Subway in Taipei

YONGHE, TAIWAN - Yonghe is the most densed population in the world. That's what I heard. A lot of people live in this small city of Taipei. Well anyways, today was mostly spent on the subway up and down Taipei. We went to took a subway to Taipei Main Station. Boy that place is huge. A lot of stories underground and above ground. There is even a mall underground. So after building Taipei 101 Tower up, they are going under ground now.

At Taipei, we walked through the streets of it. IT was another hot and humid day again and I have a lot of mosquito/bug bites. But I put medicine on it and it should be good. Taipei is really clean. I barely saw trash but there were a lot more people and stores there. Eating at Taiwan is so easy and convinent. All you have to do is walk a few blocks and you can find a store. And the food is a lot cheaper and more tastier eating there than back at home.

Rode subway through Taipei Metro area into the suburbs of it. Everything was different out there. There was more green and the houses were a bit bigger and better. Went to a friend's house and we chilled in there house the whole afternoon to evening. Took subway back to Yonghe. Subway is the transportation these days in TAiwan. It is fast and easy and saves time.

Another fun day at Taiwan especially roaming the subways like New York...

SO HOTTT!!!!

YONGHE, TAIWAN - It's so hot here in Taiwan. I mean I sweated when I set foot on the airport. O well, that's how summer's like here. Your body gets really sticky. I just have to deal with it.

We got to Taiwan this morning around 6AM after a 13 hour flight over the Pacific Ocean. We were fed two meals which was really good. It filled our body up completely, a dinner and breakfast at weird times. I got to sleep on the flight but woke up a few times. But at least we made a safe flight and landing @ Taiwan.

After getting to my cousin's house @ Yonghe, we started our walk around Yonghe. Went to banks after banks as my parents had to do some work there. I went with them. We circled the city like 2 or 3 times. There are a lot of motorcycles here in Taiwan. And man you have to watch where you walk as you might get hit by a driver/rider that isn't paying attention. But overall, today was us getting the hang of Taiwan. Hot dry sweaty and much more.

I am tired right now. IT's been a long day since we landed. I did not sleep today and should not get jet lag. That's good. Might go to night market later on tonight. But a really fun first day that involved me seeing some signs that weren't tranlsated properly. Day 1 almost over. It was a fun first day walking the streets of Yonghe!!!

Still sweating now...gonna shower rite now then have dinner. I feel so sticky...

To Taiwan

Tonight, I will be leaving on a plane for Taiwan. I will be in Taiwan for two weeks for a family vacation. It will be fun as we will travel to both sides of Taiwan in the two weeks. We have a lot of things to accomplish there and will take care of that. We will visit some family and also might help out with the typhoon damaged. A really bad Typhoon hit Taiwan on August 8th that killed over 500 people. Some villages are completely destroyed and a lot of blame is being put on the government.

Anyways, this will be my first time going back to Taiwan since 6 years ago. That time, I was really little and didn't really take a lot of pictures. I probably did but that was the pre digital camera era. When I go back tonight, I will be sure to take a lot of pictures.

We will see many attractions. Will definitely see the Taipei 101 Tower. Last time, it was still being built when I went there. Taiwan has a lot of night markets in its major city and we will go shopping and eat food there. Also, the subway system is improved and convient. It will be fun riding on the subway, just like New York. In southern Taiwan, we might go to this vacation hotspot right next to the sea. Heard that place is pretty cool.

Jet lag shouldn't be a big issue. Our plane leaves LAX around 1 AM Sunday morning and we will arrive at Taiwan Monday morning local time 13 hours later. So it will be like a redeye flight. If I don't sleep on Monday during the day, I should have no problems.

This trip to Taiwan will be really fun and a great end of the summer trip to see my family back in the country I was born. I will have fun in Taiwan.

Goodbye Turtles...

On Tuesday, we released our TWO turtles out into this small pond @ the golf course. We had been looking for suitable places for our two pets and realized that was the best place for them. We thought of El Dorado park but abandoned that idea as it was too dangerous. So we brought them down next to the water when we went to driving range. We first released Claw on the dirt and he quickly crawled into the water. He was really eager to go into his new home. Next, we released Greenie. Greenie didn't move when we put him on the grass but then after we moved him/her next to the water, he crawled into the water and Greenie was gone. I was so happy to see them that eager and happy in going into the pond. It made my family proud of the decision we made of releasing their turtles instead of being confined. They have freedom now.

A bit more about my two turtles, their names are Greenie and Claw. We got Greenie 5 years ago on my sister's birthday. Greenie is dubbed as a scary cat as he is afraid of a lot of things, like us picking him up. Claw, we got a few years ago. We had another turtle named Annie but it died and we replaced it. Claw is named Claw because of his sharp pointed claws. He scratches a lot of things and scratched me one time. He is really brave as he walked around a little a few weeks ago in my backyard next to my dog. Those two turtles had grown too big for the small 20 gallon fish tank they were living in. They would often clang and scratch the fish tank and move around. We could tell they were unhappy about living in a fish tank.

Greenie somehow got out of the tank a few times in the past year. I don't know how he was able to climb down the cabinet he was on but he was gone for almost a week one time. We were abit worried on his whereabouts but we found him under the sofa one time. That was pretty cool. Another time, we found Greenie stuck in between the two cabinets holding the fish and turtle tank. Greenie had his adventure in our house that I won't forget.




The turtles are free now. They are out in mother nature where they belong. They are in a better place. They can socialize with other turtles and don't have to be kept under a watchful eye from humans. They are about medium sized and should do fine out in the water. They can find their own food by themselves. Farewell Greenie and Claw...you both were great turtles to the Chen Family. I will miss you and may not see you ever again, but you both will remain in my heart, especially Greenie. Greenie has had so many fun memories in the 5 years you've been here.

Every time when I go golfing, I will look for you guys. Long live Greenie and Claw.

Sparks Game

Tuesday night, I attended the Los Angeles Sparks - New York Liberty matchup @ STAPLES Center. We picked up our tickets at the will call and they were row 6 seats in section 110. It was the closest I've ever been in a game @ STAPLES. We got a pretty good deal, 15 dollars for each tix as original price was 55 dollars. That game was a national TV game on ESPN 2 and they handed out a lot of free stuff.

We got free rally towels to cheer the team on alongside this Lisa Leslie's poster. It is a life size picture of her. That was pretty cool. During the timeouts, the SparKids threw out mini basketballs that had a bear inside. Since my row was empty, I had a lot of space to move around. They threw four basketballs to me. Some landed in the row in front of me so I snatched it and some I caught. It was pretty cool. I filmed myself later trying to get a ball but a guy caught it in front of me. I was trying to be like dodgerfilms of youtube. Watch their videos, it is so amazing.


For the game, the Sparks got off to a great start. They had the lead as they made their shots. We were all into it. But in the third quarter, they started missing their shots and started trailing. In the fourth quarter, Candace Parker came to life (8 points in 4th) but it was too late. They only made 2 field goals and missed plenty of huge free throws. Sparks lost 65-61 in front of about 9,000 fans.

That night, the players of the Los angeles Sol (women's soccer team) were there signing autographs at halftime. I went and got a few pictures and autographs. The only bad part about that night is I misssed the Beijing Olympic Ring Ceremony for the Sparks' four olympians that played last year. It went on during halftime. Man, I had a sense that it might go on but I missed it. O well. Before the game, Lisa Leslie was honored for reaching the 6,000 point mark in WNBA History. I witnessed that and it was pretty cool. The Sparks' starting five are all olympians.

Watch the videos I made www.youtube.com/ktcn414

I had lots of fun that night at STAPLES Center. It is so fan friendly. Saw Shelden Williams of the Boston Celtics sitting courtside. It was pretty cool. The Sparks have made their game much more fun since I last attended in 05. 6th row seats weren't that bad.

Camping Trip

So this past weekend, I went camping up at Mcgrath State Beach in Oxnard with my family and relatives. There were 12 of us total in the 3 day 2 night trip. It was a fun trip as we got to camp close to the beach. The weather was absolutely perfect both days. Wasn't too hot and wasn't too cold. My grandma came along, her 1st time camping and so did my grandpa too.

Left our house Friday around 11. There was traffic along the way and it took us 2 hours to get to campground 145. We unloaded and set up our camping stuff. We had a total of 5 tents for 12 people: 2 two man, 1 three man, 1 four man, and 1 6 man tent, the tent that housed me. It took about an hour and then we surfed around the beaches around that area. At night, we had good dinner of BBQ ribs and corn. I ate a lot that 1st night.

Next day Saturday was the relaxing one. All 5 of us, my cousins, sister, dog, and I slept in the big tent on air mattresses. It was really comfortable. My dog barely slept that 1st night. So Saturday, we cooked pancakes for breakfast. We had the liquid kind. Cameron, Kerry, and I made good round perfect shaped pancakes. It was pretty good. Then, we headed up to Ventura Harbor to Harbor Cove Beach. For about 2 hours, we chilled at the beach. I went in the cold ocean water for a while but didn't go down deep. Water too cold. We built a SEAL ISLAND as we were playing with sand. IT looks pretty cool. In the afternoon back at camp, we chilled and relaxed. Played some cards while the adults took a nap. Walked to McGrath Beach with no dog as there were a lot of birds there. Had PHO for dinner and I took a shower. We had a campfire going and ate some yummmy smores.

Last day was cleanup day. Tore down our tents and cleaned up our mess. Packed everything back into the car and that took almost 3 hours. Walked around at Ventura's Fisherman's Wharf. Then, we hit the road and took Pacific Coast Highway down along the baches. Passed Malibu and then Santa Monica. At home, we cleaned up some of our gear.

This camping trip was fun. Being with all my family members was cool. We will plan another one for next year, different beach. We got lucky as our campsite was a handicap accessible one and shaded with trees.Next summer, we will definitely go at it again.

This past week

Haven't blogged in a long time so I will get you up to date on what's been going on for me...

Ever since school let out, my satellite cable has been black out. They haven't released the code yet. It has been almost 2 months so all I have is the digital air channels in HD. But I have adapted. The code should be out soon...

Going camping this weekend up at McGrath State Beach in Ventura with my family and relatives. There will be 14 of us total in a campsite that can hold 8. But I'm leaving Friday and coming back Sunday. IT's gonna be fun. I'm bringing my dog, Rusty...

I've been playing a lot of golf lately. Including today, it has been three consecutive days playing. Played a round at Ironwood today and Monday, and Little Rec yesterday. Set a PR of 38 today @ Ironwood...

I am almost completely rested from Philmont. Sleeping in has been helping. But my legs are still a bit soar. Regarding Philmont, all of my stuff has been cleaned and put away. My clothes smelled the worse but it is all clean now...

Last Friday, I went to Wild Rivers in Irvine with Kevin and Nick. Kevin got tickets and we went. I had a fun time there playing in water. We rode on almost all of the rides there. It is fun going down a water slide and then falling into a 7 ft deep pool...

I'm taking HEALTH online right now. So far, I am half way done with it. I finished Lesson 4 yesterday. My goal is to finish this course before I head to Taiwan August 23rd. So have 2 weeks to do it. It is actually not too bad if you find an efficient way of doing it...

NBA Schedule released yesterday. Lakers' schedule is a lot like last years. They play 17 of first 21 games at home and then finish the season with lots of road games. So Lakers can get off to a great start like last year and set the bar in the western conference. I believe Lakers will repeat. Only player they lost was Trevor Ariza but they replaced him with Ron Artest. He should be a good upgrade...

This summer is 11 weeks. That's almost 3 months, the longest summer in a few years. I calculated and I will be out of my home for 5 weeks. Cherry Valley 1 week, Philmont 2 and Taiwan 2. So I have 6 weeks at home. I will probably go to some cross country practice next week when everyone returns from Mammoth...

Dodgers vs. Angels October 28th Game 1 of World Series??? It could happen and I hope it does. A Freeway Series will be perfect as it will show the sports world that L.A. is the Titletown with Lakers, Dodgers/Angels, and USC Football...

That's all I can think of right now. Gonna pack for camping trip tomorrow.