South again: Gangshan & Kaohsiung

Cold winter Sunday, end of the year-"cold" meaning 13 cels, so let me describe what we were doing 3 days ago, when it was much warmer.

After longer time, we found ourselves bound for South again. Eternal U-bus (they are cheaper during the middle of the week, so we went wednesday and thursday, I work weekends anyway) via Taichung, and we found ourselves in Gangshan, one of towns nearby Kaohsiung, meeting dear friend.
Sleeping condos, made in place of former houses with gardens. So many old people living there! It is a kind of fashion, I do not know...I would much prefer to spend my old days digging and planting anything in my small garden, than shifting my ass on concrete benches in some 'Happy autumn' (of life) "home" or condominium, as this is.
Awful!

Sure, people wjo live here have everything as in the architect's plan.
Alea for a stroll

Even a lake!

And a hill, which looks more like mass grave. Is the sun real or also part of the composition?

And behind all, a little cozy church is waiting.... for God-ot?

Weather was much more hot than in Hsinchu, like coming to summer! I was in shorts and T-shirt, I definitely LOVE such weather close to New Year!

We met some friends there, and sure enough, went to eat. My first encounter with Korean food- and I loved it! I got hot stone pot full of rice mixed woth vegetables and I had to stir it fast that it would not be completely burned! Interesting and good food. They told me it was invented by ladies who did not have time to cook for themselves, as they were eager to serve masters, so they ate leftovers all mixed. I loved it, really!

Some impressions from Kaohsiung. It gives completely different feel here than in Taichung, Hsinchu or Taipei, it is real tropical city.
But, some Taiwanese characteristics are here. Strange buildings, e.g.

or strange tops of buildings

Not to forget ugly buildings

On the way back, sunset over the fields of South Taiwan. This pic was done almost exactly on the Tropic of Cancer, few days after solstice, it was between 5 and 6PM.

Coming South in Taiwan, crossing the Tropic is always entrance to a bit different, more relaxed world.
All the best in the New Year, AD 2008.

Peaceful solstice time

I continued my weekend rides by bicycle in the hills and valleys behind Hsinchu. These became two hour rides, as I found network of local roads without many cars and am now exploring it.

Back to Baoshan. Near the ugly church I showed you in one of recent posts, here are "beautiful" living places like this. Villas for rich? Uh-uh.

I do not know ahy Ceausescu comes to my mind.

Last time I failed to make pic of the school in Baoshan. In Taiwan you find 3 kinds of schools: old buildings like from old movies. It would usually be in such suburban places:

Omnipresent Chiang Kai-Shek bust in front of it, not easy to move it from the heads of Teachers, as we know, they are the best preservation places for such shit. Fortunately, with them cult of this egg-head will die, as it deserves. Let him rest in non-peace, together with vicious little shit eater of Mao. Incredible how Evil, pure Evil, is welcome in the minds of people. I am reading Gao Xingjian's "One man's bible" and am furious about any dictatorship. No excuse. Dictators should die in pains, and be dead in pains, no mercy for this shit of Earth. Shit they are, and shit they become. Shit to shit...

Few kilometers further, in some small township of few houses, much cmaller than Baoshan, some more modern school. This is other type, usually in remote areeas (obviously some government program?) or cities, sure.

There is also golf playground, with entrance arranged in typical Chinese CLEAR way. No doubt what is in-here, you would see it from airplane!

Next miracle of architecture was in the fields... As there was no village around, I think this is maybe some convent or so. Well, as said before, Church is participating, with great success, in general contest of uglyness here. Really disgusting.

Rural road in the valley looks as rural roads in the valleys look everywhere.

Fields in winter:

Back to Hsinchu, another type of school, as from "The Wall" by Pink Floyd. It was saturday 3PM. During weekend thousands of kids pour out from this school, incredible mass of them, when there is end of lessons, police regulates the traffic. I never saw, nowhere, such a thing. Here is weekend status.

In TsingHua campus flowers in full color, I love such winter!

Remember Physics building in TsingHua campus? I showed it in my 2005 posts. I made this pic last week to show there are serious competitors to the Church! This is the main entrance, not some back of the building!

My Alma Mater "Alcatraz" of the Physics-Mathematics buildings atop Horvacanska in Zagreb is nothing compared to this escherian feast, really!

Hills & bicycle, 3+Hsinchu Harbour and Scenic Coastal Road

Saturday, I continued my discovering biking possibilities around Hsinchu. After I found the Green Grass Lake, I was curious if I could find the other way there. Area behind seemed to be hidden background of hypertech urban Hsinchu Science Park. I was right.
I think I posted this one already in 2005, but it is so funny I could not resist, Fantasy World of Successful Group, it is amazing, when someone here used spell checker for sure, he did not used her/his brain to think if this is really a good thing to write:

I was driving through the northern part of the Science Park, which encompasses also the Jin Shan temple, which is 150 years old, and now I visited for the first time. I think I will come to see it again, after I read a bit about the place. In internet I found interesting text here and I like how these people try to make something even from the industrial ugliness. Here are some pics of Jushan temple.

For Darac, this is how they tile the roof here

Stone carvings at the entrance are very intricate :

Further ride reminded me I am in XXI, not XIX ct.

I went further, and after some wandering (try to drive in not the easiest landscape and with manymany not cearly marked roads, and when they are marked, it is in Chinese), I found my way towards Baoshan. If not ugly industrial buildings, then some church which took the competition seriously.

I mean, WF idiot can build smthing like this???

And it is on a small mountain stream....enjoy, beauty Made in Taiwan! Sometimes I am happy Croatia is not an European industrial Tiger!

And just few hundred meters away is-nature! Baoshan is village in the tops of the hills, so really, just a short ride out of these ugly ugly ugly buildings is... Prepare your mind for a jump:

Back to Hsinchu, after few kilometers of ride along the Green Grass Lake, after I found a way.
Two weeks ago I saw this one and now came back to make a pic, funny construction on the outskirts of Hsinchu.

Next day, sunny and warm Sunday convinced us maybe it would not be bad idea to take a (motorcycle) ride to Hsinchu Harbour. I wanted to see the sea. Hsinchu is 'coastal city' but you do not see the sea much. And when I say warm I mean 27, 28 cels on the road! Yes, winter :-D
We took 8km ride to the Harbour. There, typical weekend activities:

Always strong wind here, lots of kites:

This one was original, a "diver" hunted by a "shark":

It is Taiwan, so nearby is fish market atop which are restaurants. Sense of life is food. Eating. Should be Taiwan anthem. Note how big are these fish!

Local ice-cream man, candized pistacchio scrapped into icecream, all in chinese pancake. Funny but good! I never saw anything similar. Traditional ice-cream man, Mala immediately wanted one, memories of childhood!

Oh yes, we were in a harbour, yes:

With fishermen. Pretty different from what I am used to see.

I told you Taiwanese try to make 'something' of all industrial shit they have, yes? See this. Ideal leisure place, no?

No, don't panic, it is not atomic power plant (as in Kending, where it is just behind the beach), noo, it is...guess what? Recycling waste burning plant. Sure enough they made 'enviromental exhibition' of it! There is always some small smoke outgoing there, but almost invisible, I go and believe it is as green as possible. I believe, I believe...

Few kilometers south, there is some real sea coast:

It is the beginning of so called Hsinchu 17km Scenic Coastal Area, which I extensively tried in 2005 by bicycle.
I even put my finger into water today! Chinese Sea, Taiwan Strait, notified for historical records. Miki was there.

Water was some 17 cels or so, if it would not be so shallow and dirty, it would be possible to swim. But this is not real sea, but artificial bay, between the garbage dumping place, and nearby the "cosy" waste 'cramatorium' you just saw, so thank you very much for swimming, when I write this my finger is still OK, I hope this action was not too much for it's health. O tempora, o mores, when it is possible to have such coastline:

Sure, these concrete things are protection against desant vehicles, if Mainland Chinese decide to come to eat all the shrimps and crabs in Taiwan. Like Germans in WWI&II wanted to eat all the Sacher cakes in the world, but really all, all, all of them.

Autumn/winter and my bicycle, 2

As said in previous post, winter time here is ideal for biking around. Temperatures around 20 cels and not humid. I extended tour from last week and made a circle around the hill where QuChi Feng is. It was a hour of pleasant mid-day ride, where I was worried only if I will not get burnt on the sun as I hadn't any hat ;-)
Roads were empty, and it was a pleasant ride. Views in these suburban areas are very mixed. Farms and fields with high tech building.

On the left of building, up the hill, is cemetary. And more left is some buddhistic monastery or so.

Walleys like this are filled by new buildings, few years ago there was forest or fields.

But flowers are nice everywhere, regardless city or fields

Entrance to one of farms, big leaves tree is banana tree. Such "farms" are common everywhere in Taiwan, I found some in the middle of the cities, e.g. in Zhubei, nearby Hsinchu. Obviously the cities are developing FAST, very fast. Usually some patch of land which still waits for freeway to be built, or some of monstruous condominium towers usual here.

Rice field waits for new turn, this is one sign of winter here.

Sure, closer to the city, Science Park of Hsinchu is omnipresent. This is Vanguard Semiconductor plant, big chance is that you have something produced inhere in your computer.

In TsingHua University campus they had charity selling this Sunday, weather was really ideal for picnic.

One inhabitant of the city, picture catched inside the Campus. Squirrels here are dark, not red-furred as in Europe. But otherwise, show the same nervous attitude. This one was gathering food. For winter sleep? I doubt. Funny was the rat who was coming close to her checking what she is collecting, but then she would 'frrr' off him, and he would come closer again...and so back and forth for ten times. Rat was every time running to one of 2 ratholes nearby the tree, each time comng out of the other one. City life, really :-D