Fashion. Art that you can wear?? Yes, please. Due to the heat and sheer laziness, I have adopted a uniform of old T shirts and oversized, droopy shorts since moving to Taiwan. So, when I came across this exhibit, ‘From Ink to Apparel II: A Crossover between Calligraphy Art and Fashion Design,” at the Songshan […]
Taiwan LGBT Pride Parade 2017 (台灣同志遊行)
Today’s 15th annual Taiwan LGBT Pride Parade, Asia’s largest pride parade, comes at a really pivotal moment in Taiwan’s history in the legalization of same-sex marriage. Taiwan has been progressive in Asia when it comes to gay rights. Openly gay and lesbian soldiers are allowed to serve in the military, and textbooks published by the Ministry […]
China, Part VI: Xi’an (西安)
The last Xi’an post, I promise. We were not quite ready to leave this city, which we found to be friendlier than Beijing, more relaxed and its food tastier. For our last day, we spent the first part of the day at a quiet, privately-owned museum, the Tangbo Art Museum (唐博), housing Chinese folk art […]
China, Part V: Xi’an (西安)
Oh, no, I’m not even close with being done with Xi’an. In fact, I just checked plane tickets back to this city a few days ago, since I’m still thinking about all the food I didn’t have a chance to try. Yes, it was that good, and yes, I know what’s important in life. Being […]
China, Part IV: Xi’an (西安)
生日快樂, 小牛! Happy birthday, Jules! These were the first things Jules heard when he woke up this morning as an eight year old. He had his favorite breakfast of a croissant, yogurt, fruit and juice before heading to the city of Xi’an two hours away by bullet train. Since it was his birthday, there were […]
China, Part III: Dengfeng (登封)
Although not seen on more conventional China tourism itineraries, the city of Dengfeng was one of our must do’s in China since it houses the birthplace of Shaolin kung fu — Shaolin Temple. If you’re familiar with ‘Kung Fu Panda’ and know how much Jules loves the trilogy and martial arts, then you’ll know why […]
China, Part II: Luoyang 洛阳
This morning we set out southwest for the city of Luoyang, known as one of the cradles of Chinese civilization due to its historical significance, having been the capital of China back in the day. Despite an early train departure, it wasn’t hard to wake up Jules since he was psyched for his very first […]
China, Part I: Beijing 北京
China: our first international getaway since moving to Taiwan. What, isn’t Taiwan a part of China?? Well, my friends, I challenge any of you to spend a week in each region and then, you tell me if they’re the same country. First up, the big boy capital of China…Beijing. The last time I was in […]
Escaping to Yilan 宜蘭 for a Day
We took advantage of a school holiday to go on a day trip with Aunt Ivy to the ever-crowded city/county of Yilan. We made the half hour, eight mile long drive through the Hsuehshan Tunnel (雪山隧道), the ninth longest tunnel in the world, connecting Taipei to Yilan. The alternative is a vomit-filled two hour ride […]
Getting into Genki Cat Cafe (元氣貓主題咖啡館)
WARNING: If you’re not into cats, then you may want to skip this post. A momentous afternoon as Jules and I got past that red velvet rope that bars children under 12 from entering the more exclusive cat cafes in town. Here’s how it went down: Jules: Mommy, look it says ‘cat cafe,’ maybe we […]