Hi readers and intrepid Taiwan explorers,
I am so humbled to still have readers since leaving Taiwan almost 4 years ago! Even after all this time, I can honestly say that I truly miss the beauty of the island and the kindness of its people every day.
As for me, I am currently a public school teacher in the US. I still frequently travel and will be updating this blog with my more recent adventures!
I have been posting many of my Asia travel photos on my Instagram . Follow me @girl.gets.away
For those of you looking to travel to Taiwan, GO! As soon as possible! You won't be disappointed :-)
Showing posts with label vacation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vacation. Show all posts
Monday, December 29, 2014
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Vacation part 2/3: Thailand
The day after returning from Taroko, five Yilan ETAs and I exchanged our "business casual" weekend attire for shorts and T-shirts and headed out to Thailand!
This was my third trip to the Kingdom of Smiles, having been a Rotary Exchange Student there in 2004-2005 and returning for a brief visit in 2009. It felt awesome not only to return to the sunshine and delicious food but to be able to show off the country to my friends.
After spending a day seeing the Bangkok sites, our group split up -- while four kids flew north to Chiang Mai, and I hopped on a plane south to the beach!
We did a 3-day snorkeling trip on the Similan Islands, a protected National Park made up of seven islands in the Andaman Sea. We saw barracudas and hairy chicken crabs!
After a night in Phuket, we flew back to Bangkok and hopped on a bus to visit my old host family in Rayong. We stayed a night on Koh Samet, the small island off the coast of Rayong, and then bounced back north to the ruins of Ayudthaya, Thailand's ancient capital.
We spent our last day doing absolutely nothing except sitting poolside, reading and sipping margarita coolers.
This was my third trip to the Kingdom of Smiles, having been a Rotary Exchange Student there in 2004-2005 and returning for a brief visit in 2009. It felt awesome not only to return to the sunshine and delicious food but to be able to show off the country to my friends.
After spending a day seeing the Bangkok sites, our group split up -- while four kids flew north to Chiang Mai, and I hopped on a plane south to the beach!
We did a 3-day snorkeling trip on the Similan Islands, a protected National Park made up of seven islands in the Andaman Sea. We saw barracudas and hairy chicken crabs!
After a night in Phuket, we flew back to Bangkok and hopped on a bus to visit my old host family in Rayong. We stayed a night on Koh Samet, the small island off the coast of Rayong, and then bounced back north to the ruins of Ayudthaya, Thailand's ancient capital.
We spent our last day doing absolutely nothing except sitting poolside, reading and sipping margarita coolers.
My favorite food - Somtam!!
How many people can YOU fit in a tuktuk?
Boat tour of Bangkok
Dante's new friends
Similan Islands
We stayed in these tents
No durian and no doing it in this cab!
Host Mom, Pom, and host sisters!
Vacation part 1/3: Taroko
I'm finally back at school after a wonderful 3-week, 3-part vacation.
Part 1: Taroko
To kick off the winter break, the entire Taiwan Fulbright crew made our way to Taroko Gorge in Hualien, Taiwan. Hualien's an hour south of Yilan by train and had been previously visited by most of the Yilan ETAs (myself not included for obvious reasons, namely pure laziness) when they ran the Taroko Gorge Half-Marathon earlier this year.
Taroko Gorge is nicknamed the "Grand Canyon of Taiwan" and is one of the must-see places on the island. To top off the natural beauty, we were there on official Fulbright business -- meaning that we got the 5-star treatment all weekend long.
Part 1: Taroko
To kick off the winter break, the entire Taiwan Fulbright crew made our way to Taroko Gorge in Hualien, Taiwan. Hualien's an hour south of Yilan by train and had been previously visited by most of the Yilan ETAs (myself not included for obvious reasons, namely pure laziness) when they ran the Taroko Gorge Half-Marathon earlier this year.
Taroko Gorge is nicknamed the "Grand Canyon of Taiwan" and is one of the must-see places on the island. To top off the natural beauty, we were there on official Fulbright business -- meaning that we got the 5-star treatment all weekend long.
We spent one of our lunch breaks at this pagoda
Taiwan!
Lunch-time hike to the hill pagoda
It's trippy inside
View from the pagoda
Our hotel!
We had to wear helmets because of rockslides
Tunnel through the mountain
On the train to Hualien
Monday, January 17, 2011
Vacation and Jiufen
T'was the day before vacation and all through the town,
Everyone was anxious, busy bustling around.
Red couplets were hung from the doorways with care
In hopes that lucky money would soon be there.
Children were finished with their testing in school,
Now sleeping at their desks they had begun to drool.
Responsibilities finished, my bags all but packed,
I settle into my desk chair with an Asian-style snack.
WINTER BREAK STARTS IN 2 DAYS!
To start things off, the other ETAs and I will spend 3 days attending the Fulbright Midyear Conference in Taroko Gorge National Park, known as the "Grand Canyon" of Taiwan. FSE always puts us up in fancy hotels with the best meals, and this trip will be no exception. See and be envious: Silks Place Taroko.
The following day, a few of us will be taking off to my beloved country of Thailand for a little R&R in the sunshine. While the rest of the group heads north to hills of Chiang Mai, Dante and I will be making our way to the south for a 3 day snorkeling trip on the (mostly) uninhabited Similan Islands, off the coast of Phang Nga. We'll spend a night visiting my host family in Rayong and hopefully do a little more island hopping / ancient ruins exploring / sunning before flying back to Taiwan on February 2nd - Chinese New Year's Eve! Then it's Chinese New Year, my birthday, and a train trip south along the west coast of Taiwan, hitting up Taichong, Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Kending before school starts again on the 14th.
It's gonna be busy and hopefully full of sunshine and red envelopes full of lucky money! Keep your eyes peeled for pics!
Due to an English Village scheduling mistake, we ended up with an early vacation day last Thursday! Dante and I headed north to the foggy mountaintop village of Jiufen.
The town of Jiufen, one cafe in particular, was the inspiration for Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki's animated film "Spirited Away." If you've ever seen the film (and if you haven't, you should!), the likeness is pretty unmistakable.
Everyone was anxious, busy bustling around.
Red couplets were hung from the doorways with care
In hopes that lucky money would soon be there.
Children were finished with their testing in school,
Now sleeping at their desks they had begun to drool.
Responsibilities finished, my bags all but packed,
I settle into my desk chair with an Asian-style snack.
WINTER BREAK STARTS IN 2 DAYS!
To start things off, the other ETAs and I will spend 3 days attending the Fulbright Midyear Conference in Taroko Gorge National Park, known as the "Grand Canyon" of Taiwan. FSE always puts us up in fancy hotels with the best meals, and this trip will be no exception. See and be envious: Silks Place Taroko.
The following day, a few of us will be taking off to my beloved country of Thailand for a little R&R in the sunshine. While the rest of the group heads north to hills of Chiang Mai, Dante and I will be making our way to the south for a 3 day snorkeling trip on the (mostly) uninhabited Similan Islands, off the coast of Phang Nga. We'll spend a night visiting my host family in Rayong and hopefully do a little more island hopping / ancient ruins exploring / sunning before flying back to Taiwan on February 2nd - Chinese New Year's Eve! Then it's Chinese New Year, my birthday, and a train trip south along the west coast of Taiwan, hitting up Taichong, Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Kending before school starts again on the 14th.
It's gonna be busy and hopefully full of sunshine and red envelopes full of lucky money! Keep your eyes peeled for pics!
Due to an English Village scheduling mistake, we ended up with an early vacation day last Thursday! Dante and I headed north to the foggy mountaintop village of Jiufen.
View from Jiufen
The town of Jiufen, one cafe in particular, was the inspiration for Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki's animated film "Spirited Away." If you've ever seen the film (and if you haven't, you should!), the likeness is pretty unmistakable.
We spent the afternoon drinking fancy "Oriental Beauty" tea at Jiufen's oldest tea house, wandering through the small alleys filled with touristy crap, and eating the famous Taro Ball Soup.
 |
| Fancy tea house |
 |
| We sat at a weird bed table that had a built-in charcoal pit and tea serving tray |
 |
| Good taro ball soup with an even better view! |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)