Shuhong Lotus Park

There was a loud knock on my door at 6am this morning.  Being the paranoid person that I am, I immediately thought there was some emergency situation going on, which is fair considering we're in typhoon season over here in Taiwan.  However, it was not an emergency, it was my dad, excited to no end, asking me if I wanted to go see the Lotus flowers bloom at a park in the city.


Not having any time to wake up and process the request (having gone to sleep at 2am, I was feeling like I was hit by a train for the lack of sleep), I reluctantly agreed and got dressed.  We were out the door not 30 minutes later, and after a bus and two line transfers on the subway, we arrived at Sanchong station, located in West Taipei.  Sanchong is pretty much deserted at this time, which gave us a good opportunity to take some of the cool artwork on the subway walls.  This is what I love about Taipei - artwork is everywhere.

 The temple, the temple, the temple's on FIRE!!!Tile artwork at Sanchong Station. 

Awesome dragon.

The area had been developed over the past two decades, before that time, West Taipei used to be farmland (think what Richmond Hill used to be).  Near the station (about a 3 minute cab ride) is Shuhong Lotus Park.  You have to cross a large elevated walkway to get there...it's quite intimidating (see below):

Now, before you start thinking this is a huge space devoted to the Lotus flower, I would like to set expectations by saying that it is more like a pond full of Lotus flowers and lilypads.  Nonetheless, they are beautiful.


The pond probably would take a regular person 10 minutes to circumnavigate.  All around this path are great opportunities to take photos of the magnificent Lotus flower in bloom.  Pink flamingo-like flowers are contrasted by the neon green leaves - stunning for photos that you can later use as Facebook cover photos.  Here are a few of my favourites:

Lone pink island in a sea of green.

Pond reflections.

On a clear day...

Water drops on lillypads.

Overlooking Shuhong Lotus Park

So the lesson here is, listen to dad.  He has good ideas once in a while.  While I'm still groggy as I type in this blog post, I am fortunate enough to have been inspired by such beauty so early in the morning and lucky that the weather this morning was absolutely stunning (considering it's been raining five days straight).


Speaking of being surrounded by beauty, there is one more photo I'd like to share along with one of my favourite scenes from American Beauty.  It is true that beauty is everywhere.  In the rush of your day, you often miss these amazing sights, I certainly did.  But now, a simple red bridge can make me pause and appreciate the moment and what I am looking at.

My beauty moment of the day.  The symmetry, the emptiness, the light...it all worked.

And I felt like this crazy from American Beauty...

   

Reflections of a month and half in Taipei

I'm lacking a bit of focus today as I am hungover and in a frenzy trying to pack for my trip to Tibet.  Hopefully, sitting down and writing down my experiences so far in Taipei will help me regain some focus and kill some time as I wait for my laundry to dry.


It was March 2nd that I left Toronto.  Sitting on that plane, I wasn't sure if the queazy feeling was the excitement of leaving my life behind or from the three gin and tonics that I had with dinner.  I was coming back to Taipei for the fifth time in my adult life but this time, for a longer stay than my past four visits combined.  


My first couple of days here, I was determined to relax - the weeks leading up to my departure were packed with dinners with friends, packing up my place and making sure all of my affairs were in order before I left.  I can safely say that I was more useless than a three dollar bill - all I did was eat, sleep, shower and more sleep.


Living with my family here has made me really appreciate my Taiwanese roots.  I've never had dinners with family back in Canada, but here, I sit down with my grandmother, my dad, my stepmom, and various extended family members every single night.  We have great conversations over dinner that is prepared by my grandmother's maid, Tina, and the food is incredible.  All the dishes are my grandmother's recipes and since she's too old to cook up a storm anymore, she's passed them all to Tina, who's skill to replicate them is beyond words.  And of course, with dinner, everyone drinks.  Shit, I thought I drank a lot when I worked at advertising, I think I've in fact drank more here than I did back in Toronto.  

Mmm...Liquid dinners.

With all this food and drinking, my clothes were quietly hinting to me that I needed to get my ass to the gym.  I think I heard my jeans scream during my second week here - they weren't kidding around when they named them skinny jeans.  I first started running outside, but with March / April weather consisting of rain, followed by more rain, I started searching for indoor facilities.  Thankfully, my dad helped me find a city government gym that is a bus ride away and a really cheap monthly pass - 1500 NTD ($50 CDN) for 30 visits.  I think when I come back in September, I'll try one of the other locations as they all have different and cool facilities - my gym had a rock climbing wall and archery court, the one near my grandmother's place has a gun range.  Not sure how firing a gun counts as a workout, but I shouldn't judge.

My gym pass - 30 for 30!  That's dedication.

Besides the gym, I spend most of my days wandering around or grabbing a coffee at Starbucks and reading a nice book.  I've read five books since I've been here (which is more reading than I've done in the past year alone) and had a chance to re-read one of my favourite books ever, The Chinese In America by Iris Chang.  A well-written account of the three massive immigrations of the Chinese people over to the US and the struggles of the Chinese people after immigrating.  I'm a sucker for history books and this one merged my love of history with trying to learn more about my roots.


I've learned a lot about my own roots by going through old family albums and having great one-on-one chats with my grandmother.  She's old, but still as sharp as any one my age.  She's such an incredible woman, having raised five children, she worked full-time (which was uncommon for women back in the day), she's well educated and she's a firecracker - always telling jokes and laughing but also pretty quick to scold you when you do something wrong.  She's an incredibly generous woman - always making sure if you have had enough to eat or if you needed anything, I can see where my father learned that trait.  I'm glad I've had the time to spend with her, as she's been a key part of me discovering and piecing together the history of my dad's side of the family.


I've had a chance to travel by myself to Kenting and see the sights and sounds of south Taiwan.  I survived and much to my surprise, my Mandarin isn't as bad as I thought, being fully able to communicate with the hotel staff, taxi drivers, and other tourists.  Having hiked for about four and a half hours on my second day in Kenting, I was awestruck by the beauty of the south coast, in particular the cliffs of Maobitou and the neon green seaweed at White Sands Beach.

Breathtaking White Sands Beach

I haven't been very homesick, but it's always great to hear from friends.  Many thanks to those who I've spoken to over Skype and to Franky, who mailed me a card - my first and only piece of mail here in Taipei!

Letters are fun!

There's so much left in Taiwan to explore and I hope to do that when I return for a couple of weeks in late May and then in mid-August.  If my last month and a half have been as great as this, I can't imagine what three months in the fall will be like - especially when I start up my Mandarin lessons.  Reading and writing Mandarin will be a fun challenge to conquer and to be a student again, that will also be a fun challenge to face.  


I leave on a plane tomorrow for a new adventure - Tibet.  I am sure I'll see even more things that will open my eyes and arouse all my senses.  I face another big challenge - being disconnected from the world.  No phone, no laptop, no internet, NO FACEBOOK.  Let's see how much fun my dad will have dealing with a Facebook junkie going through withdrawl.  I must google "internet cafe Lhasa" before I depart.


Alright...back to packing...

I can only procrastinate so much.

A fun day on the Maokong Gondola

Making your own schedule is a lot of fun.  Yesterday, I took advantage of my empty afternoon and decided to go for a ride on the Maokong Gondola in the southeastern part of Taipei City.  Comprised of only four stations, the gondola stretches for about 4km along the mountain ranges surrounding Taipei.  For about $3 - $4.50 CDN, you get a return trip (depending on where you stop on the gondola line).  

The view of Taipei City from
the Gondola

From Taipei Zoo station to Maokong Station takes about 12 minutes - sit back and enjoy the spectacular views and the heights you'll reach and dip throughout the ride.  There's only two stations that you would want to stop off and walk around - each walk around should take no more than an hour to see all the fun sites.

To really enjoy the ride, I suggest that one take a full trip up to Maokong first - there are also a special Gondola called Crystal Cabins that have a glass floor for you to have a great view of the jungle canopy below - you'll have to wait 15 to 20 minutes for those carts though, regular carts are every 30 seconds.  I didn't want to way, and besides, the regular gondolas provide great views anyway.

The tea plantations.

Maokong station has a great hiking trail that takes about 30 minutes to walk - provides great views of the countryside and the tea and rice plantations that climb up the mountain.  I have a phobia of mosquitos and there weren't that many up there, thankfully.  If you're a tea lover, there's plenty of tea houses and tea museums for you to visit.  If you're tired from all the walking, there are a series of great cafes along the hiking trails that have patios that overlook the sprawling metropolis below.

After your hike, take a rest at lookout point at the base of Maokong station - a breathtaking view of greenery is a great R&R stop before getting back onto the gondola.  Grab a drink and a bite to eat before hopping on the Gondola as there's no food consumption within the vehicles.

The Pagoda at Dachen

I suggest a stop by Zhinan Temple station, the first stop on the way down from the mountain.  Two Taoist temples flank the gondola station, one right when you get out of the exit and another about a 10 minute stroll down a hill.  Dachen Hall is marked by a gate and a pagoda at it's base.  But it is not as breathtaking as the Zhinan temple.  This temple sits at the edge of a mountain overlooking Taipei.  It is enormous, with large steps to climb and spacious temple rooms reserved for the statutes of Taoist faith.  

Make a small offering to the temple and stroll around the grounds taking in the smells of the incense, the notes hanging from the prayer trees.  Finally, take the time to stand by the white bannisters that hold you back from falling off the cliff to the city below and marvel at the juxtaposition of nature vs urban sprawl. 

Zhinan temple

Wandering around the grounds of the temple some more and you'll discover neat statutes, many more adorned prayer trees, large golden incense urns and beautiful exotic flowers and century old trees that wind its way around the architecture of the temple.

All in all, a great way to spend an afternoon - three to four hours of incredible sights of Taipei and its surroundings, and all for under $5.

Here are some other photos:

A view of Zhinan Temple from the Gondola with the Sunset.

A prayer tree

The Lanterns at Zhinan Temple