October Until Now...

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My final two and a half months of 2014 were event filled and exciting.  Two of my favorite holidays fall within this period and the heightened merriment of the season was enhanced by some awesome occasions that I was invited to attend. 

In late October, I was fortunate enough to be gifted with the opportunity to attend a brewery tour at one of Taiwan's newest craft breweries.


Bloch brewery, located about an hour and a half outside Taipei, is one many new beer producers that have sprung up in Taiwan over the past year. While most brewers focus on American beer styles, such as amber ales and IPAs, Bloch brews traditional European beer styles in a small, but impressive brewery. The tour included unlimited samples of the delicious beer, and by the time the tour was over, I had drunk more than my fill.

October is among my favorite months of the year, not only does it include Canadian Thanksgiving and my sister's birthday, but also my favorite holiday; Halloween.

While Halloween is not as enthusiastically celebrated here as at home in Canada, there is no short supply of costume parties for those looking to partake. This year I dressed a Superman, in a costume I was able to adorn for three sessions of Halloween partying.

The best of the three nights, was November first, when I attended a huge party in Taipei's Red theater, an impressive crucifix shaped arts center constructed during the Japanese colonial era. The party was among the best I went to in 2014.   It was loud, exciting, and everything else one would want from a excellent Halloween party.

The coming of November also brought the Taipei International Beer and Wine Expo!    I was, again, lucky  to receive a free ticket to this event.    The Expo featured booths from many of the new brewers of Taiwan's rapidly expanding craft beer industry as well as most Taiwan's prominent beer and wine importers that help to drive the industry forward.   The free samples offered at the expo ensured a solid day-drunk and plentiful sampling of some of the best craft beer that Taiwan currently has on offer.

Though the Christmas decorations go up as early as October and familiar Christmas tunes chimes throughout department stores all winter, the actual holiday of Christmas is, for the most part, a non-event in Taiwan.

This year, I was asked by the school that I work for to host a Christmas performance for the parents of two schools. That meant, standing at a podium, forcing vaguely comedic banter with a co-host, for more than two hours in front of a crowd of more than 200 people.   Luckily, the majority of the crowd didn't understand English, and the performance was a breeze.

My costume, as a 'prince'(vampire) for the Christmas show

As usual over here, I spent both my Christmas eve and Christmas nights in a bars with some of my closest friends.  Christmas is the loneliest time for most expats and I am no exception.    Christmas has never been easy for me here in Taipei but I'm happy for the support and friendship of my good friends at that time of year.   Additionally, I owe a great deal of thanks to my family at home for the cards, gifts and well-wishes that reached me here.

Despite Taiwan's lackluster celebration of Christmas, New Years Eve is a major event and Taipei is renowned, worldwide, as one of the best cities to ring in the New Year.    I had seen the infamous Taipei 101 fireworks in the past two years, albeit from a distance.  This year, however, I was less than 200 meters from the tower and the view was breathtaking.  I can certainly say, that from up-close, the Taipei 101 fireworks are by far the most impressive and beautiful firework display I have ever seen.

January proved to be a mostly uneventful month in terms of blog-worthiness. despite the opening of a great new bar and some good times with old friends, I don't have a anything to say.

Early in February, Cameron Walton, who may be my longest standing friend, came to visit me in Taipei.  Cameron and I have known each-other since preschool, and have since attended every level of education, up to university, together.   Needless to say, Cam and I are good friends and he is is the first of my friends to visit me in Taipei!   Cam has been living an teaching English in China, so, of course it is a bit more convenient for him, however, I'm still awaiting a visit from some of my Vancouver friends!    I did my best to show Cam all that Taipei has to offer, and I think we had a great time reconnecting and hanging out in my city, I only hope that I can visit him while he is still in China.

Chinese New Year is the most significant holiday of the year in Taiwan and it is to Taiwanese people, everything that Christmas is to Canadians.   This year celebrated the coming of the year of the goat, ...or ram, ....or sheep (...羊 all the same word in Chinese); family feasts, gifts, and time-off work and school mark the occasion accompanied by the addition of noisy firecrackers and festive lion and dragon dancing. While the majority of Taipei residents disperse to the homes of their families around Taiwan, I typically find my self in the post-apocalyptically silent city, with nothing to do.   This year I decided to forgo the boredom and loneliness that comes along with being a cultural outsider to a traditional festival, and travel to one of my favorite travel destinations, Thailand.

I flew into the touristic city of Chiang Mai on the eve of Chinese new year and the start Taiwan's five day national holiday.    I last visited Chiang Mai more than 5 years ago, on my first trip to Asia.

While the city once again awed me with its beauty, the inescapable touristic vibe of the city was off-putting and although I had a great time in spite of it, I was happy to be headed to Bangkok after just two nights.

  

Bangkok, is among my favorite cities in the world, and as many of you know, I've been to many cities and that's no easy achievement.   Though I love the city on it's own merits, a major highlight of my trip was meeting up with my junior-high, high-school, university, and generally long-time friend; Gord.

My days in the Thai capital were preoccupied with wandering the streets of the city that has long been familiar to me and gorging on the some of my favorite foods.  I love the city of Bangkok because of it's unique blend of tradition and modernity. The massive shopping centers of the city center, known as Siam, are patronized by fashionable young Thais who are never too in-fashion to pause at a shrine, commonly placed at the entrance to Thai businesses, press their palms together and bow to show their appreciation to their traditional gods.

To be honest, the majority of my five nights in Bangkok was focused on exploring the best of the city's nightlife with my friend Gord.  It had been over two years since I'd last seen Gord, who as been living and working in Bali, Indonesia, yet no awkwardness from the intern was felt, and we were quickly back to partying like we once did as first-year Uvic students.  The nights out in Bangkok were certainly some to remember (whenever that was possible).

When I returned to Taipei the Chinese New Year's festivities had already subsided and it was back to life as usual, or at leas the life that I have happily become accustomed to.

More of my photos from around Taipei below!

Gay-pride parade in Taipei