Honestly, I have no clue what that means.

It’s French. And the source is from this pretty cute Frenchie that I met yesterday.

At the gym of all places.

Not that I’m that interested. But let’s just say, looks-wise, he may be hot, but everything about him screamed “Bad Boy.”

His arms were tattooed, his ears were pierced and it was hard to communicate with somebody whose English is not his first language.

On the upside, he seems pretty nice. And for the record, he talked to me first.

There I was lifting weights when he showed me how weights were supposed to be lifted.

Which made my arms sore.

Which is supposed to be the correct way.

Anyway, we ended up talking for almost an hour.

FrenchNewbie’s only been here for around 5 months, and will study Mandarin at Shida starting this week.

However, unlike moi who had a grand time during her first year, he didn’t really share the sentiment. “I don’t think I fit in here. People don’t really give me an easy time.”

From my brief conversation with him, I felt that he was a more emotional, sensitive person underneath that tattooed, tough demeanor. Maybe it’s because he’s an art major, but FrenchNewbie placed tons of emphasis with having a connection and feeling at home — things that were rare in Taiwan especially since he finds it hard to understand Americanised English.

Oh and he’s also a tad pessimist.

“How can you be so positive about life,” he asked. “I’d like to know why you think that way.”

I explained that Taiwan is merely a country for me — A place where you reside.

“It doesn’t matter where you are,” I explained. “Everyplace is the same. What is important, at least for me, is that you do what you love, and if you do so, you will never regret your actions. Friends are mere icing on the cake; my experience says, they often just come and go.”

“But if you do what you love, no matter where you are, you will be happy,” I concluded.

We talked about wallclimbing as well. He’s never tried and ironically, this muscular man is afraid of heights, or so he says.

“Maybe that’s why you like wallclimbing,” he noted. “It’s a bit like life. If you look too far ahead, you will be scared and disheartened. But if you take one step at a time, you will reach the top.”

Indeed, that was a great metaphor.

So will I ever see this guy again? Heck, who can tell. Regardless, he is attached and a pessimist, so that is no marks against his favor.

But it is still interesting to meet people, and discover their story underneath. They may very well surprise you.

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Bad news peeps — Just found out that my SD card reader cannot be read. Hence, I lose ALL the pictures from my vacation. 🙁

Booooooo! Hoooooooooo!

That’s almost a gigabyte of pictures!

But then again, no use to cry over spilt milk, and am just consoling myself that there will be next time, and I shouldn’t let my brother touch my card reader again!

Too bad though — I took pics of EVERY single meal they

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Talk about the perfect day.

I woke up late (forgive me as I slept super late last night as well), ate a nice duck roll lunch, rolled into the office and did some work, and then studied.

After a while, went for some Thai massage!

Wohoo!

So that’s another thing you can do in Taiwan — get a Thai massage!

For only NT$1,500 for 2 hours* (other places cost over NT$2,000), you can enjoy some luxurious Thai massage. And for an oil massage, it’s only NT$1,900 for 2 hours!

So cheap man!

The place is called Thai Health Spa (http://www.thai-spa.com.tw) and their details are as follows:

Tel: (02) 8787 1178
Address: #300, Nanking East Road Sec. 5, Taipei

The massage starts when they rinse your feet in bath salts. After the rinse, depending on how many people in your party, they direct you to your room where you change in loose comfy Thai pants and a loose shirt.

The bed is warm and the ambience is soothing.

And then the torture begins. 🙂

A middle-aged lady comes in and rubs, kneads, and stretches your body in positions you didn’t even know you’re capable of.

Sometimes it’s super comfortable, sometimes, it’s a bit painful… but after you hear that surprise, “Crack,” you feel way, WAY better and makes everything all worth it.

Overall, the experience’s well worth the money. And heck, the price is way cheaper than those you get elsewhere.

The only thing is, call them for an appointment or you’d find yourself turned away or having foced to do your massage at 4am in the morning. Furthermore, you get a discount as well. So call them before you go!

Oh and before I kick myself for sharing with you another of Taipei’s secret activities, the massage is only NT$1,200 for 2 hours from Mondays to Saturdays, before 5pm. So do take advantage of this relaxing activity!

And if the Thai method ain’t for you, heck, just avail of the oil method which will cost you an additional, measely NT$300 bucks.

Try it! You won’t regret it!

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Ate at a friend’s restaurant today. Am so ecstatic! The place was packed with people lined up outside.

It’s Japanese ramen, and as always tried their pork rice which was terrific. With just the right amount of thinly-sliced purple onions, eggs and caramelized pork bits.

That’s one of my favorite dishes right there!

Totally delish. 😀

So if you’re ever in the Yongkang street area, give them a go. Here’s the info:

Le (Happy) Mien (Noodle) Wu (House)
#7, Lane 10, Yongkang street, Taipei
Tel: (02) 2395 1787
They’re in the lane, just right beside the park.

Note that they’re open daily, save Tuesdays; and that they don’t know that am promoting them (actually, I think this is the second time I’ve mentioned them in my blog). But heck, if you find a nice restaurant, why not share it to others?

Their ramen comes in different flavors, and it’s interesting how you can choose how heavy of a flavor your soup will have, how thin your noodles can be, and have much noodles you want (free refill of noodles if you still have some soup left and are still hungry).

That’s my friend with his ramen noodles. And no, we are just truly friends so don’t get any wrong ideas. 🙂

Personally, I like it. The service is great too, and the chef/servers are mostly authentic Japanese, so they do know what they’re doing.

And with prices from NT$60 for their thin Japanese gyozas (dimsums); NT$75/80 for their small rice bowls (which is enough for a weight conscious person like me), and noodles worth between NT$160 to NT$210, I still think it’s more than reasonably priced given the authenticness and in a way, differentness of the taste.

So give it a shot. Who knows, you may find yourself promoting them in your respective blogs as well. 😉

Ooooh, have to take a shower and watch Martin Sorcese’s “The Departed.” See you later and be good!