Where for art thou, Taipei?

So I went to Taiwans capital city of Taipei over the weekend. I heard that there was to be rain and I thought I could try to get a shot of the 101 building in a way that I have not yet seen on the markets with the aid of the weather..
So it was cold, it rained for the entire duration of my visit, and for the most part it was foggy too! Awesome!

I stood there on the peak of Tiger Mountain for nearly 5 hours waiting for the right light and a break in the clouds. I have to say, that the results of the quest were quite disappointing, in my own opinion.

I did manage to get a bunch of shots of the skyline, and one of them looks really quite moody. I have posted this one on the Book of Faces (here) should you wish to cast your own opinion.
Other than that, I didn't really have the most productive of trips. I stayed at a hotel which houses the craziest fella of all time (which was amusing), and a mere 30 yards to the main station which is always handy.
I do like visiting these bigger cities, as it would appear that everybody speaks English, which is something Beigang does not offer. Taipei is also a fine place to find a decent feed, and seems to have culinary delights from around the world, no matter how far or wide.
Anyway, I am gonna have to keep an an eye on the forecasts and go back when the skies clear, and possible create a worthy op for a good shot. Oh, wait, er hang on, do the skies in Taiwan actually clear, only it seems to have rained or been cloudy since the day we arrived.. Hope springs eternal...

By the way, is there any chance anybody knows the make and model of this fine feathered being?
I could him/her perched on the remains of a small temple in the city and thought I would grab a quick shot while I had the Chance.

I'm not really a big fan of nature photography, well, MY nature photography but I did hear that practice makes perfect so I get them when I can. I will place some more on here in the next few for you to remind me not to bother..

Windy Miller.. Whatever!!

In my quest to constantly find a half decent shot I found myself in The Wetlands of Taisi this afternoon. I new when I left my house.. hmmm.. I knew when I left our dodgy flat this afternoon that the weather was a wee bit choppy, however decided to press on regardless. Afterall, the internet and four walls are not about to pay the rent! When I reached I soon thought of it as a bad idea; I was moving at around forty kph on the ol' scooter, and the wind must of touched on around seventy in the opposite direction, which works out really f***ing windy!
The thing with wind is that it is not constant. I would be nearly blown of the hot wheels one moment, then move along for a while until I start to feel the confidence creep in again, then WHOOSH! I nearly end up in the drink, or in some bush covered in wounds and staring in the eye of some massive hairy-arsed spider!
I have fallen from the saddle a couple of times now, much to the amusement of 'er indoors, and am finding it hard to admit this to certain family members whom are keen motorcyclists, most of which write on Facebook about fun times and zooming around like this is something all people should explore, and there I am staring up at the stars wondering why the eff I can't just get a car, or a bus or even just bleeding walk!
Anyway, I got to the destination and took a couple of shots, even though I had to hang off the tripod to try to stop it moving, which must have looked fantastic to the Taiwanese fellow that stopped to ask me questions. A foreign guy, hanging from a camera whilst attempting to have a conversation in a completely different language. Anyway, here is one of the pictures I managed to get, although I'm not sure I like it so it could be in the recycle bin by the morning..

I spend a lot of time looking into where I am to shoot, and tend to get quite away from home. This inevitably means riding home. I thought it would be easy, as I was riding into the wind in the way here, so therefore with the wind back. Not quite the case, to say the least. When I am trying to concentrate on not falling off, I tend to not concentrate too much on road signs, and managed to get a little lost. This meant that I had to retrace my route, into the wind to locate the correct way home.
Overall, not the best day, another rip in a pair of jeans, and a big hair-do that 'er indoors kept looking at as if my head was on fire!
Still, big city tomoz, and maybe some good shots for showing. Forecast: rain, so one tends to engulf self doubt.

Back on the diary..

Well, I'm back on the Blogger thing again! I thought it would be a good way of sharing some of my days with people, without having to make 'er indoors' ears bleed by moaning only to her!

We are currently located in a small town named Beigang, which is halfway down Taiwan, on the west coast. It's a quaint little place, but not really what I would call a 'Holiday Hotspot'! For the first month of being here we struggled to eat, due to the fact that folk here do not speak ANY English. I know, I know, we are in their country, so we should learn their lingo, however, to learn to speak Chinese is very difficult and  something we are finding hard to master. For a start, the language here in Beigang is, in fact, Taiwanese. Only the under 50's speak Chinese as they were 'forced' to learn in school. The older generation seem to only know the language that has no teaching courses on Itunes, and seem to struggle even understanding the fine acting skills of one british expat! I don't think my cow or chicken impersonation is THAT bad!
The town itself is a small rural, farming town which hosts the oldest Temple in Taiwan, Chaotian Temple, which sees visits from folk all over both Taiwan and China. The Town, apparently, will get noisy in during the religious festival time of year (February). This for me will make for some great photo's... Only one day of them though, as I have been warned that these folks send fireworks into the sky for three or four straight days, at all manner of times of the day and I would like to sleep at some point...

I will post a couple of shots of Beigang in the future, and share with you some of the excitement!