woah wait... where were you before?

Take care super fan bros!

Weird, it's actually already Saturday here in Taiwan, 5:51 in the morning, I'm confused...

Thanks John, will do. As Eric said we were lucky he decided to bring his US passport along otherwise I would have been flying solo. Really long flight (approx 15 hours), but at least it was non-stop from Toronto which makes a huge difference. We flew Eva Air, "the wings of Taiwan".

Rolf - we've both visited here before, but for Eric it's been a long time. I usually try to visit once a year if I can. Our dad, little sister and a whole bunch of relatives live here. Taiwan rocks!

Actually Eric is sleeping on the coach in the airport because he didn't get any sleep on the flight. We're going to try and find a place that sells Apple products in Taipei before going to my dad's because I forgot the power cord to my macbook. :/

yay! have fun cuzs!

Thanks cuz! :)

I took a picture of Eric sleeping, but I'm too skeered to post it.

Scared we might draw a dick on his face?






































Honestly, we're much more mature than that.


We'd draw a vagina on it instead.

Breakfast Eva Air style:

Mya - ha ha, no, it's just that he's really touchy about what photos I post, will have to get his approval first. :)

Here's where we're at right now:

have a safe trip fellas!

Thank reags!

i mean thanks!

Oh man, my battery is running out. Eric is still snoozin' on the coach. It's 72 degrees outside apparently.

Here's me:

Looks cool, like a rocket! I forgot to mention a cool video app to you in my last email. It's called super 8 and it's like hipstamatic but for videos. Everything you shoot on it looks like the intro to the wonder years or hanso foundation! Def worth a download as it's free and it has a built in video editor in the app.

Dudes! I had a layover in that airport once. I totally recognize that post! I know it's weird but it was like 3am when we got there and NO ONE was in the airport. so we had to wait for our next flight at like 8 am.

How long are you guys gone for? I'm considering visiting my sis sometime next year who's doing mission work there and I've got no idea what that area's like.....actually I haven't been overseas in over a decade argh.

Oh man, thanks for mentioning that John because I wanted to do a lot of videos while i was here and something like that would be just perfect.

Rolf - wow, that's awesome! Yeah, this is an old part of the airport and it's become a very familiar sight to me as well. :) Not such a bad place to hang out actually and the wiifi works really well.

reags - we're just here for ten days because Eric couldn't get any longer off his work, wish I could stay longer. Taiwan is really a awesome place and the people are wonderful. Taipei is the capital and is a very modern, bustling city, full of cool stuff to do and see,

John -- I just picked up the super 8 app yesterday. It's pretty neat!

man, that breakfast. despite knowing exactly what it tastes like it makes me want to travel somewhere right now. i don't even mind the ridiculous long flights and lack of sleep and perpetual discomfort. all part of the adventure.

I feel pretty bad that I sat in business class for 90% of my cross Atlantic/ocean/continent flights right now. :(

What's worse is that I was kid for all of them so, I could have handled the smaller seats with less discomfort.

Leon - ha ha, actually the breakfast didn't taste as bad as it looks.
Mya - aw man, you're lucky, I'd kill for business class.

My first meal:

those dumplings look so good
*drool*

everything on that table looks delicious.

awesome! keep posting stuff. blogs like this are cool.

Oh man, that looks good. Those dumpling skins look like they have that perfect chewy goodness. My two favorite Taipei things: beef noodle soup and fresh bamboo shoots (I've never seen those anywhere else). Have an awesome time!

Mya Jamila on May 13 '11 at 7:50pm
I feel pretty bad that I sat in business class for 90% of my cross Atlantic/ocean/continent flights right now. :(

Why would you feel bad about that. Business class rocks! I've only done it once, but it was the shizzzzzz.

everything on that table looks delicious! Have a good trip guys!

I thought I'd post a few pictures before we head out. This is a hundred year old tree my dad had transplanted to his property:



The gardens at our ancestral home:



Some teapots made by my dad:



One of two peacocks that roam the property amongst the chickens and ducks:



Two-storey tree fort:



Stone table at the ancestral home:



We went to a restaurant owned by a folk singer, Their specialty is mortar tea which you grind in a mortar and pestle with roasted sesame. Here's Terry taking his turn:



While I observe and supervise:



The walls of the restaurant were completely covered in these crazy doodles and graffiti:



I'll try to post more pictures but internet access has been a bit spotty.

your dad's a potter???!!!

what a wonderful place!!

those teapots are gorgeous!

Polyester Jones on May 19 '11 at 10:27pm
your dad's a potter???!!!

Yes! Among many other things... philosopher, bee keeper, parrot breeder, organic fruit farmer.

We're back in Toronto. Feels strange, but it was a great trip. Here are a few more pictures.

You never knew when you would encounter a peacock:





A cool piece of driftwood at my dad's place:



And his two-storey tree house:



And briar wood tea table:



Here's my dad with his favourite parrot, Good Boy:



Some of his free range chickens:



We tried lots of new food. This seaweed salad was pretty unusual, but strangely delicious:



Delicious beef noodle soup:



This dumpling soup with cilantro was amazing. The sticky-rice dumplings were stuffed with roasted turnip:




Best bubble tea in Taiwan!



This is a tea house on stilts at my cousin's cottage. It was designed by the famous Japanese architect Terunobu Fujimori. The only way up to the tea house was via an extension ladder:



Relaxing by his lake:



The lake was once owned by the Chinese mafia and three prostitutes apparently drowned in it long ago and turned into giant koi who now haunt the lake. When my dad was swimming in the lake once an enormous orange fish breached the surface and startled him. He said it was nearly six feet long.



They served us moon cake and candied fruit:



We visited a geo park in northern Taiwan that had these awesome rock structures:





Exploring some of the caves. We found a tiny headless Buddha at the end of one tunnel:



So many good foods to try at this market:







I tried to win one of these for my niece but failed:

Wow, so very much amazingness in this blog! Wow. I'm sad you didn't catch a cuddly mushroom though!

I totally owned the pellet gun shooting gallery though and won a couple of gifts for my niece. :)

Awesome! Also, I love the terrified-looking Patrick the Starfish buried among the mushrooms

lol. I didn't even notice him.

Nice photos - looks like you had a wonderful time.

I just laughed out loud when checking society6 you and Terry have all but one of the front page taken up!

^awesome