Tag: Scenery

St. John's University, Taiwan2 Comments

THE VIEW!

Catherine Lee

On Tuesday and Wednesday lunchtimes, up I ascend to the top floor (10th) of our highest building at St. John’s University to the Dept of Applied English for ‘chatroom’ classes ~ real live conversation in English which students can sign up for in one’s and two’s for an hour at a time…. Good exercise of course, walking up all those steps, and occasionally I’m rewarded with the most wonderful views at the top, like today…. in all directions! And great chat, of course ~ as always with lovely students! Continue reading THE VIEW!

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Fugueijiao Lighthouse 富貴角燈塔 now open to the public!

Catherine Lee

Just 5 minutes on a bus up the road from here in Sanzhi 三芝 and then a 1 km walk, and there is the northern tip of Taiwan, and the famous Fugueijiao Lighthouse.  It’s round the promontory from the Fuji Fishing Harbour, and hidden behind the army camp, but the big news is that the lighthouse grounds are now open to the public.  All day every day except Mondays, and the whole world has turned up to check it all out! The lighthouse was built in 1896 by the Japanese – the first one built by them after they arrived … Continue reading Fugueijiao Lighthouse 富貴角燈塔 now open to the public!

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Teapot Mountain 茶壺山 and Banpingshan 半平山 (半屏山) Ridge

Catherine Lee

What a place!  In its heyday, Jinguashi 金瓜石 was a very major happening kind of place, a gold rush town up in the mountains above Keelung on Taiwan’s NE coast with one of the world’s largest gold and copper mines ~ over 600 km of tunnels in and under those hills. During the Japanese era (1895-1945), it became the largest copper mine in the Japanese empire. But by the 1970’s it was all gone, the gold rush all finished.  As with all mining towns, so here – a tragic history of hard labour and terrible working and living conditions. Worse too, as … Continue reading Teapot Mountain 茶壺山 and Banpingshan 半平山 (半屏山) Ridge

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Yang-Ming Shan Mountains 陽明山 ~ you can never have too much of a good thing!

Catherine Lee

After weeks and weeks of rain, suddenly the most beautiful weather for the weekend ~ and the whole of Taipei spent yesterday on Yang-Ming Shan Mountains! Mega-long walk, 4:00am start from Sanzhi  三芝 via the graveyards – 5 hours to the top of Datun Shan 大屯山 (1092m), then 2-3 more hours to Qixing Shan 七星山 (1120m), finishing in a free foot-bath at the Lengshueikeng 冷水坑 Hot Springs and bus back at 2:00pm….. Typhoon damage on the roads and paths meant some are still closed, and vandalism to the summit pillar on Qixing Shan means that it is currently all wrapped up in plastic… … Continue reading Yang-Ming Shan Mountains 陽明山 ~ you can never have too much of a good thing!

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St. James’ Preschool, Taichung, Staff Trip to Vietnam ~ YES!

Catherine Lee

And I had the chance to go too ~ YES YES YES!  Thank you St. James! A non-stop 5 days in northern Vietnam, 33 of us, staff and their families from St. James’ Preschool, Taichung, and all happening only hours after the St. James’ Preschool Graduation. The graduation was on Wednesday night last week, and the very next day, Thursday, we all gathered, a bit bleary-eyed, at 5:00am for our big holiday trip…. OFF TO VIETNAM, YES! To many people, Vietnam is associated with many negatives ~ war, prisons, communism, refugees and poverty.  Maybe the only positive is the food … Continue reading St. James’ Preschool, Taichung, Staff Trip to Vietnam ~ YES!

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Introducing Sanzhi 三芝!

Catherine Lee

New house, new town!  Yep, I’m now living in the town of Sanzhi  三芝, variously spelt Sanzhi, Sanshi, Sanjhih or Sanchih, and just to confuse you further, variously pronounced San-ze or San-jer.  We’re on the NW coast of Taiwan, 5 miles (8 km) north of St. John’s University, and about 3 miles SW of the northern tip of Taiwan, a GREAT location! Sanzhi Town and District is the sort of place where everyone passes through in order to get to somewhere else.  They’re on their way north to the beautiful white sand beach just up the road at Baishawan, going … Continue reading Introducing Sanzhi 三芝!

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Summer on the Northern Tip of Taiwan!

Catherine Lee

It’s midsummer and hot hot hot ~ temps in the mid 30’s all day, and still hot at night ~ so the early morning is the time to be out ~ YES! Walked today around the northern tip of Taiwan, Baishawan Beach, Fugui Harbour and Lighthouse (built by the Japanese in 1897 ~ on the actual northern tip of Taiwan), Laomei algal reefs and Shimen Arch. Plus a few fancy places in-between, the wedding plaza, the new Sunrise Inn! Beautiful scenery, stunning views, blue skies and blue sea, and a very nice fresh sea breeze…. it’s really such a great … Continue reading Summer on the Northern Tip of Taiwan!

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Yang-Ming Shan 陽明山 ~ Lengshuikeng (冷水坑) to Qingtiangang (擎天崗)

Catherine Lee

A glorious day yesterday, and this was the view of Yang-Ming-Shan Mountains from St. John’s University (SJU) ~ looked so inviting ~ so go there we must! And so happened that today was the day that the SJU student fellowship organized a big morning walk – and invited the church members to come too, at least partly so that cars were available to save hours of time on buses ~ and Rev. Lennon Chang came to send us on our way and pray for us all…. And off we went – collecting a few more people including 2 lovely children … Continue reading Yang-Ming Shan 陽明山 ~ Lengshuikeng (冷水坑) to Qingtiangang (擎天崗)

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Romney Marsh

Catherine Lee

“The world according to the best geographers is divided into Europe, Asia, Africa, America, and Romney Marsh” from Ingoldsby Legends, Rev. Richard Harris Barham So there you have it ~ Romney Marsh is VERY famous.  And today I went right across it from east to west.  Very green, and very very flat.  Field after field of sheep and lambs ~ never seen so many.  And it’s even got a charming little train chugging across the marsh, I even saw it. My friends in the know told me that I just MUST visit 2 famous churches in Romney Marsh, so of course I … Continue reading Romney Marsh