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| View from Wisdom Garden |
I've been pretty lax with updating my posts. To make a long story short:
Z and I spent Christmas in Tainan. I finally got Christmas Day off! (Usually it fell on a weekend.)
We welcomed the New Year working our way from the Southeast Rift Valley to Hualien with my friends Binh and Kirin. We spent a night and 2 days in Yuli at the serene Wisdom Garden.
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| Wisdom Garden |
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| Antong hot springs, New Life Resort, Yuli. |
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| Rueisui |
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| Walami Trail |
The next day we took a freezing, rainy scooter ride on the mountain highway to soak in Rueishui hot springs. We returned to Wisdom Garden and hopped on a train to Hualien.
The first night we slept in Hualien city at a backpacker lodge. Everything booked fast for that weekend. I needed my space just with Z and asked to be switched to their other lodging in a residential suburb, which was the total opposite from the loud, social hub of the previous night. After dinner at the night market, we moved our bags to the other location.We were pretty isolated, not to mention after the taxi dropped us of, no one was there and the place was locked. The next morning we took a shared taxi with me, Z, Binh, Kirin and a Korean traveler into Taroko National Park.
Taroko Gorge was stunning, picturesque, but freezing! We were wearing all of our clothes, layers of 4 or more, under coats. We went to all the major sites, did some easy walks and hikes, had lunch there and ended the day chillin' (literally) on the Pacific ocean north of Hualien,
Chinese New Year, Z and I made it home to Colorado, for a long overdue visit with friends and family, it was 2 years since we saw them in Los Angeles for my bro's wedding. It had been 4 years since we last went back to the Mile High City. That trip deserves its own blog, but suffice to say I reconnected with friendships that are 20 years old and older. It was magical to have my folks watch Z and then be given the royal treatment by my friends. Lets just say I ate and drank well, all too well, I returned back to Tainan 5 kg heavier and it was worth it! Unfortunately I haven't lost any of it.
I've been struggling financially since then. My return paycheck was meager from missing 2 weeks of work and its been one step forward to steps back ever since we got back, but looking at the photos of our time, it was also worth it.
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| Garden of the Gods |
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| Matsu day 1, Beigan |
In May we took a trip to Taipei. I stayed with my old friend Monica at her sister's place near where I was having an interview and demo in Xindian (they haven't called me back).
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| Sunrise from my window, Xindian |
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| Sherry, Z and Marion, saying goodbyes. |
I may not have got the job, but I got to see my old manager Sherry from my Kid Castle Chu Wei days, my old roommate Marion from Tamsui and of course Monica and her family. We have all been friends since 2000, Sherry and Marion have visited me in Colorado over the years. Monica used to live in Tainan.
Which brings me to last weekend's trip to Taitung, very last minute, quick, full of happy surprises and outstanding individuals. It was because of last weekend I decided to finally catch up on my blogs.
(To be continued, I hope),
