A very nice B&B in Victoria

My tennis friend David here at Beacon Hill has a beautiful bed & breakfast, whom he runs with his wife. Folks who will be visiting Victoria are recommended to check out this very hospitable home away from home: http://silverjoker0923.pixnet.net/blog/post/33657486

Summer in Victoria

First thing first. Must pay respect to my grandparents and my old man, all of whom reside peacefully at Royal Oak burial park.

Also paid homage to my home golf course at which I spent over 20 years chasing an impossible dream...

Nowadays, I play very little golf but a lot of tennis. Beacon hill park tennis court is where I started the game in 1979. Brings back a lot of memories.......

Jessica my niece and Matt hosted a dinner for the family, but we missed Sam & Irene who are in Shanghai..

My sister Sabrina and Craig also came home to visit, and brought their canines, Rosie and Oliver...

Rosie is 12 yrs old and Oliver is only 4........

We are now half way thru our vacation, and I do miss the heat, and many things in Hualien. Victoria is nice in the summer, but just too damn cold most of the time. Mornings and evenings dip down to 10C, and day time temp only gets up to 20C, not exactly beach weather.

Home again!

Today we travel back home to Victoria to spend summer. Had my last run this morning in the searing heat of 30C which I will miss. Temp is only about 10C in most Victoria mornings, brrrrrrrrrr...


First stop is Taipei where we stay overnight to catch a morning flight to Tokyo, then an afternoon flight to Seattle, then another morning flight to Victoria.

Even after two years of absence, it feels like we have never left Victoria. Its good to be home!

Its party time!

Farewell and birthday party that is....
First video is our karaoke party with Kukui singing "Don't cry for me Argentina", great rendition!

Following is Mr Yang's birthday party, and also a farewell party for us.

lots of food, lots of wine, lots of beer, lots of fun....

Puppy love

Frankie has always wanted a pet, and we have always resisted, until now....

We surprised her by bringing home Lala during school hours......our American neighbours Ed & Kukui had bought a Chihuahua pup, a boy a day earlier, and in order not to have Frankie next door everyday drooling, we decided to bring home also a Chihuahua pup, a girl, born two months ago.

Lala eats like a pig, she simply chows down in no time, slurping the dish clean. But she is adorable, acting more like a cat than a dog. We keep her strictly inside, perhaps until she is a bit older.

Green island getaway

Last weekend, our friend Richard organized a trip for the ten of us to visit Green island which is a very small island off the east coast of Taiwan. First we drove to Taitung which took about four hours.

The ten of us are : Richard and Jean, Ed & Kukui, Keith, Yi Fang & Joshua, and my family of three.

We stopped at a few scenic sights along the way...

Green island is beautiful, and until a few years ago, it housed the most notorious prison in Taiwan, which was where political dissidents from the Chiang Kai Shek (228) were locked up, and those were the lucky ones. Many were murdered for crimes they did not commit, but just out of pure fear of resistance to the ruling party. It was a sad chapter in the short history of Taiwan and many to this day, are still bitter and resentful. Part of the reason for the insurgence of the DDP in the years after Chiang died.

The prison now houses the most hard cored criminals of Taiwan, and because of its location, quite similar to Alcatraz. Richard is a retired Warden and has been posted twice in Green island, therefore, he took us in for a grand tour of the prison inside which is not opened to the public. We watched the inmates in their cells and all seem peaceful. Guards do not carry weapons, which is amazing given the fact that this is a maximum security institution. Daily teachings of the buddha are compulsory, and inmates earn grades so that their comfort level improves when their grades improve. Early parole is also possible when inmates show that they have been rehabilitated. 

Green island is known for its scuba diving and snorkelling. Surrounded by coral reefs and miles of sandy beaches, the marine life is abundant and various. Frankie snorkelled for the first time, and she liked it so much that we went out again the next day. 

We rode scooters around the island, and every where we went. It was fun except when it rained, and it rains a lot on the island. Reminds me quite a bit of Hawaii. 

Here are some snapshots Ed took......

Frankie turns 11

& growing up fast.....took her to her favorite shabu shabu at Parkview hotel across the street from us..

Ed & Kukui who now live next door came over for birthday cake and tea.....