These beads mimic the art of acid etching, apparently popular over 1500 years ago in China. This style is currently enjoying a revival in popularity, I was told by a super friendly guy at the market. The technique is to take the rock (whatever it is) and etch it with acid before baking it in a kiln. The white acid marks then permeate throughout the entire stone making a permanent mark. These were just cheap rip-offs of the real thing at a stand. The real beads, done in the traditional style can be quite expensive. I saw one bracelet that was over 8000NT! Anyway, prices aside, each bead design has some meaning, honouring a specific god of prosperity, war, fertility etc. Wearing the beads is meant to bring the attributes that that god possesses into your life.

Teapots at the jade market. There are countless stores with dozens of what look like identical little teapots. They are for the 'ritual' drinking of fine tea. The older generation Taiwanese take their tea very seriously, with special rules and etiquette regarding how to brew it, pour it, taste it drink it, store it, etc. Generally one teapot will be used for one type and brand of tea ONLY. Otherwise, I am told, the flavour of the old tea will influence the new one. I guess tea drinking in Taiwan is like wine drinking in some places in the world - a very serious and academic affair! 

Pretty campus, I'm sure you'll agree. 

Rock. Autumn leaves. (Do I need to put these kinds of captions on?) 

This is the famous (if you live in Taichung) 'praying hands' chapel on the University campus. It's a great piece of architecture. 

Another old, rotting door. 

An old door, on the ground. 

Fibreglass with dead leaves in the background. I liked the colours. 

Hat on chair, of course. Just the way the occupants left it. 

New Photos

I did some driving around on Sunday and took a whole bunch of photos. The first lot are from a series of abandoned houses that are going to be demolishes soon. After that I headed over to perhaps Taichung's nicest scenic spot, Tong Hai University. It really is a beautiful campus, and I was thoroughly impressed. I honestly didn't expect to find a place as architecturally nice as that in Taichung. Following my little campus tour, I went for a visit to Taichung's jade market. Some great stuff there, if you're a girl...

Oh yes. I bought a CD called 'Chinese Classic Orchestra' which doesn't have much orchestra in it at all, but is definitely Chinese, and sounds pretty classical to me. It's very beautiful music played primarily on a kind of traditional dulcimer thing. I should know the name, but don't, so feel free to comment if you can help me.

****Update: Just did a Google for 'Chinese Musical Instruments' and discovered that this beaustiful instrument is called the 'Guzheng'****

Taipei 101, the worlds tallest building. I actually didn't realise just how tall it was until I watched a program featuring it on Discovery Channel the other day. It was then that I discovered (lame pun not intended) that it stands over 500 metres high. That is over half a kilometer of vertical distance! Unbelievable! It does look quite strange sticking out from the relative flatness of surrounding Taipei! 

'Danger, high voltage' ... I presume. 

Not sure if I posted a photo of the carting evening we had a month or two back... Well at any rate, here is another photo. We had an excellent time. In increasing distance from the camera are Rob Sparrow, myself and Jo and Craig Hatting. 

Another close up. Again the contrast was doctored by Picassa. 

A friend of mine got married a few months ago. This is from their Taiwanese wedding ceremony (they also had one in South Africa, where they officially tied the knot). 

Hi There. This photo is from the same decrepid theme park gardens as the photo of the ostrich which I posted a few months ago.  

This is kind of a strange one, I know, but it makes a great desktop background. It was taken at a small coastal town called Da An, about 30 minutes from Taichung. 

Worshipers at an elaborate temple near Sun Moon Lake. 

This is a stiched photo of the CKS memorial square and a crazy mate of mine, Emile. Emile and his 4 identical twins follow him around the world causing pandemonium and insanity. 

This is a photo of my fellow teachers, fresh in Taiwan. It was taken on the last day of our company training in Taipei. I'm at the back in the middle somewhere! 

Some new old photos

Hi all.
Was 'digging' through my photo collection the other day and I came across a bunch of good photos that I havn't posted before.

Only a few days till Christmas!

Well, I may be away from home this year, but at least I've got a bit of Christmas spirit in my apartment :) 

Thanks goodness for the typhoon rains we just had. The air prior to them was DISGUSTING. The first few drops of rain brought this stuff down from the sky. And to think I breath this stuff 24/7! Maybe I should take up smoking and get my emphysema under way quicker. I mean if you're going to breath rubbish, why not do it properly! 

This is a significat photo in my Taiwanese experience. It is 3 Chinese phonetic symbols that sound like 'ra jie cha' which means 'hot cumquat tea'. The significant thing is that I could read them to a guy at the tea shop and I was understood. I was very chuffed! 

Snoopy is BIG in Taiwan. It's so strange how a character frome the 1950's could make it big in 2004. I would welcome any explanation! 

It's good to know that construction companies take earthquakes seriously, here. This is a supporting pillar for what I presume is going to be a new apartment block. The amount of steel reinforcement should keep the place safe through just about any seismic disturbance. 

One of my classes had a performance day a few days ago - this is basically a show off day for the parents. This is one of my favourite classes.