To arms

My daughter plays a game at a local night market

Perhaps it's because of the dispute over the Senkaku Islands 尖閣諸島, but whatever the reason, the editors of the Japan Times ジャパンタイムズ seem to have a clearer understanding of the threat posed in this part of the world by a resurgent China than their media counterparts in the West. A good example can be seen in today's editorial, which discusses the recent decision by the U.S. government to sell arms to Taiwan ("Arms sale that angers Beijing"):

"...If Beijing wants an end to the arms sale, it should quit giving T'aipei 台北 reasons to want those weapons. The United States sells arms because Taiwan feels threatened.

While the U.S., like Japan, no longer formally recognizes Taiwan as a nation, it continues to sell arms to the Taipei government to ensure that it has the capacity to defend itself. That is a legal obligation enshrined in the Taiwan Relations Act 台灣關係法, which was promulgated and passed by the U.S. Congress in the aftermath of the U.S. decision to switch recognition from Taipei to Beijing.

The TRA, as the bill is known, has infuriated Beijing, which insists that Taiwan is a renegade province and argues that the arms sales encourage 'splittists' in Taiwan.

Moreover, the Chinese argue that the continuation of American weapons sales to Taiwan violate commitments made in the Shanghai Communique of 1982, in which the U.S. promised to decrease and ultimately end those deals. A slightly more sophisticated — but more chilling — argument is that the U.S. relationship with China is more important than its relationship with Taiwan and, therefore, the U.S. should bend to Chinese wishes for the greater good.

The U.S. counters that its commitment to Taiwan is based on legal and moral interests. The TRA obliges Washington to help Taiwan meet its defense needs. As long as Taipei feels threatened, the U.S. is there to help.

The moral dimension is simple: Taiwan is a democracy and its future should be determined by its citizens, not the hulking giant next door. Washington also argues that relations with Taiwan are an indication of its commitment to the region more generally; if the U.S. were to turn its back on Taiwan, it would send a chilling signal to other U.S. allies and partners about U.S. credibility more generally. There can be no indication that the U.S. is prepared to sacrifice its partners to keep China happy..."

The JT doesn't seem very concerned about the fallout from the Chinese side:

"...the Chinese reaction is likely to be limited for two reasons. First, Vice President Xi Jinping, the man widely anticipated to become president next year, is supposed to visit the U.S. later this year and that visit would not be able to take place under a cloud of anger over the arms sale. China cannot afford to play up the wrong done to them and then send their second-highest ranking official for a visit.

The second reason is that the sale likely strengthens the position of Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou 馬英九, demonstrating that he, unlike his predecessor, enjoys good relations with the U.S. This should help him in the presidential campaign next year, and China would prefer to see Mr. Ma win a second term, rather than an opposition politician inclined toward independence of Taiwan.

If Beijing is so upset about the Taiwanese arms purchases, then it should do more to lessen the sense of threat that compels the Taipei government to want them.

There are more than 1,100 Chinese missiles targeting Taiwan. Despite Taiwanese complaints, Beijing continues to add to that inventory. China could easily redeploy the missiles so that they pose no threat to Taiwan. Of course, they are mobile missiles, so such a move would be temporary at best. But it would send a signal about Chinese intent and undermine the call for additional weapons in the future.

Cross-strait peace should be built on a genuine sense of peace shared by both parties; not unilateral disarmament by one side."

Chicken cooked in salty water

Trails, dude

My little one checks out the scenery at the start of the Wufeng Ch'ingt'ung Lin Hiking Trail 霧峰青桐林步道. The Kaminoge family visited the area in the late afternoon today to check the trails, or as much of one trail as we could before things started to get dark. The mountain scenery there was much more striking than that in the more accessible Tak'eng 大坑 area, so I'm planning on making the long scooter ride out to Wufeng on one of these upcoming Tuesday afternoons, and give myself more time to explore the trails.

Mother and daughter pause on the walk up from the parking lot. You can't see them in the photo, but Pamela and Amber were standing amid a thick cluster of buzzing dragonflies. We also saw a lot of butterflies today, as well as crickets, earthworms and even monkeys moving around in distant treetops.

Amber having fun jumping up and down on a short rope bridge. This was the point where we turned back before it got too dark.

A Japanese restaurant on Highway 3 國道三號. Kaiseki ryōri 懐石料理 is a traditional style of Japanese cuisine featuring many small dishes.

Beaching about Taiwan

Taiwan is an island. An island is a large body of land surrounded on all sides of by water. The early Portuguese called this land Ilha Formosa, meaning "beautiful island". Taking these facts into account, one could assume that Taiwan would be an ideal place for a beach lover. One would be wrong, especially when looking at the western half of this island, where 80% of the population live. On this long stretch of coastline facing the Taiwan Strait 台灣海峽 there is nary a decent beach to be found. Where there are stretches of sand and surf open to the public, one faces the daunting prospects of trash-strewn sand, detritus-filled surf and water of dubious sanitary quality. This is partly due to the legacy of Cold War political tensions, as for a number of years many areas along the coast were closed off to recreational users by the military and police, who feared a Chinese invasion force someday storming ashore. An even bigger legacy is industrial development, as the western coast is home to several large factory complexes, which doesn't do much for swimmers, or rare dolphins for that matter. But the main factor explaining the sad state of Taiwan's western beaches (or lack of them) is cultural.

Taking a look at a map of this island, you can see that, with the exception of the southern port city of Kaohsiung 高雄, all of western Taiwan's major cities and towns are located well-inland, as if they're collectively turning their backs on the sea. Despite living on an island, many people here don't know how to swim, and the cultural preference for sickly pale white skin, especially on women, discourages people from getting out and soaking up some rays. Even in other parts of the country where there are good beaches, such as K'enting (Kěn​dīng) 墾丁, many visitors spend large chunks of their time checking out the glorified night market that constitutes the region's main town, while avoiding any physical contact with the water or the sunshine.

And what has brought about this beaching...er, bitching? The fact that I was looking forward today (Saturday) to going with my wife and daughter to Mashakou 馬沙溝, one of the few remotely attractive places to enjoy the sun, sand and surf between Kenting in the south and Fulung 福隆 in the northeast. Located near T'ainan 台南, Amber and I went there a couple of years ago (with my friend Steve and his brood) and really enjoyed ourselves. Unfortunately, when Pamela called yesterday afternoon to see if the beach area was still open, she was told that it has been closed since the end of August. Apparently, it's only open during the summer months. Of course the fault is mainly mine, for not getting off my ass and taking Amber to the shore earlier, when Mashagou and other west coast swimming areas would have still been open for business. And yet, when I see all that coastline and think of what could be if only cultural attitudes toward the sun and the sea were different, I'm left once again with that cultural disconnect that keeps me and Taiwan so far apart from each other.

Oh well, at least I got to go to Okinawa 沖縄 this year.

Looking sunnier than my beach outing plans is the relationship these days between Japan and Taiwan. Friday's Japan Times ジャパンタイムズ has this Kyōdō News 共同通信社 on the signing of the investment pact between the two countries:

"Taiwan and Japan on Thursday signed an agreement that lowers bilateral investment barriers, a significant step toward an eventual free-trade deal between the two countries.

In the absence of diplomatic ties, the agreement was signed in T'aipei 台北 by Mitsuo Ōhashi 大橋光夫, chairman of the Japan Interchange Association 財団法人交流協会, and his Taiwanese counterpart, Peng Run-tsu 彭榮次, chairman of T'aipei's East Asian Relations Commission.

The accord covers three areas: trade liberalization, trade promotion and protection of investment. It will now be sent to Taiwan's Parliament, the Legislative Yuän 立法院, for review before it enters into force.

The investment arrangement is the first economic deal Taiwan has signed with a nonallied country since Taipei and Beijing 北京 inked a preferential free-trade agreement in June last year.

Ōhashi said the pact is a major milestone for bilateral relations that will allow exchanges between the two countries to enter a new phase.

Japan is Taiwan's second-largest trading partner and its biggest investor, with more than $16 billion invested over the past 50 years, while Taiwan is Japan's fourth-largest trading partner and has invested about $1.6 billion in its Asian neighbor."

Downtown Fengyuan 豐原 on a Friday night

Watch for falling rocks

It hasn't been a good week. Starting on Saturday, and lasting for several days, I had a bad case of diarrhea, with resultant stomach cramps. On Monday I started having dizzy spells, which were strong enough to keep me off balance much of the time, and frequent enough that I ended up not going to work on Monday evening. Tuesday was better, but then yesterday my chest was bothering me throughout the day. Combined with the general feeling of exhaustion I've been having for over the past year or so, the result of feeling tired every night but unable to go to sleep, and I've been rather irritable these past few days. Life as usual in Taiwan, in other words.

On Tuesday, however, I was feeling good enough to go for a hike. I did a four-hour round-trip walk (slower than usual due to my weakened condition) on Huoyanshan 火炎山, that badly-scarred mountain located just to the left of the No. 1 Freeway 中山高速公路 if you're driving north from T'aichung 台中 to San'i 三義:

(http://hoher.idv.tw/blog/read-1406.html)

The mountain's appearance is most likely the result of having been stripped for the materials to manufacture concrete. There are several points along the hiking trail where we look right down into the abyss:

Half the fun of hiking Huoyanshan is being able to start several small rock slides. I just don't want to be up there the when the next large earthquake strikes.

The Beautiful Hair Salon. Many Taiwanese hair salons use Japanese script on their signs, an indication of how much influence Japan has on fashion and style in this country.

Business is another area in which the Japanese influence can be easily seen here. Japan Today posted an AFP article this morning on the signing of investment pact between Japan and Taiwan:

"Taiwan and Japan signed an arrangement Thursday to bolster mutual investment despite their lack of formal diplomatic ties.

The deal comes amid steadily improving ties between the sides. Relations hit a trough at the beginning of Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou’s 馬英九 term in office, but have blossomed in recent months, particularly after Taiwan extended substantial aid to Japan in the wake of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit the country in March.

Taiwanese Vice Economics Minister Hwang Jung-chiou said the arrangement is expected to help Taiwan lure more investment from Japan, including from companies considering moving production overseas to avoid supply chain disruptions caused by the March disaster.

'Japan has been the biggest source of technology for our industries,' Hwang said. 'Many of the big Japanese corporations have already invested here, but with the arrangement, we can attract those who were not as enthusiastic before, such as makers of machinery components, chemical materials, and biotechnology.'

Taiwan’s East Asia Relations Commission Chairman Peng Run-tsu signed the new agreement with his Japanese counterpart Mitsuo Ōhashi 大橋光夫, chairman of the Japan Interchange Association 財団法人交流協会.

The deal is not expected to draw protests from China, which claims sovereignty over Taiwan but has improved its own ties with its rival in recent years. The two sides split amid civil war in 1949.

Last year, China signed a landmark deal to offer tariff cuts for hundreds of Taiwan-made goods. Taiwanese officials say Japanese corporations may be lured to invest on the island to get access to the same preferential tariffs when exporting to China.

Hwang said Japanese investment in Taiwan has increased over the past two years, and that bilateral trade totaled nearly $70 billion in 2010.

Under the arrangement signed Thursday, companies from the two sides can enjoy the same benefits as local counterparts when investing in each other’s territories.

Both governments will be obligated to assure the free movement of money by their companies to the other side. Investment disputes can also be resolved by international arbitration agencies.

Tōkyō 東京 switched recognition from T'aipei 台北 to Beijing 北京 in 1972.

Hwang said the two sides will also consider the signing of a more comprehensive free trade agreement, which would involve liberalization of the service sector and removing remaining import and export barriers."

Another clip joint

Chips falling where they may

Across the street from the MOS Burger モスバーガー in T'aichung 台中 where Amber and I had dinner last night is a sporting goods store with one of those practice walls for rock climbing. Apparently, some kind of experiment was going on while we were eating, for one young man was having what looked like electrodes being taped to his arms, while his back was a tangle of wires. As he started his ascent up the wall, a couple of people on the ground were taking pictures and filming him as he made his way to the top. After coming down, the man in the white shirt in the photo above gave the climber some papers, which the latter looked over carefully before signing.

On a completely unrelated topic, it looks like Japan's loss will be Taiwan's gain, according to this Yomiuri Shimbun 読売新聞 article from today's Daily Yomiuri ザ・デイリー読売:

ELPIDA PLANS TO MOVE PART OF PRODUCTION TO TAIWAN

"Elpida Memory, Inc. エルピーダメモリ株式会社 announced Thursday it would transfer up to 40 percent of the production capacity at its Hiroshima 広島 plant to its subsidiary in Taiwan, in response to the extremely strong yen and rapid deterioration of the market. Elpida, the world's third-largest manufacturer of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips, said it was considering incrementally transferring the production capacity at its plant in Higashi-Hiroshima 東広島, Hiroshima Prefecture 広島県, to its cost-competitive subsidiary Rexchip Electronics Corp. 瑞晶電子 in Taiwan. The Hiroshima plant will focus on products for smartphones. Elpida said it would maintain employment by transferring affected workers within the Elpida group. Moves to transfer production and other operation bases overseas are accelerating among manufacturers, whose business environment is deteriorating due to the high appreciation of the yen. Panasonic Corp. パナソニック株式会社 plans to transfer part of its parts procurement and distribution functions to Singapore in the first half of fiscal 2012, sources said Thursday. The sources said Panasonic will transfer about 20 of the 120 employees of its procurement and distribution headquarters in Ōsaka 大阪 to Singapore. A base in Singapore will serve as a center for parts procurement abroad. Panasonic also will reduce the number of companies from which it procures parts to about 10,000, down 40 percent from the current level of about 18,000, in fiscal 2012. The company aims to cut annual costs by about 60 billion yen ($780 million) through a central purchasing system, the sources said."

The Japan Times has a Kyōdō News 共同通信社 article on the same story, apparently written at an earlier point in time, as it mentions that Elpida is only considering the shift in production to Taiwan:

YEN MAY DRIVE ELPIDA TO MOVE SOME OUTPUT TO TAIWAN

"Elpida Memory Inc., Japan's only manufacturer of dynamic random-access memory chips used in computers and game systems, said Thursday it may move part of its manufacturing capacity offshore to counter the strong yen and the worsening business environment for such components. The world's third-largest DRAM maker plans to gradually transfer some of its manufacturing duties from its factory in Hiroshima to a Taiwanese unit to improve its cost structure and make it more competitive with South Korean rivals at a time when a strong yen is hurting earnings. It plans to expand manufacturing facilities at its Taiwanese subsidiary, Rexchip Electronics Corp., and consolidate the manufacture of general-purpose products for personal computers. Elpida will refurbish its Hiroshima plant in Higashihiroshima with 30-nanometer processing lines to make high-end products, such as those for smartphones. There is a chance that, over time, this move may cause Taiwan's output to eclipse Japan's, it said. The company plans to retain jobs at its Hiroshima plant by shifting workers within the group. Elpida loses roughly ¥3 billion ($39 million) in operating profit annually for every ¥1 rise against the dollar. It said in a statement that it faces an 'extremely harsh business environment,' partly because DRAM prices have fallen by about one-third from a year earlier."

   

Meanwhile, the Times also has a Kyōdō story in its Friday edition about the gift of a pair of red-crowned cranes 丹頂『タンチョウ』from Japan to Taiwan:

RED-CROWNED CRANES ARRIVE AT TAIPEI ZOO

"A pair of red-crowned cranes on loan from Japan have arrived in Taiwan, where they will make their public debut on Oct. 30. The species, a designated special natural treasure in Japan, is a symbol of longevity and conjugal love. Taiwan asked the city of Kushiro 釧路市, Hokkaidō 北海道, in 2009 to lease some of the birds. After assessing the request, the prefectural government and the city decided to lease a pair of the cranes free of charge for an indefinite period as part of an academic exchange to see whether the birds can breed in an environment with different food and climate, Kushiro officials said. Taiwan has some experience with the species. A red-crowned crane wounded by gunfire was found in the northern city of Hsinchu 新竹市 in September 2004."

Craning necks

This Japanese-era building in Fengyuan 豐原 was originally the head office of a local textile company. It was idle for quite some time until a few years ago, when someone converted it into a Western-style restaurant called Zion. Unfortunately, Zion didn't last as long as Jerusalem has, and now it appears to be in the process of being turned into a Japanese restaurant, appropriate considering the site's history. Before this place officially opens for business, however, somebody should point out to the owners that 丸田 is pronounced as "Maruta" まるた, and not as まみた...um, I mean まぬた...no, sorry I mean to say...actually, I don't what the hell this sign actually says. It probably won't matter, anyway - most Taiwanese will just assume the name is "Want'ien".

From Thursday's edition of Japan Today comes this article:

ENDANGERED CRANES ARRIVE IN TAIWAN FROM JAPAN

"A pair of red-crowned cranes 丹頂『タンチョウ』 from Japan were flown to Taiwan on Wednesday in the country’s first ever export of the endangered bird, zoo officials said. The birds, named 'Big' and 'Kika', were transported to T'aipei 台北 from Kushiro 釧路, northern Japan. They will be quarantined for 21 days before the nine-year-old male bird, 'Big', which is used to human contact, is introduced to the public on October 30, Taipei Zoo 木柵動物園 said. There are about 1,000 of the birds - one of the world’s largest cranes - in Japan.

Biologists estimate that 1,600 others live in the wild or in captivity in Siberia, China, Mongolia and Korea."

The local media here is playing up the angle of the cranes 丹頂鶴 being given by Japan to Taiwan in gratitude for the financial assistance provided by the Taiwanese people in the aftermath of the March 11 triple disasters 東日本大震災. The reality is that this was in the planning stages well before the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdowns that have wreaked so much death, destruction and dislocation in Japan's Tōhoku region 東北地方. Still, it does make for a nice story.

UPDATE: One of my students, DJ, has pointed out (via Facebook) that the hiragana 平仮名 written on the sign in the photograph above is actually read as "Mawita". Wi is rendered as ゐ in hiragana, and as ヰ in the katakana 片仮名 script. As this Wikipedia article notes, wi is seldom encountered in modern Japanese. I certainly don't recall ever seeing it when I was learning kana 仮名 all those years ago.

In any event, the sign should read まるた. So there.

Floundering in traffic

  A hirame ヒラメ is the Japanese word for a flounder.

Speaking of things related to the water, this article appears in today's edition of the Japan Times ジャパンタイムズ:

"A group of Japanese will swim from Okinawa Prefecture 沖縄県 to Taiwan in a gesture of gratitude for the island's support in the wake of the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake 東日本大震災, organizers of the event said Tuesday.

The 'Japan to Taiwan Ocean Swim Challenge 2011' will be undertaken by six Japanese swimmers who will spend 48 hours spanning three days from Sept. 17 to Sept. 19 to take turns swimming approximately 150 km from Yonaguni Island 与那国島 in Okinawa Prefecture to Suao 蘇澳, Taiwan.

The swimmers will take with them letters of appreciation from the governors of Miyagi 宮城県, Fukushima 福島県 and Iwate 岩手県 prefectures, the areas most affected by the deadly quake and tsunami.

Taiwan donated more than ¥20 billion ($675 million/¥52 billion) to Japan following March 11, of which 90 percent was believed to be donations from the public.

Kazuya Suzuki, a former top-ranking competitive swimmer and leader of the group, said he felt he had to do what he could to show appreciation for Taiwan's support.

'I felt it was my duty to deepen the friendship between the two countries and pass this on to the next generation,' he said.

The challenge will begin at 5 a.m. Saturday and is expected to finish at around 10 Monday."

Ret's Nihongo

I've managed to accumulate a lot of this stuff in the past week, so bear with me. First up are a couple of blurry images I snapped (poorly) in T'aichung 台中:

This writing on the wall inside a Sushi Express outlet appears to combine the simplified Chinese 争鮮 with the Japanese かいてんずし to say that this establishment is a conveyor-belt sushi restaurant that "strives for freshness".

The hard-to-make out writing on the door of this dry cleaners reads プロの技術で仕上げＯＫ！ in the lower left part of the glass, advertising that professional finishing touches are used there; while the words in the upper-right portion spell out the things that they will clean. The neighborhood where this cleaning shop is located is also home to a Japanese supermarket, kindergarten and swimming school, as well as several 日本料理 restaurants.

The rest of the photographs were taken on Saturday evening/Sunday morning in Hsinchu 新竹. The sheer number of signs I spotted in a relatively small area of the downtown district suggests the heavy presence of Japanese businesspeople, most likely due to the nearby Hsinchu Science Park 新竹科學工業園區:

Truly bizarre words on the facade of a sausage vendor's stall. 私は大宝です。= "I am a great treasure", which is what the Chinese 我是大寶 also says.

スナック is Japanese English 和製英語 for "snack", or "snack bar", which are basically hole-in-the-wall drinking establishments favored by Japanese salarymen サラリーマン. However, I have no idea if the word takes on, ahem, different connotations here in Taiwan.

More drinking establishments

Apparently, competition for the "lounge" ラウンジ market in Hsinchu is pretty fierce.

The Taiga rāmen 大河ラーメン restaurant sat across the street from the entrance to the Wego "boutique motel", where we slept on Saturday night.

Take a hike, eh?

This last day of the three-day holiday weekend saw Mr. & Mrs. Kaminoge and daughter embark on that rarest of family activities, going for a long walk in the hills. I enjoy hiking and walking, of course, and Amber also likes stretching her legs, but for my wife, using one's feet as a form of locomotion, especially climbing up things like stairs and slopes, is something usually to be avoided. So I was rather surprised this afternoon when Pamela suggested the three of us go for a walk. Which we did, for about 2½ hours in the former rural township of Shihkang 石岡.

Amber takes a whiff of an orange jasmine petal, or what the Chinese call Ch'ilihsiang 七里香, or "the flower that can be smelled from seven li away", a li being a traditional measurement for distance, equivalent to 500 meters (1640 feet) away.

Amber poses in front of "The Divine Tree of Five Blessings" 五福臨門神木. Supposedly formed by a camphor tree 樟树, a Taiwan acacia 台灣相思, a banyan 榕樹, a Chinese hackberry tree 朴樹 and a cedar 雪松, the tree is a local landmark in Shigang:

Mother and daughter make their descent from the big ass god tree:

In addition to spotting the usual butterflies, dragonflies and ants, Amber got a chance to eye some bees up close:

The rural idyll, done the Taiwanese way:

A last look at the scenery from the walking trail before the rain started coming down in buckets. Fortunately, we didn't have far to go from here to the car:

This night being the occasion of the Moon Festival 中秋節, after getting home this evening, I went up to the roof of our apartment building to have a look at the full moon. This is the best shot I could get with all the cloud cover:

What you can't see in the picture above are all the fireworks going off to the left of the moon, and the flashes of lightning in the sky to the right. What you can't hear is the sound of all the fireworks and firecrackers that are accompanying the competing light shows.

The Moon Festival

We're in the midst of a three-day weekend, thanks to the lunar Moon Festival holiday 中秋節 falling on a Monday this year, and the Kaminoge family returned home several hours ago from an overnight trip up north. We left early in the afternoon on Saturday, and eventually made our way to Nanliao 南寮. With the exception of Kaohsiung 高雄, all the major and minor cities on Taiwan's west coast are well inland, away from the ocean. The city of Hsinchu 新竹 is no exception. Though a part of the city, Nanliao seems like a distant world from the hustle and bustle of downtown Hsinchu. The city's tourism officials have only recently woken up to the possibilities lying along the shore just a short drive from the city center, with a 17-kilometer (10.6 miles) long cycling course having been laid out along the coast. Our first stop was at a beach not far from the Nanliao port:

Things were a little bit windy...

...but the water was warm:

After looking for shells and harassing crabs, we drove to Nanliao port, where many kites were being flown in the late afternoon sky:

Amber commandeered the camera, and took several pictures...

...including some self-portraits:

My daughter is turning into quite the confident photog. You can see several more of her pictures on her photo blog.

Being at a fishing port, dinner was inevitably seafood. Here is Amber pointing to some future dishes inside the market building:

By the time we were finished with dinner, the sun had gone down, and darkness had descended upon the area. Our plan was to stay the night nearby, though we didn't have any reservations with any hotels. Not a problem, however, as we drove into the center of Hsinchu. It wasn't too long before my wife started following a sign for the Wego Motel, located just off of Chungcheng Road 中正路. Pulling up to the office, we were taken aback to discover that the cost for a night there was NT4000 ($140/¥10,650). The Wego is what is known as a "boutique motel". These are basically upmarket versions of the Japanese love hotel ラブホテル, and have taken off in popularity in recent years. Pamela has always wanted to stay in one, and seeing her chance, decided to damn the torpedoes price-wise, and go full speed ahead. I've been to love hotels in Japan and motels in Taiwan (high five!), but the Wego was the first multi-story kind for me - eight floors in total. Like a parking garage, we drove in ascending circles to our room on the third floor, where we parked the car in the garage there, and checked out our room and bath:

Admittedly, it wasn't exactly the kind of family motel I was used to back in the States, but Amber was thankfully too young to feel anything but excitement at the springy bed and large bath. And she must have been excited, because in the early morning hours she kicked me in her sleep and pushed out of the bed and onto the floor.

In the morning, we took the elevator to the top floor, and had breakfast with the fornicators, plus a family of four. Afterward, seeing as we didn't have to checkout until 11am, Pamela decided she wanted to get her NT4000-worth, so she and Amber took a bubble bath together. I used to opportunity to go for a walk in central Hsinchu. It didn't take long to find Peimen Street 北門街, one of Hsinchu's first commercial streets, lined with buildings dating from the Japanese period 台灣日治時期. Most of the shops were still closed, or just getting ready to open, as I walked down the street. Among the ones that I stopped to check out were this puppet shop...

and this establishment dealing in traditional Chinese medicine 中藥:

Near the end of the road was Ch'anghe Temple 長和宮, dating from 1742:

I went inside, and checked out the main hall...

...and a side shrine called Shuihsien Temple 水仙宮:

Back on Beimen Street, I followed the road to almost the end of the street, where several old homes were still standing, though some just barely. This house is called the Cheng Family Shrine 鄭氏家廟:

Returning the way I came on Beimen Street, I paid a brief call on Hsinchu's most famous temple, Ch'enghuang Temple 城隍廟, barely visible behind a ring of food stalls:

Another temple, another main hall:

Eventually, I made it back to the Wego Motel, where Amber and Pamela had finished their morning bubble bath. After checking out, we drove out of Hsinchu and traveled southeast, eventually reaching the "old town" of Peip'u 北埔. Taiwan is full of such historic places. Unfortunately, much of the history has been squeezed out in the name of tourism, leaving behind only an outer shell of restaurants and souvenir stores. Beimen Street in Hsinchu is still a living, breathing commercial road. Beipu, unfortunately, has been reconfigured to fit the needs of the tourist hordes. Still, when in Taiwan, do as the Taiwanese, so we took a stroll through the older section of the town:

Lunch was at a restaurant serving Hakka cuisine 客家菜 such as pant'iao fried noodles. This place wasn't my first choice - that had been reserved for the establishment next door which, according to my Bradt Taiwan guidebook, served "local beer". I took this to mean some kind of microbrew/craft beer, but to my disappointment, "local" meant Taiwan Beer 台灣啤酒. Taiwan's equivalent of Budweiser or Miller isn't worth waiting in line for, which is why we headed to this place:

Somewhat artificial it may be, there are still some interesting buildings in Beipu that were worth checking out, such as Tz'ut'ien Temple 慈天宮, a Hakka house of worship that was established in 1830:

The main hall of the temple:

In the streets surrounding the temple, there were old buildings that had been turned into teahouses:

This building is an old meeting hall built around the same time as Citian Temple, called Chinkuangfu  金廣福:

Beipu''s most impressive structure is, ironically, a Japanese-style Western-influenced building. Here is Amber posing with her newly-purchased dolphin balloon in front of the 1940's A-Hsin Chiang Residence 姜阿新宅:

A typical weekend scene in one of Taiwan's "atmospheric" streets of yore:

We soon bade the hordes of architectural enthusiasts farewell, and began the long, leisurely drive Highway 3 台3線 to home. We made one stop along the way, at Emei Lake 峨眉湖. The lake itself is nothing special to look at, but overlooking the water was this statue of the Maitreya Buddha 彌勒大佛:

At 72 meters (236 feet), this statue, along with the colossal Maitreya Monastery 聖地建築, were impossible to miss, despite being closed off to public access.

Tomorrow being a public holiday, I have one more day to sleep in (Daddy says "please", Amber) before returning to work on Tuesday. I haven't decided what to do yet, but whatever it turns out to be, I hope it will be relaxing.