August 2011 Archives - A Cruising Couple

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Nanliao Fishing Port: Exploring Hsinchu

Aug 312011

Sunday we had blistering winds and gloomy weather that made traveling on the scooter a little less than desirable for us newbies. Monday we had the day off of work for a typhoon day, but the typhoon ended up bypassing us all together. I don’t even think we had any rain actually. This was good news to us, especially since we didn’t take any of the advice to stalk up on essentials or board up our 17th story windows. Even better,we used the free day to make up for our lost Sunday.

Our destination: the Nanliao Fishing Port, about ten minutes from our apartment in Hsinchu City. Nanliao is at one end of Hsinchu’s 17km Coastal Scenic Area, and although lacking good beaches, there’s a bike path along the entire coastal area that passes through mangrove trees and bird watching areas. Even though the weather was still pretty gloomy, the cloudiness made it much cooler, so we thought an afternoon of bike riding would be absolutely fantastic.

Unfortunately, our bike ride didn’t go quite as expected. We rented our tandem ($8 for the entire day, so take that Napa Valley and your $50 per bike fee!) and started out on the scenic coastal path. However, it wasn’t long before we were stopped by the ‘coastal authorities’ and told that the path was in fact closed for the typhoon that never came. Well, they told our Taiwanese friends. O yea, so before all this happened, two 15-year old girls adopted us and took it upon themselves to show us all that Nanliao had to offer. They picked us up in their four-person bike cart, brought us to the bike rental place, lead us to the coastal path, and did their best to convince the authorities to let us pass by the blocked-off area. When that didn’t quite work out, we switched plans and they accompanied us back to the Hsinchu Fishing Harbor for a seafood dinner, where of course the girls did all the ordering. Basically they were our personal tour guides, and we had a pretty good afternoon hanging out with our new friends who spoke just enough English to giggle at everything we said and throw out questions like “You in love?” and “Oooo, so have a baby?”. Not quite sure why they decided to pick us up in the first place, but they were adorable nonetheless.

We will definitely be back to Nanliao on a sunnier day. We want to actually bike the entire 17km path, attempt to take pictures of Nanliao’s famous sunsets, and try out a popular pizza joint. Good thing it’s closer to our home than the schools where we teach!

Day 4: Buddha

Aug 312011

Buddha statue at the Chenghuang Temple (Hsinchu City of God Temple).

Day 3: Taiwan Traffic

Aug 302011

Just another scooter whizzing by as we get off of work.

Day 2: Nanliao Fish

Aug 292011

We found these guys chillin’ at the Nanliao Fishing Harbor. That’s as fresh as they come.

365 Photo Project: Day 1: Lion Guarding Temple

Aug 282011

We were looking for an art store today, but instead we stumbled upon a lively temple. Not sure what the name of it is, but the lion guards are similar to those at temples across Taiwan. Pretty ferocious, isn’t he?

This post is part of the 365 Photo Project. For more information, click here

Hsinchu Flower Market Exploration

Aug 252011

We love our apartment. It’s spacious and clean, we live above a convenient store, and we have a pool and gym at our disposal. But with all the white walls and lack of décor we decided we needed something to make it feel a little homier. I voted for a puppy, but since Dan wasn’t having any of that, we settled on a plant. So, what better place to buy a plant than the local Hsinchu flower market?
Hsinchu’s Flower Market is the place to be on a late Sunday afternoon. The market is similar to other Taiwanese street markets, with the flower portion really only taking up about 1/4 of the whole thing. The rest of the market could be compared to a state fair back home, with food, games and shopping. While there aren’t any fried Twinkies or Krispy Kreme burgers, there is plenty of other cuisine to choose from that will expand your waistline all the same. Fried eggs, fried squid, hot dogs deep fried in French fries, and the ever so ominous stinky tofu are just a few of the popular selections. For the more health conscious, there are also fresh juices and smoothies available, made from your fruit cup preference.

No street market is complete without carnival games, and the Hsinchu Flower Market has its fair share. One of the most popular is the ‘fishing’ game, where you pay about a dollar in exchange for a net and the chance to scoop up a fish. And let us say that it is way harder than it looks! Dan gave it a go, but those little nets are deceitfully flimsy, and the tissue paper gives way almost immediately as it hits the water.

If you’re not interested in eating or playing games, there is plenty of shopping to be had. The options range from clothing and kitchen supplies to turtles and puppies. And if having so many options stresses you out, there is street-side acupuncture to relieve all that tension!

Although we did get a little sidetracked from our original goal, we made it back to the plant section of the market eventually. Truth be told, Dan can’t recall any of his professors ever mentioning a particular flora that grows best indoors, which made choosing what to buy quite difficult. But after twenty minutes of indecisiveness and playing charades with the salespeople to find out what we could actually keep alive, we settled on an orchid. And for only around $8 US dollars! I think that’s pretty good, right?

Whether actually looking for a plant or not, the Hsinchu Flower Market is definitely a good way to pass a couple of hours, although you probably won’t need more than that. It is located next to the Glass Blowing Museum and Hsinchu Zoo, and while there might be a bus, the best way to get there is by taxi or scooter. We’ve heard mornings are the best time to go, and the market is only open on Saturdays and Sundays.

Our First Taiwan Post: Taipei!

Aug 172011

After nearly three months of being married, we can finally say that we aren’t living out of a suitcase! We’ve officially settled ourselves in Hsinchu and this week commences the beginning of our year as ‘laoshi’, or teacher. We’re only teaching English for four hours a day, but since we’re just getting started those four hours really translate into about six hours of planning, four hours of struggling through lessons. But more on that as we actually get a few more teaching days under our belt! For now we must rewind nearly a month to our arrival in Taiwan.

We rolled into Taipei after a long but uneventful flight, and made our way to the Happy Family Hostel. The staff was extraordinary, and didn’t complain about the heaps of luggage we brought with us, or the fact that we decided to stay for four nights although we had only reserved one. We also Couchsurfed with an awesome Taiwanese couple who put us up in their gorgeous apartment with great rooftop views. After not really knowing what we were eating for a few days, it was quite a relief to have locals navigate the night market cuisine for us!

With about a week to enjoy the city before our 9-day intensive training program began, we tried to take full advantage of seeing all the sights Taipei had to offer. We must admit, at first we weren’t sure how we felt about Taiwan. It took about an hour to find food everyday (and it still does) due to the communication barrier. It was also really really really stinkin’ hot. And, for some reason, everything we kept looking for in our trustworthy Lonely Planet didn’t actually exist.

But somehow, throughout the week, whatever reservations we had totally disappeared, and we were pretty sad to say goodbye to Taipei by the end of our three weeks in the capital city. So, without further ado, here are some of the highlights from our week before training.

2-28 Peace Park

On February 28, 1947, a massacre known as the 228 Incident heralded the beginning of Taiwan’s martial-law era. This park (actually the oldest park in Taipei) is now dedicated to the memory of those massacre victims, and a large steel monument stands in the center as commemoration. It is a great place to walk around, taking in the quietness while watching Taiwanese practice taichi.

Temples

Longshan Temple

Confucius Temple

Longshan Temple Again

Xingtian Temple

Confucius Temple Again

Taiwan is a primarily Buddhist nation, and temples to various gods are present all over the city. It’s pretty amazing to see traditional places of worship nestled amongst high-rise complexes and international chains such as Starbucks; regardless of religious beliefs, no trip to Taipei is complete without visiting at least a few of the numerous temples. The Confucius Temple is devoted to the memory of Confucius, China’s greatest teacher, and offers free tours and classes to further the tradition of education. This temple values simplicity, and lacks some of the adornment popular in other temples. The Longshan Temple is one of Taipei’s oldest, and dates back to 1738. It is a multi-denominational temple worshipping Buddhist, Taoist and Matsu deities. The Xingtian Temple is one of Taipei’s busiest, and is dedicated to Guangong, the god of war and martial arts. At many of the temples in the city you’ll find people praying with long incense sticks and leaving food for the gods. It is also common to see people throwing small oracle blocks to the ground. This is a method of fortune telling, in which ‘yes/no’ questions can be answered via the way the blocks land.

Danshui

Danshui is located along the river just north of Taipei City. We spent an afternoon maneuvering through the bustling Gongming St and waterfront walkway, where street vendors, performers and carnivalesque games are plentiful. After we had enough of the crowds, we took the ferry over to Fisherman’s Wharf, famous for its sunsets. Unfortunately, we missed the sunset and didn’t escape the throngs of people, but the trip was still worth the glimpse of Taipei’s nightly glow from the river and the stately bridge pictured on the Taipei metro passes (and above).

Sun Yat-sen Memorial

Sun Yat-sen is considered the founder of modern China, and this building serves as a memorial as well as a social and educational center. There is a pretty good museum that provides information on Dr. Sun, although little of it is in English. We also happened to catch the changing of the guards, which was surprisingly worth stopping to watch.

Chiang Kai-shek Memorial

The Taiwanese people have a sort of love-hate relationship with Chiang Kai-shek. To really understand the late President and Dictator it’s best to do some research on the politics of Taiwan. For now, the controversial memorial with the colossal Chiang Kai-shek statue still stands, and a visit to the hall is a must. The grounds are gorgeous and include the National Theatre and National Concert Hall, and the area is popular amongst locals looking to relax.

National Palace Museum

We don’t normally do museums, but the National Palace Museum actually made our busy itinerary, and we’re glad so glad it did. The museum has the world’s largest collection of Chinese art, liberated from China before the KMT came to Taiwan (again, we won’t go into Taiwanese politics..just do a google search). Some of the pieces date back thousands of years into Chinese history, including Buddhist artifacts inherited from the Forbidden City. We’ve heard that locals like to joke: “If China ever attacks Taiwan, run to the National Palace Museum…they won’t bomb there because we have all their national treasures”. Good to know…we guess!

Food

Crunchy Noodles in a Hot Dog Bun….. Weird

Dumplings Covered in Seaweed

Beef Noodles: National Dish of Taiwan!!!

Delicious Egg Thing We Found in the MRT Station

Some Kind of Chicken Dish

Food has been kind of hit-or-miss for us so far. We won’t go into the details as there will be much more to come on food throughout the year, but above are some of the more delicious meals we’ve had throughout our time in Taipei.

Hiking

One of the great things about Taipei is that in a matter of minutes you can get away from the hustle and bustle of the city and escape to the surrounding natural areas. We originally went in search of Elephant Mountain, supposedly a great place to take pictures. As usual, we didn’t end up where we had planned, but the hike was absolutely beautiful with incredible views of Taipei City. Plus, while most Taiwanese hiking tends to be more like stair climbing, we found a great place to climb up the side of the mountain using ropes. It got much steeper and rugged than displayed in the picture!

Tea House

Step 1: Insert tea leaves into tiny teapot.

Step 2: Pour boiling hot water into teapot.

Step 3: Wait 35 the first round, 45 the second, 50 the third.

Step 4: Pour the freshly brewed tea through the filter. Makes about 4 (very small) cups.

Step 5: Pour the fresh tea from the pretty teapot into your personal teacup and ENJOY!

This Oolong Tea was enjoyed from Maokong, where views of Taipei City are stunning and teahouses plentiful. Definitely a romantic spot for couples at night!

So there you have it! Taipei for beginners…or should we say Taipei 101! (badoom cha :-p) We’re already in love with Taiwan, and we can’t wait to share all the new and exciting things we learn throughout our year here!