is from Japan. 

Now, you must be wondering how come do I have a friend from Japan knowing the fact that have never been there haha...Five years ago during my first year of electrical engineering, I went to Brighton in the United Kingdom to join a language course. This is where I met Satoru, my Japanese friend. We used to have lunch together and wander the streets of Brighton :) All thanks to the social networks we have been able to stay in touch and voilà we decided to meet again...in Taipei! 

Then, he asked me to look for a nice place to eat in Taipei. Then I thought why not go to have dinner in Taipei 101 :) and so, we decided to have dinner at the Diamond Tony located on the 85th floor of the Taipei 101 tower.

At first, we had to take the elevator to the 60th floor and then to pick up another lift up to the 85th floor. It was quite amazing, the building is so high that you need to change lifts to get to the top ^^

The elevator in Taipei 101 is very fast, in less than 45 seconds, we were already at the 60th floor, really unbelievable :)

When we finally arrived to the restaurant we were welcomed by numerous waitresses, that was so cool !

As we got to our table, my friend and I were already amazed by the breathtaking sight.

The Diamond Tony is basically an Italian Gastronomy Restaurant, one of the finest in all Taipei. We started our dinner with some freshly baked garlic bread with yummy shrimp sauce...Then, we have some delicious mushroom cream soup.

After the soup, we had some appetizers. For my part, I ordered some salmon sashimi with an Italian vinaigrette. It was quite osée different genres of cuisine (Japanese and Italian) but the chemistry was there. Nothing to say, the fish was very fresh as if it was just caught and sliced a few minutes ago. And more important was the decoration, everything was just perfect !!

Then came the "entrée", it was some pasta with cubed mozzarella cheese. I am a huge fan of mozarella cheese...I can really have it in any form (salad, pizzas or pasta). The sauce was nice and the vegetable were crunchy ^^ not over-cooked nor raw...just perfect !

The main dish was a real revelation for me. I decided to go for the lamb. My favourite meat is lamb, even though I am not a big meat fan, I can enjoy lamb any time haha...The presentation of the main course was just mouth watering and the tenderness of the meat was just like heavens :) I had never eaten such soft and perfectly cooked lamb ever...Your mouth must be watery by now...here's the picture of that piece of art (meat) ^^ Even now, while writing this article my mouth is watering ^^

Time for some desserts, yes I actually meant some dessertS ^^...After a long time, I had the chance to eat some tiramisu and some other treats. 

The food was excellent, the view from the window was breathtaking...In one word, it was the best dinner I had in Taipei for now (along with Din tai Fung). The atmosphere was really cool as I was catching up five years of time with an old friend. Moreover, we actually had a music band doing a live performance and I don't know how they did that but they played all my favourite songs haha from some Disney movie songs to the Beatles passing by Frank Sinnatra...Gosh I was really in heaven..after all 85th floor is not very far from the heavens :p

The moment I decided to go to the restroom was also one of the funniest moment of that night ^^ I went to the bathroom to do my business and it was full with large windows giving on the city scenery...It was like the world is observing you...pretty strange ^^ But the funniest was when doing my business.....I was going for number 1, the only thing I could see was the view ahead of me...It was really like peeing on the world !!! haha...Now I understand where the "GOLDEN RAIN" expression comes from haha

Until then,

Zai Jian with more articles, more pictures and more confidences :)

A cup of tea is a cup of peace.

Hello Everyone, sorry for not uploading any new article in the recent days...My workload has increased and so forth I have less time for leisure..Nevertheless, I will try my best to upload articles ^^

Last Thursday, the director of my department Prof. Hsu invited me for lunch and to have some tea afterwards. I was in heaven when he suggested me to eat in a sea food restaurant :) He made me try  different kinds of dishes...the cuisine was quite similar to Japanese gastronomy food. But like Prof. Hsu says, it is Taiwanese food in a Japanese style. I started by enjoying a succulent miso soup with some fresh raw fish called "sashimis". Then I had some grilled squid, I think this was really a revelation. At the first bite, the squid just melted in my mouth, wahoo.

During the meal, I got complimented about my chop-sticks handling skills...He was very surprised and happy at the same time about my chop-stick skills. To be honest with you, my parents are extremely fond of  Chinese food, and since I am little have been taught to use chop-sticks...Here my team mates call me the chop-sticks master haha....I like this title ^^ Jokes appart, I tried to eat with the chop-sticks in a different way, I decided to eat my meal in Taiwanese style...tough job!! I tried to hold the chop-sticks properly but they said there was too much tension in my hand and I needed to relax ^^

Anyway, I really enjoyed myself during this delicious lunch...gosh I eat too much ^^ Then, we took a taxi and we headed to one of the oldest street of Taipei to have some tea. Tea is a real art in Taipei, it has to be perfect : the right temperature, the right number of leaves...etc

As we got to the "Tea Shop", we entered in a well maintained building mostly of wood. As we got the menu card, there was very little choice for tea...but there were the finest :) I decided to go for some Taiwanese tea, the Huloong Tea. Being a big amateur of teas, it was a great experience for me as I enjoyed the environment and the environment of a nice cup of tea (actually more than just one cup ^^). The icing on the cake was the fact that all the savouring of the teas were accompanied by Prof. Hsu explanations about the different teas. He explained to me the different ways to brew tea, and the manufacturing process of tea. I was really attentive as he was explaining each variety of tea and the virtues of each of them.

 Huloong Tea :

 

It was an other experience that marked my stay in Taiwan. Especially the knowledge you can get from the different things I see or taste or feel. Tea is not just some random leaves brewed in hot boiling water..it's a real art to make the perfect tea to get the right flavour.

Until then,

Bai Bai (Bye Bye) 

PS : A new article is soon to appear about my visit at the Tapei Zoo...and the cute pandas ^^

Bike to Danshui

Ni Hao Everyone,

TODAY IS MY COUSIN'S BIRTHDAY !! 

I WOULD LIKE TO WISH A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY LITTLE COUSIN SOHAM. LOTS OF LOVE AND HUGS TO HIM :)

Tomorrow is the "Qingming Festival" and many of my friends and roomates have left the dormitory to back to their homes. The "Qingming Festival" is actually a day to pay respect to the dead people. They would go and sweep and clean the tombs of their beloved and pray for their soul.

The good news is, I have the dorm room to myself :) I can do "whatever" I want. I can put some Bollywood music at full volume without disturbing anyone haha...The most important thing is I don't have to wait to wash my clothes or even care for the hot water to run out :) 

Coming back to serious things, today my friends and I decided to go to Danshui. Actually, we went to Danshui by bicycle (around 50 km). It took nearly 1 hour and 45 minutes to get there. We cycled all the way along the Tamsui River. Danshui is the place I went the other day, but at night...This time I enjoyed this marvellous spot in the daylight. 

The red trail is the route we used to get to Danshui (50 km)

After having lunch (curry dumplings yummy!!) , we went on taking the "youbike" public bicycle. It is so convenient to go around with a bike. Unfortunately, I was a bit anxious about riding a bicycle because, to be honest with you, I hadn't ridden a bike for 15 years !!!! I was so scared at the beginning...if I hit someone or if I fall stupidly but it was ok...it took me 10 minutes to get used to it and I was set to go to Danshui !!

Then we stopped to visit a temple which was on the way...One of the most beautiful temple I have ever seen :) We visited the Kuantu Temple which is a mix of Buddhism and Taoism religion :) I also performed some praying there :)

As we entered the temple, we went to take 5 incense sticks (5 different gods) and we went to greet each one of them. The protocol is simple :) 

All you need is to bow once, present yourself, where you live then meditate on the thing you want to ask to the god. Why do I look so happy..? In this picture, I was praying the God of wealth ;) Now you know why :p (I think most of you know I was a big "pandit pujari" during my childhood)

After making your wish to the God, you must go and deposit the incense stick in a big "bowl" like this :

I was accompanied by Mandy. She is a good friend, but she is also my Chinese teacher at the university..Throughout the visit, she would explain to us about the rituals and share her knowledge about this temple :) I was really attentive, here is the proof :p 

Continuing the visit, I was amazed by the architecture of the temple. Just like in Hindu temples, it's bright, it's colourful :) 

 
 

After visiting the temple, we got ourselves some time to relax before getting back on the road to Danshui :

Then, after 45 minutes riding, we finally arrived to Danshui !!! We rode 50 km, I am so thrilled ^^

 DANSHUI!!!!!

After parking our bicycle, we went on eating and drinking so many things...like bamboo juice, red bean dessert, fried squids and so much more :)

This day was a real challenge for me (on the physical level), I had never ridden a bicycle for such a long time and savouring the accomplishment is nothing comparable :) I had a very nice day with my friends, full of fun and memories :)

 It doesn't end here, after returning to the dorm...a friend asked to go to swimming with him ^^ and I said yes ..So after nearly 4 hours and 30 minutes of bicycle riding, I decided to go and relax in the pool ^^

I didn't swim much..I couldn't feel my legs after so much biking...but I enjoyed a lot the hammam and sauna after ^^  

God I'm gonna sleep well tonight :)

Until then,

Zai Jian  :)