Taiwan road construction. It's actually very efficient. They fix the road while you drive on it. We literally drove behind the gravel truck as it laid gravel.
Friday, 6th of July, 2001
Now I'm on a train bound for Tai-nan. Mom brought the Post Dispatch... It's weird seeing people other than Asians in a publication <lol>
Thursday, 5th of July, 2001
I've come to a conclusion here: you don't need to cook. Food is so cheap. Every food is cheap, from the most basic to imitation-western "steak". I had the most prime steak tonight for around US$10, usually US$25 quality.
Wednesday, 4th of July, 2001
14:42: We walked around electronics stores and I bought some Mandarin Pop music for fun. There was a buy 2 special discount, so I bought a CD with the Bruch concerto to replace one I lost 2 years ago.
18:11: Woah, this typhoon is serious stuff, they've cancelled all train, bus, and local routes. Tomorrow morning's international flights are cancelled.
19:00: Woah, I thought there's something wrong with wipers here, but actually it's OIL in the rain smearing the windshield! I can't wait to BREATHE when I get back to the U.S.
22:48: My Uncle & I went to the airport to pick up Mom. She'll be here till the 16th.
Tuesday, 3rd of July, 2001
23:14: Tonight we went to a concert by Taipei University's Chinese Orchestra - Chinese meaning Chinese instuments... Like the two and three-string lap instruments. The only western instrument I saw was the cello and percussion. The rest of the string and the woodwinds family was accounted for by Chinese instruments. It's sooo cool seeing a full orchestra of instruments I haven't seen before! They played a bunch of cool Chinese pieces, with the exception of one of the encore pieces - Dotted Swiss Polka! Brought back interesting strolling memories <g> A major typhoon is coming tomorrow. Nice! The last one was weak, bring it on.
Monday, 2nd of July, 2001
19:01: Then we walked around the Botanical Garden.
Sunday, 1st of July, 2001
Then, we got arrested. For crossing the street. Not at the crosswalk. It's a PITA here, cause they make you pay a fine and take some sort of crosswalk education class. Lol. Bloody police, the cars were all stopped @ the traffic light, and we crossed 50 feet away from the crosswalk. I've seen much more dangerous. I let a couple of relatives argue their way out of this craziness, but in the end we just had to take off running away from them. What a joke.
Society here is based on rudeness. If you're not rude, you get used. It's a fact of life that can make things unpleasant, but you get use to it. People express themselves in this way.
After the incident with the police, we sat around in the park. Then we went to a department store, where an entire floor is model-hobby-land. Subaru 1:24 DIY kits! I'm all over it. NT$380 will get me my model and the entertainment of having Ping's Subaru Assembly Plant. It's all Subaru there, they even have 1:8 gasoline-powered radio controllel models! Woah. Awesome.
More Scooby at home on TV - this Hong Kong movie was on, where a white STi raced a black Lancer EVO VI. Woah! That's the coolest! The Lancer crashed. Then on the motorsports channel, I watched some Suburu Racing cup, where boys and girls bombed Imprezas around the racetrack. Yummy.