Grabbing tigers by their tails

It was my wife's birthday yesterday (Saturday), and though she had to work in the morning, she was free after lunchtime. So, in the early afternoon, the three of us piled in the car and headed south to Yunlin County​ 雲林縣, that area of central Taiwan where Pamela originally hails from (the town of Hsiluo 西螺, to be exact). Our first stop upon exiting the freeway was Tz'ut'ung 莿桐, a rural township not far from Hsiluo. There, we paid a call on an old friend of my wife's, whose husband, formerly with the Foreign Affairs Police, had given us some very helpful advice regarding a recent ordeal legal matter I had to deal with concerning a traffic incident. Pamela's friend runs a small boutique, where Amber posed in front of the latest Yunlin fashions:

After saying thanks, we left, just in time to get a caught in a downpour that may have been a result of Typhoon Nanmadol, currently brushing past Taiwan's northeast coast as I type this.

It was still raining when we reached Huwei​ 虎尾, an urban township with deep ties to Taiwan's history as a sugar producer. Parking our car downtown, it was a short walk in the rain to a small but beautiful wooden Japanese building that once served as the home of the county commissioner during the colonial period 台灣日治時期:

My wife attended high school in Huwei, but doesn't recall seeing this building during her student days there. This suggests that the house was left to languish until recent years, when its potential as a tourist lure became apparent. It has since been restored, and now serves as a venue for artistic performances, such as the concert being performed inside while we were there:

Almost next door to the old home is the building that once served as the county hall during the Japanese era:

It now houses a museum devoted to Taiwanese puppet theater:

In addition to the displays of puppetry, the old cells used for holding suspects prior to their court cases are open for inspection. Here's Amber announcing that she is not, in fact, crazy inside the padded cell:

Kudos go out to the authorities in Huwei for not only preserving Taiwan's beautiful Japanese-period architecture, but for utilizing such spaces for more than just dusty historical displays. It would be great if more cities and towns across Taiwan could find ways to give their cultural and historical architectural relics (what's left of them, anyway) some relevancy in this day and age.

Following dinner in one of Huwei's numerous Japanese restaurants (this is a town that clearly, and unapologetically, embraces its past), we headed over to the old sugar plant. The factory itself was closed for the day by this time, but the small food store in the park across the street was still open. While sugar has declined in importance over the years (it was once a major cash crop in Taiwan), several old factories across Taiwan have been reinvented as tourist sites, where the main attraction is...ice cream. Yes, in Taiwan, you travel for miles just to eat ice cream on the premises of disused sugar refineries. I have to admit, though, that my chocolate cup was pretty good, while my daughter seemed to enjoy her peanut butter-flavored Popsicle:

The last thing we did in Huwei was to visit a clinic...or at least my wife did. Not to worry for there's nothing to be concerned about, but I'm not at liberty to disclose the reason behind the visit. Suffice it to say, while Pamela was waiting her turn inside, Amber and I took a walk through the downtown area:

Huwei's main bus "station", which was pretty quiet late on a Saturday evening. Pamela used to pass through here during her high school days, riding the bus back and forth from Hsiluo.

Like many towns and smaller cities throughout Taiwan, traffic circles have been built to smooth traffic flows. Taiwan being Taiwan, and the Taiwanese being Taiwanese, these can be an adventure to drive through (and around) at times.

Another leftover from the Japanese era stands watch over a busy corner.

As this is the last weekend of the Ghost Festival 中元節, several temple festivals were underway in downtown Huwei. Amber wanted to watch this puppet show, though the noise was a little too much for her to bear.

Those schooldays...

Shanchiao Elementary School in the Miaoli County 苗栗縣 town of Yuanli 苑裡 is much like any other Taiwanese primary school, with one difference. Tucked away in one corner of the expansive school grounds is a collection of four wooden Japanese-style buildings dating from the 1930's. Originally constructed as dormitories 寮 for teachers, it's great to see they have been preserved. And not just as relics from the past, either, for these buildings are still being used by the elementary school as classrooms. The tatami 畳 mats are long gone, but the interiors still retain their original floor plans, and the flooring is made of beautiful wood. Kudos to whichever authorities made the decision not only to retain these beautiful structures, but to keep them in service to the local schoolchildren. There are lessons to be learned in Yuanli - will other locales in Taiwan pay attention, please?

Some requisite family photos on what was a family outing this afternoon. The expression and posture of yours truly is what happens when ancient knees complain about being forced to sit seiza 正座 -style:

There were a lot of people taking photographs of the buildings while we were there, but thankfully not in overwhelming numbers. This is one unknown "tourist attraction" that I hope remains unnoticed by snack-eating, souvenir-buying tour bus hordes.

Stepping back in time (a little)

Writing on a restaurant billboard (photo now missing, for unknown reasons) led to a walk around the neighborhood, which in turn led to this well-preserved (if uniquely maintained) old home...

I wish there were more like these around.

Taichū (gesundheit)

Usually I take advantage of my one free weekday afternoon to do some walking in the Tak'eng area, but today I decided to take a break from the outdoors and be a tourist instead, spending a couple of hours walking around downtown T'aichung 台中. Parking my scooter behind Taichung Station 台中車站, I first paid a visit to Stock 20, an area of old railway warehouses that have been converted into an art center. The current installation, Urban Bodies: A collection of art works by Taiwanese and Foreign artistes, was mildly interesting, but admission was free, and it's great to see otherwise-obsolete buildings being put to good use. The old city center in Taichung is declining rapidly despite numerous attempts over the years to revive it (look what's become of Chikuang Street), but there are several excellent examples of Japanese-era architecture still standing, the most obvious of which is the train station, dating from 1917:

Another old building of interest is the former City Hall, then later Bureau of Transportation and Tourism, and now an exhibition hall/gallery, built in 1920. Like Stock 20, it's free to get in, and while the The Eastern Fauvism: Wang Erh-Chang 王爾昌 Commemorate Exhibition was far from a waste of time (the three high school girls there spent a lot of time admiring the nudes), it was the building itself that provided the greatest interest. Kudos to the authorities for not tearing the structure down, and replacing it with a modern monstrosity:

Across the street is Taichung's current City Hall, a newer building from 1924. There have been plans for a number of years to move the seat of government to newer digs away from the downtown area - after all, what self-respecting modern administration can effectively govern from an 85-year old edifice featuring white stone walls, mansard roof and ionic columns? - but for now it's refreshing to see a fine old building not only preserved, but still carrying out its original function. More kudos (see, Cowardly Anonymous Therapy Patient, I don't hate everything about Taiwan!):

Walking away from City Hall, the skies opened up and the rain started to fall. Here's what it looked like while I was walking through Herbal Medicine Street - check out the woman's improvised rain boots:

I was intending on walking over to Taichung Park, but the rain convinced me to save that for the next time I feel like playing tourist.

The horror that is Taiwan Beer

The photograph above is the second half of my Father's Day present, a Belgian golden ale called "Biere du Bouranier" ("Buccaneer Beer" in English, or ビール　ドウ　ブカニエ in Japanese, according to the label). With an alcohol content of 11%, it certainly has a bite, but the taste is pleasing, and not overpowering. My wife purchased the bottle from a liquor store in Taichung 台中 that mainly deals in imported wine, but occasionally has specials on foreign beers as well. Enjoying what's left of my gift has started me ruminating on the sad state of beer, and the effect that has on beer lovers, in Taiwan...

With the exception of a few establishments in Taipei 台北 and Taichung (that I'm aware of, anyway), the microbrewery industry in Taiwan is almost non-existent. Specialty supermarkets like Market Place by Jasons and Capita'n do carry a few pricey imports, but for the most part, the selection available island-wide in convenience stores and supermarkets is limited, and thus pathetic. There are decent brews such as the major Japanese brands (Asahi アサヒ, Kirin キリン, and Sapporo サッポロ), and Tsingtao 青岛啤酒 from China, to go along with Busch, Corona, Miller and every Taiwanese drinker's idea of a sophisticated import, Heineken. But towering over them all is the local mistake, the imaginatively named, and boringly packaged, Taiwan Beer 台灣啤酒:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/princeroy/2395782710

Just how bad is Taiwan Beer? If you like Coors or Budweiser, you'll enjoy a smooth, frothy mug of Taiwan Pijiu. How weak is it? My wife can drink a couple of tall cans (through a straw!) in a single setting without any noticeable effect (though lately she's been shunning the local product in favor of Asahi). If you're after a beer that is both cheap and tasteless, just head down to your nearest コンビニ or スーパー, and you won't have any trouble satisfying your desires.

Considering the fact that the Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corporation held a monopoly on the Taiwanese beer market until 2002 (when Taiwan entered the World Trade Organization), it's understandable why most Taiwanese drinkers appear to be satisfied with A-mei's 張惠妹 favorite brew. What is harder to fathom, however, are those Westerners who claim to enjoy Taiwan Beer. No doubt some just don't know much about beer, in the same way as there are people whose CD collections consist almost entirely of Top 40 artists, yet they still say they love "music". But what I can't understand is what drives those who wouldn't dream of drinking Bud or Molson back in their home countries, yet are proud to be seen with a glass, bottle or can of Taiwan Beer in their hands here. I put it down to one of two reasons: 

1.) Either they have been here too long, and have forgotten what a pleasure it is to enjoy a well-made craft beer; 

or 2.) they force themselves to down the Formosan urine in order to fool themselves into thinking that by doing so, they have fully acclimatized to the local culture. If that's the case, why stop with Taiwan Beer? Why not go all the way, and smoke Long Life cigarettes, chew betel nuts, listen to Shining 3 Girl CD's and get a stenciled tattoo of a Taoist god to cover their backsides? Only then will they have truly embraced Taiwanese culture! 乾杯！

Now that I've finished my Buccaneer, it's time to stop ranting. I'll leave you with a couple of pictures taken in Fengyuan 豐原 this afternoon on my home from work:

An art deco-style bridge that I was told dates from the 1930's, and beyond it, an old Japanese-era building that has recently been converted into a Western-style restaurant.

Looking back from 2018:

Of all the blog posts I uploaded when I was using LiveJournal, this one generated the greatest number of comments, which you can read here (the original comments didn't migrate when I moved my old posts to Blogger). 

On a sunny day in Fengyuan 豐原

 

The building above is an old Japanese-era wooden structure that is in the process of being renovated (for what isn't clear at this point). For a long time it was empty building that stood in front of the parking lot to a large supermarket. The store closed a while ago, and I assumed that this building was going to be razed. However, it appears that someone has taken over the property, and has plans that include maintaining the original building. This is a very welcome development as too many Japanese-era wooden buildings end up being replaced by ugly concrete boxes.

It's a dog life

I got up early this morning to go for a walk in Shihgang (Shihkang) 石岡, and afterward I decided never again. The first part of the walk, from the Shihjhong Temple up to the "Divine Tree of Five Blessings" was relaxing enough, with nice views of the valley below, though it was hardly strenuous. It was the route back to the temple, along a specially-paved walking path, that was most unpleasant. The bane of walkers in Taiwan is dogs, and I had to run a gauntlet of chained and unchained, snarling, barking canines. Though I am a cat person, I have nothing against man's best friend, and I like playing with happy dogs as much as the next person. What I don't like is having to deal with aggressive beasts when I'm minding my own business. I was forced to aim a kick at one brazen beagle who came charging out at me from a fruit orchard. The most annoying part is the majority of these mutts are cowards. Oh sure, when they're chained up, they put on a brave show of "scaring" me away. The unchained ones wait until I walk past, then try to snap at my heels, only to run away when I turn around to face them (not unlike some people I've encountered in Taiwan!). If the local authorities have gone to the trouble and expense of laying out a walking course through a rural neighborhood, they could also try to persuade the locals to do a better job of keeping their dogs in check (and on leashes). Having gone through this a couple of times now on this particular walk, I've come to the conclusion that the rewards are not enough to justify the stress, and so I won't bother coming this way again.

On the ride back home, I stopped to take a photograph of a Japanese-era granary, or the "Rice Husking Barn of Shi-Kon-Shiang Farmers' Association", according to the sign in front. There seemed to be some confusion about dates, or a possible break in the space-time continuum, as it stated that the barn was "Established in 1942", yet "After Attacked by the big earthquake in 1935, the structure of the barn was reinforced". So in other words, it was repaired and strengthened seven years before it was built. The Chinese wording also included the same dates. Mysterious 不可解なあ...

Double Ten

We're halfway through the three-day weekend courtesy of the Double Ten national holiday 中華民国国慶日, and I'm already exhausted, but feeling good nonetheless. Yesterday morning (Friday), the Kaminoge family set off in their motorcar, and moved in a southerly direction. Our plan was to visit Chiayi 嘉義, spend the night there, and then drive to the Guanziling Hot Springs 関子嶺温泉 on Saturday morning. Things didn't turn out quite as planned, but the result in the end was better than anticipated. For the sweet twist of fate, read on...

嘉義は木村、製糖業などが盛んな産業都市。阿里山森林鉄道の出発点として有名である。

ここは平埔族系原住民が住んでいた土地で、古くは｢山の連なる｣という意味の諸羅山という地名であった。オランダ統治時代の文献にすでにこの地名が登場しているという。1787～88年に起きた清代最大の反礼、林爽文の礼の際、諸羅の民は町を守り抜き、反礼者たちに町への侵入を緩さなかった。礼の平定後、乾隆帝は地名を「その民の忠義(義)を賞賛(嘉）する」という意味に改称した。

市街地は碁盤の目状でかわりやすい。メインストリートの中山路の両側にデパートや商店、銀行などが並ぶ。国華街は食堂や商店が並ぶ通りだ。

嘉義の南東28ｋｍに位置する関子嶺温泉は、バラエティ富むんだ台湾の温泉のなかでも、日本統治時代から有名だった温泉郷。泉質は世界的にも数少な鉱泥濁泉で、温度は54～84℃。岩石層の泥質と鉱物質が含まれているため灰色をしており、黒色温泉、泥温泉と呼ばれる。神経痛、胃腸病に効くほか、天然の泥パック効果で美容にもよく、「美人の湯｣としても名高い。泥の顔に塗りながら体を温めている人も見かける。温泉の粉もみやげ物として売られている。

狭い谷間に宿泊施設が建ち並んでおり、その温泉街から曲がりくねった車道を20～30分ほど上ると、リゾート地といった趣の新しいホテル群がある。この近くには、同じ穴から水蒸気と湯が同時に噴き出している水火同源、観音像の碧雲寺、釈迦像の大仙岩寺などがある。

（地球の歩き方台湾から）

We didn't leave home until after 11:30 am, but that was no problem, as the idea was to spend the afternoon strolling around Chiayi Park 嘉義公園, before locating a hotel in the downtown area to spend the night, whereupon after checking in and parking the car, we would go to a night market and soak up some local atmosphere. Southbound-traffic on the No. 1 Freeway was heavier than expected, which Pamela put down to being the result of a festival of some sort being held at Sun Moon Lake 日月潭 . However, I learned from talking on the phone to my friend Steve that a big national day fireworks show was scheduled to be held in Chiayi on Friday evening, right in the very park we were planning to visit. After a quick visit to my wife's hometown of Siluo 西螺 in Yunlin County 雲林県 (where we had lunch at a noodle restaurant that Pamela used to frequent back in her elementary and junior high school days, so you know it's been around for a while!), we got to Chiayi around 2:30, where the Statue of Liberty welcomed the huddled masses yearning to breathe free in the middle of a traffic circle:

Heading towards Chiayi Park, we saw that the police were already instituting crowd-control measures on the roads, so we figured the best thing to do would be to find accommodation ASAP, and go to the park on foot. Well, every hotel we either telephoned or stopped at was fully booked, and the love hotels were not accepting overnight visitors until after 10pm. After about 90 minutes of driving around downtown Chiayi in search of a place to stay (and with me wondering what the hell was I thinking when I decided earlier in the week that it wouldn't be necessary to book ahead!), we gave up on the city. A quick phone call to a hotel in Guanziling secured a room for us for the evening, and so we drove into the hills of northern Tainan County 台南県, arriving at the Jing Leh Hotel around 5:30. According to "The Rough Guide to Taiwan", the Jing Leh:

"...is the oldest hotel in town, established in 1902 with Japanese-style rooms and white-tiled bathrooms..."

Wooden floors and futons constitute "Japanese-style" in Taiwan, but the hotel didn't look much like it was 106 years old. In fact, the neighboring Hotel Kuanzuling (in English)/Kanshirei Onsen Hotel 関子嶺温泉ホテル (in Japanese) looked much older, and more Japanese.

 

However, the hotel was a reasonably-priced NT2200 ($68 or ￥6800) for a large room with bath/toilet en suite, and a Western-style breakfast in the morning, plus friendly staff. After dropping our bags off at the hotel we drove 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) up the hill, along a road made treacherous in parts due to recent typhoon damage, to the Water Fire Cave - a natural spring pool that has escaping natural gas igniting above it. We got there just after the sun had set, which had the added bonus of making the flames look even more spectacular. After returning back to the lower part of Guanziling village (where the Jing Leh Hotel is located) and having dinner, the three of us went into a communal (but private) bath at our hotel to enjoy the hot springs. To quote Rough Trade again, the spring water at Guanziling:

"is a rare type found in only two other places (Japan and Sicily). It contains alkali and iodine, has a light sulfuric smell and a grayish 'muddy' color."

What the book doesn't mention is that the water also produces actual mud, heaps of it, which Amber, in particular, enjoyed flinging at us and rubbing on herself:

Definitely the most interesting hot spring experience I've had so far!

The next morning (today), we got up at 6 and took a walk up some stairs that overlooked the lower village:

Following our stroll and breakfast, we checked out, then drove off to visit the Bi Yun Temple, a further 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) past the Water Fire Cave. Consisting of a Taoist temple at the bottom and a Buddhist one at the top, the complex (again to quote RT):

"occupies a stunning location beneath a craggy peak with great views of the plains below."

Which is all true, but on this morning the weather was hazy, which limited the view. In addition, soon after we got there, a festival began that involved lots of firecrackers being set off, which only served to terrify Amber, and made her want to leave. It was a good thing we did, though, because as we were pulling out of the parking lot, busloads of "pilgrims" (for want of a better description) began showing up, and the narrow mountain road was quickly beginning to back up with traffic. Fortunately for us, we were heading in the opposite direction, back towards Chiayi.

Driving into Chiayi on Highway 1, our next stop was the Tropic of Cancer Monument 北回帰線標塔. There's a museum nearby that reminds of Los Angeles International Airport. The actual line marking the northern boundary of the tropics crosses the highway. Meanwhile, replicas of previous monuments (the earliest one having been erected in 1908) can be seen in front of the museum. Afterward, we returned to a still-busy central Chiayi, but now a city in which all roads were free of restrictions. And in a case of "When in Rome", we naturally had turkey rice for lunch.

市の南西3.3kmの下寮村内、北緯23度27分4秒51、東経120度24分46秒5の位置にある北回帰線の標塔。この線より南は緯度上の熱帯、北は亜熱帯である。初代の北回帰線標塔は1908年に建てられた。その後は台風や震災で破壊されるなどして、今道路沿いにあるのは5代目。周りの公園も整備された。

(地球の歩き方台湾から)

And so, roughly 24 hours later than originally intended, we arrived at Chiayi Park. A fair question might be "What's so special about the park?". For Amber, it was a chance to play on some slides and blow some bubbles, but for myself, it was an opportunity to visit the site of the old Kagi Shrine 嘉義神社, one of the 66 official Shintō shrines 神社 established during the Japanese colonial era. The Koma-inu 狛犬 guardian lion statues and stone lanterns still line the approach, and though the torii 鳥居 is gone, the shrine's beautiful old cypress office buildings have been preserved as the Chiayi Historical Relics Museum. Funny how in Matsue 松江, the local history museum was housed in a Meiji-era Western-style building, while here, displays on Chiayi's early history are presented in a very Japanese-looking structure. Free of charge, the buildings are interesting to walk through. It's great to see the old architectural examples being put to good use instead of being torn down and replaced by some KMT-designed monstrosity.

1911(明治44)年に開園式が挙行されたという広大な公園。正門から入って左の道を真っすぐ行くと、昔使用されていた阿里山森林鉄道の蒸気機関車が展示してある。日本統治時代に嘉義神社だった忠烈祠には今も当時の狛犬や手水舎、灯篭が残っており、木造建築の社務所は嘉義史蹟資料館になっている。忠烈祠の参道奥には「射日塔」という11階建てのビルがあり、11階の展望台から市内を見渡すことができる。

(地球の歩き方台湾から)

(The last picture, by the way, was taken by a photographer who is isn't quite 2 years and 9 months old!)

Where the main hall of Kagi-jinja once stood, there now stands the Chiayi Tower. There would've been good views of the city from the top, had the sky not been full of haze, but it was possible to look down through a glassed section of floor at the interior of the tower, all the way down to the bottom:

By the time we left the tower, it was after 4, so we got back in the car and headed home to Fengyuan豊原. There is still one more day left in this holiday weekend, but we figured the freeways will be jammed tomorrow (Sunday) with people returning home. Besides, the apartment needs a good cleaning, so that's what I'm going to be doing on Sunday. It was enough that we were able to get away for as long as we could, and to where we could go. In fact, things worked out even better by us staying in Guanziling. After all, we were able to enjoy a hot springs experience at a leisurely pace, and still get to enjoy Chiayi Park, and with the added bonus of avoiding the crowds that would have been there on Saturday evening.

Amber does Toyohara (or should that be Hōgen?)

The family spent the afternoon at the Pacific department store in downtown Fengyuan (Fongyuan) 豊原, eating lunch and doing a bit of window shopping. With four hours of free parking at the store, we certainly made good use of the time. Afterwards (but still with time remaining for parking), we walked over to the Fengyuan branch of a well-known Taiwanese bakery. You would think that a store in Taiwan using the characters 小林 as its name would be called "Hsiaolin (Siaolin)", but then you would be wrong. The name is actually "Kobayashi", the Japanese reading of the same characters (and a common surname in Japan). You might think then the company is Japanese in origin, but apparently it started in T'aichung (Taijhong) 台中. Whatever the background, they make some pretty delicious cookies and pastries. We picked up a box of one kind, the name of which escapes me at the moment - it's a soft cake shaped like a hanging bell with custard cream on the inside. Here's a picture of Amber doing her best imitation of an affluent Japanese shopper:

On the way back to the car from Kobayashi, we made a brief stop at the busy Matsu (Mazu) 馬祖 temple downtown. The shrine-style lanterns 灯籠 in the front, and the stone torii 鳥居 in the back lead me to believe the current Taoist temple occupies a site that used to be a Shintō shrine 神社 during the Japanese era, but I haven't found anyone who could corroborate this.

After getting home, Amber and I went up to the rooftop of our apartment building, where we caught the last rays of the setting sun, while bats were flying about on their evening hunt for insects.