When cows fly

Anyone who has taught children for any length of time in the greater Taichung 台中 area (plus those who have children of their own) has probably visited the Flying Cow Ranch in Miaoli County 苗栗縣. It bills itself as a "nature farm", and attracts a large number of school and youth groups, at least on weekdays. Today it was the turn of my kindergarten to visit, and our three kindergarten classes, plus some parents and siblings, boarded two large tour buses for the short drive north. As can be seen in the photo below, our group wasn't the only one there on this fine day:

It would be easy to make fun of the faux farm atmosphere, not to mention the souvenir sales opportunities (I succumbed to temptation and bought some vanilla ice cream, supposedly made from milk produced on-site), but for kids who grow up in the urban wastelands of Taiwan's cities and towns, places like the Flying Cow Ranch give them a rare opportunity to experience fresh air and open spaces, come in contact with animals such as cows and goats and even to try their hand at milking. Almost all the children seemed to enjoy the outing, and in the end, that's really the only thing that matters.

Cute bunnies and graphic (but strangely humorous) warning signs:

There were moments when I looked around and almost felt like I was back in the U.S. of A.:

 

"Cow"

Into the heartland

You know you've been in Taiwan too long when your idea of a fun family Sunday outing is to go for a drive along a new freeway. Despite the rainy weather, we drove the entire length of the new No. 6 Freeway 水沙連高速公路, all 30 kilometers (19 miles) of it, from Wufeng 霧峰 in Taichung County 台中縣 to Puli 埔里 in Nantou County 南投縣 . While the road is open to traffic, it isn't for business, as there are (as yet) no rest areas, and with the exception of a turnoff for Caotun 草屯, no exits until Puli. On the other hand, it's arguably the most scenic of Taiwan's freeways (which isn't saying much), as the road makes its way through mist-covered mountains. It also has significantly reduced the amount of time it takes to get to Puli, and has put places such as Wushe 霧社 and Cingjing Farm in much closer reach of Taichung. Whether or not that turns out to be a good thing remains to be seen at this stage.

 

Amber finally gets to eat lunch after the drive to Puli

Although it's now more convenient to reach, Puli is still Puli. I've never shared the enthusiasm the writers employed by Lonely Planet and Rough Guides seemingly have for the small town located literally in the center of Taiwan. There are plenty of scenic attractions within easy reach of Puli, but the city itself is pretty much typical of the Taiwanese countryside (at least on the west coast) - the air is often dirty, the traffic is chaotic and the architecture is downright hideous in many places. Having been there on a couple of previous occasions, we'd pretty much exhausted all the local sightseeing options, so with nothing left to do, after lunch we stopped off at a small nursery cum restaurant cum souvenir shop, where Pamela ended up buying a couple of small plants for Amber's room.

 

Amber checks out a bear-shaped floral display

On the way back to the freeway, we saw the main hall of the Chung Tai Chan Monastery (or Temple) looming in the distance, and seeing as it was still relatively early in the afternoon, decided to visit. I had been there once before, back in 2000, when it had first opened, but it looked much more impressive this time. The complex is large, the grounds are attractive, and what it lacks in history, it makes up for in decoration. Considering the amount of money that has been donated over the years to make the monastery possible, it could have easily succumbed to the temptations of tackiness, but for the most part, bad taste is kept in check. It certainly isn't like any zen 禅 temple in Japan, to say the least. The nuns there were very friendly toward Amber (though she seemed intimidated by them), and one spoke excellent English.

 

The main building, apparently the tallest Buddhist temple in the world at a height of 136 meters (446 feet)

Your humble tour guide somewhat self-consciously gives the bell a ring. This is far more common in Buddhist temples in Japan than here in Taiwan. My daughter was scared by the sound the bell made, though you can hear her laughing in the background after I gave it a go.

Temple Bell

We visited the Hall of the Four Heavenly Kings and the Great Majestic Hall. There are other, grander halls to see, but they require a guide in order to see them.

We left the monastery at around 5:30, got back on the freeway and headed home. Back in Fengyuan 豐原, we ended up driving right through a Taoist procession of some kind. My wife, who was driving, and my daughter, sitting in the back seat, were both excited, but for different reasons (notice the people standing right in the middle of the road at the end)!

Taoist celebration

Sunset on the drive back (the only time we saw the sun today):

What are the odds?

In today's edition of the Daily Yomiuri ザ・デイリー読売, there is an article on the ongoing efforts to set up casinos in the Penghu islands 澎湖 ("Island off Taiwan bets on casino boom"):

"Expectations are high on a small island off Taiwan that it could soon host casino resorts. By building casinos on the island, which has no particular industry other than cobia farming and tourism, Taiwan's Penghu County is seeking to create local jobs and discourage local residents from leaving to find work. Also, the county wants to revitalize the island by attracting more tourists from China as its relations with Taiwan are becoming warmer. However, this get-rich-quick dream might not come easy, as a project of this magnitude requires large improvements in accommodations for tourists, roads and other infrastructure. Also, some people doubt whether the planned casinos would be enough to attract tourists away from long-established gambling hot spots such as Macao."

No one doubts that the people of Penghu need more job opportunities:

"Many people go to Taiwan in search of jobs. About 13,000 people, more than 30 percent of the island's working population, is employed off the island. Among Taiwan municipalities, it has the highest ratio of residents who do not actually work in the town where they live. The Penghu County government is hoping casinos can improve this situation. Though casinos are illegal in Taiwan, a bill to revise a related ordinance passed three months ago to promote remote islands' development, allowing casinos on the islands. The county government, which wants to set up Taiwan's first casinos, plans to conduct a referendum on building casinos in August."

A friend of my wife is one of those economic refugees, now living and working in Tainan 台南. Naturally, there is the lure of Chinese money:

"About 95,000 Chinese tourists visited Penghu Island last year. The county government for now envisions two casinos on the island to attract tourists from the rest of Taiwan, China and also from Japan and South Korea. About 500,000 tourists visit the island mainly from other places in Taiwan, many to sample the island's famed seafood. The county government is aiming for 5 million tourists each year. The county government expects casinos would boost tax revenue by about 2.25 billion New Taiwan dollars (about 6.7 billion yen) and create 10,000 jobs."

Of course, there is much to be done before the dollars start raining down on the good people of Penghu:

"...the island's current accommodation capacity is only for 8,000 people. Also, tourists coming from Japan and South Korea have to transit via Taipei 台北 if they use passenger planes. It is essential to expand and upgrade hotels, airport and port facilities, but it is yet unclear how profitable the casino business will be or how such developments can be financed. 'Tourists who want to enjoy casinos can go to Macao,' said Lin Chang-sing, 59, representative of a 100-member group opposing casino development on the island. 'If casinos are set up, public morals will deteriorate. The authorities should work more on measures to promote tourism focusing on the island's natural environment.' However, many residents still seem very keen to have the casinos."

In the end, casinos will probably be built on Penghu, and just as likely, the promised benefits will not be fully realized. Many of the jobs will probably be low-paying, and unlike casinos on Indian reservations in the U.S., it's unlikely the residents will receive any sort of per-capita profit sharing payouts. It's also not difficult to see all the casino, and casino-related infrastructure, construction (not to mention the anticipated increase in visitors), having a negative effect on the islands' environment. The central government, however, is desperate to make good on all the promises made during last year's presidential election of better days just ahead, so the odds are looking good for gambling resorts to be set up soon.

Meanwhile, the Japan Times ジャパンタイムズ carried a Letter to the Editor from one Wen-ching Chu, Director of the Information Division at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office 台北経済文化代表処 in Tōkyō 東京:

"I would like to express my sincere appreciation for Japan's continuous and unwavering support for Taiwan's participation as an observer in the (World Health Assembly). As there are no national boundaries for epidemics like SARS and bird flu, Taiwan can benefit from participating in the WHA by receiving timely information on health related issues...we thank Japan for its endeavor in supporting Taiwan."

Good timing - there's probably a wealth of information on the treatment of problem gambling that could be made available to Taiwanese health care professionals.

When the chips are down...

I have an interesting schedule on Tuesdays. Mornings I teach three year-olds at a kindergarten. Afternoons find me in the mountains on walks lasting between two and three hours while the evenings are taken up with a group private lesson with three or four young adults. Today's hike was in the Dakeng area again, and the mountain was alive with fauna. There were colorful insects everywhere, lots of lizards running around (some of whom seemed willing to pose for snapshots), I sighted two long gray snakes slithering through the underbrush and, at the end of the hike, a pair of monkeys appeared and sauntered along the pathway. The photo ops were numerous so, naturally, in accordance with the precepts of Murphy's Law, it didn't take long to realize that I had somehow forgotten to put the memory chip into my digital camera, and there was simply no more space to store pictures. Of course it goes without saying that the next time I head out to Dakeng, this time with a fully armed camera, there won't be a lizard, monkey or snake in sight!

Perhaps to make up for the afternoon's oversight, I took the camera with me this evening (with memory card) and took my first betel nut beauty photo:

 

I wasn't going to post this as I don't think it's that good, but my wife likes it!

日曜日の午後

On a Sunday afternoon that was overcast and threatening to rain, my wife, my daughter and I drove up to Chung-cheng Park to go for a stroll in the hills. Amber had a lot of fun walking up the road backward, racing her mother, looking at flowers and bugs and petting dogs. Further enjoyment was had at the park where we stopped off on the way home so that she could play on the swings and slides. Life can be pretty good when you're three years old.

 

Fallen blossoms from a Tung Tree

 

I don't know the name of this kind of wasp, but it paralyzes spiders and tarantulas, and uses their bodies as food for its young. We watched as the wasp dragged off its unfortunate victim

 

Amber amassed a collection of leaves on the walk up

 

A Washington Nationals cap and a Sacramento Kings T-shirt? Dad sure knows how to pick a winner!

 

An attractive but unknown (to us) variety of purple flower

 

Amber made several canine friends this afternoon. We've been teaching her to ask the owners for permission first before petting their dogs.

I Like Misty Water, I Like Fog and Haze...

References to obscure Kinks songs aside, I like walking in misty mountains ("Misty Mountain Hop" is too obvious). Though the sky over the central mountains looked ominously dark as I was leaving Fengyuan 豐原 shortly before noon, I pressed on to Dakeng. Riding up the winding mountain road towards the No. 3 trailhead, the still-wet road surface and the water streaming down the usually-dry riverbed suggested that it was raining higher up in the fog-shrouded mountain. I decided, however, that barring thunder and lightning, I would go through with the planned climb. Soon after I started my ascent, two hikers coming down told me it was raining at the top but, as it turned out, I never got wet. The fog was thick and the steps were slick, but I never had to take the rain poncho out of my backpack. In fact, as I was nearing the start of the No. 4 trail along the ridgetop (about 90 minutes into the hike), the sun burst through and remained with me all the way back down the mountain and to my parked scooter, two hours and 45 minutes later.

A little surprisingly, there were others out there despite the less than ideal weather conditions. Hiking during the week is much better than doing so on the weekends, and not only because there are fewer people on the trails between Monday and Friday. On Saturdays and Sundays (and national holidays), the Dakeng trails are crowded with weekend hikers, and with them, the vendors and KTV shacks. Large groups of people are continually going up and down on those days, and lets just say that not all of them truly appreciate the show that nature is staging. While the noise levels are tolerable, it's much harder to put up with the comments and remarks directed at and about the hairy barbarian hiking in their midst.

Weekdays, in contrast, bring out the solitary walkers like myself. By and large, these folks don't seem to be unduly surprised to find a foreigner out there also enjoying the mountains. A quick greeting, and then they continue on their way, which is the way it should be. It's certainly much better than being the source of amusement for some children and their parents, or a chance for some guy to impress his girlfriend.

As for that Kinks song:

Happy Easter

My daughter had her first Easter egg hunt this morning. Locating dye for hard-boiled eggs was out of the question, and chocolate Easter bunnies were nowhere to be found (at least not in small cities in central Taiwan), but a half-dozen Kinder Surprises hidden in the living room compensated nicely.

Christmas and Easter in this household are secular activities. I was baptized into the Anglican Church as a child but I don't consider myself a Christian, and my wife doesn't concern herself with Buddhist or Taoist activities. We'll leave it up to Amber to decide for herself what (or what not) to believe when it comes to matters of faith. No cults though, please!