Shao Liuchiu

Let me help you with the pronunciation of this.

Shao = as in 'shower'
liu = as in the zodiac sign 'leo'
chiu = cho as in 'choke'

Now, don't forget that! I'll admit it took me forever to figure out how to say it :)

This was our destination last Sat & Sun. It's a small island off the west coast of Taiwan. I went with Yvonne and her bike group. It was great! Oh, but the bike was small and the island was hilly. Oh well. "It's good for me" as they say.

We left Sat morning and arrived on the island around 11 pm. We dropped our stuff as the hotel then got lunch. Delicious fried rice and noodles. Yum. Then we rode to the famous landmark 'Vase Rock'.
(I heard 'face rock' the first five times Yvonne said it. Then she
chastised me and said I needed to pay attention. That's not quite
it my friend. Your English is good, but sometimes I can't quite
understand. It has happened before)

Our next stop was a beach area to explore sea life. The guide greeted me by name when I got there. Uh, do I know you? No, I didn't. My new friend Doris had just told him about me. And she also told him we were good friends :) She randomly walked up to me as we disembarked and asked my name and introduced herself (in English!) I was pretty excited. Then after lunch she practiced with Yvonne before asking "Can I be your friend?" It was cute.

That night we had a barbecue. Chinese sure now how to barbecue!!! Wow, I'll never look at an American BBQ with as much respect. Yvonne: "Now you see why the Chinese are disappointed in American BBQs. You just have hamburgers and hot dogs." They had five or so kinds of meat, vegetables, and other treats. I was well taken care of :) They kept bringing me food. Interesting foods: a big green pepper and rice in blood. (if you're ever offered the latter, just don't think about what it is and it's okay.)

We went back to our room and I went into the room with all the kids and . . . had a pillow fight! It was fun. (And probably the reason why they were so attached to me the next day. Yvonne figures they will always ask about me when they see her.)

Sun. morning started early at 6 am. We headed to a fresh fish market. They bought ingredients for our lunch. Then we went snorkeling. Yeah! A guide pulled us around clinging to life preservers on a rope. I did some exploring on my own after that. :) Yvonne's nose was acting up (imagine sneezing in a snorkel mask - wouldn't work so well, would it?) so she went with the grandmas and babies on a glass-bottomed boat. They saw a big turtle! Ah man. I love turtles.

We returned to the hotel for showers. The kids came knocking on my door demanding I play with them. We played a new tag game for a bit. The women were cooking lunch. It was very tasty. Fish and squid that were likely swimming the day before. Te he.

Then we went for another bike ride and did a smidge of climbing. This is where we encountered the hills. And with no warning! Which is no good since you need to change to a lower gear before you start your climb. We just made a right turn and *pow* there's a hill. Then it turns left and there is more of a hill. Then it turns right and there is more of a hill. Ugh! There were some people on scooters. It was so great to have them drive by and say "jiao". Well, yeah, you stinkers with electric motors. :P They even taught the baby to say it. That was cute.

Then we went back on a boat and explored a famous/popular fish market. I got some tasty swordfish balls and used the most disgusting bathroom I've ever seen. Ick. They nearly made Yvonne and I lose our appetites.

I think that's about all!