Klicking my heels

There was hardly a cloud in the sky this afternoon, and virtually no chance of rain, yet it was pouring out of one section of embankment along the Dongfeng Bicycle Trail 東豐自行車緑廊 (as can be seen in the above video clip). For some odd reason, I decided to walk this trail once again (I've done so on several occasions, which you can read about here, here and here). This time, I gave myself a two-hour window in order to see how far I could get in 120 minutes of continuous walking from the start of the trail in Fengyuan 豐原. The answer? Almost to the other end, in Dongshi 東勢, where the walls weep water. In fact, when the alarm on my cell phone went off, signaling that the two hours were up, I was roughly at the 10.5 kilometer (6.5 miles) mark, not far from the finish line, 12 kilometers' (7.5 miles) distance from the starting point. So why didn't I go all the way? Two hours in one direction was all that I had this afternoon if I wanted to get back in time to pick up my daughter from her kindergarten before 5 o'clock.

I didn't take very many pictures today, mainly because I'd taken plenty on my previous walks (see above links for photos), and the scenery hasn't changed any since my last visit. The Dongfeng Bicycle Trail can get ridiculously busy on weekends, when the route is clogged by cyclists who ride bikes the same way they drive cars - i.e., with little regard to anyone around them - but on a sunny weekday afternoon it makes for a very pleasurable outing. After four hours, eighteen minutes and approximately twenty-one kilometers (thirteen miles) of walking, my feet are killing me right now, but I have no regrets. The next time I'm out there, I'll aim to go all the way.

The owners of this house have built an ersatz wooden addition onto the rooftop of their typical Taiwanese concrete box, complete with faux chimney.

Posing with the not-so-mighty Dajia River 大甲溪 in the background

Taiwan hikes, like Taiwan girls, are easy

In 1993, Japan's Tōkyō Broadcasting System 東京放送ホールディングス aired a "documentary" on the "Yellow Cab" イエローキャブ  phenomenon , with footage purporting to show Japanese girls in Hawaii doing drugs and sleeping with local Lotharios, as well as young women cruising bars in Roppongi 六本木 and Yokosuka 横須賀 on the prowl for American men. The camera followed one older woman going into a love hotel ラブホテル with her foreign pickup for the night, and there was even a scene that alleged to show an African-American man looking and acting like a pimp. It wasn't long after the program was shown on TBS, however, that it emerged that many of the events depicted on the show were staged. The so-called "pimp", for example, turned out to be a local gaijin 外人 actor who was under the impression that he was doing a scene for a TV drama. What was meant to be an exposé of the scandalous behavior of Japanese women turned out to be a scandal involving deceptive and misleading "investigative journalism."

I was reminded of the TBS affair this morning when I followed a link on Facebook that led me to this report on the sexual availability of Taiwanese women to Western men. You don't have to understand Chinese to be able to follow what the program is talking about. 15 seconds into the clip it becomes clear the report is going to focus on "easy" Taiwanese girls:

As one of the comments on Facebook put it, "It's bullshit news from a bullshit news source". Unfortunately, it's the kind of story that goes over well in this country, playing up to the stereotypes of the oversexed foreign male preying on the virtuous local female, and corrupting her pure Confucian morals in the process. It's no wonder that the average Taiwanese is, to put it bluntly, a dumbass when it comes to perceptions of the outside world and the people that inhabit it. Of course, mention is rarely made of the countless numbers of brothels masquerading as KTV's and "barbershops" dotted all over this island, where sex is readily available at reasonable prices.

OK, perhaps I'm being a little too harsh. After all, I come from the country that considers the likes of Michele Bachmann and Herman Cain as serious presidential candidates, and where far too many people have their views of the world shaped by Fox News. So, on a gloriously warm late fall afternoon such as the one today, it's better to stop thinking about stereotypes and instead focus on the great outdoors, which is what I and my daughter did this Sunday.

If you're looking for an easy walk in central Taiwan, you can't go wrong with the Tianti Hiking Trail 天梯健康步道 in Dongshi 東勢, a 2.6 kilometer (1.6 miles) mountain path of wooden stairs and stone lanes that winds it way through orchards of bananas and persimmons. Though Amber complained at times of feeling tired, she managed to complete the walk without any discernible loss of energy. The bamboo walking stick no doubt helped:

There were some good views to be had of Dongshi below:

There was also some nice scenery on the other side of the mountain:

In addition to the fruit orchards, groves of betel trees dotted the mountainside:

Amber crossed that bridge when she came to it:

The trail begins and ends at the Tiangong Temple 天公廟:

There was nothing wrong with the camera when I took this photo. The small room to the right of the main hall of the temple was filled with incense smoke.

For directions on how to get to the trail, read this Compass Magazine article. Here's a video showing the walk that Amber and I did today.

Sakura Sakura, O Where Art Thou?

It won't be long before winter is officially over, and already things have started to warm up here in central Tái​wān​ 台湾. In tandem with the rising temperatures, the cherry flowers are starting to bloom, so we decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and check out the cherry blossoms (Japanese: sakura サクラ; Chinese: yīng​huā​ 櫻花).

Big mistake. In Japan, the 桜 can be seen everywhere, but in T'ái​wān​, the best concentrations of blossoms are in the mountains. Take that fact into account, add in the sunshine and warmth, the middle day of a three-day weekend (Monday, Feb. 28, is a national holiday - 228 Peace Memorial Day 228和平紀念日), narrow mountain roads and the reality that there is only a finite number of things to see and do on this small island, and you've got the recipe for one, long frustrating traffic jam. Which is what we encountered this morning (and stretching into the beginning of the afternoon) in Túng​shì​h 東勢, as we attempted to see the blooming trees (British expletive pun intended). Sure, the cherry blossom season in Japan can result in mass concentrations of people, too. Ueno Park 上の恩賜公園 in Tōkyō 東京 turns into a circus when the flowers are at their park, while noted 花見 spots such as Yoshino 吉野 are swamped with visitors, but it is also quite possible to see beautiful pinks and whites without venturing far from your home - in Yokkaichi 四日市, for example, there was a winding river lined with cherry trees along both sides just a short bicycle ride from our apartment building, and it was never crowded. Unfortunately, we don't have that luxury where we live in Greater Tái​chúng​ 大臺中​. After an interminable length of time creeping along a narrow, winding lane, we made the decision to give up and turn around when we started seeing cars parking along the side of the road, and people getting out to walk to the leisure farm where all the cherry trees were (and with the park entrance still being some distance away). It just wouldn't have been worth the hassle (not the mention the prospect of the return traffic jam on the trip home later in the day), so we made our way back to central Túng​shì​h.

Amber eats lunch at a restaurant in downtown Túng​shì​h. At that point we would probably have still been stuck in traffic up on the mountain, and with rumbling stomachs further adding to our collective misery. With plenty of time left in the day following lunch, I suggested driving out to Tà​hú​ 大湖.

Central Chó​lán​ 卓蘭, where we stopped to buy some tea. A typical town involved in a typical daydream. All a friend can say is ain't it a shame...

Pamela suggested driving up to a Buddhist temple dating from the Japanese era 台灣日治時期 that offered a beautiful view of the plains below, but on the way there we encountered another long traffic jam. No problem, however. A quick U-turn, and in no time we were at a strawberry farm, filling up a basket with fresh strawberries. This was heaven for Amber, for 草莓 are her favorite fruit in the world, if not her favorite food.

Smiles aside, picking the right berries was serious business for my daughter.

Amber poses with the fruit of her labor. She's also holding a small carton of ice cream...strawberry, as if there was any doubt.

The view from outside the strawberry farm. It's hard to see in the photo, but if you look under the green and brown traffic signs, you can make out the tops of the long line of cars heading toward Dahu.

With one contented child in the backseat, we headed back to Fēng​yuán​ 豐原, stopping off along the way at a viewpoint overlooking the Lǐ​yú​ Reservoir 鯉魚潭水庫. It was crowded, of course.

The water level in the reservoir looked low. Are we in for a dry year this year?

Leaving the scenic viewpoint, we encountered...get ready for it...yet another traffic jam. As it was nearing 4 in the afternoon, a lot of folks were no doubt on their way home. Fortunately, when we turned off and headed in the direction of Sān​yì​ 三義, most of the other cars continued on in the other direction, and we made it back to Fēng​yuán​ without much fuss or bother. Despite the clogged arteries, we managed to enjoy ourselves. Amber got her strawberries, and I was pleased to discover that 7-Eleven has Samuel Adams Boston Lager in stock again! All in all, I shouldn't complain - those who drove up to Wǔ​líng​ Farm 武陵農場 today (Sunday) to see the cherry blossoms spent 7½ hours stuck in traffic! Perspective - what a concept.

The writing on the seal of Amber's orange juice cup says "Handmade pork cutlet sandwiches". Which is a rather odd thing to see in a hot pot/spaghetti restaurant.

From the Japan Today website:

ELPIDA RAISES $145 MILLION IN TAIWAN LISTING 

"Elpida Memory Inc エルピーダメモリ has raised 4.2 billion New Taiwan dollars ($145 million/¥11.5 billion) in a secondary listing on the Tái​wān Stock Exchange 臺灣證券交易所 as the Japanese memory chip maker seeks alliances amid fierce competition. The money will be used in Elpida’s development and production of cutting-edge 20- and 30-nanometer chips, said company president and CEO Yukio Sakamoto at a Tái​pěi​ 臺北 news conference. Elpida’s listing in the form of T'ái​wān Depositary Receipts comes amid closer ties with Taiwanese firms who are also facing tough competition from South Korea’s Samsung Electronics and Hynix Semiconductor. The market for DRAM, or dynamic random access memory, is expected to recover from a long slump in the April-June quarter, with demand for mobile chips expected to surge with the growing sales of tablet PCs and smartphones, Sakamoto said. Rexchip Electronics, a Taiwanese maker in which Elpida has a majority stake, will add mobile chips to its production lines in the second half this year, he said. He said Elpida’s output will also gain from its alliance with Tái​wān’s Powerchip Technology 力晶科技股份有限公司 , which has suspended its own marketing efforts to become a subcontractor for the Japanese maker. Elpida is seeking additional cooperation with other Taiwanese DRAM makers, Sakamoto said, but refused to give details. Amid a glut of DRAM supply following the 2008 global financial crisis, the Taiwanese government sought to consolidate its six DRAM makers into a new company working with either Elpida or U.S.-based Micron Technology. But the project fell apart."

Then there was this article in the Japan Times ジャパンタイムズ ("ELEMENTARY ENGLISH: Asian, European peers have big head start but success unquestioned"), comparing the state of elementary school English education in Japan with those in several other questions, including Tái​wān​. The relevant sections are listed below:

"While all elementary schools in Japan are scheduled to start teaching English this April, other parts of Asia and Europe have been doing it for years. They are teaching English earlier, longer and with more advanced content. Some even have teachers who are specialists in teaching the language. According to the education ministry 文部科学省, South Korea began teaching English in elementary schools in 1997. China and Tái​wān​ started in 2001, and Germany and France followed suit in 2004 and 2005, respectively. What's more, students in those countries are learning it at a younger age — from third grade in China, South Korea, Tái​wān​ and Germany, and from first grade in France. Japan's English-language schedule will consist of a lesson a week, or 35 per year. According to the ministry, however, Tái​wān​ and Germany give two lessons a week, France gives 54 hours of lessons a year, South Korea gives two lessons a week for third- and fourth-graders, and three a week for fifth- and sixth-graders...The lessons in Japan will be 45 minutes long, compared with 40 minutes in Tái​wān...The curricula differ as well. In Japan, students will learn to listen and speak English through songs, games and self-introductions, among other activities. They will also engage in cultural exchange activities by meeting foreigners and attending cultural events, as well as do their ABCs...In Tái​wān, pupils are required to write down around 180 vocabulary words and to speak about 300...The ministry also said teachers in charge of English in China and some urban parts of Tái​wān are specialists, unlike in Japan. Japan does not require teachers to have a qualification in English proficiency, but one city in T'ái​wān requires its teachers to have scored at least 213 on the TOEFL, or Test of English as a Foreign Language."