Camping: ordeal or fun?

We've done it. And more importantly....we survived!! Remember a few blogs ago, I told you that we had planned a camping trip? Well, this was the weekend. We found this deal on the net and we went for it.

We arrived and were treated like VIP's. It turned out that we were the VERY first to have booked this arrangement. We were showed around the place, and had our picture taken for the newsletter and internal/external documentary. There were even flowers on the table as a welcome gift. And to top it off, we could even pick up a barbecue set from the restaurant the next day, free of charge!



The tent itself had all the luxury you can find in a normal bungalow....well, apart from the heater and the toilet. And those are just the essentials I missed the most this weekend. The toilet was just a stone's throw away, even though I can't throw that far myself.
The thing I don't like is just the fact, that taking a shower isn't really private, nor is taking a dump. You might be sitting in the green fumes left by your predecessor. However........this does work BOTH ways :) (note to myself: next time, bring gas mask)



and a heater?......We had each other. Since it was COLD!!! Especially the first night, it was still freezing. Luckily we had reserved a blanket and quilt package which we slept under. And underneath it was nice and comfortably warm......but as soon as you stuck one limb out of the bed, it was COLD!! The next morning, we found there was ice on the roof of the car. Well...not ice-age thickness, but still, it was ice. So, they say camping is an outdoor sport. We did turn it into a contact sport,....a CLOSE contact sport. And I don't mean that in the dirty way. Come on...Alec was there too :)



Apart from that everything was there. It was just a bungalow, except for the stone-brick walls. I must say, normally, things aren't very private in tents, since there isn't much more than some piece of fabric between you and the outside world. But these tents were placed in such manner, that a normal conversation stayed private. However, doing other things might be less private then one might hope for. So, for newly-weds this isn't a good idea.



The park is also quite child-friendly. There are lots of playgrounds for all ages, both indoor as well as outdoor. And all really child friendly, so basically you didn't even needed to keep an eye on your kid.





Like I said in that earlier post, camping will never be my thing. But this way, I like it, and we would probably do it again, but then when the weather is more warm.

Why Taiwan?

You guys may be wondering why this nutcase keeps babbling on about Taiwan. Well, first of all YuMei is from Taiwan, second, I have a sort of love/hate relationship with the country ever since the first time I have visited it (more love than hate) . If you wanna know what is so special about Taiwan, check out this video:

Adrenaline junkie

We already know that Alec is close to fearless when it comes to rides, slides and other things fast. No slide too high, no ride to rough. The other day we went to the fair in a nearby city. And he found his ride in a special rollercoaster for kids. We wanted to let him ride one time, and let him ride something else. But no.......he insisted on riding it again.

Last Saturday we went to a place called Aviodrome which is a museum for anything having to do with aviation. We went there with a friend of ours and her kid, the same age as Alec. It was nice to have another kid around Alec for a change, and they both had a lot of fun.
After walking around inside the museum, we went outside, while our friend went to a different area, watching the model helicopters with her son.
The moment Alec saw this flight simulator, one of those where all the movements on the screen are being felt at the same time.
He started to point at it, and didn't stop pointing and looked at me with those big brown eyes, you know...those eyes that always are soooo hard to resist. It was
I had my doubts at first, since you never really know with 2-year old kids, what is nice and what is scary for them. I already saw myself sitting inside with him, pressing the emergency button, because Alec was freaking out.
But on the other hand,...the ride was free, and in the case this would happen, the people we would be ruining the ride for could just go again after that.
So, in we went. Alec was sitting on my lap, being enthusiastic for the ride. Then the doors closed, and I already was checking where the emergency button was.
The movie was about a fighter plane flying a mission over Iraq (where else?), and it promised to be a rough ride, by the look of the aircraft carrier we were taken to.
We took off, and the cabin started moving. Alec was already showing signs of enthusiasm, and that became even bigger, when the "plane" took a right turn while climbing high into the sky. Alec was laughing really loudly, and started pointing at the screen. All the others already started to laugh also, and saying "how cute". And then the plane took a left turn, and Alec started to laugh just as hard as before. He loved it. The whole ride he was making enthusiastic sounds, and laughed at every unexpected turn.



When we came out, he started to "tell" YuMei enthusiastic how the ride was. He was mimicking the ride, and was smiling the whole time.

Yup......he really is an adrenaline junkie!



P.S. He was a bit more enthusiastic at first, but as always we were too late with the cam.

Thank you for flying Jurgen Airlines

When I was kid, we used to go on vacation to Portugal. The flights to there are usually charterflights, which usually has a certain audience. You know...the kind that applauds when the plane has landed. As kid I used to hate that. Especially since they clapped at the most dangerous period of the flight, the braking part. And this behavior is only seen at charter flights, the regular flights are free from this clapping ceremony. Well....with one exception, and that happens to be also the only exception for me to accept this behavior. On one of our flights to Taiwan we used Eva Airlines. And at the end of the flight, when the airplane was taxiing to the terminal, the stewardesses stood up, took their places in the aisles, and after a speech ("and thank you for bla bla bla") they bowed. For me, that is kinda acceptable, since you are paying respect to the stewardesses (and sometimes cute ones too :) ). Please don't ask me what is the difference between the two....I don't know, it's just the feeling I have with it, ok?

Anyway, as kid I used to hate this, and I had hoped to be liberated from this, when flying regluar flights. BUT, now I am experiencing this behavior in a VERY unexpected way. MY OWN SON is showing this behavior.....and not in an airplane.....no, IN OUR OWN CAR!!! Every time I come to a screeking halt on a parking lot, Alec starts to applaud. Is it because he is happy to have survived yet another one of dads driving adventure, or that he admires the way his daddy had parked the car beautifully between the lines (honey, don't say a word !!! :) ), or that he is just pleased with the overall service on board of flight JCR007? Well, it can't really be the last one, since we only have one stewardess, and she isn't always in the car. When she is, however, the service is just great, also for the pilot. Well, whatever it is, I guess I just have to live with it, till he decides that flying Jurgen Airlines isn't so good after all, and he has his own driver's licence. Until then......DEAL WITH IT!!!!

Jumping Jack Flash

Where are the Taiwanese articles?

As you can read in my "about me", I sometimes would write about my views on Taiwan. Now, I can tell by the desperate look in your eyes, that you are all just dieing to know why I haven't posted them in quite a while. You wanna know the truth or wanna hear some shitty lies?
For those who choose the lies, take your pick:

1) My computer crashed (no backup?)
2) Alec deleted them (Yeah, blame it on the kid)
3) The dog ate them (Since when do we have a dog?)
4) Can't find them anymore (sure, sure!)

For those who want to know the truth,.....I am LAZY!! There, I said it. It's out in the open. The thing is, I have them on my computer, but they are all in dutch. So, I have to translate them into English. And I just keep on postpone it.
But strangely, I keep on writing other blog-entries, which might be more "exhausting" to come up with then translate an already written article.
Strange, huh?
Anyway, I know you are wanting to see them back, but just be patient, and enjoy my other entries, until I get off my lazy ass and start translate them.

City Slickers II, The Sequel

Anyone remember the movie "City Slickers" from 1991, starring Billy Crystal and Jack Palance? Well, for the fans, there now is a sequel to this movie, starring our Alec!