Beware The Gangster!

One of the frustrations we have had is getting Taiwan Dollars via our US Bank Card. On our most recent visit to the ATM we were greeted with this odd message.

What might a gangster look like, you ask? Well more on that later.

We were invited to an overnight outing to MingChih Forest near Yi-Lan in Eastern Taiwan to see some ancient trees, breathe the crisp mountain air, and take in the scenery. Melissa and I enjoyed meeting the motley crew of folks we were with (ex-pats, church folks, and others) and the welcome change from the Urban Taipei setting to seeing the lush green-ness that characterizes most of Taiwan.

Left Column: We truly had some of the best food of our entire stay this past week. We now have a new favorite beef noodle soup place (containing fried dough and open 24hr a day no less), and had a quality green bean appetizer and possibly the best Shanghai dumplings of our lives at Kao Chi.

Right Side: There are a whole series of Night Markets across the city which sell clothes, food, shoes, knick knacks, and everything else you can imagine. Shilin Night Market is the largest one, and where we enjoyed the trendy Fried Chicken, saw these huge sausages, and shared some fresh fruit.

One of the classic activities in Taiwan is to go for a photo shoot in one of the many outlets throughout the city. They do several rounds of makeup and hair, dress you in multiple outfits, put you in hilarious poses, and then put together a nice album. Pictures ranged from the more normal (Bottom Right) to the cute and funny (Top Left) to just completely over the top (Middle). Didn’t you always want to be a Chinese Empress? This also helps you identify what an Asian Gangster might look like, albeit from the 40’s. The 1840’s, that is.

In a few minutes, we head to Bangkok. See you soon, Taipei!