So my first blog... sorry it took so long, I thought I had all these ideas of what I wanted to say but I am finding it a little hard. There is so much I want to share and describe but cannot come up with the words. I also don't want to bore you with just lists of everything I have done. Hopefully as the time goes on these blogs will get better.

I have to admit I did no reading or research into Taiwan before coming here, so other than stories from friends I had no clue of what to expect. I can't get over how beautiful it is here, the lush green mountains with spots of bright colours for temples is just amazing. The night we arrived we went up to Zhinan Temple located on Zhishan Mountain. We were almost the only people there so it was so quiet and peaceful, the view over the city as the sun started going down was incredible.

We took a train out to Jiufen the next day, I encourage everyone to look this place up. It is one of the most incredible views I have seen. We went through the market in town, the first time walking down a packed night market with shops and food all around you and not that much english is a little overwhelming, much like the smell of some of the tofu. Worth it though. With plenty of food and other shops all around you it was easy to get lost in it all. Delicious BBQ mushrooms and edamame beans then a nice relaxing, refreshing drink on a roof top patio overlooking the town. To make the day even more spectacular we went to another area to do some short hikes in the mountains, lots and lots of stairs. Every step sweating our asses off in the hot sun was worth it just to see some ruins of an old temple and the view from the top. Spectacular, lush green mountains with gorgeous blue oceans with spots of red and orange temples. AMAZING. I will post pictures when I have some more time.

We devoted one night to all things taiwanese and started with a trip to snake alley to do 3 shots (snake venom, bile and blood). Snake alley is pretty intense, snakes hanging on hooks split open with the blood draining out into huge buckets. After that we picked up some Betel Nut and went for a drink and chewed betel nut, gives you a little more energy for the night. This then ended up with a very drunken night (thanks to Jasmine for the Brugal) with lots of KTV (karaoke).

So far I am loving everything about this trip. The weather has been amazing the only time it has rained so far was this morning. We are leaving Taipei tommorrow evening and heading to Bangkok for a night/day then spending a night in the Delhi airport then off to Kathmandu early morning. If I can get some internet access in the airport I will blog again then.