a bit of a holiday....
Here are some pictures from a bit of traveling we did recently. Martin's brother, Pete, came to visit us from England for 10 days and we spent many a jolly hour showing him around Taiwan and sharing our lives here with him.
Pete's holiday in Taiwan started a little badly as I was sick with "acute gastroenteritis" the day he arrived. I perked up a little on Sunday, so instead of starting the epic journey around Taiwan as Martin had planned, we jetted off to Lukang for the day. Lukang is a beautiful little town filled with lots of old temples and cool lantern shops. We were really lucky this day as we managed to see a ceremony at the Matsu temple in central Lukang... lots of dragon dances, self-flagellation and dancing!
Pretty lanterns hanging in the streets.
Kate and Katie at the Matsu temple.
The head of the dragon.
The big men who guard the doors to the temple.
This man walked over a line of firecrackers while whipping his own back.
Once back in Yuanlin, we took Pete to our local foreign hangout - The Maple Leafs. We should have been introducing him to all the local delicacies but quite frankly, we were just too hungry and too tired!!
Me and Martin at Neills.
After enjoying some good hamburgers, bagels and fries we headed to the night market. I think Pete really enjoyed foraging around there... the boys played a baseball-throwing game (which they both sucked at!!), Martin tried his hand at a Chinese game that we didn't really know how to play, and we made friends with a cool guy who had a Thai-looking stall full of clothes and other trinkets.
Trying out the Chinese game.
Night market street.
The boys search for cool stickers... but I'm more interested in the camera!
When Monday morning came around I was feeling a bit better but somehow poor Martin had caught my dreaded lurgy!! So we had to postpone the trip for another day...
Luckily by Tuesday we were both feeling much better and up for anything so we all headed off for Sun Moon Lake.
Are we there yet? (I get bored in the front seat and start to entertain myself by taking funny pictures!)
Martin and the Katies beside the lake.
There is a lovely big temple along Sun Moon Lake called Wen Wu Temple. This temple is a shrine to both Confucianism and Taoism religions. From the top of the temple you can enjoy views of the whole lake.
One of the big dragon guards of the temple.
Striking a pose outside the Wen Wu temple.
Kissing a dragon.
The view from the top of the temple.
Pete gets excited about the giant apple he's having for dinner.
After spending most of the day at Sun Moon Lake we drove to Dongpu for the night. Dongpu is a particular favorite of mine and Martins as it is basically a hot spring town. We always stay at the same hotel - the views of the mountains are gorgeous and you get a big natural jacuzzi in your hotel room!!! Nice.
First thing we do... jump into the bath and play with bubbles!!
I'm enticing him in...
Breakfast the next morning.
Martin excells at his Timotei shampoo advert!
Pete's so sexy he turns the water hot...
Group shot!
Preparing for the next leg of the trip.
Katie on the bridge in Dongpu.
Beautiful views... (and I don't just mean Katie!)
From Dongpu we drove to Tatachia to watch the sunset. Last time Martin and I went there we were on the scooter and it was freezing cold!! It was a lot more pleasant this time round and we even got there a little early so managed to see the visitor center and have some food too.
Poor little British boy got rather sunburnt!
Dudes.
And I would walk 500 miles...
We have a picnic of beer and watch the sunset.
Lovely sunset.
After the sunset in Tatachia, we drove through to Alishan to stay the night. We had some lovely food (even though we're not sure how we ordered half of it... bit of a menu mix-up!) and then it was back to the hotel to get some sleep before the great 4am wake up call! We had another mix up the next morning as the hotel didn't call us as they usually do to wake us up. Luckily we had also set an alarm... but it was set 30 minutes later than it should have been and we almost missed the train up the mountain!! Luckily, Martin the hero, ran up ahead and made them wait for us!
The little convenient store is really tiny! Martin and Katie had fun showing off how tall they are.
Martin at sunrise.
The cherry blossoms.
After spending the morning walking down the mountain and enjoying the trees, we had to drive to Chiayi. Katie and I had to be at school teaching that same evening so it was a bit of a rush to the train station. We were very jealous as we left the boys to continue their journey around Taiwan. And I must say that I'm not sure my students got the best of me that night... but after waking up at 4am - what do they expect!!!
Martin and Pete arrived back in Yuanlin on the Sunday before Pete had to leave, so we decided to pack his last few days with lots of meals out and things... we took him up the mountain behind Yuanlin to see the view of the city at night, to various eateries and some local Taiwanese bars.
The brothers on top of the mountain.
I'm an alien!
Pete got rather hungry on top of the mountain...
At the Japanese bbq restaurant where you can order as much of anything as you like and you have to cook it yourself!
At a local bar having a few drinks.
We had a wonderful time with Pete here, and Martin really enjoyed the brotherly bonding time. Thanks for coming... we miss you Pete!!
posted by Kate Harding @ 1:22 pm
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