Another Weekend Over...
♥ We went to see X-Men : The Last Stand on Friday night as it was finally on release here in Taiwan. I'm going to avoid any spoilers as I know there may be some who haven't gotten around to watching it yet but it was a fairly OK movie, although definately not as good as the previous two. The change of director is very obvious and the movie was a little rushed. Not enough time to absorb what was going on and not much in the way of character development (except for Storm, thanks to Halle Berry's diva demands).
♥ Had a nice little walk around Hsinchu on Saturday and found a few little temples and old houses hidden away in some little backstreets. Rounded up the day by having a delicious meal at Mark Randall's in the Science Park area. I just wish the Taiwanese would improve their service a little. Why give you the drinks at the *end* of the meal (we had to ask for our's to be brought, even though these were the first things we ordered)? And what is up with bringing all the dishes, starters and main courses, in one go? You really don't have any time to finish one thing before the rest comes along. I know the Taiwanese tend to select a number of dishes and share these with their family or friends but this is a supposedly Western-style restaurant, not some local eatery. It's a shame the service is a bit under par because the food is divine!
♥ We spent the day out yesterday at Sanyi, a small village in Miali County which is known for its wood carvings. Getting there was fairly easy and we got there by train (which only took an hour or so). Arrived at the station there and didn't have a clue where anything was (it really felt like the middle of nowhere) so we managed to flag a taxi and went to the wood-carving museum. There was a nice little hiking trail next to the museum so we did that first. That was very very tiring, especially in that heat, and I feel more now than ever that I need to get back into shape. I've done very little real exercise since my operation so my muscles are a little wasted (no to mention I put on quite a bit of weight). Sander was no better and we were both puffing and panting by the time we got to the top. Walking back down was a lot easier and we headed to the air-conditioned exhibits of the museum. The museum was quite interesting, although there were absolutely no translations, and was miles better than that 'Hakka Culture Museum' we went to in Yingge. After spending some time at the museum, we went around the stores in the adjecent shopping street and bought a few little tokens for our families.
Getting back to Hsinchu was not quite as comfortable and easy as it was to get to Sanyi. First, we had trouble getting a taxi back to the station. There was a taxi parked outside the museum and when the driver finally returned, he told us he wasn't a driver and walked away again. A few minutes later, he came back and a group of Taiwanese visitors got in the taxi and drove off. I hope they were friends or relatives of the man or else he's just a xenophobic prat. Eventually Sander managed to sort out a taxi by going back into the museum and asking the attendants to phone for one. Once we got back to the station, we got our tickets for the train and found out that we did not have any seats. So we spent the next hour cramped in the aisle of one of the carriages and being stepped on and elbowed by idiots who wanted to get past us, despite the fact that neither of us can walk through seats to make way for them and that there was little room left for them. So that was a little stressful and has put us off using the trains again any time soon.
EDIT - I've now added most of you to my 'Friends List' at my other LJ, kellymeetsworld. =)
♥ Had a nice little walk around Hsinchu on Saturday and found a few little temples and old houses hidden away in some little backstreets. Rounded up the day by having a delicious meal at Mark Randall's in the Science Park area. I just wish the Taiwanese would improve their service a little. Why give you the drinks at the *end* of the meal (we had to ask for our's to be brought, even though these were the first things we ordered)? And what is up with bringing all the dishes, starters and main courses, in one go? You really don't have any time to finish one thing before the rest comes along. I know the Taiwanese tend to select a number of dishes and share these with their family or friends but this is a supposedly Western-style restaurant, not some local eatery. It's a shame the service is a bit under par because the food is divine!
♥ We spent the day out yesterday at Sanyi, a small village in Miali County which is known for its wood carvings. Getting there was fairly easy and we got there by train (which only took an hour or so). Arrived at the station there and didn't have a clue where anything was (it really felt like the middle of nowhere) so we managed to flag a taxi and went to the wood-carving museum. There was a nice little hiking trail next to the museum so we did that first. That was very very tiring, especially in that heat, and I feel more now than ever that I need to get back into shape. I've done very little real exercise since my operation so my muscles are a little wasted (no to mention I put on quite a bit of weight). Sander was no better and we were both puffing and panting by the time we got to the top. Walking back down was a lot easier and we headed to the air-conditioned exhibits of the museum. The museum was quite interesting, although there were absolutely no translations, and was miles better than that 'Hakka Culture Museum' we went to in Yingge. After spending some time at the museum, we went around the stores in the adjecent shopping street and bought a few little tokens for our families.
Getting back to Hsinchu was not quite as comfortable and easy as it was to get to Sanyi. First, we had trouble getting a taxi back to the station. There was a taxi parked outside the museum and when the driver finally returned, he told us he wasn't a driver and walked away again. A few minutes later, he came back and a group of Taiwanese visitors got in the taxi and drove off. I hope they were friends or relatives of the man or else he's just a xenophobic prat. Eventually Sander managed to sort out a taxi by going back into the museum and asking the attendants to phone for one. Once we got back to the station, we got our tickets for the train and found out that we did not have any seats. So we spent the next hour cramped in the aisle of one of the carriages and being stepped on and elbowed by idiots who wanted to get past us, despite the fact that neither of us can walk through seats to make way for them and that there was little room left for them. So that was a little stressful and has put us off using the trains again any time soon.
EDIT - I've now added most of you to my 'Friends List' at my other LJ, kellymeetsworld. =)