The Taipei Grand Trail (TGT) goes around Taipei City in a huge 130 km circle, of which 92 km is hiking, and 38 km is cycling. Well worth doing! The scenery is stunning, the views are extensive, the paths are … Continue reading 臺北大縱走 Taipei Grand Trail 2023!
“Nothing in the cry of the cicada suggests they are about to die” やがてしぬけしきはみえずせみのこゑMatsuo Basho, Japan (1690) What a great attitude to have, and especially in the midst of a pandemic! Follow the way of the cicada. Live life as … Continue reading Cicada Summer: Update from Taiwan 😷
It’s high summer in Taiwan, exhaustively hot and humid, and the best outdoor place to escape the heat is up in the mountains, where there’s a breeze and some shade. So, up to Yang-ming-shan National Park 陽明山 (the mountains above Taipei) we all go ~ there’s a range of 10 mountains up there to choose from, and endless trails and places to walk, meet, chill, relax and enjoy the breeze. And today on Mian-tian-shan 面天山 (Mt Mian-tian: 977 m) there was a s.n.a.k.e.😨 🐍🐍 😨 Snakes are common in Taiwan, but they usually move very fast, and, well, nobody hangs … Continue reading Chilling up on Yang-Ming-Shan 陽明山: 🐍 Taiwan Habu / Brown Spotted Pit Viper / 龜殼花蛇!🐍 Or is it?
Yes, at last, I’ve found them! The cattle of YangMingShan are smelt long before they are seen ~ the smell of ‘cow’ is everywhere in Qingtiangang especially on the grasslands, and there’s cowpats and muddy trails and hoof-prints all over. But often the cattle themselves are nowhere to be found. I’ve been up there twice recently and not a cow in sight. But yesterday, there they all were, taking it easy – with the egrets perched on their backs, chewing the cud, yes! YangMingShan is the mountain range on the northern side of Taipei City, highest point 1,120m above sea … Continue reading The Cattle of YangMingShan 陽明山, Taipei
Thought you might to see what I found chilling today at St. John’s University ~ a Batocera rubus albofasciata, otherwise known as a Mango Longhorn Beetle ~ looks kinda handsome but turns out to be a pest, as it bores into trees and munches its way through them…. Turns out to be quite common in Taiwan, but if even one turns up in Europe, it’s a mega-crisis, with special monitoring in place….. Beauty ‘n the Beast? Here they’re combined in one ~ ah, the Beauty of a Beast! Continue reading Beauty of a Beast…
Crossing the A66 yesterday on my way from Dewsbury, West Yorkshire to West Kilbride, on Scotland’s west coast ~ and called in at Mainsgill Farm. Been past this place many times in the last few months and noticed camels and llamas in the front field ~ kinda seems strange for the Pennines! But hey, it’s a great place with lots of farm animals, many with babies on show or eating away, and ignoring the visitors! Great place for a coffee break, and to say hi to the animals! Continue reading Mainsgill Farm, N. Yorkshire
Check out these geese and sheep at the farm this afternoon…. And check out these views from up on Winder – sometimes the rain gives way to a beautiful rainbow, and this afternoon this was it! Goodbye to Sedbergh tomorrow ~ off down south! Continue reading Just an ordinary afternoon in Sedbergh….
Yep, there’s currently 1,600 of them right there in central Taipei – and only a few minutes walk from where the the student protesters are occupying the Legislature. Such contrasting scenes – but all involve large numbers and a lot of sitting around, which is what both the students and the pandas are doing… Pandas World Tour started with the World Wildlife Fund and the number 1,600 is reckoned to be how many real live pandas there are, 3 of which are in Taipei Zoo – baby panda Yuan-Zai is Taiwan’s latest ‘cute’ obsession. So this world tour comes at … Continue reading Pandas World Tour hits Taipei!
Taipei Zoo’s baby panda Yuan Zai 圓仔 is charming the whole country, but she doesn’t half like to sleep ha ha! Queues and queues of people (limited to 19,200 per day) have lined up to see her for 10 minutes of viewing time during the Chinese New Year holiday as she made her public debut, and there she is (or not, if she’s often hiding) fast asleep…. Taipei Metro kindly shows the current panda viewing times and available tickets on electronic noticeboards on some of its platforms around the city – and so there it was that I came to be in … Continue reading Yuan Zai 圓仔 Baby Panda ~ so gorgeous (and awake!)
Catherine Lee 