miaoli

last night i dreamed of frozen pizza. i miss it.

yesterday i went to miaoli, the county right underneath hsinchu. the drive was only about an hour, but it felt almost like i was in another country! we were definitely not in the city anymore! we went to a township called 南庄鄉. it is an old part of the county situated right in the middle of the mountains. they were soooo beautiful! and the biggest and most beautiful temple i've ever seen was situated right at the top of the hill we climbed. we went inside, and ally explained to me what everything was, from the lions guarding the door (to keep the bad out and the good in) and the huge incense burner and paper money incinerator, to the red lanterns hanging on the powerlines (the people write their prayers and put them inside, hoping that since they are closer to the gods, the gods will be able to see them better).

after looking at the temple and a really super cute elementary school, we headed down to osmanthus alley. this is a really !!!! skinny alleyway with little booths on either side selling this and that, usually things made from the osmanthus flower, which miaoli is famous for. there were so many teas, jams, blah blah made out of it and they were giving out so many samples that i was about to pop by the end of the alley. (there were also about 2039482308 samples of chicken feet and other random things i couldnt identify that everyone kept making me try...) for dinner, we went to a restaurant where i ate lots of little fish with the eyeballs still attached, and of course, octopus. =) i can't wait to go back to miaoli again! its such a cool place... you can see exactly where i was if you look here: http://www.taiwanfun.com/travel/0710/0710Nanzhuang.htm

when we left it was dark. i looked up and saw a sky full of stars! its been so long since id seen any...you certainly cant find them in jhubei city. i just stood there with my head at a 90 degree angle thinking of all the times in my life i'd been under a sky full of stars and never thought twice about it. i also thought about the times i'd spent in the mountains looking at stars with people that i loved. isn't life funny.