One of the many perks of being married to a local is that come Tomb Sweeping Day (Ch'īngmíng) 清明, we don't need to do anything. This has nothing to do with being a foreign barbarian, and everything to do with the traditional belief that when a woman gets married, she "leaves" her family and enters her husband's familial circle. As a result, she is no longer responsible for helping with the upkeep of her family's grave sites, and is expected instead to tend to those of her husband's various relations, like mine. Only in my case, my ancestors are entombed at scattered locations around the globe (well, in California and England, at least), and reside in cemeteries and memorial parks that are tended to by full-time groundskeeping staff. Ergo, it's a win-win situation for both my wife and myself on this particular national holiday.
My friend Steve, who is also married to a Taiwanese (and the father of two great kids) would probably agree with me, which is why he had time today to join me in an attempted hike of Huǒyánshān 火炎山, in Miáolì County's 苗栗縣 Sānì 三義. I say "attempted" because it seems the Taiwanese gods decided on a little payback for our not having tombs to tend to today. Not long after setting out on our triumphant conquest of the 602-meter (1975-foot) summit, the sole of my left hiking boot starting peeling off, having come unglued soon after we started climbing. That put an end to our hike, but it was still enjoyable for the two of us to spend some time together sans dependents, and I was able to get the boot resoled by a cobbler this evening in downtown Fēngyuán 豐原, so I have nothing to carp about on this holiday. Here's Steve befriending an Alaskan Malamute that had been tied to a car and left behind while its owner presumably was also hiking on Huoyanshan:
As mentioned above, Pamela, Amber and I went downtown this afternoon to have my hiking shoe seen to, and as we were already in the area, we killed time waiting for the boot to be repaired by snacking on Fengyuan's one-and-only tourist spot, the Miàotūng Night Market 廟東夜市 food street. Among other treats, we sampled garlic rice (suànjòufàn) 蒜肉飯; spring rolls (ch'ūnchüǎn) 春捲; pork meat pie (chūjòu hsiènpǐng) 豬肉餡餅; and something called a "salad boat" (shālāch'uán) 沙拉船, a kind of long hot dog bun filled with meat and vegetables. It was quite tasty, though a little on the messy side. Munching this way ended up being far more expensive that having a sit-down meal at a proper restaurant, which is why we don't usually do this sort of thing, but Amber enjoyed the atmosphere. If you're looking for reflective patrons quietly sizing up the finer points of the various cuisines on offer, then food streets and night markets are places best avoided.
(上) Amber strikes a pose; (下) Kumaichi, purveyor of fine Taiwanese papaya milk drinks (mùkuā niúnǎi) 木瓜牛奶.
Which one do you choose?
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