Taipei and other fun trips

Big Update Everyone

Its been a while since I have been able to update my blog, mostly because I have been so busy as of late. A lot of group project work came up towards the end of this semester, and unfortunately I am the only native English speaking individual in all three of my groups, so it was a touch few weeks trying to get everything done. For one of my groups I have been trying to divide up the work but whatever i get back is either not really any good, or it is written in such bad english that it takes me more time to correct it than it takes to just do it myself. I also knew I was going to Taipei, so I had to get everything done as soon as I could so that I didnt have to come back from my trip and worry about everything getting done on time. Boy am I glad I did, otherwise, i wouldn't be sitting here right now typing this. I would instead be up trying to finish three projects with very little time.

With that said, I still have found some time to go off and adventure. Three weekends ago I was able to go on yet another boat party on a sunny Sunday. It was with a much better group of friends as well, so I had even more fun than the last time. Lots of beers, swimming, and fun. I did however get bit by something fierce, and it took a nice chomp out of my big toe.

You can see some teeth marks if you look closely

It healed really quick however so it didn't cause too many problems. The banana boating afterwards also was too much fun for me to put any focus into the bloody toe that seemed to gross most people out on the boat. i think it had something to do with the small puddles of blood i was leaving around the deck.

After the boat trip, everyone pretty much went back to their rooms and passed out with exhaustion. the sun was beaming on us all day, and that combined with a ton of swimming, water sports, and beer made everyone very sleepy. it was an awesome day though.

As i continued to juggle school work and group projects, i still managed to take off a Sunday and adventure to another outlying island in Hong Kong. Just like my Cheng Chau adventure, i hoped on a ferry with some other friends to adventure Lamma Island. Its a central south eastern island that is much bigger than most outlying islands. Its known for great seafood, hiking, and some festival where people climb a giant pole to get a coconut or something. it was a perfect day to do it too. lots of sun, breezy, and nothing else to do back at campus.

While there, we hiked around some very nice trails, laid on the beach and went swimming, and hiked up a giant hill to get the best view of the island. We had to take a man made trail, so it get really thick towards the top, but its was well wroth the climb. After we descended, we grabbed some grub at a nice oceanfront cafe, and then made our way back to Kowloon where we grabbed some delicious food at an italian joint. overall it was an awesome day. 

oceanfront cafe

beautiful sunset

amazing place where we stopped for some tea. very refreshing

best view of the island

After lamma, I had another packed week, as i had to get a lot of stuff done before i left for Taipei on friday. I had lots of group meetings and project deadlines, but I got it all done, and I was able to leave for Taiwan in a good position so that when I got back to campus i wasn't struggling to get everything done. It also made me less stressed out while I was in Taiwan, so all the hard work paid off in the long run. 

I left for Taipei with my roommate Peter and met up with George and his friend Andrew (both go to UPenn) before we left at 2pm on a friday. by the time we landed in Taipei it was getting late, and we also had to take an hour bus through traffic from the airport to get downtown. The airport is much like Narita in Japan. Its really far away from the actual main city of Taipei, so it was a long day of traveling, and by the time we got to our hostel it was around 8pm. It was a rainy night, but we enjoyed a tasty dinner at a nearby nightmarket, and then got ready to go out to a club called Luxi. The club was absolutely incredible, and may have been even better than the ones we experienced while in Shanghai. We weren't surprised though, all the other exchange students that we talked to said that Taipei is the best city to go to to club and eat street food (which were the two things we did the most, eat and party). 

our group of Taipei travelers with the hostel owner, Vanessa

so delicious

nothing healthier

After the first night, we woke up relatively late in the day (due to the fact that we went to bed at 5am). By the time we left the hostel it was around 1pm, but there really was not that much we could have done anyway, because it was pouring outside. the rain made the side streets and marketplaces come alive in authenticity, but it still was a bummer as my raincoat eventually stopped resisting water and soaked me to the bone. We same a few fun places, including Taipei 101 (the super tall building), a memorial temple where kids were practicing break dancing, and the main night market where i had some of the best milk tea, sausages, fried chicken, and dumplings I have ever had in my life. 

some friends we made who were practicing dancing

That night we decided to go to another club called Myst. it was the newest club in Taipei, and was all the rage apparently. the line was about two hours long, in the rain, but we found a secret way in. when i say that i mean we just cut the entire line shamelessly and got right in. 

the entrance to the club was amusing

laser fingers, disco ball mask

The next day was a complete reversal of weather luck. it was sunny and the whole city looked entirely different. once again we didn't get out of the hostel until around 1pm, so we were a bit more bummed because it was nice out, but we were ready to go out and adventure again. We decided to see the Taipei zoo so that we could check out some pandas, and also get on the cable car ride which is supposed to be beautiful. They both were lots of fun, and the cable car ride turned out to be absolutely incredible at sunset. 

PANDA!

probably one of the best parts of the entire trip was the cable car ride at sunset. it was only about 4 USD per person, and it was a good 50 min of beauty.

Taipei from above

After the car ride we got back to out hostel and scoped out a nearby restaurant that had some amazing prices for a whole lot of food. we ate a feast that night of pretty much anything you could get in Taipei. 

Overall, the trip was incredible, and i cant wait to go back to Taiwan and adventure more into the more mountainous areas in the east coast, as well as southern Taiwan. The food was ridiculously good, and it would not have been so great if it weren't for the great group of friends that I got to experience it with.

Back at school, I had a super busy week. The day after i landed I had a group project as well as an exam, both of which went very well I think. I also had a second final presentation later that week, and that one i know went very well. Feeling pretty good, i decided to go out for some horse racing for the first time in my life by Causeway Bay in downtown Hong Kong.

Not really knowing what i was doing, i bet on #3 to win in race 6, and he won! for 20 HKD i won about 120,  and came out of the whole night up around 60 HKD. not a horrible night.

NEXT UPDATE: Bali!!! or maybe Macau.... Not sure yet. but my time here is almost over! Got to make everything count