Artsy Fartsy pictures

Here is my attempt at being artistic, enjoy.

Alishan national park

Random tree

Some cool fountain looking thingy in another park

Lover's bridge in Danshui again

Fashion (continued)

Just wanted to mention something I forgot in my post about fashion. Roots is everywhere. Yes that Roots, as in the Canadian clothing store. I literally don't go a single day in Taiwan without seeing someone wearing something from Roots. I think it might be more popular here than in Canada.

I've actually seen two people with Maple Leaf sweat shirts on. They don't seem to sell any other team stuff but the Leafs, makes sense I guess, they are the only team that matters. Ahh there's that Toronto arrogance I miss so much...not really but it's just a little taste of home.

Anyway that's it for now.

PICTURES!!!

I have a lot more pics up on my facebook but here are a few.

Havin a little too much fun at the zoo.

Taiwan has the coolest bridges. This is Lover's Bridge in a tourist area on the ocean called Danshui.

I have developed this weird fascination with Taipei 101, I can't stop taking pictures of it.

This is Alishan mountain at sunrise.

Fashion

Taiwanese fashion is a mix of just about everything. There doesn't seem to be any real trend or style per say.

Let's start with the ladies. The first thing I noticed is that they like to show their legs. And I mean all of them like to show their legs. The old and fat ones too. And it's not just when they go out Saturday night, it's all the time. Here when a women wants to show skin it isn't cleavage, for obvious reasons, it's leg. Their favourite part of the leg to show is from just below the knee to the middle or upper thigh.

Then there is the actual clothing they wear. They all dress much younger than they are. It's almost like when they hit pre-teen, they loved the style so much they never left. And of course their bodies never really left pre-teen so it makes a lot of sense. One of their favourite articles of clothing is the knee high stockings or socks. Everyone here wears knee high stockings or socks. And in the funkiest colours. Orange and purple seem to be favourites amongst the youngsters. I guess it's all about the legs here. Shirts are never low cut, again for obvious reasons. And skirts are much more common here than in T.O. Of course the climate lends itself to skirts much more than back home. It's actually nice to see women who want to be feminine rather than always trying to be like men and wearing pants. Pants aren't very feminine. Celebrate your femininity ladies!

Then there is the hair, and this goes for both the men and women. Many of them get perms, again both girls and boys. I guess it's because their hair is otherwise thin and limp. (Get your mind out of the gutter.) And the weirdest hairstyles I've ever seen, especially on the men. The amount of money spent on gel and hair spray in this country must be astronomical.

And this brings us to the men, and I use that term loosely. I remarked to someone soon after arriving here that there are no Taiwanese men, and I stand by that remark. Apparently Taiwan is the second largest purchaser of male cosmetics, behind Japan. Men here wear make up! They really do look like women too, even without the make up. Of course none of them can grow facial hair, and when they do it's funny looking because they have about 1 hair per square inch of facial area. And their chests are as bare as a baby's bottom. Don't ask how I know about the chests or bottoms. And the men dress very feminine too. I guess it's European or something. Then there are the murses, that's right, man purses. Men here carry purses. And I don't mean book bags or messenger bags, I mean honest to got purses. They carry ones with logos from Louis Vuitton and Gucci.

The women in Taiwan actually try to look feminine, and so do the men. No wonder foreign men have super powers here, the women are starved for real men.