Yeah, kinda like that.
So, from a quick lunch at the market to the backwoods (backfields, I suppose) of the Taiwanese countryside, we got a tour of a brand new part of Taiwan, one that is almost in our backyard...too close and too far all at the same time. It was the perfect day trip....topped off with yet another pizza once we got home!
Taiwan, in a nutshell. Rice, betel nuts and a lot of hard labour. 
Trevor, in the market for lunch with a refreshing gulp of water. Beside is the parking space we found outside of the market. Not the usual views, perhaps? Sausage, anyone?
No, no, no....nobody eats cat (or dog) here. But, it was a funny picture nevertheless. Cute little kitty though, she let us play with here for a while (even though we woke her up from a sunny slumber). On the right is the contraption that actually plants the new rice in the fields. They drive it through the fields, and the roller in the back clips off little bits of the flat of rice and plunks it into the muddy soil. They can do a whole field quite fast, which was a bit of a surprise.
Trevor, pausing along the beginning of the ride to .... not sure. Probably get the camera out, which Crystal then used. To the right is a placid pastoral ricified picture.
Views along the path as we entered the gauntlet of palms! On the right a critter searches for the meaning of life, or some other nectarry treat.
A bee, with a taste for the sweeter side of life. Crystal taking a break from the bike and strolling along the field berm (hard to think that in a few days this field will be tilled, flooded and planted with rice!).
A field, starting anew. Once the rice is cut and harvested, the fields are drained and planted with flowers. Once the soil is all hopped up on nitrogen and the views have turned a stellar yellow and purple, the fields are harvested and tilled, then flooded. Then, back at it with rice. Here, the flooded fields are just a few days old with rice poking up.
Crystal, as we took a pause along the bike path to watch endless numbers of bees and butterflies swarm about in the vast fields of flowers.
Purple tomato? And a pagoda along the way....
No, no, no....nobody eats cat (or dog) here. But, it was a funny picture nevertheless. Cute little kitty though, she let us play with here for a while (even though we woke her up from a sunny slumber). On the right is the contraption that actually plants the new rice in the fields. They drive it through the fields, and the roller in the back clips off little bits of the flat of rice and plunks it into the muddy soil. They can do a whole field quite fast, which was a bit of a surprise.
Trevor, pausing along the beginning of the ride to .... not sure. Probably get the camera out, which Crystal then used. To the right is a placid pastoral ricified picture.
Views along the path as we entered the gauntlet of palms! On the right a critter searches for the meaning of life, or some other nectarry treat.
A bee, with a taste for the sweeter side of life. Crystal taking a break from the bike and strolling along the field berm (hard to think that in a few days this field will be tilled, flooded and planted with rice!).
A field, starting anew. Once the rice is cut and harvested, the fields are drained and planted with flowers. Once the soil is all hopped up on nitrogen and the views have turned a stellar yellow and purple, the fields are harvested and tilled, then flooded. Then, back at it with rice. Here, the flooded fields are just a few days old with rice poking up.
Crystal, as we took a pause along the bike path to watch endless numbers of bees and butterflies swarm about in the vast fields of flowers.
Purple tomato? And a pagoda along the way....
Working the fields. In the foreground are newly planted rice fields, in the background are two buggies getting down to business - on the left is the rice planter, on the right is the tiller (there are actually two styles, one for dry soil and another - like this one - for the mud). In the very far background are betel nut palm trees, the secondary backbone of the Taiwanese economy.
All in all, it was a short but intense day in Guanshan. We never really expected it to turn out as such, and were quite prepared for a quiet and nominal day. But, as Taiwan always does it seems, some surprises were tossed our way - gorgeous views, delicious food, a nice encounter with the nice lady at the coffee shop/bakery, long bike ride, strawberry fields (in Taiwan?!?!?), tea with a view, sunshine and a nice introduction to an entirely new part of this here Country.
Explore and thee shall find...
