Tag Hsinchu
Something that you see often in Taiwan, and I believe also in other parts of Asia, but far less common in Europe, are the small alleys; the winding lanes in between and behind the buildings of a city block. For the most part these little nameless streets are rather ugly in a utilitarian sort of way. Since few people enter these alleys there tends to be lots of stuff there that’s hidden from view: water pipes, AC units, disused scooters, piles of recycling and so forth. I have found however, that there’s a special kind of beauty in these places, … Read the rest
What my eyes see as fairy-tale-esque, the camera screen shows as flat. Three verdant mountains rising up in my left, one behind the other, their sides dotted with clusters of white tong flowers. The mists swirl around their peaks, alternately revealing the greenery for a moment then hiding it again. In front and to the right the valley opens up, lighter greens and more white flowers, another mist shrouded mountain in the distance. I take a sip of my tea then pick up the camera again, readjust the settings and put my eye to the viewfinder. Let's see if I can capture that magical atmosphere this time.
I guess that we are all aware that our oceans are full of plastic. For me at least, this awareness was what I like to call an intellectual awareness that let me keep a kind of detected attitude to the problem – I knew it existed but it didn’t really affect my day to day life. Last weekend however, that changed. Me and my family went out to the beach and to my great surprise there was a wide belt of plastic trash topping the dunes, stretching the entire length of the beach. It had not been there the last … Read the rest
Before becoming a parent I thought having a small child would mean being stuck at home most of the time. Recently I’ve found more and more that while there are some limitations, it is possible to go out and do fun things. Granted you have to make some adjustments to what you are doing and where you are going but still, you can go on little mini adventures. For instance me and my wife used to really enjoy taking the motorbike up into the mountains then go hiking to some semi-remote waterfall. We can’t go by motorbike anymore, but if … Read the rest
A couple of weeks ago I was out with the motorcycle in the mountains and rediscovered a trail that we tried to hike many years ago but never finished because part of it had collapsed, then forgot about. From what I could see it seemed to be in good shape, so last weekend we decided to give it another go…this time with the baby.
It’s actually not much of a trail, only a few hundred meters long, but it leads to a waterfall which in my opinion makes it a worthwhile hike. The place isn’t particularly popular and it’s a … Read the rest
Near the center of Hsinchu City there is an old indoor market called Dongmen Market. It used to be a so called wet market where people would go to buy groceries, clothes and other everyday items. The place has been on the decline for a number of years with more and more of the little vendor stalls and shops closing down. Lately however, a lot of young people have been opening little restaurants, cafes and bars in the old vendor spaces. Most of these businesses are only open in the afternoons and evenings, so during the day the place is … Read the rest
A vast expanse of grayish brown sand, broken up by a couple of large puddles left over by the receding tide. Shallow canals winding their way through the wet sand, leading out to a large lagoon of pale blue water, and in the distance the white crests where the waves break over the outer sand bank. The sun shining down from a cloudless sky, topping every unevenness in the sand and every ripple in the water with a dash of silver. The distant roar of the breaking waves fills the air, every other sound seems to have been blown away … Read the rest
I’m half sitting in my hospital bed, not much to do except letting my eyes wander about the room. To the right, the peach colored curtain separating me from the next bed, to the left the leather clad visitor chair and the light switches on the wall marked A and B. The ceiling above with the four fluorescent tubes casting their sterile light over the room, next to it the grating covering the ventilation, the smoke detector off to the side, and the rail for the curtain running like railroad tracks through the landscape. My main companion, the cream colored … Read the rest
A typhoon is approaching, it was raining cats and dogs earlier but by now it has calmed down and it’s no longer so bad that it’s an excuse for shirking my exercise routine. The foul weather is keeping all the other schmucks indoors so at least there aren’t any onlookers or stragglers, but I was hoping it would be windy enough to keep me cool; I was wrong, thanks to my Swedish genome I am sweating in the rain. I swat at the dripping leaves as I run by, hoping the spray will cool me off but to no avail, … Read the rest
We have stumbled upon this place more or less at random. We only stopped at the reservoir for a quick rest before going home, but impulsively decided to circumnavigate the lake, just for fun. And here, on the small road around it, we found this place, a Christian graveyard. The steep hillside is terraced in numerous levels, kind of like the spectator gallery at a sports arena but instead of seats, there are walkways lined with graves; rows and rows of what looks like sarcophagi with slab headstones at one end. Then only difference between them is the color of … Read the rest