Tiger Mountain Trail

This weekend was a short one for us. Justin had to work all day Saturday and Noah had to go to school. Since I was all alone and bored I decided that I would also work. So on Sunday we decided that we wanted to get out of the house. We met up with a friend, Ivy, to take a walk on the Tiger Mountain Trail. It is a nice trail that Justin, Noah and I have done several times now and it is within walking distance from our house. Ivy had never been on this particular trail so she joined us.  Here we are hanging out at 7-11 waiting for Ivy to meet us so we can head out for the day.

 Love the bamboo forests in Taiwan. They are so beautiful and until summer the mosquitoes aren't too bad. They don't bother Justin and Noah like they do me. I don't know why but they swarm and attack me like I am their last meal. To combat this problem I use lots of bug spray, wear pants and bring a long sleeved shirt every where I go. It does get hot but I would rather be hot than attacked by mosquitoes.  When summer gets here I will probably have to stop going into the woods.

 The beginning of the trail is paved with stairs, 587 to be exact. They go straight up the mountain about half way. It is hard work but it is worth it to see the view from the top.

 After the mid point the trail turns to dirt until you reach the top. This is much better and easier on the knees :)

 There are lots of cute critters on the trails. Noah found this little guy and Justin caught him. Last time we came here, in the evening, Noah saw a wild pig!

 On the unpaved trail area there are several fruit trees and plants. The spiky plants below are pineapple but these don't have any fruit yet.

 There are also banana trees... and they do have fruit!

 Noah made himself king of Tiger Mountain. 

 More pictures of the forest!

 Noah slowly adding to his costume. 

 Unfortunately it was a foggy day, the view was less than amazing today. Maybe next time.

 Ivy, Noah and of course me taking a little break.  

 We are headed to that temple. We haven't taken this part of the trail before but we love visiting temples so here we go.

 Yes of course I new it would be beautiful! They always are.

 There were rocks stacked everywhere... I am sure they meant something although I am unsure of what it is.

 So Justin decided he needed to build one. 

 Noah found/caught a little lizard friend. 

 

 Sure is pretty.

 It is hard to see but there is a praying mantis in this picture.

 Beautiful butterfly...holding still long enough to take a picture!

End of the hike and Noah had a bonus... He doesn't know how long it was there. 

Time to cool off with an iced latte!

Chinese New Year

This week was Chinese New Year, the year of the snake.  Chinese New Year is the longest and most important celebration in Taiwan. This is when the children get a three week break from school and most people will take a week off from work to travel home to spend time with family. On the first day of Chinese New Year the married children will return to the husbands family for celebrations. The next evening the couple will go to the wife's family for celebrations. We were invited to have a traditional dinner with some friends of ours this year. There was fish, chicken, pork, rice, vegetables, soup and wine. After dinner there were games, karaoke and passing out the red envelopes. Red envelopes are passed out to almost everyone. Parents give them to children and adult children give them to their parents. The red envelope always contain money in even numbers, except for four. Four is an unlucky number... Noah received two red envelopes this year, he was very excited! 

On the third day of Chinese New Year we joined one of Justin's co-workers in a family dinner. We found a greenhouse farm that was growing organic tomatoes. The owner was home and invited us inside the greenhouse. It was a nice setup. She had rows and rows of these tomatoes growing. They were delicious. She sent us home with a large bag of organic tomatoes.

Later in the day we visited the Craft museum in Catoun. We were short on time so we walked around outside. There were several animals, like the rabbit below, that were visting with the guests. Noah's Chinese Zodiac is the rabbit so he wanted a picture with it.

We also made some stamp pictures. These are supposed to be hung on either side of the door to protect our house. 

Happy Chinese New Year!

The next day we went with Adrian to see monkeys and the red bud trees blooming. The first stop was for some famous soup. It was ginger with sweet potatoes, lintels, taro and tapioca pearls. It was very interesting but not my favorite. 

 There were man made toys to keep the monkeys active but they were not tame. They were in their environment, no fences. It was nice to see them playing and going about their daily business.

 Cute little guys. They kept their distance from us and we didn't bother them. Monkeys are cool to watch but I wouldn't want to make one of these guys upset. 

Next we hiked 3 miles up a mountain to see the cherry trees blooming. They were very beautiful. 

 Yea.... for spring time! We are loving the weather right now. Not looking forward to the hot summer but right now it is perfect.

Our next stop was to a Thailand Buddhist temple. We haven't seen one of these here yet so this was neat. They use a lot of elephants for decorating.

 Noah is a Rabbit. Rabbits are gracious, kind and sensitive. They like to express themselves through art. They have strong memories and like to make other people laugh.They are good at creating fun and excitement in their lives and the lives of others. Does this sound like Noah?

 Justin and I are both horses. The horses are warmhearted and interested in improving themselves. A horse is the spotlight of his community and likes to help others. They like to stay active and are kind to most people they meet.  What do you think? Does it sound like us?

 Our friend Adrian is a tiger. Tigers are rebellious, passionate and generous. They are tolerant, staunch and vigilant. Yes, I think Adrian has those qualities.

 Lets Eat!