First the good news, after our Typhoon (which was really only a Tropical Storm) I am fine.
Secondly, I have decided to devote the next few blogs to the subject of food. Something Taiwanese people talk endlessly about, and with good reason; there is a lot of it around and it's mostly all very tasty (and cheap). I start with the Taiwanese speciality of Stinky tofu or chòu dòufu. So called because the fermenting process of the Tofu leaves it smelling of, well there is only one polite word for it, feet! It really is a very bad smell, I am not joking. This little stall sells the stuff. Most days I have to walk past the place, and the stench wafting from it always succeeds in assaulting my sense of smell. And so it was that after being told once again by my Uni Teacher how great Stinky Tofu is, I decided to try it. And....much to my surprise....I liked it!! The chap that cooked it up for me didn't even charge for my trying it, they are a nice lot these Taiwanese folks.

No Uni today! There is a Typhoon heading across the Central & North of Taiwan so the Typhoon Warning is in place, which means most places should be closed today. At present (9:30am) the sky is grey but there is no wind, truly the 'calm before the storm'. 7-Eleven is open, so I have popped out and bought supplies (chocolate, biscuits and instant noodles!).  

Good job I have the 'Bourne' DVD Box set.

And, following the theme. Scooter safety. Question: How seriously is it taken here in sunny Taiwan? Judge for yourselves! 

Yes, that is a watermelon, and a strawberry next to it.

My Scooter! It's a 125cc Yamaha...which sounds like it should be ok, but I am not so sure. It doesn't like starting, which is nearly as worrying as sometimes it doesn't like stopping (although new front pads seem to have helped a little in that department). It is possibly the coolest means of transport I have ever owned...and all for less than £400. Not sure what the orangey things are on each side, front & back, I've noticed these on all the scooters, but no one seems to use them. 

Old Scooters in Taiwan don't so much as die and go to "scooter heaven", rather they end up as planters, or mop driers or places to stick a sign...in some bizarre way they brighten up the place.

Here in Taichung most of the locals speak little to no English. Now I don't see that as a problem, it's good for my Chinese. However, with that in mind, it puzzles me why so many wear T-Shirts printed with various English slogans and phrases; with most of these phrases making no sense whatsoever. But! Look what I bought. Arthur Dent is alive and well in Taichung.

Heading up the stairs to the fourth floor at Uni on Friday, I found myself face to face with this little fellow. Not sure who was most surprised to see the other. But how cool, a preying mantis.

 I saw these two beetles on a tree. I think the markings are a warning and mean "stop taking our photo you stupid foreigner!" Isn't evolution amazing!

 There is a coastal wet land nature reserve about an hours scooter ride from home. I was walking on the sand, wandering what all the white specks were. Well, as you can see they are tiny crabs. I hope that in the bottom photo you can see that the mud flats are covered with them.

 This huge dragonfly 'buzzed' me while walking through the nature reserve.