2nd to 11th January

2^nd to 11^th January

The 1^st and 2^nd are Government holidays plus Saturday and Sunday added on so a nice four day weekend for most.

A recap from the 1^st and 2^nd is that it was extremely busy everywhere.  Seemed like a lot of mainland China tourists were here plus with most people not working, it added more commotion to the pot. 

All in all it was actually exciting just to move about within these crowds.  Reminded me of Hong Kong trying to navigate through the chaotic streets.

Friday (2^nd)

Navigating the scooter through the crowds of people and traffic was chaotic to say the least let alone trying to navigate a car.  I think my knuckles were white from gripping the handlebars so tightly…haha what an experience. (View the video)

There seemed to be a couple of runs happening around the ocean side early in the day and both of them had a ‘family’ or ‘fun’ feel about them.

The one group of runners consisted of young to mature and everyone in between and the other group of runners in another area consisted of men and women dressed in costumes but seemed the costumes were of mans/woman’s clothing.  Not sure the details of the race but it was fun watching them.

Monday

It’s Monday (5^th) and I had my first class of 2015.  Finished enjoying 5 days off.  Wednesday is my non-contact day; Thursday and Friday were National holidays then Saturday and Sunday right after that.  I didn’t really to too much though since moving around in crutches is a little more strenuous and troublesome than without.

With that said, I definitely did not sit around the house much.  I was out and about as much as I possibly could and enjoying the cooler weather.

Next week will be final exams at school then it’s semester break until the 23^rd February.

Tuesday

This afternoon Paul and I accompanied our first year students on a Hotel tour.  We went to the Chateau de Chine, which belongs to the China Trust Hotel Group and has various hotels throughout Taiwan and recently acquired two Hotels in Italy.

This hotel in Kaoshiung is considered a business Hotel and caters to mostly business travelers.

Everyone convened in the hotel lobby at 4pm then Jennifer Chen (GM) along with Alex (F&B) guided us on a well drawn-out tour and information session of the hotel.

The students were quite impressed with everything they saw. 

We got to see one of the three kitchens that were in the hotel and Alex was pointing out the importance of sanitation and hygiene in their kitchens along with some of the larger equipment that was used for their functions.

This tour was focused on hospitality and the sanitation/hygiene within the industry and the importance and impact these have on running a successful operation such as the Chateau de Chine.

Our tour ended around 6pm at which time we had a few group photos then everyone departed their own ways.  The great part for the students is that the MRT station was only a few metres from the hotel and made it convenient for students to travel from the school to the hotel.

Wednesday

A non-contact day for me but I was already up and about by 6am and walked up to the breakfast eatery for my usual.  As usual, I was the only patron there but it’s a quiet time to enjoy a latte, catch up on emails and simply relaxing before going back to the apartment.

The weather is unsure of itself this morning.  I’m wagering the temperature is going to drop by the end of the day bringing tonight and tomorrow much cooler than it has been.  Time will tell I guess.

Will finish off a presentation I’m working on for delivery next week in a classroom of International Tourism students and will begin gathering my notes for the classes I’ll be teaching next semester.  I always keep busy and since I’m not 100% comfortable in riding the scooter on my own yet (because need to carry along the crutches also), I spend my time on school detail. 

The remainder of the week did not have any thing out of the ordinary take place.

Saturday

Not sure what this was all about but when I went outside to take scooter I saw hundreds of people running.  Police were directing traffic at the intersection and heavy traffic due to the run but…as I look closer I see all the runners are wearing a costume but can’t quite make it out.  I go a little close and each and every runner (from young to old) was wearing a ‘batman’ uniform.  Yes it’s true but why?  I have no idea.  This was around 4:45pm (dusk) and all these people running in a black costume.

I take the scooter and go the opposite direction of the runners thinking I’ll go around them but ummmm no, wasn’t what I expected.  The runners seemed to be running around the block (very large city blocks here) and now I’m in the thick of it all.  Again more police directing and many more runners than I initially saw.  They all seemed to be congregating near the new library.  Perhaps there was a promotion of some kind.  Still do not know the purpose of the run.  Anyway, it was interesting to see (especially now it’s past dusk and literally dark and still the people running in these black costumes. 

Sunday

Classes were good on Thursday and Friday and now here it is Sunday evening and the week is coming to a close with the next one just around the corner. 

This coming week is final week of school so exams take place this week in all classes.  It will be a busy weekend and first few days of the following week while I’m grading papers and tabulating final grades to be submitted.

I’m posting some random photos of basically an eclectic array of sorts.  Nothing that will make you cringe when you view it but yet I’m sure the photos will enlighten your day once viewed.  I’ll label a large grouping of these into ‘Odds & Ends’, with captions under the photos if they need explaining.  Some of them you will notice do not need my explanation as they are self-explanatory..hahaha

Weather temperatures were cool during the mid week but then turned to the warmer side this past weekend.  In fact I had to remove my jacket this afternoon while riding the scooter it became too warm.

Today (Sunday) was probably the most adventurous days this week as Lee and I traveled to Fengshan (district of Kaohsiung) to visit a beef noodle eatery that is now run by the owner who I met 2 years ago, from the same franchise that is close to the apartment.  She was so surprised to see me and remembered me well. 

She invited us into her home and we chatted (well with Lee as interpreter) for maybe 15 minutes before we went down to the eatery for lunch.  She treated us for lunch PLUS gave me 2 small bags of peanuts, which she had done in the past for me because I was going to her place almost every day for a meal.

I had quite a few stares from people and thinking this part of the city doesn’t attract too many Caucasians as it truly is in the middle of nowhere.

What I found out is that her son now runs the other eatery (near to my place) so next time I go there I will mention to him I paid his mom a visit.

Sunday is now coming to an end.  The sun is going down and that means in about 20 minutes it will be dark out and time to wind down from one week and gear up for the next.