Taiwan’s rocky east coast at Shitiping. Crystal and I ambled over gigantic rock formations and fossilized coral to get out near the water. We spotted all sorts of little sea creatures swimming around in algae-green pools of water: fish, crabs, and even starfish. The sea breeze and the sunshine left us sunburned, salty, and content.

At Monkey Mountain in Kaohsiung you can stroll up the mountain path along side some furry friends. There were dozens of monkeys of all ages who were, for the most part, relatively docile and not at ALL afraid of people. There were, however, a few tense moments of monkey mischief, like when one jumped up and put one hand on my arm for leverage while stealing my empty sports drink bottle with the other. Nevertheless, the monkeys are still cute, in a creepy kind of way.

Love River in Kaohsiung. Decorated in the spirit of Chinese New Year and Lantern Festival, the bridge over the river glows as dusk sets in. The boardwalk was full of snack vendors and jewelry craftsmen selling there wares. There was even an exposition of local elementary school entries for the New Year’s lantern-making competition. You can also pay a few NTD and take a ‘romantic’ ride along the river on the “Love Boat”… a ferry that seats about 50 and is lined with bright color-changing tube lights.

Leading up to the Temple Sensō-ji is Nakamise-dōri, a street lined with small shops selling souvenirs to tourists.  While there was a huge number of westerners here, I was really surprised by how many Japanese toursits were also shopping.

Many believe Tokyo has one of the most complex transit systems in the world, but once you understand the combinations of line letters (or colors) and station numbers, it is really very easy, even without knowing any Japanese words or characters.  Getting a PASMO unified fare card also makes the process much easier.

All and all I was impressed by the cleanliness and the efficiency of the system, both the public and private lines.  And no, I did not witness the white gloved station attendants shoving people on to trains.

View of Sun Moon Lake from top of the Maolan trail. Good weather, for once.

New Years fireworks from what is now the second tallest building the world; Taipei 101.  This picture taken from about two blocks away.

I’ve decided the blog is lacking in holiday spirit, so here is Bloomington all dolled up for the holidays.  The lights cover the trees and outline the buildings, but what is really cool is the way they are strung from the buildings around the square to the old courthouse in the middle.  It makes driving through the square really cool.

If you are wondering why there are not children laughing, or people passing…or why these city sidewalks are not busy sidewalks, despite being dressed in holiday style…Its because I took this picture a few ticks shy of midnight.