This weekend, I feel in Love.

Odd caption, i know. But that's the only thing I could think of to describe it. This past weekend we went to Green Island. Wow, I almost keeled over just thinking back at the beauty of this place! And what is a great weekend without a couple of near death experiences? Not a good one at all i'd say! So with the perfect mixture of these two, I tell you I fell in love.

So Green Island is an island just off the coast in southern Taiwan. So our journey started out with a real long train ride there, and then what I thought would be a nice relaxing boat ride to the island. I mean i've been on ferries before going to Cornodo Island is California. Let me tell you this was no peaceful ferry ride like that one. I never get sea sick. I got sea sick. This boat was rocking and shakin so much I wanted to kiss the ground when we finally got there! We immediately got our scooters rentals, checked into our hotel, and were ready for some snorkeling.

Here we are, in all of our glory. Ok, so lets just say people here take water safety very seriously (and that's an understatement). Snorkeling in the US they throw you some goggles and a snorkel and you're off. Not here. You'd think with our full body wet suits the water would be below freezing or something, no it was a warm 70 degrees. and the life jackets? Oh yes you definately need those puppies for snorkeling in 5 foot deep water. And you can't see them but they made us wear these ridiculous water socks.

We were greeted with this sign at the beach where we were going snorkeling. Dang it!! I can't electrocute or bomb the fish? Crap. Now my entire weekend is ruined!

Ok, so I thought that wearing a life jacket was a little extreme. Well apparently not extreme enough. We went in and they had these floaties tied in a chain. We all got one and had to hold onto it while the snorkeling guide carted us around. I was giggling the whole time. I loved it. Had we had a normal snorkeling experience it would have been down right boring. Despite the EXTREME safety precautions that they took the snorkeling was awesome! Some of the best snorkeling i've seen before. Since it's a volcanic island there are really beautiful coral reefs and lovely fish! Very worth it.

After our snorkeling adventure we got to watch the sunset. Now can you see why I love this island? (mind you i'm an awful photographer and even I can make this place look good)

Oh just an average BBQ dinner. What am I about to munch on with such a disgusting look you ask? Oh, just some rice soaked in pigs BLOOD! This stuff is supposedly the most exotic food in the world. They knaw on this stuff as much as we knaw on extra gum! They love it. I wouldn't say it tastes too exotic just the whole idea of it... But this is how they BBQ here it's rather fun. We had a buffet style and you went and chose your food and then cooked it yourself. What is all that on the table you ask? To be honest alot of it I don't really know, I just eat and don't ask. But white in the middle is some sort of taro plant thing, we ate some chicken heart (pretty good actually), whole squid (the odd purple looking things, flying fish, and who in the devil knows what else! But it was sure tasty.

So we'd heard that a typhoon was coming but wouldn't hit until later on this week. Well we started to feel the affects of it while we were on Green Island. During dinner it started to rain. HARD. Our drive back to our hotel was a doozy! Imagine this: Kailey behind the wheel of a scooter(scary enough thought as it is) with Karyn behind me trying her darndest to sheild my eyes from the pelting rain so I could see somewhat where I was going, complete darkness (no streetlights on the island and very few people), large puddles, wind howling. Yes, this is one reason I thought I was going to die. I was so friggin scared. When we got back to the hotel I again wanted to kiss the ground.

After being completely soaked from the rain, I really just wanted to take a shower. Well, Taiwan is super into this whole "Global Warming" spheel. Therefore, they try to conserve water and energy as much as possible. Ok, that's cool good for you. But you know what? You've taken it to far when you don't give people towels. This was my towel. Some disposable cloth thing. No joke it was folded in half in that package. (the size of a hand towel) Uhhhh.... ya air dry it is i guess, considering I wiped half of my leg with the thing and it was soaked....

Just the glow in the dark painting on our ceiling..... pretty sick eh?

The next morning we woke up at 4:45 in the MORNING to see the sunrise. Since it was so cloudy from the looming typhoon it was nothing too great. But luckily we went to watch it from the hot springs. They were lovely and quite magnificent. There were a bunch of pools up higher where they pumped the water up (what i'm standing it, like all of the sexy men in speedos?) There are also a whole bunch down closer to the water, but we weren't allowed in because they waves were really big from the storm.

This is just a little part of the hot spring down close to the beach. They really were magnificent! But when we first got there I saw all of these people with egg cartons. I couldn't figure out why in the devil all of these people have egg cartons! There not that nice to carry stuff around in or anything. Then we figure it out. See that rock thing right in front, and a huddle of people down farther. Their cooking their eggs in the scalding hot water! Clever? I don't know, maybe cooking them in the water will make the egg be like the fountain of youth or something.....

This picture doesn't even describe the gale force winds that we were experiencing.

If you don't think this is beautiful, i'll slap you in the face.

I love that they've really left this island in the most natural state that they could. Just some goats a grazin on a meadow overlooking the magnificent sea. Yes, this is my real life. I love it.

"Exterminate the Communists, Restore the country"

That's always been my ultimate motto in life. You all know what a politic guru I am... NOT. Here's a little background to this: So the Chinese came in and were real buttheads to the Taiwanese. They had a prison on Green Island for all the people who spoke out against what they were doing to them. This is by the old jail.

No memorial museum is complete without human wax figure portion. The wax figures potrayed how hard life was for them and showed the work they made them do. Uhh...... and then we got to this. Apparently you can't show how difficult life was for people without showing them going to the bathroom in quite the graphic manner.

And I must mention our boat ride home.... Oh my great land! So you know how the typhoon was coming? Well obviously high wind=angry seas. I thought I was going to die on the first ferry ride. I would have killed for that "safe" of a ride on the way back. Lets just say 15-20 foot swells and one rocking boat. I honestly, no exaggeration, didn't know if we would make it home alive. The boat was swaying back and forth at like an 85 degree angle!! I seriously had it all planned out in my mind what I would do if we cap sized. I felt like I was on that fishing show on discovery channel. I really wanted, yet again, wanted to kiss the ground once we finally hit land.

Lastly, because of the crazy seas we missed our earlier train. So we had to catch a later train, but we didn't have a seat. Not a big deal you think? It was a FIVE hour ride of sheer hell. Excuse me not all of it was. The hospitality of the people in Taiwan never ceases to amaze me. They really are the MOST LOVING people around. We met these cute old couples on the train and the lady let me sit on her footrest (which yes my butt was so sore this morning it felt like i'd ridden a bike 300 miles) but, they gave us these cool pencils they had just made, made out of some grafted pear trees, and some snacks. Most definitely were a tender mercy for me sent down during the grueling train ride.

So that was our joyous weekend! Now you see why I feel in love? The lovely craziness that we experienced only made the trip WAY better. I love Taiwan. I've almost been here 4 months, boggles my mind.