I went to Kaohsiung during the weekend, and saw a funny bus panel advertising of a affair investigation company. The advertising says "You've broken spouse's heart, but don't ruin children's dreams.". It was funny to see this advertising and quite difficult for me to catch the idea.
Vancouver, BC, Canada will be the host city for Winter Olympic in 2010, so you can see a lot of official licensed merchandise at souvenir stores. Usually I am not crazy about those merchandise, but one stuff really caught my attention. There was a dual flag pin showing the national flags of Taiwan (Republic of China) and Canada.
In fact, Taiwan does not join Olympic games under the names of ROC or Taiwan due to political issues, it is under the name of Chinese Taipei and uses the Chinese Taipei Olympic's flag. So I was so surprised to see the National flag and the name of Taiwan shown on this pin. I think the Canadian Olympic Committee made some mistake and did not find it. I wonder if China has found this official merchandise and what they will do after seeing it?
So...buy it before it disappears! There are 2 pins showing the national flag of Taiwan at Olympic Store. By the way, those pins are made in China!
UPDATE on Jan. 17, 2009: Now this pin is not available any longer, because somehow they found the mistake!
( item located, pending confirmation)
(received at airport, deliver process initiated)
(arrived!!!)After a 12 hour flight, we arrived in Taipei, but not one of our luggage. This kind nightmare finally happened to me after experiencing so many times of flights. Here is how it went through:
It seemed this luggage needed more vacation; 2 more days than us.
For a better view of killer whale images, I resized some photos. Please visite J Pod for those photos and hope you enjoy it.
Gastown is the very early developing area of Vancouver, Canada, so it is an area with some British taste. Gastown is also known for the first gas powered clock in the world. Gastown is a must for visitors in Vancouver, not only its historic charm, but also some souvenir stores and nice restaurants; my personal favorite is The Old Spaghetti Factory.
For those who would like to explore Vancouver City by public transportation, I would recommend you to purchase a transit day pass, so you can take unlimited times of bus, sky train, and Sea Bus in one day.
(Treetops Advanture)
Capilano Suspension Bridge is one of Vancouver, British Columbia's most popular tourist attractions. It is not far away from downtown, and when you visit it, you can also visit North Vancouver area.
Capilano Suspension Bridge was originally built in 1889, stretches 450 feet (137m) across and 230 feet (70m) above Capilano River. More than the bridge, there are boardwalk through woods and exciting Treetops Adventure. It is the park's newest attraction - seven suspension bridges through the evergreens taking you up to 100 feet (30m) above the forest floor. This park offers a great opportunity to bring you to mother nature. Don't miss it when you visit Vancouver.
I visited University of British Columbia on June 4 and found this statue of Goddess of Democracy. What a coincidence!
Tiananmen Square Protest was an important historic event of China or even of the world, but I wonder it changed anything...
Whale watching is quite a popular eco activity in Vancouver area. I have been to Vancouver, Canada many times, but have not tried it before.
Most whale watching tour companies are based in Victoria; it is not convenient to me. But I found a company named Vancouver Whale Watching which is based at Steveston, just few minute driving distance from where I stayed.
On Sunday morning, we left Steveston at 11, then took about 2 hour sail to find the J Pod killer whale family which including about 25 whales. It was an exciting and unforgettable experience to be so close to wild whales. We even saw one or two of them jumped out from the sea. We stayed around these whales for almost one hour and went back to Steveston. it took 5 hours for this interesting adventure.
Sea sick is always a challenge to me when I take a boat trip. I was so glad not to get sea sick this time. But this time I got another big challenge - taking photos. It was very difficult to take photos of something swimming from a swinging boat, and I could never know where those whales came out. I took some OK pictures, but missed the one when it jumped. One person on the same boat was lucky to take some jumping whale photos with his pro-camera. The tour guider said that was the best shot she has ever seen. At least, I saw it by my own eyes!
photos of my whale watching trip...
Jane's family in Richmond, Canada
the living room
the dinning room, where Jane and I got married
Jane's family moved to Richmond, Canada in late 1997, so I have been there many times no matter before or after getting married. This place is like another home to me, but it is also far away from my home in Taiwan. I have not been there since 2002. My parents-in-law are planning to sell this house, since they do not need such a huge house now.
This house is quite an important part of Jane and my lives, so I took some photos of it. In case I will not visit it again.
