This is the first time that I come across the Taipei 101 building. Walked by last night, and took a look and a snapshot. Strangely, the aspect ratio and the surroundings actually make the building NOT seem very tall.
Showing posts with label taiwan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label taiwan. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Taiwan Up 2010 ... and really tired
Arrived in Taipei since Monday, but with heavy thoughts. The upcoming meetings were not going to be the most fun, and the cold weather and winter environment made the mood somewhat darker.
This is the first time that I come across the Taipei 101 building. Walked by last night, and took a look and a snapshot. Strangely, the aspect ratio and the surroundings actually make the building NOT seem very tall.
This is the first time that I come across the Taipei 101 building. Walked by last night, and took a look and a snapshot. Strangely, the aspect ratio and the surroundings actually make the building NOT seem very tall.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Taiwan - part 1
Done with part 1 of the work in Taiwan, and shall be having a more (read: too) exciting week ahead, with meetings in China and Korea.
Went to Taichung yesterday, to get some stuff, and took a few photos in the wet evening...
And now for a "Guess what is this photo all about?" game... What, do you think, is the focus of this photo and where was it is taken? (Clue: this was not taken in Taiwan)
The person with the closest/most creative answer will get a box of wheat tea (if I remember to get a pack in Korea). ..... really wonder if anyone reads this, and bothers to guess .. ???
Sunday, August 17, 2008
dumb city guy
wouldn't usually call myself dumb...
arrived at this remote site in Taiwan by late afternoon, and instead of scouting around for food options, i lazed about in the room until 7+... and then found that everything nearby was closed. on asking the receptionist, there was supposedly a 7-11 "nearby". About 20 minutes or more by walking.
and so, the idiot in me decided to jog there. and being the 路痴 that i am, i did not clarify the directions and ran ahead. and so off i went, into the night, hunting for somewhere to buy dinner.
the roads were not well lit (1). seriously, Singapore is like a glowing indoor city with the lightings we have. here in Taiwan, the street lamps were far between, and there wasn't any pedestrian tracks (2). so i ran in darkness, along the light traffic (3), without any idea if the direction i was heading was right (4). running along, i heard dogs barking away, which was fine, until there was this one barking that did not seem to become distant with my jogging pace... was the dog chasing me? what if the owners of the dogs did not chain them down (5)? and so i ran faster...
giving up when i did 40+ minutes, i decided to make a U-turn. let's make it back when i am still in one-piece. so with the 5 main reasons above, i conclude that i am pretty dumb today! i should have (i) gone looking for food when i first arrive, (ii) take a cab to look for food instead, and (iii) leave the jogging for day-time when there is light.
... by the way, i did not get my dinner. oh, just as well... i am getting fat anyway. better be dumb but look good than otherwise, i guess.
arrived at this remote site in Taiwan by late afternoon, and instead of scouting around for food options, i lazed about in the room until 7+... and then found that everything nearby was closed. on asking the receptionist, there was supposedly a 7-11 "nearby". About 20 minutes or more by walking.
and so, the idiot in me decided to jog there. and being the 路痴 that i am, i did not clarify the directions and ran ahead. and so off i went, into the night, hunting for somewhere to buy dinner.
the roads were not well lit (1). seriously, Singapore is like a glowing indoor city with the lightings we have. here in Taiwan, the street lamps were far between, and there wasn't any pedestrian tracks (2). so i ran in darkness, along the light traffic (3), without any idea if the direction i was heading was right (4). running along, i heard dogs barking away, which was fine, until there was this one barking that did not seem to become distant with my jogging pace... was the dog chasing me? what if the owners of the dogs did not chain them down (5)? and so i ran faster...
giving up when i did 40+ minutes, i decided to make a U-turn. let's make it back when i am still in one-piece. so with the 5 main reasons above, i conclude that i am pretty dumb today! i should have (i) gone looking for food when i first arrive, (ii) take a cab to look for food instead, and (iii) leave the jogging for day-time when there is light.
... by the way, i did not get my dinner. oh, just as well... i am getting fat anyway. better be dumb but look good than otherwise, i guess.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Taiwan Elections - Short of the finalization
The gap is pulling further, and it is firm that the blue camp won. Mr Ma had won the elections with KMT, to lead Taiwan for the next 4 years.
On the TV, the DPP supporters are very upset, but at the moment, the fervent supporters are still gathered waiting for the counting to be completed, even though the results are already clear by now. Wonder if I will see anything when I venture out for dinner in a couple of minutes...
fireworks celebration in Kaohsiung - (a DPP-stronghold) ...
On the TV, the DPP supporters are very upset, but at the moment, the fervent supporters are still gathered waiting for the counting to be completed, even though the results are already clear by now. Wonder if I will see anything when I venture out for dinner in a couple of minutes...
Taiwan Elections - Counting of Votes
Wow... there is live screening of vote counting, with the numbers jumping in the main screen of channel TTV. They were also focusing on this particular location where the vote numbers had been known to coincidentally match the overall results in the previous election. A few more hours before the results are finalized.
Taiwan Elections
Today is the day!!!
People started voting at 8am, and the news channels have been covering all the various aspects of it. There had been footage of the previous president and wife's voting, footage of the wife of one of the most influential business person in Taiwan, shots of the presidential hopefuls doing their various things.
The opinion poll results are currently showing that the Blue Camp (KMT) is in the lead in most localities, but things may change towards the end of the day...
People started voting at 8am, and the news channels have been covering all the various aspects of it. There had been footage of the previous president and wife's voting, footage of the wife of one of the most influential business person in Taiwan, shots of the presidential hopefuls doing their various things.
The opinion poll results are currently showing that the Blue Camp (KMT) is in the lead in most localities, but things may change towards the end of the day...
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
election fever in Taiwan; KMRT; Ken Hirai
for someone who has lived in a politically sanitized country all his life, the vibrance of the political scene in Taiwan was refreshing. Don't be mistaken, cos I am not unhappy about the peace in Singapore, but it sure gave me some interest in looking at the activities that are taking place around where I am right now. Voting will take place on Saturday, and I guess I will be glued to the TV to catch the latest updates.
KMRT
The mass rapid transit is finally up and running, and they had "free travel" for one month, up till 6 April. When I was here more than a year ago, the cab drivers were saying that this would be an expensive toy, to be used by only visitors, students and the elderly. The rationale was that the locals were all very used to going around in their cars and scooters, and were unlikely gonna be interested in limiting their mobility with the trains. Well, during this free travel period, lots of locals and foreigners alike were taking this mode of transport. They despatched lots of urshers to maintain order at the stations, and hopefully people will be used to allowing passengers to alight before boarding the trains, etc. We shall see, especially on how the situation will be when they start to charge for the rides...
KMRT
The mass rapid transit is finally up and running, and they had "free travel" for one month, up till 6 April. When I was here more than a year ago, the cab drivers were saying that this would be an expensive toy, to be used by only visitors, students and the elderly. The rationale was that the locals were all very used to going around in their cars and scooters, and were unlikely gonna be interested in limiting their mobility with the trains. Well, during this free travel period, lots of locals and foreigners alike were taking this mode of transport. They despatched lots of urshers to maintain order at the stations, and hopefully people will be used to allowing passengers to alight before boarding the trains, etc. We shall see, especially on how the situation will be when they start to charge for the rides...
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A local had told me that this free travel period coincided with the election period for a very specific result. After he said that, it became very clear that they were not only trying to get people interested to give the KMRT a go...
Ken Hirai 堅。平井
Ken Hirai 堅。平井
Monday, December 17, 2007
Taipei & Flu
Feeling very sick now, having caught flu while in Taipei... Guess I was totally weakened after the marathon and became susceptible to bugs. Sigh...
Anyhow, came back from a short business trip last week, based in Taipei and travelling all over Taiwan for 2+days. Had time to do some strolling on the first night, and decided to take some "tilted" photos.
Anyhow, came back from a short business trip last week, based in Taipei and travelling all over Taiwan for 2+days. Had time to do some strolling on the first night, and decided to take some "tilted" photos.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Night Market @ 麦寮
After sticking around for almost 10 days, my work here is finally done. Taiwan is nice and all, but when you are away for that long... and I must admit that my productivity was on the decline.
One of the guys at work offered to bring me to the night market at the nearby town. While I was initially hesitant, the trip turned up really fun. The company was great, and there was a number of interesting sights.
There were a number of game stations, that I had not seen in night markets before. There were a lot of small pinball machines, and a row of basketball tossing machines. The latter had been featured in some Taiwanese variety shows, where the guests would challenge each other on the maximum number of successful tosses within the time limt.
There were also some game stations where people needed to catch fishes or prawns with nets or with small hook devices.
There were also plenty of food stalls, serving all sorts of delights. It was a lot of eating, a lot of looking around, and a lot of laughter. This was really what I had needed.
One of the guys at work offered to bring me to the night market at the nearby town. While I was initially hesitant, the trip turned up really fun. The company was great, and there was a number of interesting sights.
There were a number of game stations, that I had not seen in night markets before. There were a lot of small pinball machines, and a row of basketball tossing machines. The latter had been featured in some Taiwanese variety shows, where the guests would challenge each other on the maximum number of successful tosses within the time limt.
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There were also some game stations where people needed to catch fishes or prawns with nets or with small hook devices.
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There were also plenty of food stalls, serving all sorts of delights. It was a lot of eating, a lot of looking around, and a lot of laughter. This was really what I had needed.
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