ABOVE and BELOW: HappyBirthday pizza...in snack size!
And what better way to end the birthday snack-sized dinner than with a whopping pile of shaved ice, beans, peanuts and some tastey unknown fruit.
Trevor getting his hair trimmed at the local pomelo market/barber.
Crystal patiently waiting for the fish to spawn...The next few are from the weekend trip to Taroko Gorge, one of the prettiest and geologically amazing places in Taiwan. It is a stunning gorge with limestone/marble/schist towering above you. The road winds its way around the meandering gorge from a small ocean side village to the village of Tien Shiang.
Park flags and the Taiwanese flag together at the park gate.
Looking up the staairs of the Tien Shiang Pagoda; Crystal looking down as she climbs.
View of the Tien Shiang Buddhist Temple; the back story here is huge, involving the indigenous Taroko people, Chinese and Japanese occupations, a war, a war after the war and a massive Typhoon. All in all, the people had to move the Buddhist Temple to this location on the brink of a collapsing pinnacle of rock, sustaining itself for now. It is a beautiful temple, in a beautiful location, in a beautiful country. But a temple nonetheless....soooooo.....
The Village of Tien Shiang. The road to the right goes East to the ocean, the road continues past Tien Shiang to the massive beauty of the HeHuan Mountain range - one of the few places that receives and maintains snow during the peak winter months.
Crystal, a massive marble...literally, and in the far distance stands a Buddha statue.
An on to dinner. Local specialty of the Taroko people - the rice is jammed into a bamboo shoot freshly falled from the forest, mushrooms are added, and the whole bundle is steamed until ready. Kept warm, it is a delight waiting for you when you find yourself wanting a meal in Tien Shiang. This is an excellent, I would suppose, way to transport rice for meals on the go, hiking, biking, etc. Perhaps a bit heavier than plastic containters, but all the more practical and biodegradable.
Crystal walking through the garden at our hotel; this place, called a hotel, is much more like a bunch of rooms scattered amongst a forest with obtuse walkways, adventurous placements of washrooms and a veritable garden throughout. It is both a beautiful - authentiuc beauty, not maniucured beaurty - and calming to wake up here in the early morning and see the butterflies flutter, the mist drip off the leaves, the clouds dust the mountaintops and the morning cicdas sing their tune.
Trevor in the bamboo forest above the village proper of Tien Shiang; walking along the Houran Pavillion Trail. This has a story too, and here it is highly abridged: The Taroko people were inhabitants of the low lying areas of Tien Shiang, at the confluence of two main rivers, farming and raising animals. When the Japanese occupation started, they found the Taroko People to be highly violent (read: defending their families and territory) and "troublesome" so they pushed them high into the mountains. The Taroko were forced to etch out a new living on the three or four terraces above the floodplain - they planted new crops, built new houses and grew/maintained a bamboo forest (the one in the picture). Eventually they were deemed too troublesome still, and ushered out of the entire area. Some went inland and inhabited the high mountian regions and some went downstream to the ocean. Now there are two (many, actually) tribes in areas that are somewhat un-ancestral, and Tien Shiang is left as a memory of a past life, a past existence and a past culture. The village still contributes, as some people have returned since the 70's and built what they now have (and the development of the National Park has supported this development). It is a veritable place to awaken and to hike around. The pieces of the past, though, voice a different time.
BELOW is a picture of basalt stools in a circle. Not sure about the age, or source of tha basalt, but it was very cool. I presume these are more recent than the Taroko habitation.
BELOW is a picture of basalt stools in a circle. Not sure about the age, or source of tha basalt, but it was very cool. I presume these are more recent than the Taroko habitation.
Scenery....
Crystal, taking in the view along the Houran Pavillioon Trail. Just past this point the trail is closed due to Typhoon damage, which we found and tried to get around....but Typhooons are wicked things, and the trail followed a precarious ridgeline that had basically slipped off the mountain. So, no luck.
Pointing to where the trail, and the road, would go if it were not for the typhoon damage.
Crystal, de-scootering at the Tien Shiang cafe along with the other patrons.
The view of the main Taroko Gorge road. This is an absolutely stunning andscape that no picture can explain. You should come see it. Nudge, nudge....
After our excursion to the gorge, we returned ocean-side to grab some lunch, a coffee and pause while taking in the ocean. Living in a valley between two mountain ranges this time around we rarely get to see the blue-green ocean do its thing. So, when we get a chance, we take it!
