Places

The funny thing about traveling is that the idea of it is very nice and romantic and exciting but the actual experience of it can be a completely different thing. Most of the time, the experience is tiring and exhausting. That said, despite the exhaustion of not only the physical and mental self but also the bank account, the memory of it again is one of romance and nostalgia. Taiwanese politics aside, I have never thought much about Taiwan but for some movie directors which I adore, Hou Hsiao Hsien being the primary one and also Edward Yang and Tsai Ming Liang, although Tsai is technically a Malaysian. I am also aware that Taiwanese street food is quite popular but have no idea of its extent. When faced with a choice of destination for a short holiday, several places popped up but somehow or rather, we decided on Taiwan and the experience was a good one. We did not have enough time to really explore Taiwan but just a sampling of what it offers. Mostly food. Street food like depicted above that sells a variety of internal organs, blood cubes, necks and other exotic animal parts litters the streets of Taiwan. The most popular street food spot is the Shilin Market where a huge variety of street food is available, from stinky tofu to barbecued squids and many novelty food. The dish above is the famous Prince Noodle. It is very tasty and is decorated with an assortment of internal organs and such. It seems like the Taiwanese really likes to eat internal organs and necks and such weird parts. Any part except the meat. Haha. Taiwan is also getting very big in patisserie and is up neck to neck against the Japanese in making really interesting cakes and such. The more traditional cake houses is now getting an antiquated feeling, overwhelmed by these much more interesting offerings. The place above serves what is supposedly the best soya milk in the whole world. The queue can be very very long. It is hidden in a market above a supermarket. This place is called Fu Hang Dou Jiang. Besides the soya milk, it offers a variety of other food such as shown in the picture above. The food is pretty good and it is a good place for breakfast, if not for the long queue! The picture above shows perhaps the most expensive bowl of beef noodles that I have ever eaten. It costs slightly more than USD30 per bowl but the beef is really very tender and melts in the mouth and the soup really tasty. It is worth a try. However, the bowl that I had was not the most expensive one. The most expensive one cost upwards of USD300 per bowl. This place is called 688 Beef Noodles. Some more food pictures:

Stopped for breakfast in Shoshone at a cafe by the side of the road a transport type cafe and had one of the best breakfasts of the trip so far crispy bacon sausage meat eggs over easy hash browns toast and endless cups of coffee came to 12 for the both of us.Had a good ride to Thermopolis where we got held up with roadworks where we ended up on a 5 mile stretch of unmade up roads more

Since my last blog its been quite the opposite as it was before... I have been keeping extremely busy In the days that followed I spent a great deal of time at the University and even got to assist one of the medicalsurgical course instructors with her lecture. At the end of that week I travelled outside of where my home base is in Uttara and headed to Savar for an entire week. There was very

IPL spot-fixing: 11 questions that nailed Gurunath Meiyappan #BCCIrot

Actress Yami Gautam went down memory lane and re-lived her past times on a visit to her hometown Chandigarh for a TV show recently. Be it the farms or the markets, she visited some of her favourite places, and even met her fans. The actress, who earned fame with “Vicky Donor”, will be seen in the second episode of “Star In Your City”, which features celebrities taking viewers to a tour into their hometowns. Yami, 24, went for a boat ride at the famous Sukhna Lake, and candidly spoke about how her life changed after the success of her debut film. She even visited the theatre where she watched “Maine Pyaar Kiya” 20 times. The actress also tried her hand at farming and rode a tractor for the first time. And while she was in the fields, she even gave the classic Mother India pose for shutterbugs. She even tried tying a turban. Catch Yami reliving her memories on the UTV Stars’ show Sunday. -IANS The post Yami Gautam revisits Chandigarh lanes appeared first on Bollywood Celebden.

Ranbir & Deepika, ex-lovers turned friends

Who caught the ball? Grimm caught the ball: Player of the Game: With Justin Grimm looking hittable in the early innings, Lance Berkman's three-run dong in the 3rd, to put the Rangers up 5-2, was the biggest hit of the evening

NCP distances itself from demand for Srinivasan’s resignation

Ranbir Kapoor-starrer “Barfi!”, which amassed critical and commercial acclaim in 2012, continues its international journey with an invitation from the Shanghai International Film Festival and an impending release in Taiwan and Hong Kong. The actor is excited. “I’m elated by the fantastic response ‘Barfi!’ has garnered overseas. From Busan to Marrakech to Okinawa to Turkey the film has travelled to many countries and now I’m looking forward to ‘Barfi!’ travelling to Taiwan, Shanghai and Hong Kong too,” Ranbir said in a statement. Directed by Anurag Basu, “Barfi!” elicited a warm response with its moving story of a deaf and dumb boy, essayed by Ranbir, and an autistic girl, played by National award-winning actress Priyanka Chopra. The movie has been invited in the out of competition section at the Shanghai International Film Festival in June. It is scheduled to release in Taiwan Friday, and it is slated to hit Hong Kong screens this September. The movie also released in Turkey earlier this month. The movie’s production banner is thrilled to see how “Barfi!” has appealed to a global audience much like its success in India, North America, Britain and Middle East, said Amrita Pandey, executive director, international distribution, syndication and Disney. -IANS The post ‘Barfi!’ treads foreign grounds appeared first on Bollywood Celebden.

If international dancer-actress Lauren Gottlieb hopes to be seen in an action film soon a la Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie, she also wants to team up with Bollywood superstar Salman Khan. “I am looking to stretch myself. To come across the world and take projects in different languages is a big challenge. I want to make sure that I am growing. I have been in India for five months and it has taught me so much. Project-wise, I want to take something which stretches me. I would love to be the Angelina Jolie of India,” Lauren told IANS. In terms of projects, if she is looking for action-based films, she also hopes to work with Hindi film superstar Salman. “I would want to be with Salman Khan. He is like the Tom cruise of India… I am waiting to see what happens,” she said. Meanwhile, she has put her dancing shoes on to participate in “Jhalak Dikhlaa Jaa” and said that reality shows provide a great platform for artists like her. “‘Jhalak…’ came at a perfect time. I am excited to see where this goes. I saw how ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ pushed my career and got Bollywood looking at me. I know what this platform (reality shows) can do for you,” she said. The actress revealed that “I have got a couple of offers for films, but I can’t speak about it now”. -IANS The post Salman Khan is like Tom cruise of India: Lauren Gottlieb appeared first on Bollywood Celebden.