Home Sweet Home

Hello peeps,

We arrived back home yesterday around midnight and naturally I was hyper and awake, so I stayed up late to unpack and do this and that. I love visiting Taiwan, but this time I think the weather got on my nerves earlier. Even though we were staying 3 weeks instead of the usual 1 month, I was glad to get back home. It might be hot here, but at least the nights are cooler than before and we aren't baking in the muggy humidity that is Taiwan in the summer. And no mosquitoes that leave hard 1-inch welts on your arms and legs! I came back bearing real scars from some of the worst bites...

I just caught myself scratching one of them. But Taiwan is a really awesome place to stay during the summer. Here are the more interesting parts of my journey this time:

A fireworks display for a local celebration in Keelung (pronounced "Jee-long") gone wrong. The hillside caught fire. Even then, they continued to shoot them off. Silly of them...

The Taipei 101, currently the second-tallest building in the world. We make lots of treks to Taipei during our annual stay in Taiwan.

I've only seen this kind of handicraft in Taiwan. A dragon, made completely out of drinking straws.

This Disney mural is only a minute's hard walk away from my aunt's apartment, where we stay each summer. Aladdin seems to have gone bald, though...

One of the coolest rings I've ever seen. It's literally a small adjustable belt, not just one solid piece. I would have gotten this, especially because Taiwan's a great shopping place with amazing prices, but I was broke and couldn't afford it =P

A halfway-decent sunset in Danshui (pronounced "Dahn-shwey"). This place is famous as a sunset-watching spot.