tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-140432472012-02-13T23:11:47.190+08:00Welcome to my blog! I like to tell stories with images. Hope you enjoy these photos! 歡迎光臨我的部落格，我喜歡用影像說故事，希望你喜歡。為什麼內文用英文? 因為.....我懶....James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.comBlogger3041100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-12258156312942034882012-02-05T23:02:00.003+08:002012-02-13T23:11:47.199+08:00

Whenever people mention the trip to Africa, most people think about Safari. Safari is really an important part of trip to Africa. During our trip to South Africa, We visited Mabula Private Game reserve, and stayed at Mabula Game Lodge. Mabula Game Lodge provides very good package for visitors, including accommodation, dining and safaris. We experienced 2 safaris; one in the late afternoon from 4

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-82186573604037538392012-02-02T23:07:00.000+08:002012-02-02T23:07:43.471+08:00

My second time to visit Africa, I chose South Africa as my destination. The first city I visited was Cape Town. Cape Town is a very unique city. Though it is located in South Africa, I felt it is more like an European City, due to its building style and life style. I also saw more white people than other cities. Cape Town area is a fun place; there is beautiful V & A waterfront for shopping

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-29956132442107633412012-01-11T23:43:00.002+08:002012-01-11T23:49:08.304+08:00

There are two most famous tourist attractions in Nantou County(南投縣), Taiwan; one is Sun Moon Lake (日月潭), another one is Xitou(溪頭). The most popular place in Xitou is the Xitou Nature Education Area. From its web site, here is the brief history of Xitou Nature Education Area: 1. In the late Qing Dynasty, the Xitou was "origin of stream" in a small village in mountain. 2. During the Japanese

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-62335028911444066292011-12-30T22:30:00.007+08:002012-02-08T09:31:52.286+08:00

Hiking is one of may favorite activities. I visited a location in Nantou county(南投縣), Taiwan which is famous of the special ladder suspension bridge(梯子吊橋). This ladder style suspension bridge is very special. It is the first one in Taiwan and the second in the world, with a total length of 136m and 208 steps; the height difference between the 2 sides is a staggering 20m. To walk across this

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-90327200233118121232011-11-06T21:26:00.003+08:002011-11-06T21:40:24.402+08:00

Xinpu(新埔) is a small township of Hsinchu county (新竹縣). During October to December, it is the high season to produce persimmon. The farmers will make the persimmon cake (dry persimmon) with the over produced persimmons.I am not a fan of persimmon cake, but I am attracted by the beautiful color and atmosphere of making persimmon cakes.more photos...

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-3067548031428185932011-09-11T12:32:00.004+08:002011-09-11T12:47:18.738+08:00

Today is the 10th anniversary of 911. I uploaded this photo which I took in 1992 to remember this tragedy and wish no more terrorist attack happened any more.

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-35240338918408864722011-08-28T17:23:00.003+08:002011-08-28T17:53:57.452+08:00

Not a long time ago, there was a movie "Inception" was popular in the world. The story talks about how to get information by entering people's subconscious. In that movie, the actor Leonardo DiCaprio used a compact size pistol, and it was one of the new pistol from Beretta, the PX4. I bought a PX4 BB pistol about one month ago. It is made by a Taiwanese company named Wei E. The produce a lot

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-76643258335161563202011-04-13T23:49:00.004+08:002011-04-14T17:12:53.340+08:00

Vietnam was always a part of Vietnam War history to me; most people were Charlie (nick name of Viet Con by Americans or Hollywood movies). But the world is changing, so is Vietnam. For a better development of country and a better life of people, now Vietnam is much opener than ever.Had a chance having a 5 day trip to Vietnam, main purpose was visiting Ha Long Bay(下龍灣). Ha Long Bay is a UNESCO

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-53538042831743651232011-03-26T23:28:00.005+08:002011-03-27T00:00:19.846+08:00

In last November, I finally bought a set of Sony PS3 for its blue-ray capability and for the long waiting game, Gran Turismo 5. There are hundreds of cars from daily driving cars to the super sports cars waiting for my driving. I think this game making most boys' (and some girls) dream come true. Though I am already a level 24 driver in the game, but I still expect more driving experiences and

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-74199370289628917852011-03-19T13:06:00.004+08:002011-03-19T13:30:10.874+08:00

It has been a week since the super earthquake followed by tsunami stuck northeast Japan on March 11, 2011. So far over 7,0000 people lost their lives and around 11,000 are still missing.There are thousands people became homeless and are fighting for their lives. They also need to face the sorrow of losing families and friends.Japan is one of my favorite countries, I've been there for 24 times

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-15325128144337823082011-03-05T00:06:00.003+08:002011-03-05T00:20:42.237+08:00

There was a long weekend at the end of February and the weather was so pretty; warm and sunny. Most people took this opportunity to have outdoor activities. The most popular activity was visiting the cherry blossom sites.We did not go to see cherry blossom instead of visiting a private garden named 桃源仙谷 (Tao Yuan Shan Gu) where was full of variety of tulips. We enjoyed those colorful tulips and

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-91705794956280444542011-02-10T22:09:00.002+08:002011-02-10T22:31:29.813+08:00

During the Chinese New Year, we spent few days for a North Kyushu trip in Japan. We took a train to Aso from Beppu to visit the famous volcano, the Mount Aso (阿蘇山). Usually visitors will take cable car up to Mt. Aso to experience this live volcano, but on the day we visited, the cable car did not operate due to heavy smoke. Jane also coughed badly....We were quite disappointed and walked toward

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-17121957588528913912011-01-02T21:10:00.003+08:002011-01-02T21:27:06.698+08:00

On the last day of year 2010, I visited 2011 Taipei International Flora Exposition. I am not an expert or enthusiast of flowers, so I did not get in the long line for those fancy exhibition halls. I just enjoyed walking under the beautiful winter sunshine to visit those outdoor exhibition areas one by one.Some people blame it too costly, and some criticize it not well organized. For me, it is

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-57973094108400606042010-12-30T13:36:00.003+08:002010-12-30T14:01:23.610+08:00

Haneda Airport once a domestic airport with very limited international flight services. Small terminals and ineffective infrastructure could not support Haneda becoming a new gate of Tokyo.By end of Oct., 2010, the new terminals' construction completed, created a new era of Tokyo. Haneda provides more international flight than ever, and brings great convenience of traveling people; people save

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-65291422670683307042010-12-27T21:23:00.005+08:002010-12-27T21:42:10.235+08:00

Yokohama City, about 40 minutes away from Tokyo by train. It is the second largest city of Japan in terms of population, also a popular tourist site.Because of Port of Yokohama opened in 1859, and quickly became the major trading location with foreign countries. So Yokohama has a very unique mixed culture than other cities in Japan. You can see some western style buildings and also the largest

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-8834682562132043362010-11-20T10:38:00.003+08:002010-11-20T12:40:48.058+08:00

"The Venetian" may be the most famous recreation spot in Macau. The Venetian provides the service of hotel, shopping, nice dining, performance, and casino (may be the most attractive part). Most people can enjoy stay or visit at The Venetian.I think it is fun to stay at The Venetian one time, but I will not go there again. Since I am not crazy about casino. There should be more fun in Hong Kong

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-30011203237651230692010-10-26T22:11:00.004+08:002012-01-11T23:45:03.005+08:00

Had a chance to visit Juming Museum(朱銘美術館) which is a nice place to enjoy the master pieces of Juming. Due to the tight schedule and the heavy rain, I could only see less than 50% of the exhibition. I will arrange another visit soon.

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-56050587870091566342010-10-05T18:35:00.008+08:002010-10-05T18:54:29.599+08:00

Jan. 1, 2006 driving for friend's weddingDec. 22, 2008 at Shei-Pa National ParkAfter more than 9 years, I finally sold my 2001 Mazda Premacy which has been working for over 130,000km. Since old friend is gone, here comes the new friend, the 2006 Ford Escape which is almost a gift from my uncle. Though this Ford is more than 4 years old, uncle put only 12,000km on it.This Ford Escape meets my

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-72301191436142365872010-09-18T13:49:00.006+08:002011-02-22T21:34:06.468+08:00

Howard Fang: July 2, 1959~September 15, 2010Shooter (Howard with his "smoking hearts") and RO (me)Dear Howard,I think we have known each other for over 10 years. It all started because of having the same hobby, Survival Game. Later, you guided me to appreciate good watches and I also taught you to enjoy photo shooting. We also share joys and sorrows. There was nothing but friendship between

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-21517712126910134632010-09-04T21:21:00.002+08:002010-09-04T21:47:01.210+08:00

Because of 60th anniversary of Korean War, there is a special exhibition "Inside the DMZ" at War Memorial of Korean. This exhibition tells stories about Korea from Korean War to Today's Korea. Because 99% of the instruction of this exhibition are in Korean, so I could not fully understand all the displays.But there are 2 items definitely getting everyone's attention, the K2 Black Panther Tank

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-52469095625929108382010-08-28T22:01:00.004+08:002010-08-29T00:34:57.050+08:00

Lexus is always the symbol of high performance (and high price) Japanese car; the sedans and LSUVs of Lexus are quite popular in Taiwan, and compete with European luxurious brands such as Mercedes and BMW. But Lexus has never offered a super sport car to compete with European super sports car, such as Porsche or Ferrari.Now there is a Japanese road warrior from Lexus. The LFA sets the new

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-18811000881246641252010-08-21T23:01:00.004+08:002010-08-22T00:04:05.292+08:00

When people visit Taiwan, most of them visit the major cities on the west coast of Taiwan, such as Taipei, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung. They hardly go to the east coast of Taiwan to visit Hualian and Taitung, due to inconvenient transportation.Hualian and Taitung give you a very different feeling of Taiwan compared with those cities on the west coast. Because the beautiful mother nature and

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-60447547071419904422010-08-04T19:28:00.006+08:002010-08-08T16:22:40.321+08:00

I was supposed to avoid the burning sun yesterday, but I just wanted to test my new toy, the Sigma 18-50 F2.8 EX DC Macro lens. So I grabbed my gear and went to AnKang Farm of National Taiwan University(台灣大學安康農場) to take some photos at the end of lotus season.Thanks for the burning sun, I got some nice photos, also sun tan.more photos

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-16407391948822191572010-07-28T21:58:00.006+08:002010-08-21T22:59:30.960+08:00

My wife and I always enjoy yakiniku (the Japanese BBQ) whenever we visit Japan, because the Japanese beef (Wagyu beef) is really tender and juicy. The real Japanese beef is not legal in Taiwan, so a restaurant imports the Australian Wagyu beef instead. We visited this place when we celebrated my wife's birthday. All I can say is "As good as what we had in Japan!". It is really a nice place

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-85642348646706573462010-07-25T14:59:00.004+08:002010-07-25T15:19:00.056+08:00

Recently BMW had an event in Taiwan to promote their hybrid technology and the new hybrid power automobile, so they brought the new concept car "BMW Vision EfficientDynamics" to Taipei.It was a nice experience to get a close look at this high tech concept car. But I also have a different thought on recent hybrid automobiles. Green power, energy efficiency, and environment friendly are all import

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-86980740540976217702010-07-15T21:24:00.006+08:002010-07-15T21:57:33.548+08:00

The fourth day of the disty meeting was the activity day. I chose extreme sports; including air balloon ride, clay pigeon shooting, and ATV (All Terrain Vehicle) ride. It supposed to be an easy and exciting day, but it turned out to be really an extreme sports day.Due to foggy and windy weather in Jeju Island, we did not see anything from the air balloon ride, but had very nice air to breath. In

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-4160798840057694802010-07-08T22:22:00.005+08:002010-07-10T08:39:49.672+08:00

This South Korean patrol boat was sunk by North Korea in 2002hit by 5 rounds of 85mm canon and many many rounds of machine gun shotsRecently got a chance to Seoul, Korea. So I took half day to visit War Memorial of Korea. It was quite an interesting timing to visit this place, due to 60th anniversary of Korean War and the "sinking boat" crisis between South and North Korea.Most part of displays

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-40614789388461263302010-06-15T22:58:00.003+08:002010-06-16T10:24:47.937+08:00

KSC S&W M945 and S&W HRT knife.45 ACP family; S&W M945, SiG GSR, and Colt M1911A1Again a BB pistol form KSC which a Japanese brand product but made in Taiwan. This is a Smith & Wession M945 pistol. I bought this pistol mainly for IPSC shooting, because it comes with a single stack magazine, so it meets the requrements of production class of IPSC.But the problem is its plastic slide did not

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-80869527390775000772010-05-16T23:54:00.002+08:002010-05-17T00:04:34.690+08:00

During the biz trip to Tokyo last month, the airplane model set was on sale on EVA Air flight. So I bought this Herpa 1:1000 EVA Air fleet set as my new collection. Surprisingly, they make quite detail landing gears for such small scale models. As usual, I took some photo for them with some editing works by Photoshop.

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-51313024996573750892010-04-18T21:10:00.002+08:002010-04-18T21:28:31.366+08:00

Ueno ParkShinjuku GyoenFrom mid March to mid April is the Sakura (Cherry blossoms) season in Tokyo. There are 2 most popular sites for viewing sakura; one is Ueno Park(上野恩賜公園) and one is Shinjuku Gyoen(新宿御苑).I visited these 2 places during the weekend, and got an interesting finding. There were more younger groups (students, friends and colleagues) at Ueno Park and more families and senior

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-50314394045722558662010-04-15T21:29:00.005+08:002010-04-15T21:39:22.109+08:00

WHAT DO YOU SEE AND FEEL FROM BOTH IMAGES?

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-2498158553511550442010-03-21T09:43:00.004+08:002010-03-22T09:44:54.714+08:00

Just some basic skills can make the ordinary photos more vivid.

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-29121524320518872582010-02-27T21:04:00.009+08:002010-03-01T23:44:03.987+08:00

My Hi-Tec hiking boots had been my travel buddy for 7 years; been to Japan, Egypt, some European countries, many hiking trails in Taiwan and this time to New Zealand.Maybe it was about the time for end of its life. On the second day of my New Zealand trip, the left foot of this shoes was broken. Then right foot one was broken on the day before end of this trip. I fixed them with glue, so I

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-55560028044116918112010-02-25T21:56:00.008+08:002010-03-10T13:23:10.167+08:00

The Southern Alps of New Zealand are 720Km long, and there are 2 major glaciers in this area; one is Franz Josef Glacier which is 10Km long, another is the Fox Glacier, about 13Km long. We only see glaciers on NGC or Discovery channel, and they are kind of unreachable.We arrived at the town of Fox Glacier on Feb. 14, then we spent 2 hours for a short hiking trip to Fox Glacier. I never thought

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-86624245843529785142010-02-23T21:35:00.004+08:002010-02-25T00:12:15.053+08:00

Kawarau Suspension Bridge, New Zealand is the place where bungy jump began. It has been more than 20 years since 1988. I only saw this exciting sports in TV before and never thought I would have a chance to try it.Till the previous night of visiting the first commercial bungy site in the world, I was still not sure I wanted to do it. In the morning, Jane reminded me to wear contact lenses

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-21856179566369879642010-02-22T20:23:00.002+08:002010-02-22T20:52:59.257+08:00

Milford Sound is fjord located in South Island of New Zealand within Fiordland National Park. We took a long ride of bus from Te Anau for visiting Milford Sound. The best way to enjoy the view of this beautiful place it to take a scenic cruise. We were quite lucky to have a great sunny day when we took the cruise. We enjoyed the view on the deck, but needed to face strong wind.The Milford

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-67685571627482547142010-02-21T19:26:00.003+08:002010-02-21T19:43:49.555+08:00

"There are much more sheep than human in that country!" this is people's common image of New Zealand. It is the truth that sheep population is about 4 times of human population in NZ. And it is also the cleanest country I've ever visited.Especial in South Island, there are a lot of natural attraction sites to visit and a lot of exciting outdoor activities worthy to try. I spent about 6 days in

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-32712548962221322682010-02-03T21:18:00.002+08:002010-02-03T21:43:15.019+08:00

We went hiking at Shrding Township (石碇鄉) on Sunday, and so surprised to see the cherry blossoms. Those cherry blossoms we saw are not the cherry blossoms we are sued to see in Japan, it is Prunus campanulata (山櫻花) or called Formosa Cherry. The good timing for enjoying Formosa Cherry blossoms is from late January to early March. Hope some of you can have a chance to see this beautiful scenery.

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-1249010925807240182010-02-01T22:50:00.003+08:002010-02-01T23:14:36.767+08:00

3 year ago, the very famous Japanese artist Range Murata (村田蓮爾) came to Taiwan for an art exhibition. That was my first to meet him. This year he came to Taiwan again to join the 2010 Taipei International Book Exhibition.On Jan. 29, he had a 1.5 hour event of live demo. We arranged hardware and software for him; glad we got his request few weeks ago, so we can prepare the Japanese version OS

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-29957449581109937322010-01-26T23:09:00.003+08:002010-01-26T23:27:19.719+08:00

Always staying at the same hotel for business trips to Tokyo, I did not tend to walk around hotel area after whole day meeting and the dinner gathering. So I missed something interesting and pretty.This time because staying at different hotel, I had a chance to take different route in the same area, I found some locations with nice night view which I have seem them in Japanese drama before.

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-39922347886324152102010-01-05T22:11:00.003+08:002010-01-05T22:42:17.963+08:00

Long time ago when I worked as a commercial film producer, I had a commercial film shot at Hukou old street. Hukou old street was not such a popular tourist site at that time and was a perfect place to tell stories of early Taiwan.Now Hukou old street became a famous tourist site of HsinChu County. It may not be as the origin, but I still prefer it than other old streets. Because it keeps more

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-28191078251260877982010-01-03T20:06:00.003+08:002010-01-03T20:45:35.569+08:00

Hukou Township (湖口鄉) is famous of its old streets and the largest army tank base. To show the special history of Hukou Township, the township government requested some decommissioned tanks to be displayed at some tourist sites.Near the parking lot of Hukou old street, there is a very special military vehicle which is the M733 amphibious personal carrier. According to the description, this

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-55058441683138194222009-12-15T21:46:00.003+08:002009-12-15T22:13:35.727+08:00

Last time I talked about how I brought grand father's old Nikon lenses back to alive. Now comes the real test. There are some interesting findings with Sony A350 and Nikkor 55mm micro lens during the test:Sony A350 needs to work under "M mod", means manual control aperture and shutter speed, or camera will show "no lens" message. Because Digital camera does not receive any data from

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-89038142149341322972009-11-29T19:59:00.004+08:002009-12-04T00:11:01.775+08:00

Aunt asked me to take care of cameras and lenses which grand father left. Even though I have not used traditional camera for a long time, I still take the responsibility for this work.Those cameras and lenses do not mean only photography equipment, also a part of our memory to grand father. So we decided to keep all of them, though we hardly to use them any more.Recently, I found a vendor

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-91893565168031661012009-11-28T21:41:00.002+08:002009-11-28T21:48:35.938+08:00

After working at computer show, I took the bus 650 back home. I was surprising to see a black dog sitting at the last row of the seats. After watching this dog for a while, I found this dog behaved well, so I sit at row next to it. Of course, took this photo.How did this dog get on the bus? Whose dog is it? I have no idea, because the dog did not interact with anyone on the bus. But I guess bus

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-44543546304695075602009-11-22T11:10:00.006+08:002009-11-23T11:35:14.760+08:00

Taipei city is the capital of Taiwan. Like any other big cities, Taipei has its story. Heritage and Culture Education Center of Taipei City (台北市鄉土教育中心) is a perfect place to learn about the life style of early Taipei and the history of educational and medical progress in Taiwan.This education center is located at Po Pi Liao (剝皮寮) in Wanhua area, Taipei, which the early business district in

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-25956340431749281372009-11-03T20:45:00.003+08:002009-11-23T11:36:21.301+08:00

It is autumn and the season of red leaves. We went to Karuizawa in mid Oct. to enjoy the nice weather and the wonderful view of autumn. The best way to travel around Karuizawa area is by a bicycle. Please be relaxed and enjoy the photos. With these photos, I do not have to say any word about how beautiful Karuizawa it is.Karuizawa Travel GuideMore photos of Karuizawa

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-43746946279045543032009-11-02T00:10:00.007+08:002009-11-04T15:23:42.136+08:00

Coming to Tokyo for a job interview four years ago. That was my first time ever in Japan (now 17 times!!!). On the day before the interview, I was walking around in Shinjuku area and looking for a place for lunch. Suddenly I saw a signage with a little pig on it and many food models of Tonkatsu (Japanese fried pork chop) meal set in the window. I decided to give it a try, since Tonkatsu is one of

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-78334521737697687792009-11-01T00:23:00.005+08:002009-11-03T21:01:39.062+08:00

For most baseball fans, they would dream to have a chance to play baseball at a pro baseball field once in their life time. Even some of my friends play baseball frequently, they never dare to dream about that.How lucky I was! After 20 years playing baseball in college, I had a chance to play baseball again at Seibu Dome, the home of Japanese pro baseball team - Seibu Lions. It was a very

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-45432687777501224112009-10-29T23:18:00.004+08:002009-10-29T23:38:54.623+08:00

Having taken TGV in France, Meglev train in China, and the Taiwan High Speed Rail, but never Shingansen in Japan. Again, train is the best transportation system for traveling in Japan. We bought JR East 3-day unlimited pass for only JPY10,000. We took Narita Express from airport to Tokyo, Tokyo to Karuizawa by Nagano Shingansen, then to Nagono, and back to Tokyo, and finally back to airport.

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-29369695488222819212009-10-19T21:08:00.003+08:002009-10-19T21:40:55.026+08:00

Narita Express E259Narita Express 253Because of business purpose, I need to go back to Tokyo office every 3-5 months. Narita Express became my favorite transportation system because of no concern about traffic jam. For trip to Japan this time, I found Narita Express changed the car model; from series 253 to series E259; the debute date was Oct. 1, 2009. I was pretty exciting to take the new

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-17993731474162853942009-10-08T20:22:00.002+08:002009-10-08T20:42:48.707+08:00

Recently one of my friend who is working at a travel agent gave me a Singapore Airlines A380 model airplane. The scale of this model is 1:200 which is much bigger than the one I have which is in the scale of 1:1000. Because of the big scale, this model comes with detail landing gears and the engines with movable fans. These details are hard to find in small scale models.Now this model became

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-26985488775611493572009-09-16T21:35:00.003+08:002009-09-16T21:51:37.100+08:00

photo taken on 5 Nov., 2005photo taken on 13 Sept., 2009Visited the National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium again and I was so surprised those "little belugas" have become big belugas. The last time I visited this aquarium was 4 years ago, and belugas were still little and cute. According to the description from aquarium, baby beluga is about 150cm long and weights about 80Kg. An adult

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-50314266775156431732009-09-05T21:39:00.003+08:002009-09-05T22:08:59.301+08:00

Beretta 92 pistol may be the most popular handgun in the real world and BB gun world, since it was chosen as a standard sidearm by military forces and police units of many countries. So almost every BB gun fans will keep at least one Beretta 92 series pistol. Mine is a Beretta Elite manufactured by KSC, a Japanese brand but OEM in Taiwan. I got this one more than 5 years ago, and it is not

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-10928451067684140722009-08-31T10:42:00.003+08:002009-08-31T11:18:49.997+08:00

There is always something surprises you in the big cities. I found 3 mobile business vehicles at Huashan Creative Park in Taipei. Mobile business vehicle is not really a new idea, but these 3 cars really impressed me.The first one is a Starbucks Coffee truck, I saw a lot of this kind of mobile coffee trucks, but the first time for Starbucks Coffee. Recently Starbucks is facing strong

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-75654815609991851632009-08-15T13:15:00.008+08:002009-08-21T21:44:20.042+08:00

In the Taipei Aerospace & Defense Technology Exhibition 2009, the Armaments Bureau of Ministry of National Defense displayed a new assault rifle, the T97. This new designed rifle is in 5.56mm NATO caliber, and also available in 9mm Para. It may replace the current T86 amd T91 assault rifle.I am pretty sure Armaments Bureau took some famous advanced rifle for reference when they designed T97. You

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-20705421865125346182009-08-12T19:53:00.003+08:002009-08-12T20:05:00.949+08:00

After Typhoon Morakot hitting Taiwan very badly, almost 25% of Taiwan was damaged by flood or mudslide. Hundreds of people are still missing in mountain area. Broken roads and foggy weather are slowing down the rescue missions. The rescue operations and recovery works will be much more difficult than the work after Hurricane Katrina hitting US. The beautiful Formosa will never be the same

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-75830421262928252982009-08-08T21:23:00.007+08:002012-02-02T23:08:57.501+08:00

Pyramids of Giza and SphinxKarnak TempleAfter the movie Transformers, Revenge of the Fallen having been at theater for over a month, I finally watched it. As what I expected, there are more transformers and more fighting in this movie, since they got support form Chevrolet and Pentagon. For entertainment purpose, this is really a great movie, full of excitements for two and half an hours.Except

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-37211827733280809112009-07-28T22:17:00.005+08:002011-02-01T21:54:13.052+08:00

Here are my birthday gifts this year; the Louis Vuitton Damier Graphite Multiple Wallet from my wife, Jane and a pottery artwork from my sister-in-law, Nina. Jane bought this wallet when we were in Athens, Greece, and Nina made this artwork which she claimed as a cup by herself.Nina is a college student major in fashion design, likes to try new stuffs and to create something different. She came

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-9985934261563790082009-07-20T20:57:00.003+08:002009-07-20T21:48:09.198+08:00

In Athens, Greece, the most famous attraction is the Parthenon in Acropolis. But this time, there was something got more attention from public, the new Acropolis Museum.Due to the limited space of original Acropolis Museum, so Greek government decided to build a new museum for a better exhibition of precious masterpieces. The construction of new Acropolis Museum started in 2000 and completed in

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-68649472035055512122009-07-19T20:19:00.004+08:002009-07-23T12:23:46.140+08:00

Most time when we talk about Greece, the image in our mind is the houses in white and blue colors with the blue sky in the background; the typical romantic image of Greece for most people.After visiting Patmos and Criti, we finally visited Santorini, the island with lots of house painted in white and blue.The main town of Santori, Thira (Fira) is 1916 feet about sea level, so visitors need to

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-53463014860018543542009-07-18T10:32:00.004+08:002009-07-20T21:49:25.192+08:00

We said good-bye to Turkey in Kusadasi, then took the easyCruise Life heading to Greece. After enjoying lunch and the sunshine of the Aegean Sea, we arrived at the first island of Greece during this voyage, the Patmos.Patmos is a small island of Greece in the Aegean Sea, one of the most northerly of the Dodecanese group. With small population of about 2500 people, the main business is farming for

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-65202540771139223902009-07-14T20:14:00.004+08:002009-07-14T21:06:36.452+08:00

easyCruis Life at Patmos Island, GreeceHappy couple was ready on boardOur cabin (Deluxe Outside) which is enough for 4 personsMy first time travelling on a cruiser was in Egypt, but it was just a small boat on the Nile. During this Turkey/Greece trip, we had a chance to take a 3 day cruise on the Aegean Sea from Kusadasi, Turkey to Athens, Greece.This boat named easyCruise Life, which is operated

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-36297195106173573432009-07-13T20:41:00.003+08:002009-07-23T14:15:10.940+08:00

Blue MosqueHouse of Virgin MaryThe library at EphesusThe coliseum at EphesusThe typical image of Muslim countries to me is conservative, anti-capitalism, anti-American, and Muslim-only. Sorry! it is my fault. I think that is why people need to visit other countries and learn about the truth, not only being educated by Hollywood movies.During this trip. I found Turkey is a very open minded Muslim

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-77653806088526284482009-07-12T10:46:00.003+08:002009-07-12T22:26:50.204+08:00

Maybe because of the nice climate, we saw all kinds of pretty roses when we traveled in Turkey. Also, Turkey is famous of cherries. We had chances to enjoy the cherries in the restaurant, also once we got some free cherries from friendly Turkish farmer.

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-85125450323868848592009-07-11T23:56:00.006+08:002009-07-12T22:25:58.531+08:00

Pamukkale, meaning "cotton castle" in Turkish, is a natural site and attraction in south-western Turkey.Because of the tectonic movements in the Menderes river basin triggered frequent earthquakes, and gave rise to the emergence of a number of very hot springs. The water from one of these springs, with its large mineral content, especial the chalk. So it created Pamukkale.It was astonishing whey

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-62536221253609504232009-07-06T20:45:00.006+08:002009-07-09T10:04:27.041+08:00

Because of Turkey is in the mid of Asia and Europe, so it is very important for trading no matter now or in ancient time. "Han" is the meaning of hostel or inn in Turkish. There were many hans for business people in ancient Turkey; most of the hans were operated by government or kingdom and offered 3-day free stay for business people. That was a very thoughtful arrangement, especially for such a

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-70850526134077798022009-07-05T21:11:00.005+08:002009-07-09T10:04:27.042+08:00

Cappadocia which is unique in the world and is a miraculous nature wonder is the common name of the field covered by the provinces of Aksaray, Nevsehir, Nigde, Kayseri and Kirsehir in the Central Anatolian region.The tourist sites impressed me most in this area were the Goreme Open Air Museum and Kaymakli Underground City. Goreme Open Air Museum was a the monastery of nuns and built in the

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-29524754466567979192009-07-02T20:41:00.004+08:002009-07-09T10:04:27.042+08:00

Cappadocia is one of the astonishing areas for tourists in Turkey, because of its natural wonders and unique historical heritages.It was quite late when we arrived at Nevsehir in this area, we did not see the natural wonders clearly, but a hotel got our attention. Alfina Cave Hotel is a hotel in the style of Cappadocia; half of the hotel is build "in the mountain". Each room is like a cave;

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-23787878333486530992009-06-30T20:57:00.003+08:002009-07-09T10:04:27.042+08:00

Before going to Istanbul, all I knew about Istanbul is a city cross Asia and Europe, the largest city in Turkey, and of course they have a circuit for F1 racing.Due to tight schedule, we only spend one full day in Istanbul. We visited those most attraction sites: Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace, and Hagia Sophia. Before taking the boat tour on Bosphorus, we also spend some time at Spice Bazaar.

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-45637451700931331702009-06-25T23:26:00.009+08:002009-07-12T00:37:15.162+08:00

Jane and I joined a tour group for a 12 day trip to Turkey and Greece from 13 to 24 in June. We did enjoy experiencing different cultures and visiting many attractive sites. Also, we had the first time of cruise. Though it was not a luxurious one, we still enjoyed the beautiful scenery at Aegean Sea area.Day 1, Taipei - Hong Kong - IstanbulDay 2, IstanbulDay 3, Istanbul - Ankara - CappadociaDay

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-19496304379145586352009-06-12T22:32:00.005+08:002009-06-13T08:40:34.274+08:00

Dalongdong area is one of the early developed area in Taipei City. And the most famous site of Dalongdong area is Baoan Temple. Baoan Temple was built in 1830 and it was the religion center of early Taipei. Now Baoan Temple is having the Baoan Cultural Festival every year to promote the traditional temple fair and folk religion. It is a place worthy to visit to learn the beauty of Taiwanese

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-50323863873546645192009-05-27T21:20:00.004+08:002009-05-28T10:14:36.256+08:00

Grand father was born in 1916 and died at the age of 94 on May 13 this year. He was a great father and grand father, also a great medical doctor for over 60 years.To me, he was not only a grand father to me, but also a teacher. He inspired me to learn photography and to appreciate the beauty of classical music. He also gave me my very first Nikon SLR camera when I was a high school student.Today

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-247012787502241102009-05-05T21:44:00.004+08:002009-07-09T10:04:27.043+08:00

"Omotesando" originally means the front access to shrine. In Tokyo, Omotesando is the road leading to Meiji Shrine. But now you can not feel any traditional Japan at Omotesando, instead of a mixture of European fashion and modern Japan.Today, Omotesando is known as a high-end shopping area. You can find Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Tod's and other international name brand here. It is a pleasure to walk

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-36153357441567093892009-05-03T00:24:00.005+08:002009-07-09T10:04:27.043+08:00

Toyota F1 team now is the only Japanese F1 team on the track, since Honda withdrew this season. Toyota F1 team performance was so so in the past few years, but now they are in the top 3 after 4 races in this season. Also both drivers (Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock) are in the top 5 of driver standings. It seems Toyota is a rising sun on the track for this season.Odaiba(台場) is a popular tourist

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-44310824486239289432009-05-01T22:51:00.007+08:002009-05-02T23:13:55.315+08:00

April and May are the Tung Blossom (Aleurites Montana) seasons in Taiwan, so there are many cities join 2009 Hakka Tung Blossom Festival. Since we are living in Taipei county, we went to Tucheng City (土城) to see Tung Blossom.Nice weather and the nice view of Tung Blossoms made us a good hiking trip. Even we just caught the end of cherry blossom season in Japan during last week, we still enjoyed

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-15225747657236478332009-04-28T22:14:00.006+08:002009-12-30T18:08:16.655+08:00

This was my 16th times to Japan in 3 and half an years after joining this company. 11 times of them are for business to Tokyo, but I had never had a time to take a good look at Tokyo.This time I decided to stay 3 more days in Tokyo after meeting, so I could visit some tourist sites more than just Narita Airport and Shinjuku Station.

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-82313371076367505062009-03-27T21:36:00.005+08:002009-03-27T22:00:26.869+08:00

April 26 is the launch date of NEW Wacom Intuos4 pen tablet. People have been waiting for this new tablet for a long long time. Because the launch date of Intuos3 was more than 3 years ago.This Intuos4 is a Medium size model, the working area is about 6"x9". New Intuos4 comes with 8 express keys and a multi function touch ring. the most advanced tech for Intuos4 is the 2048 level pressure

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-21590446199039149632009-03-06T22:59:00.004+08:002009-03-14T20:31:08.751+08:00

Shengshin Train Station is located in Miaoli county, Taiwan. It is the highest point of Taiwan railway system, about 402.326 meters above sea level. Due to route changed, the last train denatured from Shengshin Train Station was on 23 September 1998. After that, Shengshin Train Station became a train station without any arriving train. Today it becomes a popular tourist site because of well

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-84886230476754816092009-02-25T21:12:00.007+08:002009-02-26T15:02:24.967+08:00

This M-14 rifle is my first no-firing model gun from Hudson. I bought it around 6 years ago when I had a chance to get a good discount. Or I will never have it on my hand. Thanks to the store owner Allan!M-14 is one of the major rifles in western countries after WW II; the other 2 are FN FAL and HK G3. M-14 has the worst performance among these 3 rifles, so it had a very short service life in US

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-31004348374768737002009-02-12T16:55:00.005+08:002009-07-09T10:04:27.044+08:00

Yakiniku at Umeshin (梅しん) Crab meal at Kani Doraku (かに道楽)Tasting the local food is one of the excitement during the trip. For traveling in Japan, there are 3 major excitements: sightseeing, food and shopping. Because the Japanese Yen is so strong on the money exchange market, so we did not do much shopping, but still testing some great food; including Udon (Japanese noodle), green tea desserts,

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-74482913302234195462009-02-08T20:47:00.003+08:002009-07-09T10:04:27.044+08:00

There are four castles designated as National treasures in Japan. They are Himeji Castle(姬路城), Hikone Castle (彥根城), Inuyama Castle(犬山城), and Matsumoto Castle(松本城).I have been to Matsumoto Castle in 2006, so I took this opportunity to visit Himeji Castle which is about 90 min. away from Osaka by train.Compared with most castles and temples in Japan, Himeji Castle is so lucky to survive and keep in

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-8233483196329300302009-02-08T00:43:00.003+08:002009-07-09T10:04:27.045+08:00

During the 6 day trip in Kansai region of Japan, we quite fully utilized the rail/subway system for traveling. The rail and subway systems in most cities of Japan are will organized and well managed. They are quite friendly for tourists, tourists can easily find the way through multi-language instructions.If you are going to travel in Kansai region, I will recommend you to purchase a 3-day Kansai

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-44838770213728057542009-02-07T16:36:00.005+08:002009-07-09T10:04:27.045+08:00

Just 40 min. away from Osaka City by train, we went to Nara (奈良市) to visit the Nara Park and Todai-Ji (東大寺) .Nara Park is very near Kintetsu Nara station (近鐵奈良駅), and it is famous of a bunch of free deers. Yes, I say "a bunch of" free deers; there are around 1200 deers. You can touch and feed them and get along with them peacefully, unless you do something dangerous, such as attacking them or

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-60031706606355592452009-02-05T21:53:00.006+08:002009-07-09T10:04:27.045+08:00

If you don't like shopping as me, Osaka Castle will be the most attractive spot for you. Osaka Castle played an important role in Japanese history. If you are familiar with Japanese history, drama or event computer games, you will know a lot stories happened in Osaka Castle.Original Osaka Castle was built in 1598, but was burned down in 1615 during the battle. In 1928, the main tower was restored

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-16303217410204704582009-02-02T21:35:00.006+08:002009-07-09T10:04:27.046+08:00

Japan's tallest temple pagoda in Tō-ji (東寺) The Golden Pavilion, Rokuon-Ji (金閣寺) Kiyomizu-dera (清水寺)I think Kyoto is the first choice to learn the beauty of traditional Japanese culture. Also, Kyoto is a city of temples; you can see a lot of old temples and new temples everywhere. Since I am not so familiar with Japanese history and can not tell the difference between temples too much. We decided

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-77468630925324277672009-01-31T20:44:00.002+08:002009-07-09T10:04:27.046+08:00

Spent 6 days in Kansai area of Japan, visited several places and enjoyed delicious Japanese food. I will update my blog ASAP. Please come back sometimes!

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-61632491879404124622009-01-24T19:36:00.003+08:002009-01-24T19:51:18.063+08:00

Though we had a tough ending of 2008 and a challenging 2009, Let's be positive on the coming year of OX.Jan. 26 is the first day of Chinese new year. Wish all the friends around the world have the prosperity and happiness in the coming year of OX.

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-29498375608255823812009-01-18T20:28:00.004+08:002009-01-18T20:58:44.423+08:00

To encourage more consumption then to stimulate the progress of economics, Taiwan government gives each resident of Taiwan a gift for new year; it is a set of consumption voucher (消費券) which is worth NTD3,600 (around USD107). Taiwan government hopes this NTD3,600 voucher policy can make every people spend more money on daily consumption.Today is the first day for consumption voucher distribution

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-73111287773221470132009-01-17T10:14:00.002+08:002009-01-17T10:28:34.694+08:00

Can you tell it is a stamp set? printed by Finland for F1 World Champion 2007 Kimi Raikkonen.Right after Ferrari F1 team launch its new F60 for 2009 season, I got 2 Ferrari related gifts. One is the Puma Ferrari Kimi baseball cap by my sister-in-law, another one is the Kimi stamp set printed by Finland and from a friend.The Kimi stamp set is quite unique. I thought it was a kind of ticket at the

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-62703906845282606522009-01-11T21:46:00.005+08:002009-01-13T01:28:29.325+08:00

Ferrari F40 (red) and F50 (black)I got these 2 Ferrari model cars quite long time ago. I bought F40 because it is the special model for Ferrari's 40th anniversary and it is the last design of Enzo Ferrari. F50 is a gift from my cousin when she had a trip to Italy; she is also a Tifosi!I have not taken a good look at these model cars for a while, so I cleaned them up and took some photos for them.

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-53782717497231669562009-01-04T21:06:00.007+08:002009-01-05T13:44:15.304+08:00

(the famous 8-round clip of M1 Grand rifle) (the receiver and the rear sight) (the 10 inch blade M1 Grand bayonet)Whenever you watch the war movies about WW II and Korean War, you will find a weapon carried by most G.I., and this rifle helped American troops to win WW II. It is the M1 Grand rifle, the first semi-automatic rifle generally issued to troops in the world.This M1 Grand rifle

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-62320713144833904622009-01-03T23:04:00.007+08:002009-01-03T23:24:44.174+08:00

I have not ridden a bicycle for a long time, even though biking is such a hot leisure activity in Taiwan. We took a family trip to I-Lan and stayed near Dongshan River (冬山河) after Christmas last year. Since the hotel offered free bicycles, I borrowed one and rode to Dongshan River Water Park (冬山河親水公園) to enjoy a nice ride along the river.Though ridding on a rusty bike, I still enjoyed the fun of

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-37860162240132598852009-01-02T15:20:00.009+08:002009-01-03T00:42:05.819+08:00

Oops! I have never thought I would have the first post on my blog about this kind experience in 2009. It supposed to end as a nice hiking trip.... But at almost the end of the hiking, I was bitten by a stray dog near Zhang San Temple(樟山寺). We were on the way to Chengchi University (政治大學), those stray dogs came from nowhere and one of them attacked us by surprise.Luckily, my 5.11 pants provided

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-41736515134712714212008-12-30T20:28:00.005+08:002008-12-31T09:24:25.250+08:00

(Little Emily) (Emily and Sam)Emily, one of my cousins just had her engagement banquet on December 28, 2008. As a reliable cousin and a decent photographer, I made a short film for the banquet and took lots of photos for her. Emily was a good model since she was a little girl, and so is she now. Wish her live happily after!

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-69851800406961533592008-12-26T10:30:00.007+08:002008-12-29T10:10:24.295+08:00

It was 10 degree in Celsius, but I did not feel cold. I was enjoying the sunshine, the sound of running creek, the ending maple season and the European/North American style view. Where was I? I was at Wuling Farm (武陵農場)which is 1700m above sea level.Last visit to Wuling was in my high school days. Now Wuling Farm has become a recreation area instead of a pure farm. Green mountains and clear

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-68024258002490350892008-12-24T22:10:00.006+08:002008-12-25T17:47:12.383+08:00

We went hiking to Taoshan Waterfall (桃山瀑布; 2200m above sea level) when visiting Wuling Farm (武陵農場). When we approached the final destination of Taoshan Waterfall, we saw a "bird" walking around. We realized it was the Mikado Pheasant (台灣帝雉), the national bird of Taiwan which is shown on NTD1,000 bill.Mikado Pheasant now is in the list of lower risk/near threatened species, so I think we were

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-44754513979092532082008-12-18T21:28:00.004+08:002008-12-18T21:36:43.011+08:00

Heard nothing but bad news recently; negative GDP growth, no-pay leaves, layoff, bankruptcy... 3 of my friends lost their jobs in 2 weeks. This made me feel worse about recent recession. How long will it take for us to wait for the good days?

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-39504367693038376722008-12-14T17:12:00.004+08:002008-12-31T16:00:02.212+08:00

(Beitou Hot Spring Museum)(big bath house on the first floor)(Japanese style rest area on the second floor)One Japanese friend told me that people living in Taipei City are so lucky, because they can enjoy hot spring in Taipei City without taking a long trip like the people living in Tokyo. That is quite true for a hot spring lover to have this comments. The most popular hot spring site in Taipei

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14043247.post-50976778102064970802008-12-10T21:16:00.007+08:002008-12-10T23:21:16.294+08:00

The Village is the new play of Performance Workshop Theatre Taiwan (表演工作坊). It tells a story about a very special sub culture in Taiwan, "Juan Chun" (Compound village, 眷村). When KMT government withdrew from Mainland China in 1949, many military people with their families immigrated to Taiwan from many provinces of China, and were allocated at many "Juan Chun" around military bases.Those people

James Tunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078972595756321951noreply@blogger.com0