Beautiful red maple leaves against a blue sky ~ now how’s that for a perfect picture of autumn?! And the best place in Taiwan to see maples in autumn is at the high elevations, up in the central mountain range. … Continue reading Autumn Colours, Mountain Views! 台灣聖公會2017年蒙恩得福家庭生活營 Taiwan Episcopal Church Fall Trip 2017
Today is THE day, the climax of 5 days of celebrations, and as I write this, events are ongoing, with firecrackers and drums and trumpets and singing and offerings and all sorts of activity, and being attended by nearly everyone in the whole town. And all in the rain and cold! It’s been like this all weekend, but hey, when there’s a festival in town, a bit of rain and cold won’t stop anyone. But this was the scene on Thursday, the last time that the sun appeared in Sanzhi! Two weeks ago, I wrote here about the preparations for the … Continue reading Sanzhi 三芝 Matzu Temple Centenary Celebrations, 1917-2017
Been doing a bit of research among some of our students in the 15-17 year age group to find out who their pop idols are ~ part of my English conversation classes, so bringing you up to speed, here goes! Top of the list by far for everyone are the boy bands from S. Korea – all brought together on TV talent shows and promoted by the mega-entertainment industry that is so big in S. Korea. And currently top of the list of all of them is BTS. Super Junior is long over, now it is BTS. Our girls say … Continue reading Pop idols @ Taiwan-Style!
Two weeks ago the plot of wasteland opposite where I live suddenly sprang into life. Trucks full of bamboo poles arrived. People came. Cranes and trucks and people and – well, action! One week later, and this was the view from my front gate last Sunday…. Happening now right outside my house is the ongoing construction of a huge 4-storey structure, the site of a forthcoming 醮 (pronounced ‘jiaò) and loosely translated as meaning a Taoist Ritual. Copy this character ‘醮’ into Google images and you’ll see plenty of examples of what it might look like in a few weeks … Continue reading Sanzhi 三芝 Matzu Temple Centenary Celebrations ~ Coming Up Soon!
Funerals – Taiwan Style! A Taiwanese politician is sent off in style with 50 pole dancers performing at his funeral. Source: Taiwan politician’s funeral features 50 pole dancers – BBC News Continue reading Taiwan politician’s funeral features 50 pole dancers – BBC News
Found myself walking past the Taipei Grand Mosque yesterday, on a beautiful sunny morning, and as it was open, popped in to take a look….. The Wikipedia website for Taipei Grand Mosque says it was designed by Yang Cho-cheng, the famous architect who also designed the Grand Hotel, CKS Memorial, the National Concert Hall and Theater, and plenty of other famous landmarks in Taiwan. It was inaugurated in 1960. Quite a history, so do check it out. Continue reading Taipei Grand Mosque 台北清真寺
Yes, there’s a brand new Taichung Train Station, built right behind the old one, at high level rather than ground level ~ and opened last month by President Tsai Ing-Wen. The original one was built in the Japanese Colonial era, about 1905…. And we now walk through the old station to get to the new one at the back. The new station complex is not yet finished, and there’s tons of construction going on all around, but so far so good! Today it was absolutely packed out, Sunday is a huge traveling day, and the weather was wonderful. This is … Continue reading Taichung Train Station ~ The Old and the New!
Check out this article…. AsiaOne Destinations – . Read more at AsiaOne Source: Here are 15 things no one told you about living in Taiwan, Travel Destinations – AsiaOne Travel Continue reading Here are 15 things no one told you about living in Taiwan, Travel Destinations – AsiaOne Travel
At last some good news in the world of referendums and elections ~ check out this article…. Penghu residents yesterday voted against the development of a local gambling industry in the second casino referendum held in the outlying county. Source: Penghu says ‘no casino’ for second time – Taipei Times Continue reading Penghu says ‘no casino’ for second time – Taipei Times
Catherine Lee 