Twenty-sixteen

 

 

Well another year has passed far too quickly, and I have failed to update my blog at all!  To redeem myself, I'll attempt to sum up another wonderful year in Taipei.

My 2016 began with an amazing party in one of Taipei's many riverside parks.  The free, clandestine, party hosted entirely by volunteers and featured numerous DJs and dancers, vendors selling good beer and a nice, but distant, view of the Taipei 101 fireworks.

My work life during 2016, continued in it's regular fashion, teaching both children and adults, regularly acting out English dialog scenes for English teaching books and magazines. This year, however, I was teaching more hours than ever before, allowing me to comfortably afford to spend money on my favorite activity, travelling.

In early February, Chinese New Year brought the year of the Monkey to Taiwan and gave me a vacation to monkey-around in the Philippines. I flew into Manila on the first day of the vacation and spent two nights reacquainting myself with the city and with San Miguel beer before jetting off to the island of Palawan.

After a quick flight from Manila, I arrived in Puerto Princesa, the largest town on the island.  I spent just one night there before boarding a five hour mini-bus ride to the remote beach resort tourist town of El Nido.

I arrived in El Nido after sundown, and set out to the bar. I awoke in the morning for a free breakfast at my hotel. While I ate, I was accompanied by a stunning view.  I spent my days in El Nido at beaches, and nights at bars, before returning to El Nido for a night and one additional night in Manila.

Once back in Taipei I became aware that there was another upcoming long weekend in February.  I quickly booked a short trip to Nagoya, Japan.

From the tropical heat of Palawan, to the cold winter air in Nagoya, my two February vacations were vastly different.  I arrived in Nagoya early in the morning and the near-freezing temperatures were a shock to my body.   While I knew quite little about Nagoya before arriving, I did know that my father had once spent some time there as a young man while doing an internship.

While I'm sure it has changed drastically since my father was there, Nagoya is fairly typical Japanese city, which implies that excellent food and beer were present. I had a nice quick hop abroad and I enjoyed seeing another one of Japan's amazing cities.

As spring brought warmth to Taiwan, I began taking long leisurely bike-rides to every corner of Taipei, utilizing the comfortable weather and the city's excellent network of Riverside bike paths.

The beginning of April is Spring break in Taiwan and for the second year I traveled to the southern tip of Taiwan for a weekend of concerts and parties on the beautiful beaches of Kenting. This weekend long party is among the best and funnest parties I have been to, anywhere in the world.

Summer starts early here in Taiwan and so do the pool parties.  As they have been for the past few years, my summer weekends were seldom without a poolside beer. Summer is also the start of Typhoon season. Taiwan was hit by a few strong typhoons this year however, I fared them all unharmed and intact.

At the end of May, I was graced with a visit from my parents.  I had a wonderful time with them even though they may have melted a little as a heatwave with highs of 37 degrees coincided with their visit.  In addition to the heatwave, they also were fortunate to experience Taipei's strongest earthquake of the year.

Following the farewells with my parents, it was time for another vacation for myself.  My trip began with a short flight to Hong Kong for two days of revisiting a city that I've been to several times before.  It had been several years since my last visit to Hong Kong and the ever changing and evolving metropolis was a pleasure to see again.

Onward from Hong Kong, I flew to Bali, Indonesia for a week of sand, sunshine and birthday celebrations.   Bali is home to a good friend of mine whom I've known since middle school. Visiting with him and celebrating my 30th birthday was the perfect start of summer getaway.

Following plenty of vacation time and What had already seemed like a long summer, July first, and Canada Day, arrived.  Canada Day is the largest foreign national day celebration in Taipei, far overshadowing the fourth of July, and as usual, I celebrated with Canadian beer and music and a day of enjoying sunshine in the park.

Midway through summer I had a 4 day weekend, due to a summer camp outing that my students were taking.  I used the short break as an opportunity to check out an unfamiliar part of Japan.

Colorful fishies!

Unlike Nagoya, Naha, Okinawa is far from a typical Japanese city.   Okinawa and the other Ryukyu Islands have a unique history that sets them apart from the rest of Japan.   Once a kingdom independent from Japan, The Ryuku islands, because an American colony for nearly 30 years following World War II.   Additionally, the almost tropical climate and island lifestyle contribute to a laid back fun loving culture in contrast to the typical Japanese salary man lifestyle.    The food in Okinawa is also different from the larger Japanese Islands, in Okinawa, pork is the primary food source and is found in nearly every dish.     As a result of the American military bases on the island, some interesting Mexican-American dishes have developed.   Most notable is Taco Rice, a plate of rice coated in all the familiar Taco fixings.  My brief trip to Okinawa was very among my favorite trips of
the year.

Not long after my Okinawa trip came another holiday and another trip abroad.    Mid-autumn festival is a lunar calendar holiday that usually occurs in September.  Most Taiwanese people celebrate the occasion by barbecuing meat on charcoal grill in every lane, street and alley. I celebrated the occasion this year by flying to Kuala Lumpur for my final trip abroad for the year.

I had been to KL a few times before, yet it had been about 5 years since my last visit.  In the past I've always loved KL for it's blend of cultures living in unity, which have brought with them some of the most delicious cuisines in the world.    I feasted on Indian,  and Malay cuisine, and even a little bit of Chinese Malaysian food as well.   It was nice to see Kuala Lumpur again, though little had changed since my last visit.

In October, I received, yet more visitors from Canada.   In two separate visits, Three of my very good friends from Vancouver visited me in Taipei.   It's always great to welcome friends and family to Taipei and to show them how great Taiwan is!

For Halloween I, for the second time, dressed as Super Man.   I attended a few Halloween parties, and had a great time as always during my favorite holiday season.

Not Halloween, just a cosplay event.

With the year not yet over, I still had yet one more trip to take, this, however, was not a trip abroad but to the nearby Taiwanese city of Taichung. I had an offer to do some work testing children's English in Taichung with my transport on the high-speed train.  It had been over three years since I last made the short trek to Taichung, and I happily accepted the opportunity to be a tourist in Taiwan. Taichung is much like Taipei, but is far less metropolitan and feels much more locally Taiwanese.   Taichung is also a bustling city with plenty happening in nearly every corner of the city.

Though a chillier winter season is expected, through November and December Taipei remained hot, as if Summer never left.  Christmas eve was spent with friends, over drinks and dancing and on Christmas day I opened my Christmas gifts which I gratefully received from my family in Canada.

Taipei's New Year's Eve  fireworks are among the best in world, with colorful fire and laser lights erupting from Taipei's tallest building.  This year, I was lucky to be invited by a friend to view the fireworks from a rooftop, directly across from Taipei 101.   Aided by an excellent vantage point, the fireworks were spectacular this year.

As 2016 came to a close, I was happy to reflect on the great year that I had had. Multiple trips abroad, visits from friends and family, and fun times in Taipei; while 2016 seems to be getting a bad rap from many, for me it is a year to remember.   Thanks to everyone who helped to make it awesome!