Taipei Trip, Day 9

Duane had finished his week at work, so we were free to go explore!  Duane's co-workers, Susan and Gary, very recently moved over from Raleigh for a 2-year assignment (similar to what we did when we lived in Boca Raton).  They had not been sight-seeing much - and they asked Duane if we'd like to join them on a tour to the northern tip of Taiwan.  Sure!

We rode the subway most of the way there.  There is a river that flows (I assume) out to the Pacific....On the other side is a little town called Bali.   This is the less-famous Bali!

A couple of young ladies fishing on our way to the ferry dock.

Someone preparing squid for BBQ on the little boardwalk area.

I have no idea what this is.....looks like jelly embeded with something really weird....

We bought our tickets for the ferry to cross to the other side of the river....about $2US roundtrip....

Actually pretty nice!  Duane and Gary....

Susan trying to keep cool!

Approaching Bali....

Just thought these were pretty cool boats, all moored out in the little harbor......skip ahead several hours to low tide......

Exact same boats....

There was a pretty nice beach, although the sand was a bit muddy....not a lot of kids playing like they would be at home.  They are very sensitive to the sun here - they do NOT want a tan, at all!

We followed a bike path - found this HUGE snail on the ground....hhhmmmm, dinner!  (just kidding, of course...)

Gary and Duane leading the way - I'm back with my umbrella trying to stay out of the really harsh sun a bit!

Happened upon the Taipei Sailing Club....thought there might be some neat sailboats to look at....

Hmm, nope....this is apparently the entire fleet.....tiny little sailing dinghy's....

We were hungry, and found what looked like a neat restaurant....turns out it was an "Aboriginal Restaurant"....supposed to be serving foods eaten by the original island inhabitants.

They invited us to participate with them with "pretend" face tattoos.  (The Aborigines apparently have "real" tattoos on their faces like this....)

Everyone except Duane, of course, said "sure, why not?"  Plus, they gave us a shot of their homemade wine for participating....win-win!

Now, there's a photo you don't see every day!!!

Susan getting her's...

Cool!

Gary was a "sport" also!

Cute????

The food was good - about the same as you get anywhere else here in Taiwan....but fun anyway!!

Bunny's in the courtyard of the restaurant....not really sure why.....maybe they're on the menu???

Another sight you don't see every day....note the home-made broom....

We really lucked out - it was a gorgeous day!

Wandering back to the ferry - we pasted lots of food vendors....

Squid on a stick....yummmm!  What's amazing is that I saw teenagers chomping down on this treat!

We were all so hot....I couldn't resist another 50 cent (US) cone.  This one was yummy and fruity - I'm pretty sure it was made from  mildly sweetened soy milk....cold and hit the spot, though!

Back on the mainland, we wandered thru some markets - these little chick-a-dee's were destined for someones table tonight, I bet!!

We rode the train back to Taipei - Susan and Gary invited us to see their new apartment.  Their shipment from the US has not arrived yet, so they have almost no furniture yet.  They do have a lovely terrace on the roof -- beautiful views!

My camera battery failed me for once.....so this is the last photo of the day- the view from their roof.....it was a nice but long day!