Yes, said a fond farewell to Sanzhi 三芝 this week – the town / district where I’ve been living for the past 3 years ~ and of course said a sad (!) farewell to all the termites who had seriously taken over my house – and my life!   This photo below shows where I was living in Sanzhi – in this vast housing estate of flats / apartments  ~ and it was great!  I was on the ground floor facing into the central area of the estate.  Lovely neighbours ~ and very safe, central and convenient for buses and shopping.  The building next door, on the right, used to be a bowling alley, now it’s a large shop selling everything, and very reasonably priced.

Sad really that I moved, cos I like Sanzhi (well, in spring, summer and autumn!) especially the early morning walks along the river, watching kingfishers, water lilies, lotus flowers, enjoying the mountains and fresh air ~ and the nearness to the sea.   My farewell tour on Wednesday evening was to the local scenic spot – the lighthouse at Fugueijiao 富貴角, on Taiwan’s northern tip, looking splendid in the sunshine – originally built in 1896, and only open to the public in recent years.

Now I’ve moved back to St. John’s University ~ which is officially part of Tamsui, not Sanzhi.  Actually I’ve moved my stuff back there, and I’m now staying in Good Shepherd Church, Shilin, Taipei for the next month – where I have 2 weeks of classes starting on July 30.  Shilin is an urban / suburban area of northern Taipei, famous for it’s night market, National Palace Museum and for the foreign community who live in the hills above Shilin, enjoing the cooler weather.  The church is at the other end of Shilin, near the river and on a main road full of traffic, but with nice sunsets like this one last night.  The mountain in the distance is Guanyinshan 觀音山, over at the end of the Tamsui river, and the large round building in the foreground is part of Yang-Ming High School across the road…

And the local scenic landmark in Taipei is of course Taipei 101.  Must go, must see!  Today the weather forecast was rain, and as I write this, it is pouring down ~ but this morning the rain stopped for a few hours, the sun came out and I took this photo from Elephant Mountain (Xiangshan 象山), behind Taipei 101.  The best views of Taipei are to be had up there, and from the mountains behind too – but oh so hot and humid to climb in the summer.  Worth it for the views though, can see for miles!

And why have I moved? Well, I’m off to the UK in mid-August for 6 months ‘home leave’, and the plan is that when I come back to Taiwan, all being well in February 2019, then I can live once again at St. John’s University – though in a different place than I was in before I moved to Sanzhi.  In case you’re wondering, no I’m not moving because of the termites, I think I’d become quite fond of them 😉😉….  and anyway they give me a good illustration for tomorrow’s sermon. Thanks guys 😍😍!