Summer of 2022 (Taiwan), page 1

I flew on United Airlines: Springfield to Chicago to San Francisco to Taipei. This was one of the vegetarian meals I was served between San Francisco and Taipei. I thought it was good.

The flight to Taipei had screens for watching films; but I mainly read a novel and napped. I began to get excited as the plane approached Taiwan.

After arriving in Taiwan there were several procedures to endure as I went into quarantine for eight nights and seven days.

New tunnels and improved roads made the taxi ride to Hualien quite speedy; we departed the TPE airport at about 8:30, and arrived at my quarantine hotel so that I was in my room by 11:30, less than 3 hours later.

As I went through this door on Thursday night, the 11th of May, I knew I would not be coming out again until the morning of Friday the 27th of May.

This is the room where I lived for a week when I was in quarantine.

I often looked out of my hotel window as I spent my week in quarantine. This was the view of a little restaurant and coffee shop across the street.

These two dogs were mascots and pets in the restaurant across the street from my quarantine hotel (the Fish hotel).

A view from my hotel window out over Hualien toward the mountains in the west.

When I finally came down to the lobby on Friday the 27th of May, I noticed a schedule of activities with symbols for the Sustainable Development Goals of Agenda 2030 on the wall near the elevators.

Before leaving my hotel room, I had to test myself for COVID, and taking my temperature twice each day was part of the quarantine routine.

On Friday the 27th I moved to a less expensive guest house closer to the train station; I was not allowed on any school campus or in any hospital for another week after finishing my week of quarantine, so during this “self-monitoring” period I was unable to move into the dormitory at Tzu-Chi University, and spent my days in my guest house or else out walking or riding my bike around the area.

The guest house where I stayed from May 27th to June 5th was cute, with a strong teddy bear decorating theme; this is the lobby or living room on the ground floor.

The enclosed patio-entry-area had a bookshelf and a fine table with benches, but the mosquitos prevented me from lingering for too long in the attractive space.

As an exception to the many bears, these two superhero cats welcomed guests near the inner door at the guest house.

Once I was settled in my new guest house accommodations, I was eager to get out and walk around; so I went for a long walk, first visiting the Hualien train station, which was remodeled a few years ago.

Taiwan was far more provincial and remote when I first lived on the island (July 1990 to June 1992). These days, Taiwanese are far more cosmopolitan and the culture is more diverse. The artistic decorations on this building (I think it is a school) represent people from Indonesia, Thailand, and I think Vietnam and possibly the Philippines. Taiwan has far more immigrants from these countries, as well as guest workers, and many children now have mothers from these countries. The Taiwanese generally try to be inclusive and portray their international diversity here and there. This is nice to see.

On that first day of my release from quarantine I walked down to the Pacific Ocean, and looked south along the coast as I took this photograph.

In general, urban planning and cheap architecture has blighted Taiwanese urban landscapes with almost ridiculous depths of ugliness in the built environment, although there are of course a few wonderful buildings here and there. The Taiwanese seem to compensate for this by doing what they can to decorate bare concrete surfaces with murals and decorative elements, or else they adorn their buildings with lovely plants and flowers, as well as decorative art. Here is a mural on a pedestrian overpass connecting the night market area to the coastal bike trail.

This sculpture reminds us of the friendship between sister cities, Hualien City, Taiwan and Ulsan Metropolitan City, Korea. The statue was placed in 2021, to mark the 40th anniversary of the sister city relationship. The sculpture was created by the artists: Duncan, 葉權賢, and 王標.

A fantastic example of how people in Taiwan can compensate for the ugliness of their buildings with gardens of impressive beauty, and how they often mix decorative pieces with the plants in their decorating.

I enjoy the many fruits available in markets like this one in Hualien, Taiwan.

The Dragon Boat Festival weekend marked my release from quarantine, and these rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves are a traditional food of that holiday. I purchased some vegetarian versions of the treat.

This is what the dumpling looks like when you unwrap it and stir it in a bowl. It is vegetarian.

Hualien (and most cities of Taiwan outside Taipei) has terrible infrastructure for bikes and pedestrians. Public spaces are given over to scooters and cars. Sidewalks in Hualien are generally nonexistent or impossible to use, but here is an exception, although I doubt a wheelchair could maneuver around those trees.

Sidewalks in Hualien are so rare that I photographed them when I came across them, as they seemed a marvel to me. Here is one near the Tzu-Chi hospital. It is the best sidewalk in Hualien.

The weekend after I was released from my quarantine I borrowed a bike from my wife’s cousin, and that allowed me to go on some long bike rides out of the city and into the countryside.

There are many of these white birds (a type of egret, “Little Egret” Egret garzetta ) all over the farms of Taiwan. This one took flight as I rode past the field where it was looking for frogs or insects.

While Taiwan has terrible bike infrastructure if you are a commuter or just use bikes for your transport, the recreational bike trails are outstanding and really world class. Here is a view of the coastal bike route in Hualien.

This is a bridge on the bike trail through Hualien. If you cross it you can descend a ramp to the harbor and look closely at the boats. I like the marine mammal decorative painting.

A tiny boat heading out of the harbor in Hualien.

This is the view at the end of the bridge, looking down toward the harbor. You can see the mountains and realize that Hualien is situated in a small shelf between the mountains and the sea. On our 22nd wedding anniversary we came here and admired the massive waves crashing against the breakwater (an offshore hurricane was sending the waves against the Taiwan coast).

The Japanese colonized Taiwan from 1895 to 1945, and much of Hualien’s development dates to this period. There are still some Japanese sites and old religious structures in the area, including this gate that helps to memorialize Ryosaburo Eguchi, the administrator in charge of Karenkocyo (Hualien County) from 1920-1926, the man responsible for the building of the harbor at Hualien.

Cute mural of a shark chasing a small dog.

Cute mural of a cat wishing it could catch a shark.

Hualien has several walls near the coast covered in amusing murals of high quality, such as these.

Another view from a bike riding along the coastal trail between the harbor and the beach area.

This is a view looking north toward downtown Hualien from the top of the hill in Nanbin Park, the park at the end of HePing Road (Peace Road). Although the sun sets behind the mountains to the west (and is usually obscured by clouds over the mountains in the afternoons and evenings), this park is still a fine place to linger late in the day, enjoying the dimming light and the cooling temperatures.

In the early evening, before dark falls over the city, Hualien offers lovely views of clouds and mountains in the west.
“The mountain emerges from the mist, rising from earth to heaven.”

There are many public sculptures scattered along the coast, many of them abstract and pleasing to my sense of aesthetic taste. The work you see in this image is “My Pledges with this Enchanting Land” by Li-Jen Lin (林立仁). The sculpture was placed in 2020, and represents the way people stick to Hualien, and want to come back and stay there. I certainly do enjoy returning to Hualien.

Looking east out across the Pacific Ocean from Hualien.

This turtle sculpture in Hualien looks out over the ocean.

Coastal trail south of Hualien.

A bicycle rider’s view of the Hualien bridge looking southeast where Highway 11 crosses the Hualien River.

After crossing the Hualien bridge (heading out of Hualien), one enters the East Coast Scenic Area, as this sign announces.

After crossing the Hualien Bridge, another 3.3 kilometers brings you to the Ocean Park, which is one of Taiwan’s larger amusement parks.

I have never been in the Ocean Park, but it looks like a fun place.

From the Hualien Night Market to the Ocean Park is only about 10.3 kilometers, and it was another 2.6 kilometers to get from the Night Market area to my guest house. A 26 kilometer round-trip ride seemed a long distance in Hualien, but my normal daily ride from my home to my office and back is typically 23.7 km, so this wasn’t much longer.

This desolate park frequented by stray dogs and mosquitos is the AMIS海祭廣場 (Sea Festival Plaza for the Ami People).

Some stray dogs enjoy the beach during twilight.

A sculpture that represents a relationship dating back to 1910. I think there was some sort of aboriginal settlement at this site over a century ago, and something happened during the Japanese era that this sculpture reminds us about.

The days were too hot (over 30 degrees C), so I mainly went out in the late afternoons or else early in the morning. This is a photograph taken at 5:10 in the morning on June 1st.

You cannot go wrong getting up before dawn and heading to the east coast to watch the sun rise. Even this fairly dull sunrise over the Hualien harbor is inspiring.

Most of the ocean is covered with the shadows of clouds, but off in the distance a patch of sunlight can be seen out beyond the breakwater.

Rays of the early morning sun out over the Pacific Ocean.

Early morning view of boats in the Hualien harbor.

Far off in the distance a flock of white birds flies north, out beyond the top of a gold-domed tower in the ridiculously expensive Moon Hotel at 七星潭 (Big Dipper Beach or Seven Star Beach).

Looking north from Seven Star Beach toward the mountains of northern Hualien jutting out into the Ocean.

That most prominent peak may be Ta Shan (塔山), which is 2449 meters (8034 feet) high, but only about ten miles from the ocean’s shore. Another 20-30 miles beyond Ta Shan, where we cannot see, are taller mountains such as Mount Hehuan (3,416 meters, 11,207 feet) in Taroko National Park.

The coastal trail from Hualien up to Big Dipper Beach.

These snails were plentiful around the coast in June.

The coastal trail at Seven Star Beach.

The Chisingtan Scenic Area (Seven Star Beach)

Once out of quarantine, I was able to get food at vegetarian restaurants (Hualien has many of those). This photo shows some food from Greenland Restaurant on Jianguo Road (綠色大地), which was one of my favorite restaurants when I lived in Hualien in 2014-2015.

Traditional Pearl Milk Tea (called Boba Tea in the USA) was another treat I gave myself after getting out of my quarantine hotel.

Here is a meal I got at the Ci Yi Vegetarian restaurant (慈益素食餐廳) on Shangxiao Street, one of the better vegetarian cafeteria restaurants.

I later discovered that mint milk with pearls (tapioca pearls) was to my liking, just as much as pearl milk tea. Also, if you have your own cup (this photo shows my mint drink in my own cup), the tea shops must give you an NT$5 discount (it is a national policy).

In Taiwan cities you can sometimes see a few old buildings left over from the Japanese Era (1895-1945) or the post-war years before Taiwan became prosperous (1946-1976). Here is an example of an older structure in Hualien.

My favorite standard Taiwanese breakfast would be a couple of these egg pancakes.

One of my favorite cafeteria restaurants in Hualien is 常春藤素食(Buffet)吃到飽餐廳, which is about half-way between Uncle’s house on Chung Shan Road and the back (north) side of the Train Station. Here is a standard NT$100 ($3.30 US) meal from there.

On the Sunday of Dragon Boat Festival Weekend I went to Uncle’s house where four of my wife’s cousins brought their families and everyone gathered for a feast. It was good to see the family.

On Monday the 6th of June I moved to Tzu-Chi University. Here is the main gate at the Humanities and Social Sciences campus where I stayed. The flags of the Tzu-Chi Movement, the Universal Buddhist Flag, and the National Flag of the Republic of China are displayed at the gate for some special occasion (they aren’t always there).

My room. These rooms can accommodate four students, but due to the pandemic, most students had a room without roommates, and only a few rooms had two students in them.

The view out my room’s window.

The dormitory rooms had windows in the doors, so to offer privacy, most students taped something over the door windows. I simply put my Taiwan environmentalism flag in front of the door on a clothes line I used for drying clothing (or, as in this photograph, my bedsheet).

The campus at the humanities and social sciences campus of Tzu Chi University has an austere and dignified aspect. The Tzu-Chi Foundation is very particular about their construction methods, and I felt safe, knowing that Hualien is prone to earthquakes, and the campus was probably built to withstand the worst earthquakes Hualien could have.

This is a path on the route between the campus where I was staying and Uncle’s home on Chung Shan Road. This is about half-way between the two places.

On the walk (or bike ride) to Uncle’s house, one passes the main assembly hall of the Tzu-Chi movement.

Here is a typical set-up at my desk, featuring a computer where I kept track of vocabulary or accessed online learning materials, a pad of paper where I practiced writing characters and sentences, and a tablet where I used Pleco (the best Chinese language learning app) to help identify words and learn more about their meaning.

I went to visit Jeri’s cousin’s marble factory. Here he is bringing a chunk of marble to be cut.

This is waste marble. It is too small to be of much use.

Jeri’s cousin shows a worker how to cut hexagon shapes.

Some of the smaller marble products made by the family marble business. Most of their marble is cut into squares and rectangles for providing surfaces for walls and floors, but some smaller pieces can be used to make this sorts of objects.

One of my two favorite places to get ice cream in Hualien is the 吉安鄉農會冰品農特產品展售中心 (a shop that sells food products made in the local area), and this locally made ice cream is outstanding.

There is a tiny local night market near the Tzu-Chi campus on Thursday evenings, and I like to hang out there and get snacks. These sweet potato puffs are delicious.

On Fridays I could go to the 花蓮市好客文化會館 (Hualien Civic Hospitality Culture Hall) to get lunch before my afternoon classes. This guy was selling delicious Korean vegetarian foods there.

This mom and two daughters were also selling some sort of Korean food that was vegetarian at the 花蓮市好客文化會館, and I tremendously enjoyed their food.

This is the 花蓮市好客文化會館.

Sometimes in Taiwan you can find familiar brands with flavors that are not so familiar, such as these seaweed flavored potato chips.

This was a vegetarian meal I purchased at Mu Xuan Vegetarian Restaurant (沐軒素食餐廳). I took it to the Hualien Cultural and Creative Industries Park to eat.

The Hualien Cultural and Creative Industries Park hosted a weekend market of artisans, and I was disappointed that I never bought any of the jewelry this person was selling.

A group of people were doing some sort of activity in the Cultural Park. The Taiwanese are very collective, and they tend to do group activities on a regular basis.

The Cultural Park had a display of student artists. This joyful scene of children rock-climbing was made by a little artist who attends a kindergarten in Taichung.

A student at a middle school in Dou Liu (Yunlin County) made this work depicting the Zhengbin fishing harbor up in Keelung City. Although that is a lovely image, the place it depicts is not far from a place where many American prisoners of war were murdered by Japanese soldiers around the end of the Second World War.

This coastal scene shows a famous rock formation on Xiaoliuqiu Island. The artist is a middle school student in Yunlin County. In 2018 I went snorkeling there with my Nephew Teddy. I returned there later in the summer of 2022 as well. It is a great place for snorkeling.

This is a work by a high school student from Tai Chung, and it depicts a place in Chang Hua City. It reminds me of Chiayi Park, so I was attracted to the work.

Here is a watercolor made by a university student, and it depicts Seven Star Beach, just north of Hualien.

I finally got a haircut. It was a cheap (NT$100) and quick cut, and I was pleased with it.

Scene on the Humanities and Social Sciences campus at Tzu Chi University. In fact, I think these are the dormitories for men (on the left) and women (on the right).

Looking toward the mountains from campus.

A soccer game. Mostly the students were international students, but I think we had a couple Taiwanese students playing with us. At 54, I was the oldest player, and I only participated for the last hour of a game that lasted about two hours. I started playing for one side, and then switched to the other when a couple players had to leave.

Those who were still around after the game posed for a photograph. We had people from Indonesia, Mozambique, Austria, Kazakhstan, Taiwan, the USA, and a couple other countries playing (Nepal? Bangladesh?).

A delicious bowl of noodles I purchased at 入心侃蔬食心作料理, which was one of my top five vegetarian restaurants in Hualien. The owner used to be a baker in Taipei, but moved down to Hualien several years ago. She has friends and family in the USA and Canada, but she enjoys living in Hualien and cooking outstanding vegan food.

This is a fruit market store across the street from 入心侃蔬食心作料理.

Back at the Thursday night market near the New Fashion store on JianGuo Road near the Tzu Chi Campus. That yellow liquid looks intriguing.

This vendor at the tiny Thursday night market sells deep-fried sticks of tofu covered with various sauces. The tofu is actually stinky tofu, but it is tasty, and not too stinky.

The famous Hualien stinky tofu restaurant 老店家臭豆腐, which dates back to 1944, has a variety of vegetarian and not-vegetarian dishes, mostly featuring tofu. I like most of the food here in this scene, but that lump of white tofu was just too stinky, and I could not enjoy it, but I will go back for all the other dishes, which were extremely tasty.

An extremely good bowl of noodles from Love Nature CYZ Vegan (草緣齋) restaurant. They are known for their vegan pizza, but these noodles were great.

Good noodles.

Here is a small meal at my favorite vegetarian restaurant in Hualien.

This agenda for the Ukrainian students tells you a little bit about some of the interests and activities at Tzu-Chi University.

Here some of the Ukrainian students learn about what they will experience while in Tzu-Chi University.

These beetles are common in the summer. They are extremely large and clumsy.

A typical meal in the Tzu-Chi University cafeteria, this vegetarian patty and egg hamburger would cost NT$45 (US$1.50).

Wild mountain ginger was blooming, and it perfumed the air around the pond just outside the dormitories on the Tzu-Chi campus.

Looking at the mountains early in the morning, from Tzu-Chi University.

Riding my bike up into the mountains early in the morning to go swimming. I typically would leave campus on my bike around 6:10, and get to the swimming spots by 6:45 (all uphill), but I could head back to campus at 8:30 and get back to my room by 8:45 (all downhill).

The lower swimming spot, early enough that the sun is not shining into the water.

The lower swimming spot when the sunlight is on the water.

On the beach in Hualien.

We could see the rain falling in Hualien City, but it was try at the beach. Rain in Hualien is often highly localized, and it rains more if you are closer to the mountains (where the campus is).

A butterfly near the swimming spots. Taiwan has a great diversity of butterflies.

Some of the international students in the Mandarin Language Center are posting for a selfie photograph in the upper swimming spot.

This is one of the middle swimming holes.

The only other American at Tzu-Chi University is jumping into the upper swimming hole.

A hot pot dinner in Hualien with some friends.

Jeri’s cousin and her daughter HsiaoChi are visiting the artisans market at the Cultural Park with me. We were looking at the indigo dye fabrics, and we bought some things.

My wife’s cousin Susan and her twin sons are consulting the menu as we order our lunch at Mei-Shin Vegetarian Restaurant, the best restaurant (for vegetarians) in Hualien. Dishes here typically cost about NT$160 to NT$200 for small portion and NT$350 to NT$600 for a large portion, so four people ordering six dishes here for a big meal could cost over US$60. But, the food is all delicious and gourmet Chinese vegetarian, so it is certainly worthwhile to visit.

This was really good (food from Mei-Shin Vegetarian Restaurant).

This cabbage casserole was outstanding (at Mei-Shin Vegetarian Restaurant).

This was the best fried mushroom dish I have ever eaten.

Nice tree-lined road as we were going up to Liyu Lake.

Liyu Lake.

Liyu Lake.

Liyu Lake.

Liyu Lake.

Susan with her twin sons, Jay and Ray.

Another typical meal in the Tzu-Chi University cafeteria. I actually enjoyed the food in the cafeteria very much.

Typical beverage stall at the Hualien Night Market. If you like interesting cool drinks, you will enjoy the choices at the night market.

Seven Star Beach.

There is an Air Force base in Hualien, and F-16 jets were frequently going off to face the jets from China in showdowns over the ocean. Noisy.

View of mountains and a Taiwanese F-16 jet from Seven Star Beach.

Taiwan has a type of clothing that features English words in surrealistic word salad compositions. Such shirts were far more common in the 1990s and 2000s, but still, they are plentiful. This is an example sold in downtown Hualien.

The old Train Station museum in downtown Hualien.

The old train culture museum has a movie theater and concert venue (for small, intimate screenings or concerts), and generally appeals to the nostalgic or historically-minded Taiwanese or Japanese tourist.

Ching-Wen, Moulder, Sarah, and little Olivia cross the street together. They came to visit me for a weekend in Hualien.

The new Hualien bus station on its first day of operation. We wanted to take a bus to Seven Star Beach, but it was not convenient to do so, so we missed the pleasure of being among the first people to get a bus from the new bus station.

The Seven Star Beach scenic area.

Inside the fabulously expensive (least expensive rooms are US$600 per night) Moon Hotel at Seven Stars Beach.

The interior of a another beach resort at Seven Stars Beach. This place has a Greek theme.

This cat is hanging out at the Family Market convenience store.

Ching-Wen and I went to several cafes and restaurants trying to find a place that would sell us coffee and perhaps a pastry. None of the resorts or hotels would serve non-guests. Finally, we found this place (Rising Sun Hall), and the staff at the door invited us in, and allowed us to sit at a window looking out over the beach. They gave us tea and coffee, which was delicious. When we were leaving and wanted to pay, they refused to accept any payment, and explained that they had just prepared some coffee and tea for themselves when we arrived, so they gave us the drinks they had made for themselves, and so they were treating us. This did not seem strange, as Taiwan is full of this sort of generosity expressed in small gestures of kindness.

We had an opportunity to try a new restaurant on its second day after opening in the Azure Hotel on Chung-Zheng Road (the Suhua Highway #9) across from the McDonald’s. This restaurant was a buffet style vegetarian restaurant, with food quality to rival that of the Mei-Shin Vegetarian Restaurant. There was a grill where raw noodles and various other vegetables and things could be cooked, and some of the noodles had special flavors and colors.

A dish of food I collected at the Azure Hotel’s new vegetarian buffet.

Roasted Vegetables at the Azure Hotel in Hualien.

Nanyang Curry at the buffet in the Azure Hotel.

Our friend, Moulder relaxes in his guest house, with some of the famous Hualien little dragon buns.

This is the guest house where Moulder and Sarah stayed, with their daughter Olivia.

We went to Taroko National Park for a hike. This is a view near the mouth of the gorge.

Taroko National Park.

Reservoir in Taroko National Park.

Taroko National Park.

The road up through the gorge in Taroko National Park has been significantly improved since my first visit, when Jeri’s Uncle drove my parents and me up through the canyon (back in October of 1991).

Steep walls in the gorge in Taroko National Park.

Taroko National Park.

Road in Taroko National Park.

View along the Baiyang Trail in Taroko National Park.

I had last hiked the Baiyang Trail with my students in 2019, but this day when we were hiking there wasn’t rain, and the river was not roading in a tremendous flood as it was in 2019.

The Baiyang Falls in Taroko National Park.

Ching-Wen, Sarah, Olivia, and Eric at Baiyang Falls.

Baiyang Falls and the river gorge on Baiyang Trail.

The tunnel with the spring gushing out of the ceiling (Shulian Cave) near Baiyang Falls in Taroko National Park.

Frog in Shulian Cave, Taroko National Park.

Olivia playing in the water that flows out of Shulian Cave. It’s extremely clean water.

Olivia and her mom, Sarah, walking back on the Baiyang Trail. Shortly after taking this photograph I picked Olivia up and carried her most of the way back to the car, which was not a short distance.

The pagoda at the Tianxiang Recreation Area. My parents stayed near here in 1991.

The shrine to those who perished in the construction of the highway across the central mountains (especially the part of the road that went up to the Taroko Gorge).

View of Seven Star Beach from 48 Height Lookout. Tourist guides and brochures show the view from a decade ago, at which time there were no trees or shrubs obscuring the view. Today, in order to see anything, one must stand on the fence to look over the vegetation, and the view is not so dramatic as it was when the area was built for the visitors.

Olivia demonstrates how you must stand to get a good view from the 48 Height Lookout.

This newly opened stand (it opened while I was in Hualien in late June of 2022) is the only representative of this franchise in Hualien. The savory vegetarian waffles with potatoes and vegetables and sauce are outstanding, but I cannot recommend the dessert waffles at all (just jam on dry waffles) So, this place is recommended for a snack or lunch or dinner, but if you want dessert, go up the street to the dessert shop, the bakery, or the ice cream shop (all on your right as you head toward campus on JianGuo Road).

Link to other photo albums

The second page of summer 2022 photographs

The third page of summer photographs from 2022