The Lotus Pond

One of the coolest places we found in our short time in Kaohsiung was the Lotus Pond. We were hit by two typhoons (thank you very much Pabuk and Wutip) while in Taiwan, so the weather never really allowed us to get out to the pond until the last day we were there. It was still pretty rainy the whole day, but we made the most of it and got some pretty cool pictures along the way.

When you first arrive at the pond, it's really an amazing site. Everywhere you look you see pagodas and temples, many of which are actually in the water.

Our first stop was the Dragon and Tiger Pagodas. They looked like they could be really cool, but unfortunately there was construction, and we weren't allowed to go inside.

We headed further around the lake and came across the Spring and Autumn Pavilions. The area where the Pavilions are located is filled with really unique statues and gorgeous lanterns. They also provided us great cover, as the skies decided to open up right as we reached the pavilions.

There was also this huge statue of Confucius out on the water. As we approached, we realized the statue was actually a three or four story temple. It was pretty cool.

The temple was also surrounded by a big Koi pond containing the largest Koi either of us had ever seen. We bought some fish food and had fun fattening them up even more!

Our final stop along the pond was the Confucius Temple at Kaohsiung, which is the largest Confucius temple in Taiwan.

The Love River

One of the main tourist attractions in Kaohsiung is the Love River area. The river used to be filthy from polution and was an embarassment to the city. However, it has been recently renovated and is now a really unique area with different buildings and parks surrounding the banks. Jeff and I walked around this area on several occasions and took a bunch of pictures.

Our favorite part of the river area was definitely the large dragon statue. We couldn't really tell, but it looked like it had a mermaid tail, so we called it the mer-dragon.

At night, the river is full of lights, which is really cool, because it looks completely different than it does by day.

We Have a New Photo Site

Thank you for all of the recomendations we received regarding photo sites. I think we have found a winner. Our new photo site is jeffandmia.winkflash.com. It is still a work in progress, but we have most of our pictures from Australia and Taiwan posted. We think this should work out well, but if anyone has any trouble, just let us know!

Hallo aus Deutschland

Hello from Germany! Jeff and I have left Taiwan and arrived here in the land of sausage and beer (sound like Wisconsin to anyone else?) this morning. We flew into Dusseldorf and had to take a taxi to our hotel in Gelsenkirchen, about 30 miles away. We didn't think it would be that big of a deal since we had the address and phone number of the hotel. We went to the front of the taxi cue, loaded up our luggage, and gave the driver (who spoke very little English) the address. He looked confused, but said "Ok, ok. I have good GPS." Okay, clearly he didn't know firsthand where it was, but we all know GPS is great, so we still weren't worried. He typed the address into the GPS, but could not find our specific road. After sitting on the side of the road at the airport for about 10 minutes while our driver repeated this same process over and over, he decided to head to Gelsenkirchen in hopes that he would find better directions once we were there.

So off we went on what we thought would be a quick half hour ride. We were cruising the autobahn when we noticed that we passed the exit for Gelsenkirchen. We didn't speak up, and luckily there was another Gelsenkirchen exit further down the road. After entering town, the taxi driver again tried his GPS to no avail. He then decided to stop at a gas station for directions. We still didn't think too much of it, as gas stations usually know the area. Our driver came back into the taxi and seemed confident that he knew where he was going. After a few more minutes of driving, he started stopping pedestrians and asking them if they knew where the hotel was. Since we don't speak German we really had no clue what these people were saying, but after each pedestrian conversation our driver seemed confident that he knew where he was going. After it became painfully clear that we were hopelessly lost, Jeff and I discussed that he must not have a cell phone because he obviously would have called the hotel by now to get directions. About a minute after that conversation we heard a ringing coming from the center console and our driver answered his phone. When he got off Jeff suggested that he simply call the hotel for directions, but he swore up and down that he knew where he was going.

After a few more minutes of driving in circles around the city Jeff and I noticed that our brainiac driver was driving us down a pedestrian walkway surrounded by different shops and cafes. The pedestrian walkway ended at the central train station, and after yelling at a few more pedestrians, our driver learned that the local taxi cue was just on the other side of the station (presumably on the side where there is an actual road, not a pedestrian walkway). So what does our driver do? Put the car in park and leave Jeff and I in the car in the middle of the pedestrian walkway for nearly 10 minutes while he got directions. Oh, and to top it all off, where does he decide to park? Directly outside of the local police station! Let me tell you, I think I can relate to animals at the zoo, because so many people walking by stared at us like we were some sort of foreign creature.

While sitting in the car alone Jeff and I discussed the possibility of grabbing our luggage, throwing some money on the seat, and taking off to find a better cab. However, we have a lot of luggage and it was locked in the trunk so we decided to stay put. Finally our driver returned and proceeded to yell at Jeff and I telling us that we gave him the wrong address for the hotel. At this point, Jeff and I got a wee bit frustrated (after all, we had been traveling for about 24 hours) and said, "Well that's great, just take us to the hotel" as nicely as we could. We took off and headed towards what we hoped was the hotel.

After stopping a few more pedestrians, Jeff again pleaded with him to please just call the hotel. He again said it was not necessary as he knew where he was going. After stopping at another gas station for directions, Jeff implored him to just call the darn hotel, but he swore it was just two more kilometers up the road. After a tense few minutes, Jeff finally spotted the hotel and was able to direct the driver, who apparently didn't see it, to the hotel. As we turned onto the hotel's road, we took the time to point out to the driver that we were in fact on the same road that we had told him the hotel was on. He just got all frustrated and kept saying it was the GPS's fault. As we drove up to the hotel thoughts of a tip must have been swimming in his head, as he then tried to be very nice to us telling us we were staying at such a nice hotel, etc. Jeff and I just stayed quiet and eagerly awaited getting the heck out of the cab.

After over an hour and twenty minutes and a fare that was twice what it should have been, we were finally out of the cab, and we couldn't have been happier. While it was completely frustrating to be stuck in this taxi from you know where, at least we were able to get a "free" tour of downtown Gelsenkirchen!

A Truly Unique Experience

On Saturday Jeff and I spent the afternoon exploring Kaohsiung. I knew there was a minor basilica, Holy Rosary Cathedral, nearby, so of course we stopped in to take some pictures.

I swear we have a knack for finding weddings (but I guess that's what happens when you explore on Saturday afternoons)

During our visit we noticed that there was an English mass on Sunday, so Jeff and I decided we would go the next day. We arrived at church about 15 minutes early and took our seats. A few minutes later a woman from the church approached Jeff and I and asked if I would be willing to read the first reading. I was a little hesitant, but Jeff spoke up and said I would. I figured it couldn't be too bad; at least I knew the language! We were transplanted from our discreet seats in the back corner to the very empty front row! I was still a little nervous as I walked down the aisle with the priest at the start of the mass, but I thought, "hey, when am I ever going to be in church in Taiwan reading before a bunch of people who speak English as a second language!"

I got through my reading and had some time to relax and actually look around the church. Jeff pointed out that the church was full of Filipinos. Initially we weren't really sure why, but as we listened to the priest talk, we realized that they were primarily migrant workers here to earn money for their families back in the Philippines. Given the audience, the mass had a very different tone than others I have been to. It was really interesting to hear the priest encourage the migrant workers, but also warn them about dangers like infidelity. He even gave a long speech at the end of the mass reminding people that the minimum wage in certain sectors had been increased, so they should make sure to check their pay stubs.

All and all I realize that it was definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I am so glad I took it. Incidentally, the prayers were slightly different than the ones we say in the US. I won't go into detail here, but if anyone is interested in some of the really cool difference, feel free to send me an email and I will gladly fill you in!

Where Are All Our Pictures?

Those of you that peruse all of our pictures on our Yahoo photo site may be wondering why we haven't posted pictures from our recent travels. In all honesty, I haven't had a chance to upload them, but that isn't the point of this post! I just found out that Yahoo photos will be closing, so Jeff and I will have to find a new website to post all of our travel pics. Yahoo recommended a few other websites, but we aren't really sold on any of them because they have very limited storage, and as you all know, we take a lot of pictures.

We plan on doing some research into other websites, and as soon as we set something up, we will post the link on our blog. And if anyone out there has their own photo website that they love, please let us know so we can look into it!

Greetings from Taiwan!

After a wonderful weekend at Adam and Katy's wedding, Jeff and I left for Kaohsiung, Taiwan on Tuesday. Jeff was here for two weeks before the wedding, and it looks like we should only be here about 10 days, so it's definitely a quick trip. After that it looks like we will be sent straight to another job in Europe.

From what I have seen so far, Taiwan is really cool. The city we are in really big (almost 1.5 million residents). There are a few taller buildings, but for the most part, the buildings are all about 6-7 stories high, and as large as a city block. Here's a few pictures from our hotel room.




We should have a little time for exploring, so hopefully we will post some more pictures soon!

Kuala Lumpur

About a month ago, just a few days before we left Malaysia for our vacation, Jeff and I flew to Kuala Lumpur for a weekend getaway. I can't speak for Jeff, but I really think Kuala Lumpur was my favorite "big city" that we have visited thus far. It was incredibly clean, easy to get around, and had absolutely amazing shopping!

We flew in late on a Friday night and checked into the JW Marriott Hotel. Since Jeff has Platinum status at Marriott we were upgraded to an incredible suite, which was so comfortable! For those of you who don't know or who haven't yet realized, I kind of have an obsession with finding Catholic Churches and Irish pubs in every city we go to. So after checking in, we wasted no time and headed straight to Finnegan's Irish Pub and Restaurant just down the street.

We relaxed with a few Kilkenny's before turning in for the night.

Saturday morning we headed out to the Kuala Lumpur Craft Complex, which was truly a unique experience. The complex is a collection of huts rented by different artists. You can walk through the grounds and stop in the various huts to see the artisans creating different pieces. Of course they also had all of their artwork for sale.

We spent several hours here and purchased some really unique pieces of art. Our favorite by far was a painting done on silk that is semi-transparent (so when you hold it up to a light the light shines through and illuminates the painting). Now all we need is a house to display it in!

We returned to the hotel, dropped off our purchases, and cooled down with a drink in the executive lounge, where we had an incredible view of the Petronas Twin Towers.

Then we took our map of the city and went on a walk to see some of the historic sites. We saw some really cool Mosques, a super unique fountain that is shaped like a tree with elephants coming out of it, the first Christian Church in Malaysia, and Merdeka Square, which is basically the Malaysian Independence Square.

As we were passing through Merdeka Square, the skies opened up and we got soaked. Luckily we were able to find a bus stop not too far away to shelter us a bit. After the rain subsided a bit we headed to another shopping center.

Later Saturday night we decided to check out some more of the Kuala Lumpur night life. We went to this really cute Mad Hatter themed jazz bar. It was a great day to relax after a busy day! We also went to another funky outdoor bar that was amazingly relaxing despite the fact that it was basically on the sidewalk!

On Sunday we spent the day around Petronas Towers and the KLCC. We shopped our hearts out at Suria KLCC, walked around the park, went to the aquarium and went up to the bridge connecting the two towers.

After two busy, but very fun, days we had to fly back to Kijal Sunday night so Jeff could get to work nice and early Monday morning! Little did we know that Jeff would be released from the job on Tuesday and we would be off for a month long vacation!

Did You Miss Us?

I know it's been a while since we have last posted - did you all miss us? Well we have finally returned from our extended vacation in Singapore and Australia. We had an amazing time and promise lots and lots of posts over the next few weeks. We returned from Australia on Friday and Jeff already had to leave for his next job in Taiwan yesterday. I decided to stay back to take care of a few things at home. But Jeff will be back in two weeks for Adam (Jeff's best man) and Katy's wedding, and after that I will fly back out to Taiwan with him for the rest of the job. Since I am home alone and have a little down time I will try my best to post as much as possible. So the moral of this post - stay tuned for more excitement to come!

Footy Fun

In Melbourne, the popular winter sport is Australian Rules Football, or "Footy." Rugby is more popular in Queensland and New South Wales, and Cricket is the sport of choice in summertime.

Footy was invented in Melbourne as a winter sport to keep cricket players fit during the off-season. Out of the 16 teams in the AFL, 9 of the teams call Melbourne home. Unfortunately, this week's round of play has been split over two weekends, and we could not find a game playing in Melbourne.

However, an hour long train ride away is the city of Geelong, who were playing host to the Brisbane Lions. The Geelong Football Club "Cats" are on the top of the ladder (standings). We decided to hop onto the train Sunday to catch the 1 pm start-time.

It was raining for the first quarter, but afterwards the rain stopped and the sun peeped out of the clouds occasionally.

The game is played on a cricket pitch (a large oval field), and a goal is scored by kicking the ball through the center two posts. A goal will fetch you 6 points. If you kick the ball through the posts next to the center posts, you will score a "behind." Behinds will add 1 point to your score.

Since it was rainy, the game looked really sloppy in the first half. No one could hold onto the ball, and the Brisbane team didn't even score a goal before halftime. Luckily the weather cleared up and we were able to enjoy some more scoring second half.

In the end, Geelong won 85 - 35 which was a low scoring game.

Mia and I purchased some local attire to fit in and cheer for the home team.

Where in the World Are We?

Where are we? Good question. For the next few weeks you may not hear from us. We promise its not because we don't love all of our readers. Rather, we will be on holiday! Our job in Malaysia is over, and we are currently on holiday in Singapore for a few days. Then its off to Melbourne (via Perth) where we will spend a few days with Jeff's sister Rachel who's studying abroad there. Then its back to Perth for a few weeks of traveling the Western Australia. We should be back in the US around July 6th or so (which is also coincidentally Jeff's birthday). We don't know if we will have internet access along the way, but we will try to post pictures and updates as often as possible. But if you don't hear from us, then know that there will be a whole bunch of exciting posts to come during the month of July!

Pulau Gemia . . . Or to the non-Malay, Gem Island

For the past two weeks Malaysia and Singapore have had a school holiday. What does that mean for Jeff and I? That the hotel has been absolutely overrun by large tour groups full of screaming children. In an effort to seek some tranquility and see more of Malaysia, we decided to take an overnight trip to Gem Island, which is about two hours north of here. Gem Island and Kapas Island (its larger, more popular neighbor to the south) are two of the best places to snorkel on the east coast of Malaysia. Kapas is the larger of the two islands and has several beaches and resorts scattered throughout the island. We read that it can be really busy on the weekends and school holidays, so we wanted to avoid that at all costs. Gem Island however is a private island that you can only get to if you are staying at its villa resort. We read that the snorkeling tended to be more accessible on Gem Isle, with less people around scaring away all the fishies.

To get to Gem Island, we drove north two hours to the fishing village of Marang.

From there we took a quick 10 minute boat right right to the resort's front dock. The island is really cool. It is basically a large rock with a few areas carved out for beaches. All of the villas over look the water and are situated on top of the rocks and the beach.Speaking of, the villas at the Gem Island Resort were awesome. I took a ton of pictures of the room because this is what I would love my bedroom to look like some day.

After lunch and a quick rest we rented some snorkeling gear and hit the water. We weren't really sure where to start, so we jumped in on the far isolated end of the island. This was when we encountered the large monitor lizard running into the bat cave (as noted in Jeff’s lizard post). There was a lot of older coral and some really cool fish, but there were also super tiny microscopic jellyfish constantly stinging us. We couldn't even avoid them because you couldn't see them!

Then we moved to the other side of the island where we heard there was newer coral. While the tiny jellyfish were still there, they were not nearly as bad as on the other side of the island. The coral over here was much more vibrant and colorful. We must have seen at least 10 different types of coral. With the different coral of course comes different marine life. On this side we saw "Nemos" and "Doris" (clownfish and palette surgeonfish for the non-Disney aficionados) and dozens of other colorful and interesting species (such as blue ring angelfish, many varieties of rabbitfish and the cool giant clams). Unfortunately we weren't able to get an underwater camera, so we don't have any cool pictures to share.

When we woke up Saturday morning, the sun was shining and it was just beautiful outside. We grabbed the cameras and took a ton of pictures on the beaches. Then we headed to breakfast and did a little bit more snorkeling in the newer coral. It was high tide this time, so we didn’t have to worry about our bellies scratching the coral surface at certain points. With this extra room to swim, Jeff would randomly take-off chasing a fish of his fancy leaving me in the dust (hmm, ok … what is dust in the ocean … fish poop?).

The Gem Island Resort also operates its own turtle hatchery. When giant green sea turtles come ashore and lay their eggs, the hotel moves them to their protected sanctuary to keep them safe from predators. Then, when the turtles hatch they are placed two different tanks where they can grow and develop free from predators. Once they are big enough, the hotel lets them loose and hopes they will come back some day to lay eggs there again.

After that, we showered up and headed back to the Awana Kijal. While it was only a one night get away, it was definitely worth it to have at least one night of relaxation and amazing snorkeling.