on my way to Thailand

On my way to Thailand

I heart Taiwan!

It had been raining since morning as I biked to lab for a lab meeting before I prepared to leave for Taoyuan around three. Unfortunately, I forgot my eye drops so I had to bike back in rain for the second round to get them. After a quick dressing-up, I caught a cab for a shuttle bus to Taoyuan Airport. Originally, I planned to be at Zhongxiao Fuxing Stop, but both cab driver and I did not know exactly where the stop was. Thus, I asked to be sent to Xinyi's Grand Hyatt Hotel, where the driver knew of the stop. I arrived at the bus stop just before 5p, just couple minutes before the next bus enrouted to Taoyuan.

When I arrived at Taoyuan (around an hour before the scheduled departure time), I was notified that my flight was delayed for 2 hours because of technical problems in Bangkok and given a free meal ticket. I had two hours to spare in the airport but I had to call home to make sure that they did not come to early.

I a quick airport touring by walking around and taking Skytrain to Terminal 1. A way to get to the Skytrain seemed to be a bit inconvineint. However, the trip on the Skytrain between the two termimals was very quick. Tonight, only one train was in service. Thai Airways counters were located in Terminal 1.

Later, I went to the gate. A 1-year-old boy with his Thai mother were going for a Thailand visit. Being a mixed Taiwanese and Thai, he understand both Thai and Mandarin but did not talk much yet. At the gate, there were many water buffaloes painted and decorated by Taoyuan school district students. These buffaloes were interesting (similar to CowParade), and visitors were urged to vote for your favorite!

During the 4-hour flight, I talked to a 40-year-old Thai lady seating next to me, whom I originally thought to be a Taiwanese as I spoke to her in my broken Mandarin asking her where she was from. She answered Thailand ... so we easily conversed in our native toung.

This is my first visit home since more than two and a half years. I saw familiar faces--Dad, Ott, Jay~ Tom and Khead--waiting at the meeting point. After that we drove back to Chanthaburi and arrived at home around 4-5 AM due to a short detour.

My free dinner provided by KLM delay flight.

Skytrain connecting the two terminals in Taoyuan.

WaterbuffaloParade in the airport.

WaterbuffaloParade in the airport.

Arrived in Suvanaphumi just around midnight.

BKK Luggage carousel

My Timbak2 awaiting for my suitcase.

Smiling faces greeting me.

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A week before a Thailand visit

Activities/Actions:
3/1 - stationary row 10 mins, 2103 meters
3/2 - stretches, weight training (bought a flight tkt to Thailand)
3/3 - stretch & strength training
3/4 - Ran 3 miles River Trail; 23.55 mins
3/5 - biked to get pineapple short cakes; stationary row 10 mins


Note and reflections:

After the tentative race date was canceled [another rest week], I am in a relative easy mode--stretching and strength training. Especially for this week I am planing to be home, Thailand, for my little brother's wedding. After just booked the ticket three days ago, I will leave tomorrow evening. Commute biking is still on, however!

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Moo Moo Biking continues to Xinyi Shopping District

I arrived in Xinyi for a dinner with Meng-shin at a Thai restaurant. After the dinner, we walked to meet with more cows. Some were taken away to the Cow Hospital and some were injured. Poor cows!

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This cow (童話牛 A Story Cow) was taken to Cow Hospital...

行走的海洋 Walking Ocean has many bruises... !!!!
Its skin is made of numerous ocean blue beads.

Short Cut is injured too!

犇 Andy Lau Dot Cow with a street vendor behind its butt.

熱線你和我 Hot Line U & Me from Chunghwa Telecom.

Nokia Touch DJ cow

A close-up of the D.J.'s eye.

"Niu"公主 Princess Niu awaiting unknown of the coming
year!

如果有一天，牛從地球上消失了? www.vanish.cow depicting that cows will be on Internet only if they extinct from the earth.

Cows created by a street artist.

台灣向前行(八家將) Taiwan Ahead to Walk

台灣向前行(八家將) Taiwan Ahead to Walk

孫悟空 The Monkey King (his hat is made of a soda can).

2357 himself is a Matador wearing a cutting-edge technology clothes and holding a victory rose in his mouth.

A small cow in a minicow parade.. (for sell).

誰是下一個 Rocking Cowboy? Who is the Next Rocking Cowboy?

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Moo Moo Biking continues to Fubon Financial Business Park

CowParade at FuBon Financial Business Park.

I arrived at the Park at 5:15p. Around 20 people in all ages were circling and taking photos of the cows. There were 17 cows parading here, 10 standing in circle on the plaza, one in the fountain, one near the entrance and the rest inside the lobby. The cows here are beautifully decorated and painted, implying artists' imaginary and creativity.

The Space for Friends

The Space for Friends

上學了，放牛吃草去 ! School just for Fun!

探險家 Explorer is riding a space-ship cow.

三隻鹿 3 Deers is supposed to be a satire of present day's dairy productions.. but I do not understand it...

金色、童年、夢 The Golden Dream of Childhood has been brought to live in child style drawing on a golden cow.

哪裡？哪裡？ Where? Where? -- "豆皮在哪兒？"

肉兵器牛 Flesh Weapons tells a war within or from cell?!?

奔藤牛 Gallop! Rattan-Cow

蹬蹬腳尖兒馬戲劇團─之牛不懂馬戲 (Circus of Den-Den-Ciao-Jean) depicting life of circus performers.

"I am with the Bull Man's Love." His injured arm is holding a rose.

吽~狂歡派對 Let's Go Party and 羽牛 Feathers Cow

I am ready for 吽 oh no 咩~

羽牛 Feathers Cow---if I had wings, I would fly away.

Tired? Take a rest with 疲軟世界 - 牛 The World of Fatigue- Cow.
As you lift her horns up, she is awaken but slowly returns to her deep sleep until her horns will be lifted up again.

愛分心 Distraction (by love?)

A 水乳交融 "Milky Way" entertaining herself in a water fountain.

牛言板 Moossage... someone left "I love Edwina."

A circle of artistic cows embracing my Bike before a gusty wind blows the bike down to the ground.

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Moo Moo Biking along ZhongXiao E. Rd. with CowParade

Activities/Actions:

• Biked to Taipei Main Station for Lunch with Wayne, Xiao Bing-bing and Pang-pang
• Biked back along Zhongxiao E. Rd and Civic Blvd. with CowParade Taipei 2009

Stat & Course condition:
Dry at noon and early afternoon, but drizzling in the evening with strong wind throughout the day.

How I felt:
(the 5-point scale)
Physically 5
Mentally 5
About my nutrition 4
About my sleep 3


How hard did I work? 7
(the 10-point scale)

Note and reflections:
(see other CowParade Posts at CowParade Taipei 2009)

I thought that I would bike to get on MRT at Nangang Station but I ended up bike on the way to Taipei Main Station for lunch with friends. After lunch, I thought that I would go back to lab and work but I ended up biking around following CowParade on Zhongxiao E. Rd. and Civic Blvd. It was a good bike in a windy day, though.

I met a cowboy to take care of the cows on Parade near SOGO cleaning all five cows there. I mentioned to him about the fenched-off cows at National Palace Museum, but he said that many cows have been damaged and showed me photos he took. After gave me a brochure with a map of CowParade, he suggested me to go to HuaShan Creative Park to see five cows and especially the only "live cow" in this CowParade. I did follow his suggestion as I was planing to stop there but was not sure about the place. I got lost because the map showing Huashan Creative Park located between Bade Rd. and ZhongShan N Rd, near Hi-tech Plaza Mall. It was totally wrong! The park was located near Xingsheng N. Rd on Bade Rd. Well, well, this was not the only mistakes on the brochure; locations of the cows were not correct either.

The park itself was quite interesting with many run-down buildings with graffiti. I saw many people came with camera and took photo shoot there. I guess the location was intended to be in this artistic atmosphere (need to find out why later on). I caravaned around the park to meet all those four cows and the "live one" (含笑 -Banana Shrub) because of plants and flowers on its back.

I later continued my way on Civic Blvd. to FuBon Financial Business Park, back down to SOGO and Taipei City Hall for Dinner with Meng-Shin. After dinner I biked back to the apartment. This part of the story will be told in the next post.

Due to strong wind today, my bike was fallen down three times in its parking position (once at SOGO, Fubon Biz Park and near Eslite Bookstore in Xinyi).

Photos:

Surfer Cow (on a remote controller) by Chunghwa Telecom.

扭力+牛力 (Pump the MooPower) in its daily cleaning up session by a cowboy of FunCapital.
CowParade needs cleaning up every day.

扭力+牛力 (Pump the MooPower) being checked its engine.

Nokia 5800觸控牛 (Nokia 5800 TouchCow) in front of Zhongxiao SOGO.

奔牛 ‧ 白布丁 (White Pudding Cow) is one of kids' favorite. A girl in pink says "Look at my face!"

火花 (Spark) at Daylight will spark when Daylight disappears.

金庸武俠牛之笑傲江湖 (the Smiling, Proud Wanderer) at Huashan Creative Park

"The live Cow."
Among over-100 cows on parade, 含笑 (Banana Shrub) is the only one that breathes.

Let's "peep" inside to see how the inner of the 窺 cow moves.

Another view of 含笑 (Banana Shrub)!

Bullfighter Warrior!
阿美族的勇士牛 Amis Bullfighter depicting a warrior society of Amis indigenous people.

Expressive art on 被肢解的奶媽 (The Baby Sitter that be Disassembled) Cow telling how hard a cow produces milk to feed a human child (in addition to its meat).

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another rest week

Activities/Actions:

• Stationary rowing for 10 minutes each day (~2,000 meters)
• Stretched and strength training

Note and reflections:
The knee injury has healed early of the week but I still continued on another "no run" week. Even though this week schedule was pretty busy, I still spared about hour (or 20 minutes) to exercise in the gym. For example, I woke up at 3:30 to work on my presentation scheduled at 10A on Friday morning. Luckily, I finished the slides at 9 and took a half hour for gym before the presentation. It was a good wakeup exercise. :D

After her bike was assembled, Meng-shin started to bike to lab. On the first day of the ride, she got a small accident but it was OK. We biked home together for almost every night.

Azhong did not show up this week. He ran once last week from his training office to campus.

I canceled the tentative schedule of 2009 Taipei Freeway Marathon (臺北國道馬拉松) for the Half on 2009/03/15 because of the lack of training, the injury and miss the deadline for registration. Need to find another race and call the gang up to join. Azhong is the one who will join the coming race!

2009 Taipei Freeway Marathon (臺北國道馬拉松) not to be my coming race!

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