Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China

April 15- April 30

I came and went; my 2 weeks in Taiwan passed by quickly. There were wonderful reunions, happy gatherings, drunken times, delicious food adventures and sinful shopping trips.

I wish I had more time to relax and visit nature and culture establishments instead of just rushing from relative friends, stores to restaurants. It wasn't a peaceful trip but I did get a chance to take the new Taiwan High- Speed Rail and it was a trip. It felt like a combination of being on a train and airplane. Other than that it was mostly city life and didn't do anything new or been anywhere new.

Needless to say this was a costly trip and a lot of money were spent but almost no regrets. It was also the first time I ever shopped at one of those duty free cosmetic stores in the airport. To my amazement everything was about 2/3 of the price and double the sizes you would get at a regular department stores in the US. Over $300 dollars were dropped into the Taiwan's airport economy!!! :)

It's also painfully noticeable how much weight I have gained and it's been ages since I had even an ounce of courage to get on a scale. The anti-depressant pills and sleeping pills had really made me gained all these weight in the past few years and its time to get off it.

it

It's been almost a year since I blogged on my Urban Pasadena blog but am back now or should I say "I will be back by before leaving for Budapest, Hungary May 17th."I am planning for a head- on full blog during my 4 weeks in Eastern Europe. It's very exciting to be doing my Artist in Residency program in Budapest.

It's really one of the last places I thought I would be doing art but it's going to be wonderful!I will also be leaving for Taiwan on May 15 and returning on May 3o. It will be diffcult but I will try to submit a blog or 2 during my stay.

Also stay tune for a new Flicker and a fully updated benjaminpage.net

Here I am...

just taking up space.