Houli Roller

On a pleasant Saturday afternoon, what better way to help a sick little girl get over a spring cold than by having her get out in the fresh air? OK, this is central Taiwan, where "fresh" isn't the first adjective that immediately springs to mind when thinking about the atmosphere, but the weather wasn't too bad today - warm, but not hot, and skies that were actually blue. So, after lunch, we drove to the nearby town district of Hòu​lǐ 后里, one end of the 4.5 kilometer (2.8 miles)-long Houfong​ Bicycle Trail 后豐自行車綠廊. Amber came prepared with her Hello Kitty ハローキティ bike (still with training wheels attached) and Toys "R" Us helmet, but before hitting the trail, we crossed the road from the parking lot to check out some horses.

Ask many Taiwanese the first word that comes to mind when they think of Hòu​lǐ, and the answer will probably be "saxophones". But around these here parts, the town district is also known for its military stables 后里馬場. This afternoon, a number of horses were being put through their paces around an equestrian course, leaping over various vaults:

When Amber was very small, she was bitten on the finger by a horse during a music festival in Hòu​lǐ, and for the longest time afterward, she was terrified of the animals. Fortunately, she's since gotten over that fear:

Returning to her own four-wheeled steed, Amber set off on the bicycle trail, with Dad lagging behind on foot. Eventually, we came to the No. 9 Tunnel 九號隧道, which was built by the Japanese, and used by trains operating on the now defunct Old Mountain Line. Amber didn't cycle the entire 1.3 kilometers (0.8 miles), but she did venture inside for the first time:

Back outside, and posing for a photo...along with three young people doing what many Taiwanese youth seem to enjoy doing - taking a picture of themselves leaping into the air, which will no doubt later be posted to their Facebook pages:

Stopping for a sausage break on the ride back to the parking lot. Wherever people assemble in Taiwan, food, drink and souvenir vendors will also congregate:

Watching Amber on her bike this afternoon, I realized it's probably time to remove the training wheels, and let her attempt to master the art of cycling on two wheels. She's keen on the idea, but said she would like to practice in our apartment building courtyard first before going out on the bike paths again. Fair enough. 

加油!

Ghosts of stations past

Tuesday afternoons are usually my hiking time, but once in a while I opt to go exploring on my scooter, and today was one of those whiles. So, after lunch, I rode over to pay another visit to the disused Taian Station 泰安車站 in Houli 后里, on the old Mountain Route 舊山線 of the Western Railway Line 西部幹線. Having been a couple of times already (see here for last one), I wasn't too disappointed to find the old station overrun with several busloads' worth of elementary school kids. Instead, I decided to see what else was in the vicinity. Riding along the not-all-that-picturesque old village lane...:

...I reached a fork in the road, and took a right up into the hills. It wasn't long before I came across some stone steps leading into the trees, so I parked by bike to take a closer look. The trail was overgrown, with several fallen trees that had to be negotiated, while signs that had been posted to explain some interesting aspect or other of the surroundings had weathered away long ago, leaving it up to me to wonder about scenes like this one:

The trail eventually opened up into a wider path that followed a ditch. At one point, the route was lined with a long row of bee hives, which was a little unnerving, but I soon found myself back at Taian Old Station, whereupon I happened upon another path, heading straight uphill. This trail was in much better condition, consisting of wooden staircases for the most part, and in less than 10 minutes I was at the top. The top of what wasn't so clear, however, for the trees blocked out most of the view of the valley below, and what could be glimpsed through the foliage wasn't all that enthralling, unless you find paper mills, science park buildings and transmission towers awe-inspiring. Much better views were had back on street level, as I was walking back to my parked scooter...

...and later, from the road on top of the small hill overlooking the station and its environs, as I took a back route toward Houli Station 后里車站:

Later in the evening I took the following photos-of-limited-interest:

こんばんは ("komban wa"), from the Good Night Barbecue Cooking Team 晚安燒烤料理組.

Kirakira Pet Shop

Happy Father's Day, Part 2

There's nothing like spending Father's Day with critters, machines and beer, and that's exactly how the Kaminoge family observed the occasion this afternoon. Our first visit to the e-zoo petting zoo, located in the town of Waip'u 外埔 in T'aichung County 台中縣, turned out to be much better than expected. The three of us had a great time interacting with a handful of the sun goddess' creatures, including snakes, horses, tortoises, ostriches, goats, rabbits, water buffaloes and my wife's favorite, the exotic birds:

This particular bird (Parrot? Cockatoo? Macaw?) was especially animated:

In addition to the animals, Amber took great interest in the heavy equipment, going for spins on a steamroller and an excavator, the latter of which she controlled entirely by herself:

e-zoo sits atop a small hill. From the small one-lane road going in and out, nice views across the plain towards Tachia 大甲 could be had:

A small step forward in the ongoing struggle against Taiwan Beer 台灣啤酒:

On the way home from the zoo, we stopped off at the Houli Sugar Tourism Trap...er, Village in Houli 后里. A Japanese-era sugar mill that has been refitted for the modern-day leisure crowd (with a never-ending caravan of tour buses rolling in), the Thing To Do here is eat ice cream. Among the many souvenir shops, however, I was pleased to find a store selling locally-produced wines and paichiu 白酒. The cinnamon-flavored kind was a treat, but I was even happier to learn there were sample cups of a craft beer available for purchase:

In a classic case of Good News/Bad News, the good news was that the lager tasted great! The bad news was that the shop didn't have any cans or bottles for sale, nor was there any information on hand about the beer itself (including its name) or where to obtain some, other than the fact it most definitely WAS NOT a product of the infamous Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corporation 台灣菸酒公司. Still, it shows that out there in the Taiwanese beer-drinking wasteland, new life is springing up through cracks in the parched ground. I'll drink to that. 乾杯！

Vanishing Trails

I ventured out to Houli 后里 today for my weekly commune with nature. It'd been a while since I'd been out there, and in the interval, trail maintenance had seemingly ceased. In one place in particular, the spreading brush made the uphill route almost impassable, forcing me to take a long detour around the side of the mountain in order to reach the top. Several other sections have gotten narrower due to the advance of Nature, and the blown-down tree branches from Typhoon Morakot 颱風莫拉克 have only made things worse. It's a pity because, even though it's the least challenging of all the trails I regularly go on, the Houli route does have some great views along the way, especially on clear days (today, unfortunately, wasn't one of them). There's no telling what state the area will be in the next time I decide to stop by.

In place of photographs, I made several videos this afternoon, starting with the one below. It's a ride on the way to Sanfeng Road, which connects Fengyuan 豐原 with Houli, and eventually, Sani 三義. This stretch is what many Taiwanese would call the "countryside". I'm not sure how I would describe it, but the few Tom Sawyer-like rural idylls have to share space with numerous small factories. If you were seeking the "Real Taiwan", this area would be a good place to start:

You may (or may not) have noticed the steadier camera work. While I'm still filming things idiotically with one hand while riding, I'm now holding the camera higher up on my body. This makes for images that are easier on the eyes, but it does also make for an even more dangerous ride.

The next video was filmed at a Taoist temple near the start of the Houli trail, called Ch'aok'un kung 朝崑宮. I like this temple, not only for its hilltop location overlooking the Central Taiwan Science Park 中部科學工業園區 currently under construction on the plain below, but also for its restraint, a far cry from the usual gaudiness (or tackiness, in some cases) one usually finds at Taoist houses of worship (though the teddy bear/puppy benches were a bit much, if you ask me):

There might be a loud noise in parts of the video. I don't know what is was, because the interior was quiet while I was filming, and the only sounds I heard were those of insects in the trees outside.

The final clip is another scooter video. Like the one above, it's also of a typical Taiwanese industrial/agricultural area. The afternoon glare is pretty strong in parts, and I wouldn't have uploaded this one, except I like the fact I caught an express train going by near the end:

In case you're wondering, that's a kart racing track that can be seen around the two-minute mark.

Ilha Formosa - the Beautiful Island!

Houli Smokes

I met up with Michael Turton this morning, and the two of us rode out into the hills on the outskirts of Houli 后里. Our stops included the Pilu Temple 毘盧禅寺, originally built in 1928 during the Japanese era 日本統治時代; and the Funghuwangshan Leisure Path, which culminated at a pavilion 162 meters (531 feet) in elevation that provided a panoramic view of Houli and beyond. A few photos from today:

(上) The construction site for the new Houfeng Bridge. The old one partially collapsed in a typhoon last year, killing several people; (下) Michael poses in front of a scenic paper mill.

(上) The Pilu Temple is set in scenic grounds; (下) A small garden area showing its Japanese influence.

Walking in the hills of Houli

I rode out to Houli 后里 on Tuesday morning to do some walking, but it took much longer than I had anticipated to get there. I had been under the impression that the Houfeng Bicycle Trail was open to scooters in the aftermath of the collapse of the Houfeng Bridge, but that didn't seem to be the case this morning. Lots of scooters were on the road, but none of them were on the cycling path. There were, however, quite a few bicyclists out, no doubt due to the pleasant weather. I therefore decided not to take the bicycle route, and so had to travel up the Tajia River 大甲渓 to get to a bridge across to the other side. The road then led up through the hills, and down to the town of Houli. I turned off before then, however, to reach an area of short hiking trails at the Fenghuang Mountain Farm, in the hills behind the Houli Race Course. The walks there aren't very strenuous, taking only about an hour to make a circuit, but on this clear day, the view from the top (of the Taichung Science Park, and beyond towards the sea) was nice:

Next, I rode past the horse ranch to what the road signs called "Pilu Temple", but which a local guidebook I have refers to as "Kunlu Temple":

"The western style building with a high rising ceiling is a Baroque pattern, which is very uncommon among temple architectures (sic)."

It is certainly different from most temples in Taiwan. There are stone steps that go up into the hill behind the building. It doesn't take long to reach the top, and there is little to see in the distance through the foliage, but the path is shaded.

The last thing I did before heading home for lunch (not to mention a shower) was to park myself next to the train tracks in the hope of getting a decent picture of a train going by. The best I could do was this shot of an express passing by on its way north:

It's the camera's fault, of course.

The failures of a father in Kōri

I blew it today. All week we had been telling our daughter that she would have the opportunity on Sunday to ride a horse, and Amber naturally was very excited. So today we drove over to the Houli Horse Farm, in the neighboring town of Houli 后里. This day was also the last in the 2008 Musical Instruments Festival in Taichung County, not so coincidentally being held at the very same horse ranch. Houli, for some inexplicable reason, is the "saxophone capital of the world", so saxes were in abundance this afternoon at the festival (along with other kinds of instruments). Naturally, the place was packed with families, but everyone was in a good mood. Things were looking up, and Amber enjoyed feeding bread pieces to the carp, ducks and geese:

Then came time for the horse ride, and it was here that things went wrong. We bought tickets for Pamela and Amber to go a brief couple of laps around a small field on a horse, and while my wife got in line to wait for our turn, I took Amber over to some stables nearby to get a close-up look at the horses there. One horse walked over to get a closer look at my daughter. A young worker at the horse farm asked Amber if she would like to pet the horse, and Amber was happy to do so. So far, so good. Then the animal started to get closer to her, with the worker reassuring us it only wanted to "kiss" my little girl. And here was when I made a mistake in judgment. I should have realized the horse was getting too close, but I didn't, and the next thing everyone knew, it had one of Amber's fingers between its teeth! I managed to quickly get her finger out, but not quickly enough, as she was left with a bite mark and a bit of blood on the middle finger of her left hand. Worse of all, her mood had changed instantaneously from excitement to unhappiness. And sure enough, when we returned to Pamela, Amber was no longer very enthused about getting to ride a horse. We tried to put in her in the saddle, but after moving for only a few meters, the horse's attendant explained that a crying child only serves to make a horse nervous and upset, and so Pamela had to finish the ride on her own. Instead of getting to take pictures of a happy, smiling young girl enjoying her first ride on a horse, I instead had to comfort a scared child who wanted nothing to do with horses, at least on this day. Way to go, dad!

The rest of the afternoon wasn't a complete washout. Getting to go on the swings, not to mention the chance to beat up on 7-Eleven's mascot Open Chan...:

...can do wonders for the psyche of a traumatized child. Still, if I had only acted fast enough, all of us would have had a much better outing this afternoon, and my daughter would not now be so leery of horses (her finger is still a little swollen and red from the bite, but otherwise she's fine). Someday we'll try again to get her on a horse (and when we stopped off at a pet store on the way home to get some food for our cat, Amber wasn't afraid to pet some of the dogs there). If she's still afraid of the beasts then, I'll have only myself to blame. It's a good thing we don't observe the Taiwanese version of Father's Day, which always falls on August 8 - I certainly didn't do anything today that deserved thanks.

In the foothills of Kōri 后里の前山にいる

Usually on Monday afternoons, I like to go for a stroll in the hills above Chung-cheng (Jhong-jheng) Park 中正公園 in Fengyuan (Fongyuan) 豊原. For a change today, however, I ventured in a different direction, to the nearby town of Houli 后里 and a place called Fenghuangshan (Fonghuangshan) Farm 鳳凰山農場. Although the farm is located on a small road well off the busy route between Fengyuan and Sani (Sanyi) 三義, past the military base, bicycle trail and horse ranch, the way is clearly signposted and easy to follow:

On the weekends, the farm is busy with visitors, but on this Monday afternoon, I was the only one there. The trail is an easy walk for the most part, with only a short, steep staircase leading to the top of a small hill that is crowned with the kind of pavilion you see everywhere in Taiwan. The views from the top were clearer than usual today.

Following a brief self-photo op, and a short skirmish with three dogs over possession of the strategic hilltop pavilion (a brandished metal stool and a well-placed shot with a mandarin orange みかん successfully repelled the attack), I walked over to another pavilion lower down and attempted a panorama shot of the view:

I had the option of continuing down the path from the second pavilion, but from previous visits to this area, I knew it would just take me past some orchards and houses on the way back to the parking lot. So I returned whence the way I came (this time the dogs barked at me, but wouldn't show their cowardly faces), and instead took a short series of steps that led to a pleasant Taoist temple called Chaok'un (Jhaokun) 朝崑宮. From the temple, a small road led to another entrance to the Fenghuangshan Farm parking lot. In step with the ongoing leisure boom in Taiwan, this farm has converted itself into a tourist facility. Though it was closed on this Monday, I was surprised to find four cars in the parking lot when I returned to my scooter.

My favorite part of the day was the ride back into Fengyuan. Instead of returning on busy Sanfeng 三豊 Road, I took a longer, but much more scenic back road that led in the direction of Tungshih (Dongshih) 東勢. The traffic on this route is always light, and the road winds it way through the hills past small homes, plus a couple of temples. At one point, there's a great view looking towards the Shihkang (Shihgang) 石岡 Dam, with the central mountains looming in the background. At the bottom of the hill, I crossed over the Tachia (Dajia) River 大甲川 and was back in Fengyuan again.

I observed this scene from the roof of my apartment building after getting back from my ride. Despite a sign indicating no cars, and the obvious narrow width of the road, this was the fourth time in two years I've seen someone in a car or truck get themselves stuck. Usually a forklift from one of the small factories nearby will be brought in to extricate the vehicle. When I used the same road to go to work a couple of hours later, the truck was gone.

Houli 后里

Houli ("Kori" as it's called in Japanese) 后里 is a small town directly north of Fengyuan (Fongyuan) 豊原. For the most part an unremarkable, ordinary Taiwanese town, Houli has one unique characteristic - it is probably the saxophone capital of the world! At one time, 1/3 of the world's saxes were made in Houli. In recent years, competition from China has intensified, but Houli is still a major player in the world saxophone market. And this despite the fact that the saxophone plays almost no part in the Taiwanese popular music scene. Obviously, almost all of those saxes are for export.

But it wasn't saxophones that brought the family out to Houli on this hot, humid Sunday. Nor was it the horse ranch that the town is also noted for, at least among the people of T'aichung (Taijhong) County 台中県. No, our destination was an old sugar mill. During the Japanese colonial period (and up through the 1960's), sugar was a major industry in central and southern Taiwan. Sugar is no longer a mainstay of the Taiwanese economy, though Taisugar 台糖 remains a large state-run corporation.

I wish I could say the Houli sugar mill is worth a visit, but I can't. Tourism in Taiwan is often an ugly affair - attracting ugly people to an ugly atmosphere filled with ugly commercialization - and the sugar mill was no exception. Had it been up to me, I would've turned the mill into a museum explaining the history and importance of the sugar industry in Taiwan. But I guess there's more money to be made in tacky souvenir shops and ice cream stores. Yes, ice cream - most people visit the Houli sugar mill to eat ice cream. It seems this particular mill used to manufacture its own ice cream for its employees, and the confection soon developed a reputation for its freshness and taste. All I can say is, judging by the vanilla cup I had this afternoon, it was fairly ordinary-tasting. And there was no chocolate! What an outrage!

An old railroad car and engine, shunted off to a corner of the grounds. The Taiwan Sugar Railways once carried both sugar and passengers. The station sign reads "Wufen" 五分.

An endless procession of tour buses disgorged passengers the entire time we were there. Amber, meanwhile, didn't like the tacky kiddie rides. That's my girl!

The most interesting part of the old sugar mill was the mill itself. Located in the rear of the complex, only a handful of the visitors bothered to walk through the structure. For some strange reason, terracotta warriors were placed around the floor...

...but the view looking up from the bottom of the smokestack was pretty cool.

For a lot of Taiwanese, snacking is the main reason for going out somewhere.

After the sugar mill, we took a short drive past the horse ranch and a military base, and past some pineapple plantations to an attractive Buddhist temple called "P'ilu Ch'anssu (Pilu Chansih)" 毘廬禪寺. Taiwanese Buddhist temples in general are much more restrained in their architecture compared to Taoist ones, and the Pilu Zen temple in particular has a pleasing design dating from the Japanese period.

It's too bad the Japanese took their architects with them when they left Taiwan in 1945. The grounds of the temple contain a nice shaded stroll that goes up for a distance of 350 meters (1150 feet) before heading back down to the main hall (though I worked up quite a sweat in the July humidity). If you find yourself in Houli, skip the sugar mill (and the horse ranch too, for that matter - it's also overrated) and seek out the Pilu Temple.