TAIWAN WEST COAST

TIGER TRASHH

Last day in Taiwan - Jiufen (north of Taipei).

Neal's search for graveyards yielded beuty shots of Taipei 101.

A betel nut girl - equipped with flashing lights.

Tainan graveyard

Kaohsiumg.

Posing in front of a Chinese fighter - flown by a Chinese army pilot to Taiwan for a lifetime of income.

At the dutch Fort Zeelandia: Tainan.

Burning money.

This is a giant puppet of the god of war.

The eunuch who guards the door at the temple of the 5 concubines.

Betel nut farm.

Old tree stump @ Alishan.

Our friend the mannequin.

Overlooking one of the most productive gold mines of imperial Japan. 

The ocean in the bay is yellow not with gold, but toxic chemicals.

THIS THING THAT LOOKS LIKE A HUGE GOLD BAR IS A HUGE GOLD BAR

ABOUT 220kg WORTH 3 MIL AND YOU CAN TOUCH IT!

Traffic control at its finest.

For all the smegheads in the world (aka Red Dwarf fans).

Goodbye Taipei.

temples and festivals

Thai spirit house.

BKK bridge on temple.

BKK - Wat Dan

Getting ready for the festival of lights (Loy Krathong), Chiang Mai, Thailand.

 Performing gender, as usual.

Gongs - music for mixing the rice milk.

Chedis.

Dog 1 and dog 2.

Chedi graveyard.

Inner temple wall.

The other longnecks of Thailand.

Ruins. Still Chiang Mai

We made wish boats to put in the river.

Parade.

Lighting....

And letting go.

Letting our worries float down the river. Or at least our boats.

Wish boats, fireworks, and sky lanterns on the Ping river.

White on white.

tata thailand

WE ARE LEAVING THAILAND TOMORROW HERE ARE SOME PICTURES:

MORE CRABS EVERYWHERE WE GO! @rosie&aaron

View from our beach bungalow, Koh Lanta.

Koh Lanta scooter ride yields many drying fish.

2 bums in hammocks.

Quiet boat landing, Koh Lanta.

The only time I'll ever be caught with good posture on camera.

On our way by longtail boat Rai Leh (overrated beach, underrated boat ride).

Krabi.

Crabs kicking sand around.

Anchor action. Longtail boat.

Bangkok sans flooding.

This was a really difficult taxi ride for me.

Chiang Mai grey.

DR FISH!!!

OH YEAH we also went to Singapore for a day in order to eat lots of food (pictures to come). It was ok. Here are some pictures without food in them:

 This is Neal chewing gum on the airplane after landing in Singapore. Is it still illegal if you are on an airplane?

Hindu temple.

View from our bathroom or something.

The best thing about singapore were all the fun, colorful buildings. 

Especially after looking at Taiwan's drab concrete for a month.

Weird food update!!!

Sometimes I feel as though I'm living in a Chevy commercial.  At least it seems that way since we have come to Thailand where the people here looooooove their trucks.  I guess people loved their trucks in Taiwan too, but at least the trucks there were cute and iconic.  They were all either bright blue, small, and twenty-year-old mitsubishis OR they were simply a set of wheels with a flatbed and a three-bar halfshell seat that jutted out impossibly far from the rest of the truck, seemingly offering up its driver to be blindsided when pulling out or crushed when the truck rolled forward over him.  Here in Thailand all of the trucks are neoned, metallic rigs with sound systems you normally only find in minivans.  I guess over-ornamentation is the norm.  Here's a picture of our beloved Taiwanese blue truck:

Oh yeah... the weird food update.
Thailand makes up for its trucks with its food.  After all our hard work we have finally found the mecca of all weird food travellers's searches:

BLUEBERRY HAZELNUT PRINGLESSSSSSS!!!!
oh wait nvm.  It's really...

GRUBS!!!

 We found them deep fried along with crickets and grasshoppers at the Krabi, Thailand night market.  They actually don't taste like much (sorta nutty) but with a bit of salt and spice they make a great little snack.  The kids love 'em!

With a start like this, I can't wait to see what they are surviving on in Bangkok these days!
As a parting gift, please enjoy this tea in a bag: