ELON On MOTHER'S DAY

ELON is a beautiful seaport town known for its awesome hotsprings and markets. We had a lovely experience with the Young family, my benefactors. The hotsprings were piped right into the hotel. A special room with built in bath was rented by the hour and was one of my happiest hours in Taiwan!

Demi comes to Taiwan

Demi, my best friend, visited me in Taiwan. While she was there we shopped, shopped and shopped and traveled a bit around Taiwan. We did so many things, including spending a day at Chunju's elementary school in Taibei. Top to bottom:
Demi is helping the student's complete their artwork. Demi is an Art Teacher in the US. Demi is sending letters home. That's a mailbox! Demi is drinking coffee to celebrate her Anniversary. You can see more pictures of our travels to Tyroko and Sun Moon Lake, as well as Pauli at http://www.flickr.com/photos/jrruby/

BoAn Temple, Taipei

BoAn Temple in Taipei is an interesting and complex temple. Many gods are represented and in this busy temple, one can learn much about the Taoist/Shinto practices. You can see more photos of BoAn temple at http://www.flickr.com/photos/jrruby/

Sun Moon Lake

Our second day of travel took us to Sun Moon Lake. Surrounded by green mountains, Sun Moon Lake is the is the largest natural lake in Taiwan. The Eastern part of the lake is round like the sun, while the Western part is shaped like a crescent moon - giving it the name "Sun Moon Lake". The lake is located in Central Taiwan. The beauty of Sun Moon Lake is found in the surrounding mountains. From the lake, tier upon tier of countless peaks can be seen rising up into the sky. The day was warm and the views spectacular, especially as sunset approached and the lake filled with multiple colors of orange and red. The lake has many trails and we took one that led us to a Pecock Farm. More pictures can be seen on my flickr account: http://flickr.com/photos/23521940@N07

Traveling to Sitou Forest

Last week my friends took Ruben and I on a fabulous trip to see some very special parts of central Taiwan. It is important to remember that Taiwan is quite small. 3 1/2 Taiwans can fit inside of Pennsylvania! So it is possible to drive around Taiwan in just one day, and with their fabulous high speed train, you could probably see the country in half a day! But there is so much to see and the weather and terrain change drastically from 12,000 foot high mountains to planes and oceans. It is a stunningly beautiful country and it is no wonder that it was given the name, Formosa (beautiful island) by a Spaniard who caught a glimpse of the isle from his ship.

Our first stop was Sitou Forest which is an experimental forest operated by the College of Bio Resources and Agriculture of the National Taiwan University. Giant trees,

such as giant cryptomerias and chamoecyparis, spruce, cedar and a pure ginko forest, green bamb
oo, winding trails, wildlife, including over 7,000 species of birds, gorgeous scenery and fresh air all abound in this ever-cool retreat. My favorite part of Sitou forest was walking the 180 meter skyway nestled among the treetops, over 7 floors above the ground. I loved looking down on the world below and feeling a part of the treetop community of birds, leaves and branches.



The landmark of Shitou Forest is the man made University Pond. It was originally created to keep logs moist, but has since become a haven to frogs. Here I am hamming it up at the crest of the bridge. You can see more photos on my Flickr site at http://flickr.com//photos/23521940@N07

Contemporary Taipei

This site provides an interesting look at contemporary Taipei and its future. Author Douglas McGray, with photographer, Michael Wolf, visit the city of Taipei searching for its future. They meet many characters along the way, eat a variety of "interesting" local foods and visit many sites. In the pages, I found a very real look at the Taipei I am experiencing. There is depth and long tentacles to the past, resulting in unique creative expression in all directions.

Check out the site below to read the story and enjoy the pics, but be patient..it takes some time to read, but is well worth the wait.

http://nytimes.com/indexes/2008/03/30/style/t/index.htm#pageName=30taipeiw 

Five Cent Driftwood House

The Five-Cent Driftwood House was designed, built and turned into a living sculpture by artist, Li-hsiang Hsieh. Her style is defined through the transformation of varied ad unique building materials into remarkable homes and restaurants is one that is filled with intrigue and magic. She does not call herself an architect and has never received any formal training, not even in art, yet since she was a child she has been putting sticks and found objects together. Building and sculpting is part of the rhythm or her life. I was so amazed by the Five-Cent Driftwood House in Taipei that the food which was beautifully prepared and presented on handmade pottery created by Hsieh, was of less importance to me. Every surface inside and outside of the structure is decorated with sculptural surfaces, artifacts, sculptures and painting. It is all handmade, on location, by Hsieh. This is one of four existing restaurants in Taiwan, all individually created by Hsieh. Please check out my flickr page at http://flickr.com/photos/23521940@N07 for more images. Check out Hsieh's site for additional information at her goals and four restaurants. http://www.five-dime.com.tw.