Author: Catherine Lee

Taiwan3 Comments

Four Four South Village 四四南村, Taipei

Catherine Lee

There’s no escaping Taipei 101 ~ it towers over everything in the Xinyi District of Taipei ~ including the old military dependents’ village of Sisinan 四四南村 (Four Four South Village), which is high on the list for tourists, who love taking photos of Taipei 101 and in front of the coloured doors. The buildings have a lot of character…. But it’s really hard to get all of Taipei 101 and the old buildings in the photo – diagonal is the best! Ah yes, blue sky, warm temperatures, what a great autumn so far ~ and Taipei’s looking great! Continue reading Four Four South Village 四四南村, Taipei

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Street Art @ Ximending 西門町, Taipei

Catherine Lee

Ximending has long been THE trendiest area of Taipei for night life and street fashion ~ and of course Street Art.  I was there yesterday checking it out…. Just outside the main shopping area, down the back alleys of Kunming Street ~ and the walls are covered in graffiti of every kind.  Sometimes it’s just a section of the wall…. And sometimes the whole length of the wall…. It’s constantly changing, there’s new stuff appearing all the time, so what was there last year may have long gone by the time you get to go there again. Actually, I’m very … Continue reading Street Art @ Ximending 西門町, Taipei

Faith4 Comments

Cambodia: The Killing Fields & Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum

Catherine Lee

First a word of warning, this is not for the faint-hearted or those likely to have nightmares for days after.   If that is you, don’t read any further.  But if you can, do.  This is an important part of Cambodia’s tragic history, the legacy of which continues to affect the whole country, the region, even the world.  We need to know.  To learn.  To try to understand.  And to reflect and pray. The Cambodian genocide took place in my lifetime, when I was a teenager.  Most of the young men who joined Pol Pot and became part of the Khmer … Continue reading Cambodia: The Killing Fields & Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum

Travels4 Comments

Angkor Wat 吳哥窟 and Siem Reap 暹粒市, Cambodia ~ oh, and nice crunchy spider for dinner!

Catherine Lee

Think of all those historic buildings in the UK: Durham, Norwich and Exeter Cathedrals; Rochester, Windsor and Warwick Castles and even my lovely CMS link church at St. Andrew’s Church, Haughton, Darlington.  And what do they all have in common?  Well, they were all being built at roughly the same time as the Angkor Wat Temple Complex in Cambodia.  Now, how’s that for Interesting Fact Of The Day, eh? Angkor Wat has become such a symbol of Cambodia, that it appears on its national flag. How about this? Angkor Wat is considered to be the largest religious monument in the … Continue reading Angkor Wat 吳哥窟 and Siem Reap 暹粒市, Cambodia ~ oh, and nice crunchy spider for dinner!

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Taiwan’s North Coast Kite Festival 2017 @ Baishawan Beach 白沙灣, Shimen District ~ YES!

Catherine Lee

Privileged to live so close to one of northern Taiwan’s best beaches, and today is THE day!  Every year we have a kite festival on Baishawan Beach 白沙灣 in Shimen District 石門, with thousands of people, hundreds of kites, lots of sun and hopefully lots of wind.  This is the scene this afternoon, with the lighthouse on Taiwan’s northern tip in the far distance… Last year’s blog post about the kite festival 2016 is here.  This year’s kite festival is a bit different.  Although it’s being held all this weekend, in fact yesterday was a working day for most people … Continue reading Taiwan’s North Coast Kite Festival 2017 @ Baishawan Beach 白沙灣, Shimen District ~ YES!

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Ju Ming Sculpture Park and Museum 朱銘美術館, Jinshan, Taipei

Catherine Lee

A sunny Saturday afternoon in September and what better place to go than Ju Ming Sculpture Park, officially known as Ju Ming Museum and only 20 km from here round the northern coast, with stunning views over the sea and mountains.   This was the main entrance today… My first visit there was in November 2016 (see my blog post here) ~ and I was very impressed.  It houses all the incredible art work of Ju Ming 朱銘, the world famous Taiwanese sculptor, born in Miaoli, Taiwan in 1938. The park is big – and on a sunny day, it’s a bit … Continue reading Ju Ming Sculpture Park and Museum 朱銘美術館, Jinshan, Taipei

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Rainbow Grandpa and his Beautiful Rainbow Village 彩虹眷村!

Catherine Lee

Rainbow Village 彩虹眷村 on the outskirts of Taichung is such an amazing place – it’s easily the most attractive set of buildings in the whole of Taichung ~ YES! It’s the last remaining few houses of a Veterans Village, built for the old soldiers and their families who came to Taiwan after 1949. Most the houses are already gone, demolished and the land redeveloped, but old Mr. Huang (Huang Yong-Fu 黃永阜), known as ‘Rainbow Grandpa’ (彩虹爺爺), was not letting that happen to his village. Now aged 95, he decided to start painting the remaining houses a few years ago, and … Continue reading Rainbow Grandpa and his Beautiful Rainbow Village 彩虹眷村!

CMS3 Comments

Hot off the press ~ CMS Link Letter # 73!

Catherine Lee

In 1,400 words (that’s the CMS limit), my long silence on here has ended with the publication today of my latest Church Mission Society (CMS) Link Letter ~ click on this link below and it opens to a pdf document with words and photos describing why I’ve been silent for so long….. Catherine Lee 73 However, 1,400 words was not enough – and I had to leave much out.  Notably thanking certain people.  My family of course, and all those who offered support and prayers…. Next would be Alice from Mauritius who spent the summer here in Taiwan, staying in … Continue reading Hot off the press ~ CMS Link Letter # 73!