Friday, February 22, 2013

Full Swing Vintage Clothing Sale Fun

I was lucky enough to combine with a friend and sell our bits and bobs at the annual Full Swing Vintage Clothing Sale, Best of all was having a great time doing so!


As it usually is with these things I ended up with a few purchases of my own and as it is usually is with me I ended up spending more than I made. But not to worry! My purchases were worth it and I am very happy to have gotten rid of more than I bought, so at least I have more room in my wardrobe. And in the bags on the floor. and on the floor. Hmmmmm, I should really clean my room.....



I made a little sign to make me feel more legit.








Just a sample of some of the lovely things for sale.



But not her, she's my friend!

Taipei in Photos - Part 2


Part of the trip included going to Tainan with friends of Duncan. These were friends who are behind the Youtube Video and project, "Why do Foreign Backpackers seldom come to Taiwan?" or 為什麼外國背包客不來台灣? 

Here is the link to their facebook page and Website:
http://www.facebook.com/17taiwan
https://flyingv.cc/project/135

It was so amazing going to see another part of Taiwan with local Taiwanese and not my big brother to help me out, I got to experience things in a different way and being filmed from the time I woke up to the time I slept added a whole new element to the process. We started off the trip by hitch-hiking from Douliu Train Station to Tainan and caught a ride with two different people.

 The first was a lovely mother and daughter that reminded me so much of myself and my mother especially their interactions with one another! They gave me a necklace for safe travels that she had hanging in her car rear view mirror which was so so so kind and made me wish I had something to give back to them.

They took us as far as they could and when we got out I only had to wait for another 15 minutes or so. The next kind driver happened to be the superintendent of a local Orphanage who was needing to go to his work but offered to take us to Tainan which was about 45 minutes away. Because he only spoke a little English I needed the help from Belle, Yoyo and Will who I was travelling with to confirm everything but It ended up being very fortuitous as we were asked to visit the children at the orphanage and stay the night. I only wish I could verbally communicate with the children and adults because there was so much I wanted to learn, I'm going to go back in the next few years so I will make sure to learn Mandarin.

We saw some amazing things after we left the Orphanage and headed to Tainan, Here are some photos showing just a snippet.











I ate the most spectacular meal of my life at this stall. I don't know why I found it so delicious but it was. The meal was creamy, tangy, sweet, savoury and satisfying, everything you could want and more.

 



We also visited the largest Buddhist monastry in Taiwan and It was in such a beautiful location that you couldn't help but feel at peace.




This is a lemon jelly dish that was worrying to look at for me but I gave it a go and it was so delicious! The lemon was sweet but not overly and it was very refreshing.



This is what I got to look at while I ate the above mentioned Jelly dish.

This is all I have to show for my trip because soon after I caught the train back to Taipei and spent the next few days packing and posting my purchases for my flight back to Wellington. I hope you enjoyed the photos and If you are still unsure about Taiwan then have a chat with me and hopefully I can convince you otherwise.

Xie Xie