Jeff and Barbara Do Taiwan, Part III

On this, the third day of Jeff and Barbara's most excellent Taiwan adventure, Amber overcomes her fear of the animatronic dinosaurs at the National Museum of Natural Science 國立自然科學博物館:

...while at the adjacent tropical rain forest conservatory:

...my budding little Annie Leibovitz takes the cover shot for Barbara and the Pips' next album:

Amber's photo work from today can be seen here.

Jeff and Barbara Do Taiwan, Part II

In which everyone's favorite Slovene-American couple pay a visit to Sun Moon Lake 日月潭, Taiwan's largest freshwater body. Let's 写真!

Barbara contemplates the enigmatic (and yellow-colored) soda "P" at a seafood restaurant in Shuishe Village 水社村:

Proof positive that we were actually there. Despite it being a Tuesday, there were quite a few visitors at the lake (though nothing compared to the hordes that descend upon it on weekends), with many of them being of the Chinese persuasion. Lots of sightseeing boats were plying the water, and touts were aggressively trying to round up passengers (we declined, several times):

Jeff and Barbara took some time to explore Wenwu Temple 文武廟, with the sunset over Sun Moon Lake serving as a backdrop:

The final stop before heading back to T'aichung 台中 was at the Tz'uen Pagoda 慈恩塔. The fading gloom meant no more photographs could be taken, but Barbara was able to ascend the steps to check out the view of the lake and its twinkling lights. More importantly, she got to ring the bell at the top. It was a dark, unlit walk back to the car, though some light was provided by Amber's flashing Dora the Explorer sandals, and by the fireflies that all of us were surprised to see flying about.

Tomorrow, Jeff and Barbara will spend some more time in Taichung, before the four of us go to K'enting 墾丁 on Thursday.

Jeff and Barbara Do Taiwan, Part I

Good friends don't often make the trek out here to Taiwan to visit - in fact, the last time one did, the World Trade Center was still standing in New York City. So I've been looking forward to being paid a visit by my old high school friend Jeff, along with his lovely wife Barbara. The two of them will be here for the next two weeks, and having arrived last night, today was the first full day of their first sojourn into Asia. As luck would have it, however, my intestinal system decided to welcome a visitor of its own, and I've been feeling less than 元気 since last Wednesday evening thanks to my unwanted viral guest. So for this reason, and others (like the fact that some sightseeing attractions aren't open on Mondays), Jeff and Barbara's introduction to Taiwan was of a low-key nature. We couldn't have asked for better weather today, and I think they're really looking forward to seeing what Taiwan has to offer. This guide needs his rest, so here are a few photos and a brief description of what we did and saw today...

The large Milefo 布袋 statue at Paochueh Temple 寳覚寺 in T'aichung 台中:

The sights of Fengyuan 豐原, all two of them - the Matsu 媽祖 Temple, and the Miaotung 廟東 street food market:

At dinner this evening, we all took an interest in an "Olive Plum Vinegar" drink, which was pronounced to be "not that bad, actually". No doubt the first of many "interesting" foods and drinks waiting to be discovered in the days ahead:

Tomorrow it's off to Sun Moon Lake 日月潭. Now it's off to bed.

おやすみなさい

There's gold in them thar hills

A Buddha enjoying the glorious sunshine on the Hsint'ien 新田 trails

And the sign said...

Seen this afternoon in T'aichung 台中:

For those Taiwanese who are illiterate when it comes to Chinese characters, but who are somehow proficient in the Japanese kana 仮名 syllabary, the restaurant in the photo on the left has come to their assistance. Perhaps such folks learned how at the cram school pictured on the right, which teaches English, Japanese and computers to high school students. Japanese is the second-most popular foreign language being studied in Taiwan, following English. Many older Taiwanese can still speak it, though it's much less common to find proficient speakers among the younger generations. The other sign in the photo features that ubiquitous の, aka your friend and mine, the possessive "no".

ベティちゃん

This has to be one of the coolest shirts I've ever seen in Taiwan. This one was worn this morning by one of my kindergarten students. I'll have to look for one like this for my daughter.

Passing ports in Taipei

Everyone in the Kaminoge family took the day off today in order to travel up to T'aipei 台北, and the American Institute in Taiwan 美國在台協會. The purpose of our visit to the AIT was the renewal of Amber's US passport, but we also spent some time in Hsimenting 西門町 afterward before taking a bus from the relatively new (and nice) Taipei Bus Station 台北轉運站 to Fengyuan. A long day, but a successful one (I hope).

Taipei is...different, at least in comparison to the other cities, towns and villages in Taiwan. Obviously, it's more cosmopolitan, but I've also noticed that, unlike other major urban areas around the world, Taipei actually seems like a better environment in which to raise my daughter than other burgs on this island. Usually, one takes for granted that rural areas and small towns are much better places to bring up children than a metropolis of 2.6 million people. In T'aipei's case, however, it appears there's a greater sense of order and respect at play in the capital city, from the way people stand to the right on the escalators in MRT 台北捷運 stations in order to let those in a hurry pass by on the left, to the vehicles that actually slow down (and even stop!) to allow pedestrians to cross the road when the latter have a green light. Contrast this with the rest of Taiwan, where everyone seems to be unaware of the presences of those around them, where I fear for my daughter's life every time we have to cross the street, and where every fourth person or so looks like they have some connection or other to a criminal gang.

Of course I'm exaggerating (it's more every fifth person is a gangster) - Taipei is certainly no paradise. At the same time, however, the rest of Taiwan is hardly a bucolic idyll, not with all the polluting factories, ugly architecture, dangerous driving conditions and apparent lack of concern for the general welfare. Considering that T'aipei is remarkably quiet for a city of its size and population, at least in comparison with other great Asian mega-cities I've spent time in, such as Tōkyō 東京 and Ōsaka 大阪, and some serious thought needs to be given as to where would be best for my daughter to grow up should it become necessary to stay in Taiwan (though I fervently hope I don't have to make that decision).

Amber strikes a pose in Hsimenting (上), and checks out the scenery on the bus ride home (下):