Typhoon Nanmadol

Back in Alberta, school children (and many adults alike) are delighted by the prospect of a “snow day”. During winter in Alberta there are occasionally - but not often - days where so much snow falls in such a short period that neither students, nor their parents, are expected to take unnecessary personal risk by attempting to travel to school or to work. Schools and workplaces for the most part remain closed and many people get to enjoy what is essentially a de facto holiday.

In Taiwan, the equivalent is “typhoon day”. Amanda and I were contacted by our respective supervisors today and told that classes tomorrow are canceled and our branches will not be open... courtesy of Typhoon Nanmadol. In the few months that Amanda and I have been living in Taiwan there have been a number of typhoons that have “grazed” the island, but none that have hit head-on. Nanmadol is the first typhoon that is actually heading straight for the island. The nearby mountains provide good shelter for Taichung and so it is unlikely that we will see scenes anything like what is being experienced on the US east coast at the moment.

The video is for the month of August 2011
Typhoon Nanmadol can be seen right at the end of the video...

Nevertheless, expect the best and plan for the worse and so, tonight I paid a trip to 7-Eleven and stocked up with some essentials - it was recommended to us that we not leave the apartment tomorrow. I think Amanda would award me a C- based on what I considered to be “essential supplies”.


Brett’s typhoon survival kit:

- Water, enough to last a few days.
- Beer
- Milk tea
- Orange juice
- Cookies
- Mystery milk pudding desert x2
- Microwave popcorn
- Half loaf of bread
- Peanut butter
- Marmalade
- Soy sauce (just in case)

Ready and set!


A quick recap on the last couple days. Amanda and I have spent part of our weekend trying to make our apartment feel a bit more like our home. I bought a portable closet for us to stack and hang our clothes in. We also ate meals at three restaurants that we had not tried before.

On Friday we had dinner at Ken’s Ravioli. 
They had the most amazing Bacon and Pumpkin Soup and we also ordered Spaghetti with Rosemary Chicken in a Cream Sauce. I really did enjoy and this Taiwanese spin on Italian food, and that is not true of all the Italian Food restaurants I’ve eaten at in Taiwan. The prices were also reasonable. Amanda and I definitely plan on returning. 

Ken’s Ravioli.

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On Saturday we had lunch at Unique Man.
The restaurant is less than 20 meters from the front door of our apartment building and I walk past it everyday on my way to work. The menu has a variety of different types of beef noodle soups as well as wonton soups, xiao long bao, meat wraps and steamed buns. The Sichuan Beef Noodles that I ordered was possibly the best I have had in Taiwan to-date. I am really excited that we live so close to this restaurant and I’m sure that in just a couple months time, Amanda will already be tired of me asking if we can eat there.

Today, for our last meal of the weekend, we ate at FiFi Italian Restaurant.
FiFi’s is yet another Italian Food restaurant that is just a two minute walk from our apartment building. The food was good and the staff were incredibly friendly. I am beginning to worry that with so many places to eat so close to where we live, we might just gain back a little of that weight that we have lost the past few months.

FiFi Italian Restaurant

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