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We headed back home today. It was a long journey because we routed through Beijing, and had a 5-hour layover there. So what does one do in Beijing with 5 hours to kill? Well, we had an idea.

There is a cartoon character in China called “San Mao” 三毛 That means “3 hairs.” As you can see from the picture below, he has…3 hairs.

He is a poor peasant kid, always running around looking for food, and getting into trouble. He is kind of a Chinese version of Lazarillo de Tormes. So...

On our last night in Taipei, we invited some folks for a Karaoke party. Tim sang some Chinese songs that he knows, such as 小城故事, 馬桶, and 對面的女孩看過來. We did also some Spanish songs, such as “La Bamba” and “Jambalaya” (the Mexican version by K-paz de la Sierra).

Since Coralie and some of her friends are majoring in Spanish, we turned off the Karaoke box for a moment and did our best rendition of the Mexican national anthem, “Mexicanos al Grito de Guerra.” They returned with the Taiwanese national anthem. All in all, we had a lot of fun. BTW, Coralie is the singer for a band, so she is really excellent.

It is amazing what you see people doing on scooters in Taipei. Sometimes you see a whole family packed onto a scooter like a bunch of circus clowns.

On our last few days in Taipei, Tim helped Coralie move some things. Tim sat on the back holding two big garbage bags of belongings, while Coralie drove the scooter with pillows and bedding packed thusly between her and the steering column. They probably couldn’t turn, but at least there were plenty of pillows and bags on all sides to cushion the inevitable accidents.

Here is something you probably don’t see in many USA apartments. The bathroom is only one room, with sink, toilet, and shower head all in one tiny space. This is common in Taiwan. In this particular bathroom, the electrical outlet is directly under the shower head. Does anyone see a small potential problem with this arrangement?

You can’t see it in the photo, but the toilet is directly under the electrical outlet. Maybe this arrangement of water, outlet, and toilet is simply good Feng Shui for doing one’s business: if you turn on the shower while sitting below, it will shock the crap out of you.

And yes, Tim did shower in this bathroom for 3.5 weeks and survived.

August 23 – Lavendar Tea House

On Sunday, a local friend took us to the Lavendar Teahouse, south of 新竹.

There were views of the surrounding mountains, and the food was great (thanks 文玲 ! ).

While we were waiting for a table, Tim practiced his new skill at juggling a “diablo.”

We also played Xiang Qi 象棋. Tim won.

This weekend we also went to the 228 museum and memorial. On 2/28, 1947 conflicts between the China mainland government and Taiwanese locals errupted into violence. It is estimated that between 18000 and 28000 Taiwanese died in the resulting crackdown, known as the "White Terror." All mention of the event was repressed in Taiwan until about 40 years later.

On Saturday, we went to Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall. Below is a photo of the changing of the guards. Note that CKS is posing in a bathrobe (unlike Lincoln). But, at least he has a huge smile (also unlike Lincoln).

Because Chinese names are not nearly confusing enough, many people take several names. During his lifetime he was known as:

Jiang Zhoutai
Jiang Ruiyuan
Jiang Zhiqing
Jiang Jieshi
Jiang Zhongzheng.

It makes Puff Daddy look mentally stable.

And to add one more -- it is said that Harry Truman privately referred to him as "Cash my Check." Sounds like Harry.

There many Chinese dialects, and many ways of representing sounds in letters. Believe it or not, the name Chiang Kai-Shek commonly used in English corresponds to Jiang Jieshi above. The street where my company is located is Zhongzheng Lu, and corresponds to the more common name for him in Taiwan (Jiang Zhongzheng).

Here is CKS in his bathrobe during the changing of the guard

Aug 20 - On this day Tim and his tutor went to WuLai. There are hot springs and some waterfalls there. Since I didn’t go I can’t tell you much more about it.

Tim and his tutor went up to Danshui 淡水 again, this time to see the Santo Domingo museum and fort. The Spanish built a mission in 1639 in northern Taiwan. Later the Dutch build a new fort (Fort Anthonio) at the same site, which is the building pictured here. They walked around DanShui and also took a tour boat in the harbor.

The Dutch also left behind these shoes. That is Coralie, Tim's tutor. She is not actually the size of a grasshopper -- the shoes are just really large.

At Danshui, they found a great Mexican restaurant. The owner was wearing a Pachuca jersey. Arriba los Tuzos, ¡ iuuuuuu !.