Three big Baiyue 百岳 mountains in one day ~ Nos. 34, 35 and 66 of THE list! The Baiyue list refers to the list of the ‘100 Peaks of Taiwan‘, the 100 were chosen from among Taiwan’s 260+ mountains which … Continue reading Hehuanshan 合歡山 Main Peak 主峰 (3,417m), East Peak 東峰 (3,421m) and Mt. Shimen 石門山 (3,237m)
Yes, the Alangyi Historic Trail 阿朗壹古道 is THE trail to hike! And especially when the sea and the sky are blue, blue, blue ~ like they were on Saturday ~ YES YES YES! The Alangyi Trail runs maybe 8-10 km … Continue reading Alangyi Historic Trail 阿朗壹古道 and Paiwan 排灣族 Harvest Festival 豐年祭 @ Nantian Village, Daren Township, Taitung 台東縣達仁鄉南田村, Taiwan
Otherwise subtitled, never underestimate the power of termites. Those horrible, terrible, awful, nightmarish creatures are eating their way through this country, ceiling by ceiling, house by house. So tiny, yet so powerful. Gobsmacking what they can do. So yes, finally the ceiling fell down. Yesterday. At 12 noon exactly. The living room ceiling, no less. This was the scene… The whole ceiling was put in 4 years ago – obviously and sadly by a cowboy builder who used cheap wood. And yes, the landlord deeply regrets asking him to do it. In those 4 years, the termites have managed to … Continue reading The day the ceiling fell down…
There’s a ton of graffiti-style street art in Taipei, mostly in Ximending ~ and with an hour to spare yesterday lunchtime I went over there to see what’s new. Lots of new stuff has appeared since I was last there, all dated 2018. This is a mishmash (sorry, artistic collage) of 29 photos of what’s there… Ximending at lunchtime is heaving with groups of young people and couples wheeling suitcases around, checking in and checking out of hotels ~ it’s THE place to stay for independent travelers from Hong Kong, Malaysia, Korea, Singapore etc. Lively by day, and even livelier … Continue reading Ximending 西門町 Street Art, Taipei
Kaohsiung is definitely my New Favourite City. Read this post I wrote in March to see why, and see the photos of the ‘Transformation by Colour’ that Kaohsiung is undergoing! Previously I hated the place, now I love it. Can’t … Continue reading Transformation by Colour Part 2 @ Kaohsiung 高雄 Street Art ~ and more!
Ah, Wulai. Think hot springs, cherry blossom and Atayal indigenous culture. And mountain scenery. And views… And, sadly, in the last few years, think typhoons too. Wulai has had more than its fair share of bad news. Most recently, “in August 2015, Wulai was devastated by Typhoon Soudelor, wiping out several hotels and destroying hot springs in the region. The course of the Nanshi River that passes through the district changed and the riverbank was eroded heavily by surging water. Heavy landslides were attributed to the overdevelopment of the mountain areas around the river which damaged the soil and watershed … Continue reading Escaping Taipei’s Heat up in Wulai 烏來!
Can’t quite believe it. 10 mountains. 10 hours of walking. 1 day. 25 km. 53, 437 steps. Highest point: 1,120 m. The WHOLE Yang-Ming Shan traverse. Up and down, and down and up all day long. Steep steep steep, but dry. No mud. A little sun. Perfect! All 10 mountain markers…. Yang-Ming Shan is the range of mountains above Taipei City. I’ve been up there many times and done the whole ‘traverse’ in sections before. This time last year, I did it all over 2 days (see that report here). This is the first time ever I’ve done the whole … Continue reading ‘陽明山東西大縱走活動’ ‘Yang-Ming Shan East-West Vertical Traverse’ 2018!
Prepare to be seriously uncomfortable. This museum is not for the faint-hearted. It is gruesome, horrible, degrading, and yet strangely compelling; all at the same time. The fact that it exists at all is a testament to the vision and determination of some of those who were incarcerated there and who were prepared to work hard to ensure its success. It is a must-visit kind of place. But only with a must-be-prepared state of mind to listen, learn and reflect. For here, in this place, you will come face to face with what man’s inhumanity to man means in real … Continue reading Jingmei Human Rights Memorial and Cultural Park 景美人權文化園區, Taipei
Taiwan’s outlying islands are all special, but the crown jewel of them all must surely be Lanyu! A tiny green dot in the middle of a vast blue ocean, and on a sunny day (or 3) wow, the island glimmers … Continue reading WOW! Lanyu 蘭嶼 Orchid Island, Taiwan
Catherine Lee 