Beth's parents came to visit the over Thanksgiving, and joined us the weekend before for the dinner sponsored by the American Institute in Taiwan (essentially the American embassy) for Fulbright scholars. On Saturday, I set off with Beth and her mom up Yangmingshan. Beautiful weather and incredible scenery! (Note the Chinese characters engraved in the rock that have been mossed over.)
We took a bus up the mountain and hiked for a little bit at a waterfall. What is impressive about national parks in Taiwan is the access. People were climbing right up in, on and around these very slippery rocks right next to the waterfall. In America, that would have been roped off, for sure!
It was also pretty interesting that on nearly every flat surface, you would find an old person sleeping. We spotted this lovely pavilion amongst the trees, but as we got closer, we found that an old lady had camped out underneath it. With most, it was unclear if these were temporary shelters as they enjoyed the peace of nature, or semi-permanent encampments of a number of homeless people. I'm inclined to guess the first, as it was such a common picnic spot, but it was still very strange to walk up to a public area that felt as though it belonged to someone.
Then we followed a trail past these beautiful vantage points and arbors.
The views were really stupendous! And even though it was November, the weather was quite warm and pleasant. I think it really added to the whole day!
After walking down the trail, we arrived at the "Flower Clock." I had been particularly interested in finding it after discovering a sign that pointed the way, and when we got there it turned out to, indeed, be a large clock made of flowers. Still pretty cool, though!
Then, after hiking and exploring the park for quite a while, we walked down a hill and to the end of a drive just because it looked pretty, only to find the first house that Chiang Kai'shek lived in when he originally came to Taiwan. It was gated and seemed abandoned although possibly under renovations. It is currently part of an artists' residency complex.
And here is probably the gem of this weekend: we went to a club on Friday night but when we got there, it was closed. We couldn't figure out why, but met some people who told us that the police were in there and that it would open shortly. In the meantime we decided to go for a walk. When we got outside, all of the empty police cars were right there, so we decided to take a picture with the police cars. So after we caused what can only be assumed to be a scene, we turned around and realized that there was a police officer sitting in the car in front of us! Yikes!
Beth's parents came to visit the over Thanksgiving, and joined us the weekend before for the dinner sponsored by the American Institute in Taiwan (essentially the American embassy) for Fulbright scholars. On Saturday, I set off with Beth and her mom up Yangmingshan. Beautiful weather and incredible scenery! (Note the Chinese characters engraved in the rock that have been mossed over.)
We took a bus up the mountain and hiked for a little bit at a waterfall. What is impressive about national parks in Taiwan is the access. People were climbing right up in, on and around these very slippery rocks right next to the waterfall. In America, that would have been roped off, for sure!
It was also pretty interesting that on nearly every flat surface, you would find an old person sleeping. We spotted this lovely pavilion amongst the trees, but as we got closer, we found that an old lady had camped out underneath it. With most, it was unclear if these were temporary shelters as they enjoyed the peace of nature, or semi-permanent encampments of a number of homeless people. I'm inclined to guess the first, as it was such a common picnic spot, but it was still very strange to walk up to a public area that felt as though it belonged to someone.
Then we followed a trail past these beautiful vantage points and arbors.
The views were really stupendous! And even though it was November, the weather was quite warm and pleasant. I think it really added to the whole day!
After walking down the trail, we arrived at the "Flower Clock." I had been particularly interested in finding it after discovering a sign that pointed the way, and when we got there it turned out to, indeed, be a large clock made of flowers. Still pretty cool, though!
Then, after hiking and exploring the park for quite a while, we walked down a hill and to the end of a drive just because it looked pretty, only to find the first house that Chiang Kai'shek lived in when he originally came to Taiwan. It was gated and seemed abandoned although possibly under renovations. It is currently part of an artists' residency complex.
And here is probably the gem of this weekend: we went to a club on Friday night but when we got there, it was closed. We couldn't figure out why, but met some people who told us that the police were in there and that it would open shortly. In the meantime we decided to go for a walk. When we got outside, all of the empty police cars were right there, so we decided to take a picture with the police cars. So after we caused what can only be assumed to be a scene, we turned around and realized that there was a police officer sitting in the car in front of us! Yikes!
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