Interview for the CPL, plus our CPL squad list.

Hey guys I did an interview with Polish Rob about our team joining the CPL.  If anyone is interested in reading it check it out here:

http://www.taipeifootball.com.tw/

It is mainly about how we formed, our expectations, feelings about Kaohsuing and why we wanted to join the CPL.

Also we have pretty much selected our squad list for the coming season.  If you want to have a chance of playing with us please contact me @ marky.baobei@gmail.com or go to this facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/473195546032842/


Kit No. Player Name Position Nationality
2 Gareth Taylor Defender Wales
3 Michael Ling Defender Taiwan
4 Terry Sze Midfielder Hong Kong
5 Emre Gundogdu Midfielder Turkey
6 Andre Yu Midfielder Taiwan
7 Luke Nolan Striker Ireland
8 Nathan Lee Midfielder Korea
9 Nicolas Ja Midfielder France
10 Antonio Yu Striker Taiwan
11 Alban Sice Midfielder France
12 Ryan Adrian Striker Indonesia
13 Ardi Prinata Defender Indonesia
14 Vincent Sulistyo Midfielder Indonesia
15 William Christopher Defender Indonesia
16 Frederic Boissieras Midfielder France
17 Dechen Rapgyal Midfielder India
18 Charles Leung Midfielder Hong Kong
19 Wilcent Sulistyo Striker Indonesia
20 Kristantama Johan Midfielder Indonesia
21 Jose Ramos Midfielder Panama
22 Matteo Ternelli Keeper Italy
23 Mark Henderson Striker England
24 Yas Akimoto Striker Japan
25 Jarand Baker Defender St. Vincent & the Grenadines
26 Stefan Weiss Defender Switzerland
27 David Li Midfielder France
28 Satit Liuwattanachotinan Defender Thailand
29 Tomás Figueroa Striker El Salvador
30 Eisner Salamanca Midfielder Nicaragua
31 Jeffy Gomez Midfielder Belize
33 Juan Carlos Moncada Striker Honduras
35 James Jhang Midfielder Taiwan
36 Bilal Rehman-Chohan Midfielder England
37 Pablo Perdomo Defender Guatemala
77 Charlie Jeon Midfielder Korea
38 Lennin Zeledon Striker Nicaragua
39 Victor Shyu Defender USA
40 Koshoibek Moydunov Midfielder Kyrgyzstan
41 Mark Yang Defender Germany
42 Hugo de la Rosa Striker Belize
47 Brandon Pollak Striker USA
TEAM:
Riverside Magpies F.C.
CAPTAINS:
Mark Henderson
Gareth Taylor
Luke Nolan
Andre Yu
Emre Gundogdu
CPL SEASON 2013

Trains in Taiwan. (slow, normal, express, fast, high speed!!!!)

There are that many different type of trains you can take in Taiwan.  I want to tell you all a story from my own personal experience that will help you all understand how difficult it is to get the right train when you need to, especially when you are quite new to Taiwan. 

The crystal maze that is Taipei Main Station....a maze to new people here.

One day, in the not to distant past my girlfriend asked me to meet her on the fast train so we could go to Taoyuan to check out her friends new restaurant.  I said this was fine, and I would be happy to meet her on the train. 

So on the morning I was supposed to meet my girlfriend I rocked up to the high speed rail counter to buy my fast train ticket.  The journey is less than 1 hour on normal train, and around 10 minutes or so on the high speed train so its not really that important to take the high speed train really.

High Speed Rail.

I got on the high speed rail, and then my girlfriend called me asking why she could not find me on the train, and where the hell was I?  I told her I was on the high speed rail.  She was not happy and asked why the hell did I take the high speed rail.  I told her this is because you told me to get the fast train, and this is very fast.  When I got off the train she kept telling me to meet her in the bus station at Taoyuan station, but I kept saying I cannot see no bus station.  Then I realised what had happened and started to panic a little bit!  

Taoyuan Station, where I was supposed to be waiting.

In the end it actually took me longer to get to Taoyuan because the high speed rail stations are not that close to the city centers.  My girlfriend was a bit pissed off that I got the wrong train, and that we were now running completely late for what we had intended to do. 

So the morale of the story boys and girls is to make sure you get the right train in Taiwan.  Obviously the faster the train is, the more expensive it is. 

Here is a run down of the different trains.

Slow train - Stops at every station between your start and end destination.

Normal train - Stops at a lot of stations between your start and end destination but not all, make sure it goes where you want it to before you get on. 

Express Train -  This is the train Taiwanese people will call the fast train, this is what confused me a little bit because in English we would say fast for the high speed rail I think.

High Speed Rail - This is the train that is shaped a bit like a bullet, and goes super fast, like the trains people are more used to seeing in Japan. 

How are you doing in.........China?

People back home often ask me all the time one of these questions:

"Hey Mark how are you doing?  And how are things going for you over there in China?"

"Hey Mark, what's it like living in Thailand?  I have always wanted to go there!!"

This bugs me a lot, as I don't know how many times I have tried to tell them I am not currently in China or Thailand and I am in Taiwan.  Taiwan is a country, yes it is small but it does not belong to any other country.

Most people around the world clearly know that they are all different.  Just because China likes to claim Taiwan is theirs but it really is not.  Also I know Taiwan and Thailand have the same sound at the start of the countries name, but they are very clearly two different countries, with very different histories and traditions.  

It is really disappointing for me that so many people back home seem like they don't really know a lot.  Either that or they are very ignorant about things in the world.  Surely someone involved in education back home should be trying to fix this situation. 

So for every one back home.  Please note this bloody information about where I am.  

This is Taiwan!

This is where it is in the world.  Look in the little red circle!

As you can all see, this is neither China, or Thailand.  I wish people would stop asking me the same questions.  Again, and again, and again...

This is China.  It is quite a bit bigger than Taiwan

This is Thailand.  A country in South East Asia, it is not even East Asia.

So now I have cleared that up.  Please stop making a mistake about where I am!  Thank you, it is much appreciated