Way back when…in early May… a special transquad member came ALLLLL the way from La Francia to little ol’ Taiwan for the reunion of a lifetime! In honor of this event, I made sure Alex got the full Taiwan experience–from Kitty, to awesome Taiwanese fashion, to face masks, to scooter adventures!

THE DREAM

The above pictures document our photo shoot from atop the Hello Kitty Ferris Wheel on the top of the Dream Mall in Kaohsiung.  

I can’t believe it took me so long to go up here.  Not only did we get a beautiful view of Kaohsiung city and the harbor, but we got to play with a Hello Kitty head pillow in an air-conditioned (!) glass-bottom compartment! And there was a surprise kiddie fun park on top of the mall as well!  We even got to race pandas! Jealous?  Dream Mall= the place where dreams really do come true.

THE RIDE FROM HELL/ BEAUTIFUL BEACHES!

Now I’ve been told from the beginning of the year that it is possible to drive a scooter from Kaohsiung to Kenting, the southernmost part of Taiwan and some of the prettiest beaches on the island.  Fancina told me it felt like flying.  Sweet.  I’ve always wanted to fly.  So I thought this was a perfect transquad adventure–2-hour scooter adventure on a beautiful Thursday afternoon.  So we headed out in the early morning–bathing suits on, ipod ready, and this fantastic shirt (compliments of Alex) that told the world of our mission.

Little did I know that by ‘flying’ she really meant the wind from the ocean was so powerful that you could literally fly OFF your scooter.  About an hour into the ride we were both making silent prayers for our lives.  Luckily (?) the wind was blowing in such a way that we would be blown off the road instead of into oncoming traffic.  But we made it all limbs intact.  And we sure as hell deserved the huge-ass margaritas we got with lunch.  And what would a day at the beach be without beer vendors (compliments of 7-11)

and some beach babes in full beach attire?

Other than a really sore butt and some shaken nerves, we came back from the day with a nice beachy glow.  

A ‘TASTE’ OF BOSTON

And finally what would a transquad reunion be without a little ‘taste’ of home.  I guess in France they don’t have Dunkin Donuts (I know, right?!).  HA….ameatures.  Well in Taiwan we do it right.  Among several popular food chains we have the amazing Dunkin Donuts.  And my Boston-born love was in desperate need of a fix…so a quick ride on the MRT brought us to one of the several DDs in Taipei (unfortunately they haven’t spread down south yet).  And in true Taiwanese style, we had the choice of not only our regular favorites:

But also your ‘meat flake and seaweed’ varieties! mmmmmm. yummy!

These were just some of the more outstanding moments in our tranfilled week.  Throw in some great western food, squid on a stick, wine in a can, all-night clubbing, MTV, KTV, night market shopping…and you’ve got yourself one hell of a week.