My Last Blog!!

Well the time has come for me to say farewell! It has been an extremely long time since I blogged, and will probably be a while until I blog again seeing as how I will not be home for at least a month! But for now, I will leave an outline of my travel itinerary so that you may follow along with my adventure if you so desire! If not, then I will tell you all about it when I get home! *mwah!*

Oct. 7th - fly to Thailand, Bangkok
stay in Bangkok for 3 days, and then go to Chang Mi for a 3-day jungle trek
go to Pia and ride some elephants
Oct. 17th-go to Laos, Luangprabang
after a few days go to Vangvieng for a life-on-water tubing experience
Oct.21st-go to Vietnam, Hanoi
after a few days go to Halong Bay
fly down to Phnom Penh
go on a 3 day boat ride to Cambodia
Oct.28th-go to Cambodia, Ankorwatt
visit the famous temple
Oct.30th-back to Thailand, South Islands
visit Ko Phi Phi
Nov.3rd-Half Moon Party in Ko Phangan
Nov.7th - leave Bangkok and go back to Taiwan for one day before going home!

Sorry it's been so long!

I know, I know, I haven't blogged in weeks I'm SORRY! But I try to only blog when I have something crazy to share, and the last couple weeks have actually been pretty low-key. Working every day from 9-9 has left me tired, sadly enough. But that all ends this week!! Tuesday is my last day working at 9am with the kindys! Which means I get to sleep in past 7!! But I really am gonna miss those precious little babies, hugging me every morning! I've posted a few pics of my favourite ones :o)
I now get two weeks kindy-free, and then in the middle of August I begin working at a different one for the rest of my time here.
On a separate note, Saturday night was a boooooz fest!!! I went to a friend's house for a little pre-drinkin and after many-a-vodka I was drunkety drunk drunk! Lee and I went to the bar and hung out with some friends, where I had a couple more... by only 2am I was falling asleep against the wall! So I sent myself home in a taxi and passed out :o) It truly was a really fun night! I hope you all had a great weekend too, and keep me posted on what's new and happenin!

Hot fun in the summer time!

Saturday night was a booz-fest to say the least! After a loooong week of waking up every morning at 7, and working till 9 at night, I was exhausted beyong belief! After downing a whole lotta vodka, Lee and I took a cab with a friend to a bar where we watched our buddy get a tattoo! Right there in the middle of the bar, he knealed on a chair, sweating and biting his knuckles for an hour as the tattoo artist went to town on his calf! Right before the tattooing began, our friend actually passed out! But in the end it was all good, and he walked away with a gorgeous tattoo of his father's initials in old-school Greek lettering, and it looked amazing! Definitely psyched me up for when I get my own in Thailand in a couple months :o) Unfortunately, not too much later, I found myself running to the washroom and, well, let's just say, the combination of no sleep and oh-so-much alcohol didn't agree with me and I ended up going home a little early! But it was a great night, and I found out this morning that Lee too had a wee bit too much to drink as he suffered from a severe caseof the spinnies! But a few glasses of water cleared it all up and we're both fine today, on our way to see Transformers!! Our friend Daniel is also having a big good-bye dinner tonight as he leaves for Canada tomorrow after 4 years of teaching here, so it should be a memorable evening!

To leave you with an interesting story, on my way home from work last week I was walking back to my house and it was appr. 36 degrees and humid as hell, I was sweating and dying for a cab to come my way, praying for ANYONE to come my way, when all of a sudden a polite Taiwanese gentleman pulls over and offers me a ride! What a nice man, I thought. Actually, I knew it was taking a risk but if you can imagine for a second being that delirious from the heat and actually seeing spots b/c you're just about to faint, then you'd understand my getting in his car! Don't worry mom, it was completely fine and safe! He dropped me off at the end of my street and only reached out to touched my leg as I was already halfway out the door! Funny, yes; a bit sketchy, yes! Be careful what you wish for :o)

The Lockwoods Take Taiwan!

HELLO!! And welcome to a sneak preview of the past 2 weeks, in which my family came to visit me here in Taiwan! These past 10 months were the longest I've ever gone without seeing my family, and it was so great to finally have them here! But I will keep this short and sweet :o)
Exhausted and jet-lagged, I didn't care! I dragged them all around the city of Taipei, showing them every sight, building, temple and restaurant that I could! My brother arrived the day after my parents; we spent 2 days in Taipei, sight-seeing and shopping and always eating! The weather actually held out nicely for us :o) A great Chinese friend of mine also took us out to the mountains for a day, which was beautiful and a nice change from the busy city.
My parents spent the last 5 days of their trip here down South on the beach, and Dan stayed to party here with Lee and I! We took him shopping and out to the bars and to the Dragon Boat races!
Unfortunately, the time passed all too quickly and before I knew it, my parents were flying home and Dan was on his way to Japan for a week. All in all, it was the best family vacation I've had in a very long time!

The Pilons Take Taiwan!

WHAT A WEEK!!!

Never in my life have I ever had so much happen to me in so little time! After a jam-packed week when Lee's family first arrived - filled with working full time and then seeing his family every spare minute we had - with trips to Taipei and other such fun places, we then ventured on a week-long tour of Taiwan! We looped the island, hitting every major spot along the way, both planned and unplanned!

The first day we went to Hualien, the city that holds magnificent Taroko Gorge; giant mountains surrounding an enormous gorge filled with rushing water, monstrous rocks and beautiful forests. It was raining here, but we still managed to have a great time! Our tour guide, Eddie, then raced us to a restaurant he knew in order to make it in time for lunch; this, unfortunately, caused a few car members to feel car sick as we sped along windy, twisty mountain roads at full speed. Regardless, everyone still managed to have a great time and at night we all shopped around at a beautiful jade market and watched aboriginal Taiwanese dancers perform!

On the second day, we went to Green Island, a teeny tiny little island that had some of the best snorkelling spots in the world! We took a ferry boat for about an hour to get there (some had to fight through sea sickness but I thought the ride was a lot of fun) and then spent the day exploring the island via a golf cart!! Obviously not everyone in Lee's family could drive a scooter so we rented a golf cart and one scooter for the 6 of us. Man oh man, the stares we got! 6 white people squashed into a golf cart, slooooowly bopping along our way, it was hilarious! It was even MORE hilarious when we attempted to go uphill and the BATTERY DIED!! Stranded on a mountain top on Green Island, we all got separated in an attempt to go get help... it was an adventure! Green Island also has some interesting wildlide, with deer tied to leeshes on sidewalks and giant bulls standing on the side of the road! At night, we enjoyed a relaxing soak in the hot springs and then Lee's family went snorkelling the next morning.

We left that day and stopped at museums and arts 'n crafts shops along the way. We also passed the Tropic of Cancer! We arrived in Kenting that evening, the most beautiful and Southerly point of Taiwan. It was so beautiful, in fact, that we cancelled our next day trip in order to stay there for one more night! The next day there was a high school class trip on the beach and I joined in a ridiculous game of dodgeball involving a beach ball the size of a car! The heat, the sun, the beach, the shopping and night markets and food was all too fabulous to give up! We all got sun burned, but trust me: it was worth it!

On our fourth day we drove North to the middle of the country to see Sun Moon Lake. We stopped along the way at an aquarium which was by fat the most impressive building I'd seen, in both size and content. We walked through tunnels that were in the middle of water; surrounded by fish and rays and coral and sharks and whales and penguins and every colour of the rainbow, it was incredible! Before arriving at the lake, we stopped at a gigantic and lavish Tai monastery, filled with golden statues 4-stories high! At night, we went on a boat ride around the lake and then had a few drinks back on land before dinner!

On our fifth day we went to Taichung, a really cool city that is big and has great shopping but also palm trees and parks, the best of both worlds. We walked and shopped and ate some more! We also saw a GIANT Buddha statue that was 6-stories high and made of gold, quite a sight to see!

On our last day, before making it home, we stopped in two little villages; one specialized in hand-crafted wood carvings and the other in pottery and ceramic figures. A cute touch to end such a wild journey!

Sadly, Lee's parents and aunt left for their long journey home, but at least we got to keep his sister for one more evening of sillyness! She took off today though and left me crying... The family will be greatly missed! Up early every morning, eating and shopping and laughing more than I ever have, it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience! Now I only have 2 weeks until my own family arrives!!

...And We're Off!

The Pilon Family has arrived, travelled, shopped, and eaten more in the past week than I ever thought humanly possible! That is, of course, until now: we are leaving for our one-week journey around the island! The whole country of Taiwan, 7 hot spots in 7 days, and I am super excited! I will update you as soon as I get back next weekend. I hope you all have a great week and keep me posted on everything I miss! Tzi jien!

An awesome weekend!

Ni hau! Happy May to you all, I can only hope this means the end of all bad weather for everyone! My weekend was great, I worked all Saturday and was so tired from never being able to sleep in, when all of a sudden Lee calls me on my lunch break and asks me to step outside: which had me panicking that something awful was about to be said - when there he was! Standing in front of my school with a picnic lunch that he made! He drove us out to this beautiful lake-view beside an enormous temple, it was the sweetest way possible to brighten my day! After an afternoon of teaching, and a private session with our cute little kids, we indulged in a pizza dinner and there was nothing better! Around 10:30 we met a few friends at a bar called Functions that was, get this, GIVING AWAY FREE ALCOHOL!!! Anytime before midnight you could drink as much as possible, and we did! The place was completely packed and orders were being filled for 6 drinks at a time! We stayed there until about 2am, observing part of a Taiwanese bisexual kissing party lol (funniest member seen above), at which point we finished the evening by dancing at a night club until almost 4!
Sunday morning I woke up and cleaned the entire apartment (fun!!), went grocery shopping, and then in the afternoon Lee and I went to Taipei for a day full of shopping. The highlight of it all was a restaurant called Cold Stone Creamery, which was essentially a make-your-own ice cream place; in short, my dream come true!! You pick any flavour you want and any toppings you want, and they had EVERYTHING you could imagine!! Then they put all the treats inside of the ice cream like a stuffed pocket, so the ice cream is a ball with this amazing delicious treat inside! I was in Heaven!!
All in all, it was tons of fun and now I'm just back at work for 2 weeks until Lee's family arrives for a week long tour of Taiwan!

A Penny Saved, A Camera Earned!

Spring greetings! It is hot and sunny here now, finally, and I'm enjoying every skirt-wearing minute of it! I have been sick with the flu all week and this weekend I finally felt better. All week I was teaching while sick and just going home to sleep after, no bowling, no nights out. After teaching all Saturday and playing with my cute private class' kids, I happily went out for a friends birthday celebration, which was a night at one of the local restaurants/bars from 10 until 4 in the morning! Quite the entertaining night! Everyone left then to go to another bar, but I left with a friend and walked home. Then on Sunday Lee and I went to the next nearby city for an afternoon of shopping, and a successful trip it was! A new shirt, some cute undies, and a pair of green army Converse shoes which I can't decide if I want to keep or not! But the really big news is that I made the official decision on the purchase of my new camera, and with this decision made, it was time to perform the feat that I have been building toward for 6 months: the opening of my piggy banks! Two piggy banks, full of 50's (the equivalent of the Canadian toonie) added up today to more than enough for the entire cost of my new red Casio Exilim digital camera! I am so excited!! Now I start over again; next piggy bank purchase: my Sony Vaio laptop! Giggity!

A Taiwanese Pesach!

Belated Chag Sameach! Passover came and went, and I didn't even have any matzos! I made Lee and I a candle-lit sedar complete with soup, chicken and latkes! I managed to keep pesach almost entirely, with just one little slip-up; understandably so in my opinion, as I live in the land of rice and noodles! I broke it officially over a Pizza Hut buffet, indulging in pizza and chicken wings and pasta and salads, it was a FEAST! I hope all of your sedars were family-filled, as mine could not be.

Nothing else too new. Last weekend was a holiday here, but it poured for 4 days straight so day trips were minimal; shopping in Taipei, nights out at the bar, a few restaurants, and many rented movies! Now it's back to school and classes are good! I finally have internet in the new apartment after many, many weeks without it! Everything else is great and I'm just enjoying the quiet time until Lee's and my own family arrives in the upcoming months!

Osaka, Japan

*Konichiwah!* I have just returned from 4 crazy days in Japan! Where to even begin... well, Lee and I left our apartment at 5 in the morning in the rain to find a cab, which was as fun as it sounds! Our flight was overbooked when we arrived, so the amazingness that always happens to other people finally happened to us: we got bumped up to first class!!! It was only a 2 hour flight so we barely had time to enjoy it, but it was sooo awesome to have these big comfy seats, good food and drinks, a personal movie monitor, and we were even in the upstairs seating :o)

We arrived in Japan and it was FREEZING!!! It is 21 in Taiwan now, winter just ending, and was a high of 6 in Osaka! Including the weather, the city really reminded me of Toronto - a lot of landscape and space and parks and trees and sidewalks, friendly people, normal drivers, very clean and nice and everyone spoke at least some English! They drive on the wrong side of the road over there, but there are almost no scooters and everyone is on a bicycle! One of my favourite things: in all public washrooms, the toilet seats are HEATED!!!

So we stayed in a nice budget hotel, with a double bed and fridge and closet and tv, and there was a communal washroom down the hall - and I mean COMMUNAL in the true sense of the word!! It was like living on a nudist colony or something! But no peeeking allowed :o)

Our first day in Osaka we saw a big famous temple, thousands of years old, and the Sky Building which is an incredible piece of architecture! We moved around the whole city on trains, railways,subways and cabs, and it costs about the same as Toronto prices, so, not overly expensive but compared to Taiwan it was! Every night we went out for dinner and drinks and explored the nightlife in town!

Our 2nd day was spent in Kyoto, where we visited the authentic geisha district and watched a world famous sumo match! It was sooo cool! We also went sight seeing into shrines and shopping and stuff. The big rage here is this combination of arcade-slash-slot machines, they are EVERYWHERE!! We went back to Osaka at night.

The next day was spent in all the famous shopping districts, and at night was supposed to be the Chili Peppers concert; IT WAS CANCELLED!!!!!!!!! Yea!!!! Keides, the lead singer, was in hospital for 10 days sick with bronchial pneumonia or something and cancelled the concert at the last minute. Needless to say, Lee and I were devastated. I mean, this was our main reason for going - but there was nothing we could do about it so we made the most of our time there. We got our money back for the show, but obviously I'd rather have the concert... I also caught the flu on our 2nd day in Japan, so I was sick the whole time!!

We had authentic Japanese food on our last day and saw one last shrine on the way back to the airport. It was the fastest 4 days you could imagine, but we did and saw everything we could and had a wonderful time! Hope to hear from you soon!!