Tag: Scenery

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Taiwan’s North Coast Kite Festival 2016 @ Baishawan Beach 白沙灣, Shimen District ~ YES!

Catherine Lee

Kites, kites and more kites ~ amazing kites, beautiful kites, fun kites, crazy kites, stunt kites, home-made kites, kites of every kind and from every where ~ and all on show at Taiwan’s annual North Coast Kite Festival, held ever year since the year 2000 at Baishawan Beach in Shimen, just near Taiwan’s northernmost point and lighthouse. Happens also to be only 5 minutes on a bus from where I live ~ YES! Last year, this last weekend of September was Mid-Autumn Moon Festival, and also a big typhoon was on its way, so although it was nice and windy … Continue reading Taiwan’s North Coast Kite Festival 2016 @ Baishawan Beach 白沙灣, Shimen District ~ YES!

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English Summer Camp @ Good Shepherd Church, Taipei ~ YES!

Catherine Lee

4 weeks of fun, 4 weeks of sun and heat (yes, not a typhoon in sight for 4 weeks, most unusual!), 4 weeks of u-biking along the river path from Tamsui to Taipei, and 4 weeks (well almost, Mondays to Thursdays, mornings only) of teaching a class of 20 lovely children, ages 7-10, lots of Bible stories, English and drama, ably assisted by one of our St. John’s University students, Tzu-Yang (Mark), who also traveled miles every day to get there.  Actually he’s just graduated and is awaiting notification of his 4-months military service, so he was free.  He brought along … Continue reading English Summer Camp @ Good Shepherd Church, Taipei ~ YES!

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Summer Time on Taiwan’s Northern Coast!

Catherine Lee

This week, the northern coast of Taiwan in the district of Shimen 石門 has been looking beautiful, and everyone is here to enjoy it! The Fugueijiao Lighthouse 富貴角燈塔 on Taiwan’s northern tip on Monday afternoon ~ and a huge number of large grasshoppers! The beach at Baishawan 白沙灣 yesterday… And the harbour at nearby Linshanbi 麟山鼻and the coastline also yesterday….. Many tourists, visitors and locals are here making the most of it all ~ come and see it all for yourselves ~ it’s a great place! Continue reading Summer Time on Taiwan’s Northern Coast!

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Beautiful people and places of Dadu 大肚 and Changhua 彰化 ~ Thank you Rebecca 劉恩渝 and all the family!

Catherine Lee

Such a fun day, and we got to go on the new skywalk ~ YES! In September 1999, I started working at St. James’ Church, Taichung, about the same time as St. James had a new church administrator, Rebecca Liu.  We shared the church office together, along with Rev. Charles C. T. Chen, the rector of St. James’ Church.  Rebecca was our right-hand person, always so willingly on hand to do whatever needed doing whenever it was needed, and she was always always so lovely! At Chinese New Year 2000, Rebecca kindly invited me to her home for the Liu … Continue reading Beautiful people and places of Dadu 大肚 and Changhua 彰化 ~ Thank you Rebecca 劉恩渝 and all the family!

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From Taipei by train along the Pingxi Line 平溪線!

Catherine Lee

This is definitely my new favourite thing to do in the Greater Taipei area!  Must-go, must-see, must-ride on that train!  Just look at the kind of view you’ll have! Two weeks ago, the day after Typhoon Nepartak, in a mix of drizzle, rain, torrential rain, and overcast skies, with my 2 lovely visitors from the UK and 4 of our wonderful students, I spent the day on the Pingxi Line, and it was fun!  It was cool after the typhoon, but dull and overcast.  On that day we spent all our time at Shifen 十分, and then went to Jiufen 九份.  But … Continue reading From Taipei by train along the Pingxi Line 平溪線!

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Round-Taiwan Tour with Nicky and Harriet ~ YES!

Catherine Lee

Yep, we’ve done a whole circuit of Taiwan this past week ~ ‘n what a beautiful country! Nicky and Harriet, my 2 lovely visitors from one of my CMS Link Churches, St. John’s, Neville’s Cross, Durham, UK, had already been here a week, based in Taipei, and so this was the chance for them to see a little of this beautiful island ~ Ilha Formosa (‘Beautiful Isle’, the name given by Portuguese sailors), otherwise known as….. Taiwan! Last Monday, July 11, when we set off, southern Taiwan was still reeling from Typhoon Nepartak which had wreaked havoc a few days … Continue reading Round-Taiwan Tour with Nicky and Harriet ~ YES!

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Welcoming Nicky and Harriet to Taiwan ~ YES!

Catherine Lee

And not a dull moment since they arrived either ~ the two of them are just so hilarious, it’s non-stop entertainment all day long! Harriet was here in Taiwan with her dad, Mike 2 years ago (see that blog post here) just after finishing her GCSE’s, and now she’s just done her A Levels and waiting for results, so hey, what a great opportunity to come back ‘n visit Taiwan!  And this time she’s come with her mum, Nicky ~ all the way from one of my great CMS link churches, St. John’s, Neville’s Cross, Durham, UK. So we’ve been everywhere … Continue reading Welcoming Nicky and Harriet to Taiwan ~ YES!

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合歡西北峰 Hehuanshan North (3,422m) and West (3,145m) Peaks ~ must see, must do!

Catherine Lee

AND we lived to tell the tale ~ and all still smiling, just! Can’t believe I’ve never been to Hehuanshan ever before, because it’s just, oh so famous! It’s Taiwan’s highest road, linking west and east coasts, and gets heavy snow in winter ~ so it’s become a major tourist destination especially for families wanting to show their children some real snow.  And in summer the place is full of flowers, and it’s lovely and cool.  End result is horrendous traffic jams all day every day.  But it’s so beautiful that who can deny people a chance to come and see … Continue reading 合歡西北峰 Hehuanshan North (3,422m) and West (3,145m) Peaks ~ must see, must do!

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To Keelung 基隆, the hard way….

Catherine Lee

Have bike.  Old bike.  Very old bike.  Old heavy bike.  Old heavy bike that only works in first gear.  Old heavy bike with big strong basket in front.  Good for shopping.  Good for going to market.  Old heavy bike needs to go to Keelung.  New owner lives in Keelung. New owner wants old heavy bike for shopping in local market.  But new owner cannot ride to Keelung. Dragon Boat Festival.  Day off.  4:30 am.  Dark.  Me in yellow.  Me on bike.  Very old heavy bike.  Setting off for Keelung.  In first gear.  First gear all the way to Keelung.  40+ … Continue reading To Keelung 基隆, the hard way….