“When I was in Moscow I saw Lenin… and he’s in good good nick for being over 100 years, but he still looked rank. He was just sent off to Pyongyang to be re-pickled.”
– Joseph
I have arrived in China and I’m fine. Internet is shit, but my fellow teaching interns are awesome. We’re a good group.
I can’t log on to Facebook, SnapChat, Instagram or WhatsApp though. Trying to get around it, but it might be six months…
“A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.”
– Lao Tzu
February 26th 2019 I will officially have been travelling for two years. I am writing this blog post a little ahead of time as I am getting ready for my trip to China. I’ll be arriving in China second week of February to teach English for five months and travel around for one, therefore I’ll be in the middle of introduction week and course when this blog post was supposed to go up. I decided to be efficient 😉
“The best place to buy a puffer fish Christmas ornament for my tree”
– Me
The train from Taipei to Kaohsiung (not high speed) takes about five hours and the trip i quite scenic. If you avoid weekends and peak hours you are pretty much guaranteed a window seat too, and the ticket sellers are more than happy to accommodate your wishes.
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“It is not worth it to sacrifice the interest of the country for the sake of my son.” – Chiang Kai-shek
Chinese military and political leader Chiang Kai–shek joined the Chinese Nationalist Party in 1918. Succeeding party founder Sun Yat-sen as leader in 1925, he expelled Chinese communists from the party and led a successful unification of China. He died in Taipei in 1975 and there is an impressive memorial built in his honour.
“How did you invent the imagery? The answer is simple. I invented it by pushing away everything that is unnecessary. I create an empty space and then the images find me. I don’t go find them – absolute quiet and then I just stood still and within days my place was crowded with images.” – Narcissus Quagliata
It may seem strange, but at the top of my list of things to see in Taiwan was the Formosa Blvd MRT Station. A metro station in Taipei.
“Nagoya? I heard about Nagoya, saw it on the map, I just didn’t think anyone actually got off the train there…” – Nathanael
I did a short pitstop in Nagoya just because I had time, and completely mis-calculated so my Japan Rail Pass expired while I was there… Moronic, but fortunately not fatal. Not even to my budget.
“Tokyo may have more money and Kyoto more culture; Nara may have more history and Kobe more style, but Osaka has the biggest heart.” – Vikas Swarup
I had heard that Osaka used to be called “Naniwa” (like the StarCraft player!!11). Reason to go!
Just kidding. I went to Osaka to eat food and see the lights. In true Annie-form I found out about the castle just one day before I arrived 😛 Typical me…
“In Nagasaki, American planes did drop warning leaflets – but not till Aug. 10, a day after the city was bombed.”
– Lydia Millet
Nagasaki is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. The city’s name means “long cape” in Japanese. Just like Hiroshima Nagasaki was on my list because of the atomic bomb dropped there during WW2, I wanted to see what it felt like standing at ground zero.
“I don’t really like udon noodles… I tried them three times. Each time they sad “oh, THESE are special udon noodles, very special to this area, but they were ever good… I’ve tried them now. They are not really for me.”
– Peter
Peter’s #FOMO (fear of missing out) is probably bigger than mine… But then, I went with him to check out the food stalls even though I just got back to the hostel and was exhausted from walking around the whole day, just cause I didn’t want to miss out on anything, so… We might be the same…
“There are hardships and there are delights.”
– Japanese Proverb
Hiroshima Castle/Carp Castle was constructed in the 1590s, but was destroyed by the atomic bombing on August 6, 1945. It was rebuilt in 1958, a replica of the original that now serves as a museum of Hiroshima’s history before World War II.
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