Travel Diary

I arose a little late (9 am) and went to meet Lesly at the MRT around 9:30 am. I picked up an iPhone from her, in case I went exploring. It's such a good gadget to have, even without making phone calls. Returning home, I had a cappuccino from Ikari. They made it well. I was pleased.

I relaxed. I wrote. I surfed the web a bit. Then I went exploring. Since the weather was nice, I journeyed over to the pond and gardens to take some photos. While the skies were clear, the sun being high made it tough for great shots. Great shots are usually best when then the sun is rising or setting. Yet, that's usually when it's most likely to be overcast. Oh, the irony. I did what I could and then moved on. It was a small ways away, but I finally made it to the National Palace Museum. I must say these places are so much quicker to reach when you're running. I grabbed some outside shots and then went inside. They didn't allow photos, odd since a great deal of the people in this country are into taking pictures. Oh well. Since it was getting pretty late, I returned home. While a taxi would have been quick and easy, I had some time, so I walked.

Soon, the girls returned home and we took a bus over to the gym. I was eager to workout and swim; however, the pool was closed until Saturday. No swimming for me. But the workout room was open and I bought a pass for that while the girls had gymnastics. Lesly practiced Chinese with a friend.

The gym was mainly running and cardio machines. Only a small area was devoted to upper body workouts and the free weights were nothing but a couple dumbbell sets and one barbell. No matter. I worked arms and stomach. It felt great and the hour passed quickly. I really can't compare the gym to one back home because it's been years since I was in a regular one. My workouts have all been either at the college gym or the karate studio. I imagine things haven't changed much though.

Since we were quickly due for our dinner reservation, we grabbed a taxi. As always, I was amazed at how many close calls there were. Driving here is just plain hazardous, though I've yet to see an accident.

We entered a hot pot dinner place. It was similar to the Japanese BBQ in that they bring out a cooker and you cook your food at your table. This place was nice and fairly crowded. It ranged from young to old, but the youth seemed to have the more dominant presence. Some time passed before we got a table, but soon, we were seated and shortly after, Terry arrived. Everyone prepared sauce dishes for dipping. The hot pot was brought and set up to start boiling. The setup is quite neat. The center of the pot has a divider and two sides have separate concoctions, one side being normal and the other being spicy.

We had a large number of ingredients to choose from. Each person would toss in some beef or chicken or vegetables or noodles. They would cook a spell, and you then had to then fetch them out. Often, you'd wind up grabbing something that another had tossed in earlier. That was fine. This place was all-you-can-eat.

I ate well. The food was very tasty and right up there with the Japanese BBQ. Also, another bonus was endless beer. I think I filled the glass about four times. We were there about two hours (the time limit per table), but the buzz lasted well into the night. I had a slight headache the rest of the night, although that may have been from the workout. Impossible to tell.

For dessert, they had a good deal of ice cream to choose from. I elected to go with the Swiss ice cream in a cone, which was surprisingly good--especially since the gelato and soft serve earlier in the week weren't particularly sweet.

The girls returned home and we toured the part of town around we were in. It was a little more upscale there, with fancier shops and less street vendors. In time, we took the train home. I had wanted to visit the street market, for I needed a belt. Perhaps it's from walking around too much or maybe my jeans are just getting worn out, but nothing seems to fit well any more. A belt is the perfect solution and very cheap here.

But we were exhausted. We headed home. Back home, we watched the rest of Letters from Iwo Jima, but I was failing fast. I crashed hard until morning.

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