(Actually, pictures plus words for combined expressive power):
Taipei 101: The flagship modern skyscraper of Taipei (and of Taiwan). I haven’t gone up to the observation tower at the top yet, but have walked around in the swanky shopping areas at its base.Some sandstone on the rugged northern shore of Taiwan with awesome sculpting from the waves and chemical weathering patterns creating pretty rings of color (more description of this excursion to come, I promise!)A classic Taiwanese snack – shaved ice. It’s great for when the weather is hot and you’re kind of thirsty, but craving sweet things (my constant state). I went for very simple and classic with this one – just some red bean, brown sugar and condensed milk. The ice was pretty granular at this shop – not sure if I like it that way…Golden orb spiders (Nephila pilipes): I keep seeing these guys (well, ladies, actually) in the woods. To be honest, they creep me out because I still find them shockingly large. The spread of the legs is about the size of a human hand. Seriously not something that I want to walk into. But thankfully, they’re not really harmful to humans. (more infos: wikipedia ; some research on them )Well, this is soft serve “ice cream” (it was more like kind of odd frozen yogurt) served in a dish that is modeled after a squat toilet. It was the dessert of a toilet-themed restaurant, which was as ridiculous, yet still stupidly-entertaining as you might imagine. (I got horribly sick directly afterwards, but I am pretty sure that it wasn’t due to the very mediocre food served here…)Small Buddhist temples are lurking randomly in Taipei. This one is lucky in that it isn’t just nestled between the 7-Eleven and the moped repair place, but actually has a little bit more space to spread out. But then again, squeezed right into the bustle of the city makes it able to conveniently offer the chance for you to pray in between paying your bills (at 7-Eleven!) and shopping for shoes. This kind of traditional religious presence is definitely not as prevalent on the mainland.
Whoa. So cool.
Although, I am glad about this “Once the spiders had been milked, they were released into back into the wild, where Godley said it takes them about a week to regenerate their silk. “We can go back and re-silk the same spiders,”…””
These may be relevant to your interests.
http://news.discovery.com/earth/spider-silk-embroidery-121901.html
http://yesboleh.blogspot.com/2012/01/golden-spider-silk-garments.html (A taiwanese woman would look way better in this garment.)
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/09/spider-silk/
Whoa. So cool.
Although, I am glad about this “Once the spiders had been milked, they were released into back into the wild, where Godley said it takes them about a week to regenerate their silk. “We can go back and re-silk the same spiders,”…””
WHOA! THAT SANDSTONE! so exciting!