Athen, Greece

I got back on Saturday from a 10-day trip to Greece. We spent three days in Athens and mainland Greece, two days in Mykonos, two days in Santorini, and the rest on the flight. The trip was rather exhausting but well worth it. Overall, Greece is a lively country with a rich history. Did you know there are more tourists than locals for most of the year in Greece? According to our tour guide, many Greeks only work for six months and the rest of the year, they go back to their island and relax. In general, Greeks are pretty laid back. But, if you happen to walk by a restaurant or cafe, don't be surprise if waiters try to pull you in. Competition between different vendors for tourist business is fierce! One thing I found annoying about Greece is the lack of non-smoking places. There are smokers EVERYWHERE (restaurants, hotel lobbies, cafes, streets...). Aside from that, Greece is definitely a place worth visiting. I have tons of pictures so I'll separate them by specific places.

Let's start with mainland Greece, in particular, Athens.

Mycenae (fortress-town of the Aegean civilization, located 90-km southwest of Athens)

View from the highest point of Mycenae

Theater at Epidauros

Changing of the guards in front of the city hall

Poseidon Temple

One of the MANY sleeping dogs in the city

Statue of Poseidon at the National Archaeological Museum

Dennis and the pigeons

Corinth Canal

View from our restaurant (which was literally next to the water)

Theatro Dionysiou (part of the Acropolis)

Erechtheion (part of the Acropolis)

Parthenon (part of the Acropolis)

View of Athen from the Acropolis

1896 Summer Olympics stadium

I believe I'll upload pictures of Mykonos and Santorini another day. Stay tune.

Back to school time!

You know school has started when you're walking to the bus stop and you see a sea of students waiting there. To make matters worse, when the bus arrives, you have to squeeze yourself in because there are so many students on the bus. Did I mention it's still hot in Taiwan?

Moving on to a more pleasant subject, I saw Mamma Mia and the Dark Knight last week. Talk about movies at the opposite ends of the spectrum! Mamma Mia was lighthearted and happy while the Dark Knight was, well serious and depressing. However, I thought both movies were fantastic and I highly recommend them. They were both very touching, though in different ways. Oh, definitely see the Dark Knight on IMAX; the picture was incredibly beautiful.

All in all, this summer's movies exceeded my expectation; definitely better than last summer.

Okinawa cruise

I've started teaching English three weeks ago so I've been pretty busy. This past Friday was the last day of Chinese school at 台大. I will be transferring to 師大 next semester because it's closer to where I live. I had a wonderful time in Chinese school; I got to know a lot of interesting people, including two Tibetan monks in my class.

Over two weeks ago, I went on a three-day cruise from Keelung, Taiwan to Okinawa, Japan. Our cruise ship is called Star Cruises, Superstar Libra. There are ten decks on the ship and five restaurants (but only three are free: Chinese, Western, and a buffet). Overall, the cruise experience is about average. The service was not that great; many of the staff were rude and not helpful. The food was average. However, the performances and shows were excellent. Okinawa is a beautiful island; it reminded me a lot of Hawaii. It's very different from the rest of Japan; apparently the people of Okinawa speak their own language. I wish I had more time to explore Okinawa.

Our ship

9th and 10th deck
Ocean Palace (Chinese food)
Buffet (Asian and Western food)

Breakfast from Chinese restaurant

A dish from the Western restaurant (Can't remember the name)

Dennis and his monkey

Sun Link Sea Forest Recreation Area

Sun Link Sea is a 40-hectare scenic area that is located 1,600 meters above sea level in Nantou County. It is fantastic for hiking: if not for the fresh, crisp air, then definitely for the beautiful waterfalls. There is a hiking trail and a bus trail; the hiking trail, while a more strenuous workout, is much more rewarding because you really feel like you're inside a forest. The bus trail, as the name implies, is for the tour bus to drive up and down the mountain. We took the bus up and hiked our way down to where our hotel was located. Sun Link Sea is a wonderful place to relax. Imagine meditating on a big rock next to a waterfall...now imagine letting all your fears and worries flow away like the water...perfect serenity.

A huge dead tree trunk

Cingyun Waterfall (plunges 116 meters, I couldn't capture the bottom part)

Niaosong Waterfall

A pair of eyes?

Great midnight snack place: 世界豆漿大王

At night, whenever I feel hungry or just feel like having a bite after dinner, I usually head to 世界豆漿大王 in YongHe for their famous 豆漿(soy bean milk) and 燒餅油條 (chinese pancake with fried dough). It's so good! This place is open 24 hours. I have never been there in the daytime so I can't say but at night, this place is packed! I can tell this is one place I'll miss about Taiwan when I do leave.

2008 Taipei Multimedia Show

Went to a multimedia show at the Taipei World Trade Center (TWTC) last weekend. There were so many people there; it was very crowded and quite uncomfortable for me to walk through. The products displayed range from plasma TVs, to cameras, to computers. We went mainly to check out the plasma TVs because we have to buy a TV for the living room in the new house.