By J Aaron Farr on Fri, 13 Apr 2007

Today I took a ferry from Lamma Island to Hong Kong Island where I took a train to Lantau Island where the AsiaWorld-Expo center and airport is located. After attending Electronics & Components China Sourcing Fair, I took a plane in the afternoon to Taiwan (another island). An hour bus ride brought me to Taipei where I’ll attend the Open Source Developers Conference. I’m sitting here eating my Tian-Bu-La and wondering if I’m feeling carsick, seasick, or airsick. Actually, I don’t feel ill but the hotel room does seem to be moving. I’ll blame it on the ferry.

By Aaron on Tue, 13 Mar 2007

The US may be the hub of the global marketplace, but try and find a local street market with fresh fish, live chickens, and cheap mismatched clothes and you’ll come up empty. They’ve been walmarted and suburbanized out of existance. But such markets are alive and well here in China and Taiwan. From what I understand, they’re becoming more rare in Hong Kong though. Street side vendors are allowed to continue to operate, but can only pass the business on to the next of kin. Since these parents have higher hopes for their children many of these stalls will close up within a generation.

In China and Taiwan, street markets are where you can find everything from fresh food to new shoes to the latest unreleased DVD. I particularly love the markets in Taiwan. Dounan’s morning market the day before Chinese New Year was packed to the point of immobility. Everything necessary for a proper feast could be bought. You could watch your chicken meet its demise right there, pick up live shrimp, or any of another hundred ingredients.

Meanwhile, the night markets are part fair, part outdoor warehouse. And the food is the best. Stinky tofu, fresh juice drinks, BBQ squid, and my favorite, tian-bu-la. I always wished we had weekly or daily night markets in the US like they have in Taiwan. It would at least give kids something else to do in the evening. In the Dounan night market we watched some huckster gut snakes in front of a large crowd. The Shirlin night market in Taipei was the largest I had ever been to and made all others look tiny and empty. It spanned for blocks on end and I know we only saw a small part of it.

So far, we’ve been to morning or night markets in just about every single city we’ve visited. Each market has it’s own specialities and unique traits. Walking along these markets and enjoying the local tastes are one of my most favorite aspects of living here. You can see some of the markets we’ve visited on Flickr.

By Aaron on Wed, 21 Feb 2007

We left Dounan (also spelled Tounan, but pronounced like Dounan) just after lunch today. Our week with the Li family was terrific. They helped us feel at home and we enjoyed a new adventure each day. We also had a chance to visit my dear friends, the Wang family, in Huwei. Honestly, seeing the Wangs was the highlight of my time here.

One half of Taiwan is out visiting the other half this week and so the trains and highways are packed. We missed our chance to buy train tickets, so we took the four hour bus ride to Taipei. That trip covers more than half the length of Taiwan. Interestingly enough, I spent most of last year weekly commuting a similar distance from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia, something unthinkable to most Taiwanese.

After arriving in Taipei we had to first pick up some luggage we had left at the LDS mission office here. We got tired of lugging everything around and so we dropped off what we didn’t need for a week when we were last up here on the way to Beitou. In case you were wondering, that’s why I’ve been without my nice camera too.

All this traveling turned out in our favor. We arrived at the famous Grand Hotel to find out basic rooms had been upgraded to the executive suite. These are definitely the nicest rooms we’ve had yet. Jenny can’t get over the heated toilet seats while I’m admiring the two LCD HDTVs. It will be hard to leave them tomorrow for the YMCA at Hong Kong.

Even though we’ve only been in Taipei for a few hours, we’ve already had some adventures In addition to our surprise accommodations, we went to the Shilin night market, the largest night market in the city. But I’ll save that story for the next entry…

By Jenny on Tue, 20 Feb 2007

Tomorrow we leave Dounan. The last few days the Li family has spared no expense to make us feel at home and keep us well entertained.

Yesterday we drove to Lukang, an old port town that the Dutch occupied in the 17th century. The city has been very well preserved and tourists flock to the many temples and the older style Chinese houses. Lukang also has a fabulous street market that winds so many ways that even our tour guides got lost. At the market I was sure to utilize Mrs. Li as a translator to inquire after some Chinese medicines. I enjoyed the lotus juice and the coral drink. We also bought preserved fruit with a peppermint infusion. As usual, there was no shortage of food vendors. As sharing meals is customary, we all tried the fried mushrooms, salty cake, fried mini eggs on a stick, meat dumplings, and candied strawberries (my favorite). (Aaron: Don’t forget the fried squid!)

To finish off our tour of Lukang, we visited the Folk Arts Museum. Among Qing Dynasty furniture we also saw displays of shoes worn by foot-bound women, opium smoking devices, puppets, street performers’ knives, and agricultural equipment.

Later that evening we sat around the Li’s table and ate duck, rice cakes and freshly picked papaya from their tree. Like any close family we chatted about politics and religion.

Today we climbed “coffee mountain.” I’ve never before seen coffee plants and I expected them to be taller. The drive through the country also offered views of pineapple, bamboo, and sugarcane fields. And of course, there is never a shortage of rice fields.

Tonight the Li Family is hosting a large barbecue. Apparently they bought six chickens and a duck which will all be roasted whole. Also on the menu is fresh pineapple along with roasted sweet potato and sweet corn. And Mrs. Li keeps telling me that there will be a karaoke party until early morning.

When we take the bus to Taipei tomorrow I will miss the company of Mrs. Li. It’s also been nice not having to figure out meals. One of our big stresses on this trip is picking restaurants everyday. But in two days I’ll be back in Hong Kong and soaking up the city life.

By Jenny on Fri, 16 Feb 2007

It’s official… I’m 27 years old. I’ve been checking for wrinkles on my face and sagging body parts and things are about the same as when I was 26. But 27 sure does feel a lot older just because of the number. I’m a lot closer to 30 now and it seems like someone in their 20’s is more likely to play with life and do impulsive things. What I’m trying to get at is that I never want to grow into a static adult routine. All of this traveling is reminding me of how opportunistic the world is and why living is so important rather than simply going through the motions and one day realizing that old age has caught up with you.

So Aaron and I are seizing our moments and he is surely treating me with special care. For my birthday this year, he out did any of my past surprises. It sure is nice to be loved.

Knowing how much I miss the sight of forests and smelling fresh air, Aaron took me to Beitou which is a hot springs haven nestled in the mountainous tropics. For 2 nights, we stayed in a resort that has it’s own springs on-site surrounded by lush gardens. It’s a Japanese style hotel where you leave your shoes in the lobby and wear slippers to your room. Each room offers woven mats on the floor with a low table and pillows for seats. One of my favorite services offered here is a large thermos of hot tea brought every morning to the room. It stays hot even into the evening.

The owner and operator is an old Chinese woman who’s been living and working here since her teens. If only I could speak Chinese I would love to question her about a more detailed history of the place. One tidbit that we do know is that Japanese kamikaze pilots spent their last nights here during World War II.

And this would be a terrific place to spend that last night of your life. It’s calm and meditative. We opened our windows in the morning to hear birds instead of traffic and at night I cherished the sounds of dogs barking in their yards. In between those nature sounds was a lot of silence.

So with that silence we spent a lot of time in our room relaxing and celebrating an older Jenny. Actually, this year I felt like I had two days of birthday celebrations. Because we are 13 hours ahead of the States, when the 14th rolled around it was still my birthday in the US. To fully appreciate this, on the 13th we had an ice-cream party in our room, and on the 14th we had cake.

Tomorrow we leave for Huwei where we’ll stay with some of Aaron’s old friends for the week of Chinese New Year. I’ll be breathing deep until then.

By Jenny on Thu, 15 Feb 2007

We’ve been in Taiwan for 6 days and I’ve been stalling this blog entry. At first I wasn’t too thrilled with Taiwan. The pollution here is just as bad as Beijing’s air quality. But instead of factory pollution, the foul smell comes straight into your face from the scooters. And when a burst of exhaust fumes isn’t hazing up your nostrils, then something else, like sewage, stinky tofu (a Taiwanese dish), or wet dog is sure to catch your every breath. No two inhalations are alike and I can’t foresee an end to bad smells in Taiwan, although the occasional whiff of incense is always welcome. I am now completely aware and empathetic to the cause of Aaron’s poor sinus issue. But now I’m wondering if he has any sinus tissues left to be repaired.

Furthermore, the sidewalks are not uniform and so it’s very difficult to get anywhere with a stroller. Most of the time we are forced to walk on the streets and pray not to get hit by traffic. These people are absolutely nuts! I have to cross my fingers and do the sign of the cross each time I attempt to risk our lives by just getting from one street to the next. Stop signs do not exist here and I’m sure you can’t find driving schools either…especially for learning how to drive a scooter.

Okay…now that my rant is out of the way I can focus on the good things about Taiwan.

What I’ve read about the people being so friendly here is really true. They are not visibly afraid of us and strangers who know even a little English are willing to strike up a conversation. This is in great contrast to mainland China where you are seen as a threat by most older people and the younger ones are just too shy to approach you (unless they want your money). And in Macau and Hong Kong, foreigners are so common that no one really cares to talk to you. So, being the minority in Taiwan in interesting, and it’s nice to be appreciated here. I’ve had many young men openly flirt with me in the awkward Chinese way of shouting out that I’m beautiful and giving me the thumb’s up sign. Of course Aaron is never around to see this.

Another very charming aspect of Taiwan is the small businesses. I would kill for some of these fresh squeezed juice stands in the U.S. For 80TWD (under 3USD) you can watch your fruit being turned into juice and walk away with a liter of orange or grapefruit refreshment. Because sidewalk food vendors abound, there is never any need to go hungry in Taiwan even if you are on a time or money restriction. And if rice rolls or fried fish meal doesn’t suit your fancy, there is always a Starbucks, Subway or Pizza Hut nearby. However, the local pizza is just as bad as it was in Beijing. The Chinese have no concept of good crust or toppings. I’ve experienced orange oil on one pizza, and corn seems to be the standard topping like pepperoni is in the states.

Although the people are friendly and the food is convenient, I am more partial to some other areas we’ve been. I guess everywhere I go in Asia I’ll say things like, “This is no Hong Kong.” But I’m still looking forward to visiting Thailand someday and spending an entire day on the beach with cheap Thai massages. And then my phrase will become, “This is no Thailand.”

By J Aaron Farr on Thu, 08 Feb 2007

Ah, Taiwan. Who can forget the jumble of shops and scooters and people that make up this quirky island?

Returning to Taiwan for me is like a dream come true. Not the ‘I’m going to Disney World’ sort of dream come true, but the ‘I swear I’ve seen this place in my dreams’ sort of dream come true. My memories of Taiwan have always had a sort of fuzziness to them, as if they were from another life rather than just six or seven years ago. Today, walking the streets of Hsinchu as I had so many times before, those fuzzy memories began coming back in high definition.

It’s funny though what I do remember and what I don’t. Like how just up that street that bears to the right not far from the train station you’ll find a skateboard shop run by a foreigner. (He’s still there). But ask me where my old apartment was or how to get there and I couldn’t tell you. Odd.

Today I took Jenny and Maeli to one of my favorite places in Hsinchu, the Chenghuang Temple. From the street you can only see its tiled roof. Food stalls and small shops form a maze that twists through covered alleys. Past the shops is the temple entrance, part stone courtyard part food court. Here a dozen or two food vendors have setup shop selling rice noodles and meatball soup for which Hsinchu is famous. We enjoyed our meal of the local specialties sitting just outside the temple, the smell of incense mixing with that of our meal.

I’m not sure how long we’ll be here in Hsinchu but it’s already been quite an experience.