Page 21 of 68
A couple of days ago I was sitting in a hotel room with nothing much to do so I ended up watching Need For Speed on TV. It’s a pretty mediocre film at best which I think a lot of people are already aware of and I’m sure anyone with half a brain could figure that out; for some reason however, I feel compelled to detail why I think so.
In a nutshell the movie is about people driving exotic cars very fast, sort of like a Fast and the Furious copy but with less heists. The story is focused … Read the rest
A couple of Taiwan’s major country roads (road number marked by a blue shield) go through the mountains. Last year, Renegade Wife and I rode across the island on one of them, number 14 – often referred to as the Central Cross-Island Highway – and despite some rather miserable weather, it was a fun little adventure. There are a few more that look very tempting to a motorcyclist studying a map of the country and as it happens, they are connected in a big loop. With Tomb Sweeping day extending the weekend to four days, and the weather finally becoming … Read the rest
The road follows a mountain ridge, not far from the top, dipping and curving with the contours of the mountains. We are just past the peak, descending into the valley. Though the slope is gentle, it’s enough to keep us rolling, and despite the thin air, I no longer need to fight to keep the bike moving. As the road straightens out a bit, I dare cast a glance to the left and the whole landscape opens up. Beyond the barrier at the edge of the road, the mountain side slopes steeply downwards to the valley below, then rises skywards … Read the rest
It’s as if the road has been glued to the mountain side, a narrow strip of asphalt winding its way upwards along the steep slopes. To the right, a low barrier that keeps motorists from careening over the edge and beyond that the ground falls away sharply. The road follows the curve of the river below, the clear blue water cutting a perfect U through the pine clad landscape, and the banks strewn with grey boulders. It’s a picture perfect landscape, almost like driving through a Bob Ross painting.… Read the rest
Many companies in Taiwan have a (for me) strange practice where, if there is a work day squeezed in between a national holiday and a weekend, they will give their employees that day off. As compensation, you have to come in to work on a Saturday, usually the week before or the week after. This Tuesday it was the 228 Peace Memorial Day which commemorates the February 28 Incident. Due to the squeeze day policy this meant that we had a nice long four day weekend. It is still winter here in north Taiwan with bone chilling temperatures of around … Read the rest
The sky, clear now after a cloudy afternoon, is absolutely full of stars, the three in Orion’ s belt outshining everything else in the vicinity. The waves come rolling in to the beach just a few meters away, the black water crashing down on the dark sand with a loud booming sound that fills the air. I put my arm around my wife, feel the warmth of her body against mine as she leans on my shoulder, and just enjoy the moment. … Read the rest
The water is cold for a tropical island, just a few degrees above what’s acceptable for swimming. Big waves go rolling over the underwater cliffs, pushing me towards land with slow, deliberate force. The water is murky with sand stirred up by the waves, I can only see a few feet in front of me but that’s enough to explore the underwater cliff formations. The cliff below me is covered in a kelp forest, the long brownish green stems look like miniature firr trees that billow in the wind in an almost hypnotic fashion as the waves move them back … Read the rest
I’m armoured against the weather, warm jacket, rain jacket, rain pants with little built in shoe covers, helmet, and mountaineering gloves. Despite all that I know this is going to be hell, it is cold like it can only be in tropical weather, when normally comfortable temperatures chill you to the bone; and the rain is coming down hard. There is a kind of duality to this; the reports about low water levels in the nation’s reservoirs that I saw in the paper a few days ago had me worried so this is a good thing, but did the government … Read the rest
I’ve been at home for a while now and had time to reflect a bit about the trip and the countries I visited.
Though the region is called Indochina (from the two main cultural influences on the region), it’s much less homogeneous than you might think at first glance. Geographically they are of course very similar with jungles and mountains and very similar climates. The difference lies in the people and culture. In my experience Laos and Cambodia are very similar and Thailand, though more developed, is culturally close to them as well. Vietnam sticks out as very different from the other … Read the rest
Old texts: Miley Cyrus can’t stop the party
This is a text I wrote back when Miley Cyrus’ song We Can’t Stop was popular. It is an attempt at describing the images that pop up in my mind when I hear that dark beat and see that music video.
The party had been going on for almost a week now, not just during the nights, but constantly; people were still partying, still drinking and still dancing, but with less energy than before, the spark in their eyes was all but gone. The ceaseless onslaught on the revelers minds and bodies was taking its toll: several people had passed out … Read the rest