Now that we've had our bikes for a week and we feel like old hands at navigating Kaohsiung traffic we took the leap and rode to work this morning. We left at 6:30 and arrived 20 minutes later but it was another half hour before I'd cooled off. I have to work on the logistics of this. There are a number of teachers who regularly commute on their bikes (although most use scooters) and they have lots of tips. But because there aren't shower facilities it's a little tricky. I cranked the AC in my classroom and sat still for awhile before I wiped down and changed clothes but I have to tweak the technique a bit.

Like any big city the air quality isn't great but so far it doesn't seem any worse than Boston or New York. I hear that it can be worse in the winter. At least it will have cooled off!

There's a trick to turning left in Taiwan that I'd like to try to explain. For scooters (and bikes), if you want to turn left you stay in the far right lane in the designated scooter box painted on the road, which is about a car length in front of all the cars. When the light turns green you cross the street on your right and patiently wait in the scooter box on the far corner. Then when the light changes to green for the cross street the scooters zip across and go along their merry way. It's amazing to me, given the flaunting of so many other traffic laws, that almost everyone follows this one.

Anyway, we too followed the turn-left-law and made it home safely and now it's time for a cold drink. You know you've had a successful shopping trip when you come home with this:

Mango smoothies, Taiwan Beer, and the ultimate mash-up: mango beer.