Summer of 2022 (Taiwan), page three

Here I am hanging out at the childhood home of Shirley Lin, and old friend of ours. She grew up here, in rural Xianxi Township in Chang Hua County.

Here I am in a shop in Songboling where I tasted and purchased tea. The owner is a friend of my favorite chef in Hualien, 韓竹珍.

Tea in Songboling. Brewed right in a cup, and spooned into tasting cups. The people who sell tea are happy to meet potential customers and chat while sipping tea with you. The weather was terrible, so no other customers were looking around.

The shop where we purchased tea in Songboling had owners who were enthusiastic keepers of parrots. It was a pleasure to meet the family in this shop. It was also nice to stay here because the rain was pouring outside.

Shirley Lin (our old friend from Chiayi) took me to visit her friend who lives out in the Chiayi countryside (just south of Jhongpu Town). He recently purchased a small farm, and has constructed a house and also a glass house, which you can see here. We picked ripe abiu fruits (Pouter caimito), which are originally from the Amazon, but have been grown in Taiwan since the late 1980s.

After the visit to the little farm in Jhongpu, we took a box of abiu fruits with us to share with friends and Shirley’s family, and headed to the 旺萊山愛情大草原 (Wanglai Hill Romantic Prairie) along the Highway 18 that goes up to Ali Shan Mountain Forest Recreation Area and the Bashing River that comes down from Shizuo (Stone Table) and Fenqihu. This is a place that provides cute locations for photography and sales of pineapple or mango-themed treats and foods.

This Great Egret (Area alba) was hanging out in a pond at the romantic prairie park along highway 18.

After the pineapple-themed romantic prairie, we stopped by to see the old Wu Feng Temple. This was a major site when I lived in Chiayi in 1990-1991, and I remember how it was often fairly crowded on the few occasions when I visited. I think there were only four people (including the two of us) when we came this time. The government promoted a legend about Wu Feng as a virtuous government official who gave his life to help convince the Tsou People to stop cutting off heads as part of their culture. The Tsou didn’t like the story, and the legend was fabricated anyway, so these days, people do not know or care about this temple.

This little girl is the daughter of my wife’s second eldest brother’s younger son (Jun-Jieh).

This is the middle school where my wife attended classes. It looks spooky at night, I think.

There were some spectacular sunsets in Chiayi the week I was staying there. This one was pretty good.

Here I am with two new friends I met in Chiayi during my stay. My old student and friend Chao Chi-Wei introduced me to these fellows and their wives and children, and I spent a few evenings hanging out with them, which was delightful.

On my ride back to Shirley Lin’s home, where I was staying, I generally came from Chiayi Park, where I was visiting my wife’s relatives. I passed temples along my route, and one of the temples had a nice display of lanterns.

This coffee house on Gong-ming Road in Chiayi (half way between East Gate and WuFeng Road) dates back to the Japanese Era. My wife’s cousin Ming-ren enjoys hanging out here, and so too does my wife’s old elementary school classmate (and one of Ming-men’s friends). Ming-ren is at the table with me, and our friend is in the blue shirt over on the other side of the porch.

This is a view inside the old Japanese era coffee house. Those steep stairs remind me of the steep staircase in the house by Chiayi Park where my wife grew up. That house was built by her father (my father-in-law) and his brothers shortly after my wife was born, around 1970 I think.

This is my wife’s aunt; actually the wife of her father’s youngest (second) brother. This uncle passed away in late 2019, so she has been a widow for a few years now. Here she is preparing dumplings in the old house, the one her husband and my father-in-law built back around 1970.

My wife grew up in a home with her parents and her uncle and aunt. Her uncle and aunt had four sons between 1969 and the mid 1970s. These two guys are the sons of the third of these cousins who grew up with my wife. The elder of the two shown in this photograph is a talented artist, and is following his father (and grandfather, my wife’s uncle) in the family business of being a funeral director. He helped me find a clothing store where I could get a certain type of shirt for my son.

This is Aaron (彭暐程, Peng Wei-Cheng), the younger son of my wife’s fourth elder brother. Aaron is very close in age to our son Arthur, and the physical resemblance between these two cousins is greater than the similarities between either one and his brother. If you saw our son Arthur together with his cousin Aaron, you might assume they were brothers, perhaps twins.

This is the Confucian Temple in Chiayi, which was built in its present form in 1964, although Chiayi has had a Confucian Temple since 1706. Earthquakes and political issues have seen the Confucius Tablet move to various temples and halls over all those years. I like the red, yellow, and orange colors of this structure.

This is the Kagi Shrine (Chiayi Shrine), a Shinto place of worship that now has become the Chiayi Historical Relic Museum. It contains a small coffee house, a tiny bookstore stocked with books about Chiayi, and some displays about arts and architecture in Chiayi. It is worth visiting if you are in Chiayi for a couple days.

This is a hall inside the Kagi Shrine in Chiayi Park.

This is a group of dancers in Chiayi Park. When I lived in Chiayi in 1990-1991 you could see many dancing groups at the park in the morning. These days you still might see one or two groups, but the popularity of this activity (outdoor dancing in the park) has declined.

Here the brothers Ke-han (Hank) and Wei-Chen (Aaron) examining the menu at the excellent vegetarian restaurant 巴甜蔬食家廚-中正公園店 (Bajan Veggie Kitchen, the Chong-zheng Park branch).

Ke-han (Hank) and his father, my wife’s Fourth Brother (the youngest of four elder brothers) in the Bajan Veggie Kitchen restaurant in Chiayi. Check out the omelet Hank has ordered.

My wife’s cousin’s daughter Diana Shih-Ramsøy joined us at Bajan Veggie Kitchen. Her Danish husband Fred (Frederick Shih-Ramsøy) was along. We have spent a lot of time with Diana, but I don’t think she has had much time with Fourth Brother and his family. That’s Fourth Brother’s wife wearing the mask at the end of the table.

Here is a family photograph at Chong-zheng Park. Diana, Fred, Eric, Hank, Aaron, Fourth Brother, and Fourth Sister-in-Law.

This is a photograph at the old Peng family house on Chi-ming Road across from Chiayi Park. I am standing with Fourth Sister-in-Law and Fourth Brother. Fourth Brother is the closest in age to my wife, although there was a little sister even closer to her in age, but that sister died while still very young.

This is the second oldest of those cousins who grew up with my wife. This is Peng Ming-ren, a couple years younger than my wife and his elder brother (who is only months younger than my wife). He had polio when very young, and has needed to use technology to assist his mobility ever since. I enjoy hanging out with him, and he is good at conversation.

Chao Chi-we (Emma) was one of my best students back when she was a high school student in Chiayi in 1990-1991. We’re friends now, and she has introduced me to many interesting people in Chiayi. In this photograph we’re in the Cang Cafe (藏.咖啡 嘉義中山店). The building where this coffee shop is located dates to the Japanese era, one of several older buildings along Sun-Yat-Sen Road (Zhong-shan Lu).

Two guys named Eric. Emma’s son is named Eric. He is interested in architecture, and I was very impressed with a portfolio featuring his early university work. He is, like his mother, an independent and creative thinker, with a fair bit of idealism mixed in. He is wearing a social work t-shirt I designed.

A friend of mine was wearing a UIS Social Work Department T-shirt. It features the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of Agenda 2030 and the 13 Grand Challenges for Social Work in rings about the unofficial UIS Social Work Department logo. You can have one too, as these are sold here.

This is Sarah, the oldest daughter of Shirley Lin, with Olivia, her daughter. Back in 1992, I would stay with the Lin family in a guest room when I was visiting Chiayi for the weekend. She was a little girl back then, but Sarah and her husband Moulder are now friends of ours.

Here I am about to leave Chiayi, on my way to the train station. Shirley Lin will drive me. I am saying goodbye to Olivia, Sarah’s daughter (Shirley’s granddaughter).

Here I am enjoying breakfast with Shirley Lin, who is an extremely hospitable host, and a person with lots of energy who loves to go out and see things. I was warmly welcomed into her home for the five nights I slept in Chiayi.

After leaving Chiayi, I went to Jiji, a small town on a spur railroad line on the way to Sun Moon Lake. This is the interior of the old Jiji train station.

This is an old train displayed at the Jiji station. My wife and several of her siblings and their children, as well as her mom, took our family for a visit to Jiji back in 2007, and that was the last time we were all together with my mother-in-law on a family outing.

The train station at Jiji. Some of these old train stations attract tourists who remember fondly the many small stations like this one. Taiwan’s economic development and modernization has seen the replacement of most of these old wooden stations.

As I was walking around Jiji, I found a sort of market or exhibition of agricultural products. These lovely abiu fruits were on display, and I asked if I could buy one. The man at the stall said he would not sell them, as they were only for display, but he picked one up and handed it to me, telling me it was a sample for me to take.

Jiji has a few attractions. The town offers visitors a good place to try banana ice cream. If you like quirky tourist attractions, you can come to this place, a banana-themed windmill.

This fantastic tree in Jiji is about 700 years old, or older. I recommend it as one of the better attractions of Jiji.

This temple (Wuchang Temple) in Jiji was destroyed in the terrible earthquake of September 1999, which claimed over 2,400 lives in Taiwan. There is now a new temple in front of this one, and a sort of market next to the two temples. It is a long walk from the Jiji train station, especially on a hot summer day.

Sun Moon Lake seen from the temple of Xuan Zang (Tripitaka), the Chinese monk who went from Xi’an to India to get Pali and Sanskrit texts to bring back to China where they could be translated.

This is the Xuan Zang (Tripitaka) Memorial Hall, and it has an architectural style that is very unusual in Taiwan. In 1952 a piece of bone from Xuan Zang was brought here, and the relic is in this temple. I have been to the grave of Xuan Zang in a suburb outside Xi'an (in 1994), and this temple is far more impressive.

This lovely pagoda on a hill above Sun Moon Lake (it’s a 700 meter path you must ascend up the hill to get to the pagoda) is the Ci’en Pagoda. It’s 46 meters high (a bit of a climb up the stairs as well). The pagoda was put up at the command of Chiang Kai-shek in 1971 to honor his mother.

This is a view from the top floor of the Ci’en Pagoda looking down on Sun Moon Lake

Another view from Ci’en Pagoda, looking north with Sun Moon Lake and mountains of the Central Range in view.

This is the garden in front of the Torii tea canteen 鳥居喫茶食堂 in Puli, Nantou County.

After a dinner of vegetarian Japanese food, I went behind the Torii Tea Canteen and admired the lanterns.

At night, a dragon at the Longfeng Temple 龍鳳宮月老廟 along Sun Moon Lake.

Sunrise over Sun Moon Lake.

Early morning looking north from Sun Moon Lake toward Longing Temple.

A night view of Ci’en Pagoda from Meihe Park, looking across Sun Moon Lake.

After enjoying a morning at Sun Moon Lake, I went to Xiaoliuqiu, and that is one of the best places in Taiwan for snorkeling. Sea turtles are plentiful, and I saw many.

The turtles at Xiaoliuqiu graze on things growing on rocks, and then come up for air every few minutes. This turtle had just taken a breath of air.

I saw turtles of various sizes. Mostly, I saw these at the 中澳沙灘. Fish diversity was better at Vase Rock, but I didn’t see turtles there (I saw some there with Teddy in 2018). I also went snorkeling at Secret Beach, but I didn’t see turtles there, either.

This is the sun set at Vase Rock in Xiaoliuqiu.

Looking north toward Kaohsiung from Xiaoliuqiu. The line of lights along the horizon are the lights of Taiwan.

Clouds to the south of Xiaoliuqiu (with some of Taiwan on the horizon) shortly before dawn at Lobster Rock on Xiaoliuqiu.

A tiny fishing boat with the main Taiwan island in the distance just before the sun peeked over the mountains.

As seen from Xiaoliuqiu, the sun rises over Taiwan early in the morning as a fishing boat goes by.

The Chi Long Temple at dawn (小琉球池隆宮).

The Xiaoliuqiu visitor center at dawn, with Taiwan off in the distance.

A bird at the Xiaoliuqiu Visitor Center. The mountains of Taiwan are silhouetted in the background.

The light of the early morning sun on the sea, with the mountains of Taiwan in the distance. A view from the Xiaoliuqiu Visitor Center.

From Xiaoliuqiu, I went to Kaohsiung, and then from there I went to Penghu (Magong). This is the Penghu Tianhou Temple (澎湖天后宮), an old Mazu temple dating back to sometime around 1593 or 1604, although there may have been a temple on the site as early as the 15th century.

This is the Shuncheng Gate (順承門) in Magong, part of fortifications constructed by the Qing Empire in 1886 in response to the war with France (the French had occupied parts of Penghu in 1885).

This is a massive (48 meters tall) copper Mazu statue in Magong. It was completed in 2022, so the copper hasn’t developed a green patina yet.

Sunset seen from the Guanyinting Recreation Area near the Rainbow Bridge on Penghu in Magong.

Sunset seen beyond the Rainbow Bridge on Penghu in Magong.

Statue near the Rainbow Bridge.

View of someone fishing, as seen from the boat to Qimei. The Dome Island (雞籠嶼) is in the background.

As our boat was on the way to Qimei, we saw this person in a wetsuit between the tiny islets of 白沙塭 and 北塭, with 花嶼 off in the distance on the horizon.

I love snorkeling, and Penghu has some good snorkeling places, although Green Island and Xiaoliuqiu might be better for fish diversity.

I saw this clam while snorkeling in Qimei (the southern island of Penghu); it was in the Yuli Harbor (月鯉港) near 鱷魚岩. It is probably a giant clam (Tridacna gigas), although it might be a very large Maxima Giant Clam (Tridacna maxima).

Coral I saw while snorkeling on Qimei.

Ice cream on Qimei Island. It was tasty.

A dragon tower on Qimei.

A temple on Qimei.

The rugged coast of Qimei.

Great Stone Lion scenic recreational area on Qimei.

Peaked Rock, a rocky islet between Qimei and 西吉嶼 as seen from Qimei.

The famous fish weir on Qimei, which is indeed quite lovely to see.

This is the Fenggui Flowing Water Prosperous Three Officials temple (風櫃流水亨通三官廟) at Fenggui West Fishing Harbor.

The sunrise with the sun peaking through clouds, as seen from 杭灣 east of Suogang and Shanshui villages on Penghu.

The Yuwengdao Lighthouse (Xiyu Lighthouse) on Xiyu Island. This lighthouse was built by a British fellow named David Marr Henderson in 1875, but as far back as 1778 there was a lighthouse on this site.

Xiyu East Fortress, constructed in 1889 wen the Qing Empire was recovering from a war with France and wanted to be better prepared for their next war.

Niusin Hill with columnar basalt on Xiyu Island near Nei’an Village.

Domestic architecture in Erkan Historic Village on Xiyu Island.

Traditional Penghu architecture in Erkan Historic Village.

Roof of temple in Magong, 北甲北辰宮, the Beijia Beichen Taoist temple. The temple was rebuilt in 1899, and raised to become a two-story building in 1981.

Lanterns in the courtyard of the Beijia Beichen Temple in Magong.

Typical view inside a Taiwanese temple, with offerings placed on an alter.

A view of the second story of the Beijia Beichen Temple in Magong.

The temple roofs in Penghu have this swallowtail shape, which seems graceful to me. I think this is the Chenghuang Temple.

This is a chimney for burning ghost money or other offerings.

Looking out from the temple door toward the buildings of Magong in Penghu.

This is a little village temple in Pei-liao, the Beiliao Bao-an Palace (北寮保安宮), which seems to have been first mentioned in historical records back in 1746, although the present building was completed in 2001.

A night view from 菜園濕地賞鳥點 (a wetlands area for birdwatching near the Caiyuan Fishing Harbor on Penghu).

Cactus blossom near the wetlands on Penghu.

Old temple doors in Magong, Penghu.

The old lane (Zhongyang Street) in Magong, Penghu.

I met with Second Brother-in-Law and his children, Wan-ting and Wen-bing, who are each married and each have two children. Wen-bing has two daughters and Wan-ting has two sons. Wen-bing’s sister-in-law was there as well; I hadn’t seen her since we went to Jade Mountain in 2007.

Wen-bing’s eldest daughter.

Wen-bing’s younger daughter.

The Japanese-era building at the 觀音山蓄水池 (Xiaoguangyin Hill Reservation Pond), a hill where the Japanese put a drinking water reservoir, which is capped under a meadow. This is near the Treasure Hill Artist Village, and on the grounds of the Drinking Water Museum.

The Museum of Drinking Water, a lovely building where old pumps are displayed. This was the first place where Taipei had a modern drinking water system.

These are old water pumps from the Japanese Era in the Museum of Drinking Water, in Taipei.

Looking from Treasure Hill and the Xiaoguanyin Shan Ecology Trail toward the National Taiwan University dormitories. Our son Arthur lived in one of those buildings in the spring of 2020, but his room faced the other direction.

Vegetables served to me at a Lion’s Club banquet I attended on my last night in Taiwan.

A delicious vegetarian stew at the Lion’s Club banquet in Jingmei, a neighborhood in southern Taipei.

Tofu pudding soup, or Douhua (a sweet and cold dessert based on tofu). I had this in the Jingmei night market.

Mangos for sale in Taiwan in a fruit shop.

Lanterns in Jingmei Temple.

Carvings on the ceiling in a Taiwanese temple.

T-shirts for sale in the Jingmei market area.

Art in the Songshan Airport. This is part of the “Love Taipei” work for the airport lounge created by the artist Jam Wu (b. 1979).

A view out my plane’s window as I flew out of Songshan airport on a flight to Tokyo.

Taipei 101 tower seen from my airplane window.

Restaurant in the Haneda Airport in Tokyo.

Japanese vending machine in the Haneda Airport.

Lovely clouds at sunset, seen from our backyard in Springfield.

View of area near our home in Springfield seen from my plane’s window on a flight to Dallas (on my way to Oregon). Franklin Middle School can easily be seen, and MacArthur Road.

Asian food in the United States. This is a tasty mango tofu vegetable dish in Tigard, Oregon.

These are the two youngest children of Manuel and Angeles, waiting in a truck in the orchard while their older siblings and parents are weeding in the strawberry field. They offered me popcorn.

I was in Oregon during peach season, and I ate a tremendous number of delicious peaches.

Dramatic clouds at sunset, seen from Bull Mountain in Tigard, Oregon.

Inside the dairy/creamery in Tillamook, Oregon. If you eat Tillamook cheese, this is a place where it is created.

Dairy cows in Tillamook, Oregon, near the creamery.

Pelicans flying by Oceanside, Oregon.

I enjoy watching birds such as these pelicans flying low over the waves on the shore.

I enjoyed wading on the beach and watching water from waves create patterns of light on the sand.

The beach at Oceanside, Oregon

A dark green stone and a blue shell on the beach in Oceanside.

A rock covered with barnacles and sand hoppers (pale beach hoppers, Megalorchestia columbiana). I could not discern was these tiny sand crustaceans were doing in such a dense congregation.

The windows of the motel where we were staying. The windows on the top were for the suite where my mother and I were staying.

My mom going down on the beach just before sunset.

View looking south along the coast from Cape Lookout

The Main Street above the beach in Oceanside, Oregon.

Stained glass in Roseanna's Cafe in Oceanside.

This stained glass art in Roseanna's Cafe seems to depict the three arches rocks at Oceanside.

On my mother’s birthday we went to dinner at Roseanna’s Cafe. This was my drink (blackberry lemonade).

Sunset between two of the arches rocks off the coast of Oceanside, Oregon.

Giant Green Anemones (Anthopleura xanthogrammica) in a tide pool at Oceanside.

Ochre sea star (Pisaster ochraceus) on a large beach rock at Oceanside. These creatures can be purple, orange, orange-ochre, yellow, reddish, or brown. This is obviously one of the bright orange ones.

This shows a couple sea lemons (Anisodoris nobilis), a type of nudibranch. They are by a cluster of sea lemon eggs.

A large group of harbor seals pulled up on a beach in Netarts Bay, south of Oceanside.

Cape Kiwanda, south of Cape Lookout, near Pacific City.

A group of pigeon guillemot birds at Cape Kiwanda.

Typical Oregon coastal architecture in Pacific City.

Hill in Basket Slough National Wildlife Refuge. This is in the Willamette Valley near Rickreall, Oregon.

A tree in Basket Slough National Wildlife Refuge. The hills of the coastal range can be seen in the distance.

Barrels full of whisky or bourbon being aged at Divine Distillery (the distillery my sister and brother-in-law run in Independence, Oregon).

One of several stills in Divine Distillery.

A new mural on the outside of Divine Distillery featuring a meadowlark, the state bird of Oregon.

The Willamette River at Snaggy Bend, on the gravel bar at Stephens Farm.

Looking north up the Willamette River at Snaggy Bend, Stephens Farm.

Wooded area on Stephens Farm, on Grand Island, Yamhill County, Oregon.

Oats going on the lower field at Stephens Farm.

A delicious peach nearly ripe and ready to pick.

My RV, a 1985 Jamboree. It needs some electrical work and a new transmission.

Sunrise seen from my mom’s house in Tigard, Oregon.

Mt Hood at dawn, seen from Bull Mountain. I think the colors in the sky make this look like a painting.

Mount Hood at dawn.

The sun is just beginning to come over the ridge, as seen from my mom’s home on Bull Mountain.

Shop in Washington Square Mall with a window display featuring alien-themed merchandise.

Art my son Arthur purchased in Spain and gave to my mom, which she has framed and put up in her home.

A magnificent oak tree at the Tualatin River National Wildlife Preserve.

Great Blue Heron (a “shrike poke”) in the Tualatin River National Wildlife Preserve.

Killdeer and ducks in the Tualatin River National Wildlife Preserve.

Mount Hood seen from the Tualatin River National Wildlife Preserve.

A blue heron at the lake on private land just southwest of the Tualatin River National Wildlife Preserve.

Rose spirea (Hardhack) with some snowy tree crickets on the flowers. Tualatin River NWP.

A bumblebee (perhaps a brown belted bumble bee or a common eastern bumble bee) flying from a Punch Bowl Godetia (Clarkia bottle).

A chipmunk in the Tualatin River NWP.

A Cooper’s hawk in the Tualatin River NWP.

Sebastian with a shirt I brought him from Taipei.

Sebastian at the place where he works.

Here I am with my sister’s dog, Bella. I took her across the country to Oregon back in 2010 when she was only two or three years old.

Rose in my mom’s garden.

Rose in my mom’s garden in Tigard, Oregon.

Link to other photo albums

The first page of summer 2022 photographs

The second page of summer photographs from 2022