Today was a beautiful day, one of those uncommon mornings when it's possible to see the mountains that are behind the mountains. And I was feeling very proud of myself because I finally got out of bed and out of the apartment before 9am in order to go for a morning walk (and enjoy the fresh air) in the hills above Chung-cheng (Jhong-jheng) Park. Big mistake. Little did I know that a) there is a very active morning market there on Sundays; and b) everyone else in Fengyuan who wasn't shopping at the market also decided to go for a walk.
A "morning market" sounds like a very charming affair, but truth is, it was crowded, noisy and smelly. The small road was clogged with cars, scooters and people, and all available space was taken by stalls and vendors. I wanted to take a photo of the activity, but there was no place to stop my scooter. And then there were the walkers. Their cars were parked all the way up the road from the park to the start of the trails. There went the solitary stroll I was looking forward to. On the positive side, most of the walkers stuck to the road. And it was nice to see whole families getting some exercise together (my wife and child were still at home in bed). But next time I think I'll wait until later in the morning to do my walk, when the market is finished and most of the walkers have gone home to get ready for lunch. At least I now have a good excuse to sleep in on the weekend.
今朝早く起きて正中公園に行った。間違えてしまった。そこに毎週の日曜日に朝市を開いている。大勢の人が集まって、その市場はやかましくて込んでいた。その上たくさん人も散歩していた。そんな場合について台湾人は「人山人海」とういうことわざがある。次の週末には朝寝坊つもりだ。
Afterwards, I rode over to the public cemetery on the next hill over from Chung-cheng Park. And here I was the only (living) soul.
Here are three panoramic shots taken from the cemetery:
墓地から３つのパノラマ写真：
Why do the dead in Taiwan get all the best views?
Finally, a view of the field behind my apartment building, looking much like the lavender fields of Hokkaido (note to the sarcastically challenged: I'm kidding)
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