Mukumugi & Taroko Gorge, Hualien

Taroko Gorge
Taroko National Park is one of the signature tourist attrations in Taiwan. It's located on the east end of the Central Cross-Island Highway (Provincial Highway No. 8) in Hualien, which was the first highway that connects east and west parts of Taiwan through the majestic central mountains. The budget used to build the Central Cross-Island Highway was funded by United States and the workers were veterans who fellback from mainland China to Taiwan with the Government in 1949. The construction began on July 7, 1956, and was first opened to traffic on May 9, 1960. The 190.83 kilometer highway passing through various topographies, altitude ranged from sea level to 3,000 meters and the most beautiful/majestic sceneries on the road are riveting for the last 20 km at the east end.

Most tourist groups spend only a half day in the park to visit Eternal Spring (Changchun) Shrine Trail,  Swallow Grotto (Yanzihkou) Trail and the Tunnel of Nine Turns (Jiuqudong) Trail. Everyday, after lunch, swarms of crowds diminish the stupendous workmanship of the trails. It is wise to visit these trails in the early morning when the solitude intensifies the majesty of the gorge and then you can really project yourself back to the time when the veterans doug through the marble of the mountainside. Except for the 3 most popular trails, Taroko National Park has much more to offer; you can easily spend a whole week hiking in the park on different trails as each trail has its uniqueness and it's a shame to miss one.

Recently, I spent 2 days in the park and finally visited the Shakadang Trail (4.4km/oneway; 3-4 hours/roundtrip) and Lüshui Trail (2km/oneway; one hour/roundtrip) for the very first time. A friend of mine once told me that she thought the Shakadang trail is the most beautiful trail in Taroko National Park. I have been to Taroko many times but I could never find the entrance of Shakadang trail so I stopped by the tourist center of Taroko and found the information: "The trail entrance is near the park headquarters to the west. Through the tunnel of Shakadang about 1km(0.6mile) from the headquarters, there is a Shakadang bridge connect to it. On the right of the bridge head, take the staircase down to the trailhead" (there is a small parking on the other end of the Shakadang bridge, you can park your car there and walk back to the entrance). Shakadang trail was built along the Shakadang river cliffs during Japanese colonial period in order to divert water to the Liwu hydropower plant. Thousands of years, the river cut through the gorge leaving mysterious patterns on marble that reflects on still, copper blue waters in a greenish background, such scenery earned the trail the name "Mysterious Valley Trail". I couldn't agree with my friend more, Shakadang is the most beautiful trail in the Park and it's worth spending 4 hours for a roundtrip.

The other new experience on this trip was the Lushui Trail. The history of the trail can be traced back 300 years. It was the trail used between Taroko tribes when they first settled along the Liwu river. Walking on this trail, high above the Central Cross-Island Highway, you can overlook the Lushui terrace. A suspension bridge, a tunnel with water dripping down, butterflies, bees, etc. along the way, it was an easy yet surprising trail.

More info:
Transportation: Tourist shuttle bus, Taroko route, (Time table and Fare Sheet)
Accommodation: Leader Village Taroko, Tienhsiang Youth Hostel, Silks Place Taroko, and a camping site at Lushui.
Resturant: Except for accommodation sites listed above, there are a few resturants next to the Tienhsiang bus station.

Mukumugi
Meqmegi was the name of the first Taroko tribal family who settled in this area about 300 years ago. To honor their ancestors, the tribes called this area "MGMGI" and was known as "Mukumugi", a transliteration from the Taroko tribe, by others. The place was renamed "Tongmen" (copper gate) as a copper mine was found here. Mukumugi is located in Tongmen township, Sioulin county, about 20 min driving distance from Hualien City. Compared to the famous Taroko National Park, Mukumugi is less known and visited by tourists as it was closed for public visit on May 20th, 2003 in order to restore the ecosystem. The area was re-opened 3 years later, with a 300 visitors/day restriction. The Mukumugi eco-tourism started to get the public's attention as the Taroko National Park is getting over crowded, day by day. Unlike the Shakadang trail in the Taroko National Park, Mukumugi not only offers a similar picturesque scenery but also a resort that allows vistors to have a close encounter with the nature.

More info:
Entrance permit application:
1. go to the Tongmen police station and fill-out the form on the day of entrance (ID needed); go early to ensure you are in the first 300 applicants list.
2. apply the permit online at http://eli.npa.gov.tw/E7WebO/index02.jsp (Chinese only): you should send out your application 7-30 days before your trip; 2-3 days after sending out the application, go back to the website and check if you get the permit. If you do, print it out and take it with you to the Tongmen police station on the day of your trip and have them stamp it (no queue with others who apply the permit on site).

Free tour guide: contact the Mukumugi tourist center in advance. (Tel :03-8641822) There are two trails in the Mukumugi area. One more difficult, requires a guide. Contact tourist center for more information.

Merry Xmas and Happy New Year

Merry Xmas and have a wonderful year in 2011

Taitung & highway 9 and 11

The central mountains separate the east part of Taiwan from the west, leaving the east coast untouched from the modernization that changed green fields into skyscrapers. Eastern Taiwan is known as the Garden of Eden of Taiwan; It is also a place where over half the aborigines of Taiwan call home.

Taitung is located in south east Taiwan, a pit stop for travellers to Green Island and Orchid Island. Despite the fact that Han is the majority of demographic composition in Taitung city,  the city is the biggest aboriginal inhabitation in Taiwan. The biggest tribe in Taitung is the Ami (about 14000 people) followed by Puyuma (4000), Paiwan (1000), Rukai, and Yami etc. The various indigenous cultures make Taitung a great city for an aboriginal encounter. The main aboriginal festival, Malikoda, is held in July and August by Ami tribe, and the Mangayau, is held by Puyuma tribe in December. For details of aboriginal festival schedules and venues, visit Taiwan's Indegenous Peoples Portal (Chinese Only). Taitung is also one of the most important archaeological sites in Taiwan;  Changpin Culture, Chihlin Culture (Huge Stone Culture), and Peinan Culture are the 3 most important prehistory heritages found in Taitung. It is easy to spend 2 hours in the National Museum of Prehistory (opening hours: Tue-Sun, 09:00-17:00, NT$80/person (the ticket also gives you free access to Beinan Culture Park); audio guide avaliable for free rental / ID needed) where you can not only travel back to the prehistory  but also get to know the diversity of the Austronesian Cultures in Taiwan. The water fountain show of the museum is another attraction for visitors in Taitung, the schedules are 11:00-11:20, 17:00-17:20, and 20:00-20:40.

Except for cultural festivals, there are two distinct sceneries scattering along highway 9, the rift valley line, and highway 11, the coast line, from Taitung to Hualien. There are 3 routes of tourist shuttle buses that shuttle in between the tourist attractions in Taitung City (NT$100/person, unlimited access to all 3 routes on the purchase day). The rift valley route takes highway 9 stopping by Beinan Culture park, Endemic Plant Area, Chu Lu Ranch, and Lu Ye Hill etc; whereas the offshore island route takes highway 11 stopping by Forest Park, FuGang Fishing Harbor, Shiao Ye Liou, and Water Flowing Uphill etc. The 3rd tourist bus, Taitung City route, commutes between Taitung train station and Taitung airport stopping by Forest Park, Fruit Street, and National Museum of Prehistory etc. The 3 routes cover most of the tourist attractions in Taitung, however, to really enjoy the beauty of eastern Taiwan, I highly recommend to rent a car and take a few days driving along highway 9 or 11. Day lily sightings during late July to early October attract tourists to stay overnight on the mountains, to witness the moment when the golden hue of the flowers are brought up by the first ray from the Sun, spreading outward until the whole mountain is covered in a golden glow; hot springs wash away fatigue that was built up when driving in the wandering mountain roads and ranches make cowboy dreams come true for a day, etc; these are the excitments that highway 9 has to offer. Driving on highway 11, on one side the moutains are veiled occasionally by mists that makes the landscape look even more majestic and on the other side off the cliff, the waveless shimmering water of the Pacific Ocean contrasts the mercurial mountains making the name "Pacific" appreciated.

Useful websites:
Department of culture and tourism Taitung--the official tourisim website of Taitung.
East Rift Valley Natioanl Scenic Area-- Scenic spots along highway 9
East Coast National Scenic Area-- Scenic spots along highway 11
Wikitravel Taitung-- General information

Car rental tip:
The car rental services are mostly located in a walking distance of Taitung train station (car rentals in Taitung google map). The Union Car Rental has the best price. However, if you are planing to rent a car in Taitung and return it in other cities, you should stick with the HOTAI LEASING CORPORATION(HLC) as you don't have to pay an extra fee NT$1000-3000 if a reservation is made in advance.

A 3 days Itinerary:
Day 1: Visit Gao Tai Flying Sports Park in Lu Ye for sky diving -> lunch at Taitung Yuan Sen Applied Botanical Garden--taste organic vegetables hot pot -> Chu Lu Ranch for a walk -> Beinan Culture Park -> National Museum of Prehistory -> water fountain show at 20:00 -> check in to Aboriginal Culture Hotel (cheap and clean but NO air conditioning)

Day 2: Dulan Sugar Factory -> Water flowing uphill -> Shiao Ye Liu -> Fugang Fishing Harbor for seafood lunch -> Zhiben Forest Recreation Area -> check in one of the hot spring hotels.

Day 3: Day lily sighting on Jean Zen mountain in Taimali (late July  to early October only) -> Taitung Forest Park bicycle riding (you can rent the bicycle at the Taitung Aboriginal Culture Hotel) -> Taitung Railway Art Village.

Green Island

Green island (綠島, Lyu dao) is a small vocanic island located about 33km off the eastern coast of Taiwan. The island was originally inhabited by Ami aborigines who called it Sanasai, meaning the birth place of ancestors. A fisherman, Chen bi Xian, who led the village from Xiao Lu Chou first settled down on the island in 1803 and the Han immigration started. The island was called "Huo Shao Dao" (fire-burned island) in the begining of 19 century (Chin Dynasty) and renamed "Green Island" by the magistrate of Taitung in 1949. There are several versions of stories about how the island was called fire-burned island including the residents would light up torches on the hill of the island to guide fishing boats to a safety return before there was a light house; a wild fire burned down the half island; and the red soil was exposed because the vegetation on the island was destroyed by typhoon in summmer or cold fronts in the winter time creating an illusion from the distance.

Surrounded by Pacific Ocean, the island is an ideal isotated spot for outlaws, and the island was noted as a place that held the most dangerous exiles of Taiwan. There were two prisons on the island: the Green Island Prison that used to lock up the most brutal gansters is still functioning as a prision today; the Green Island Lodge where most of the political prisoners were held during the white terror is now opened to the public for visit.

Green island has one of the three sea bed hot springs in the world (one in Japan and the other in Italy) that attracts a lot of sea bed hot spring afficionado worldwide. The hot spring is located in a tidal flat, in the eastsouth of the island, a perfect spot for sunrise. Sitting in the ocean and feeling the heat of the hot spring surrounding you as the first ray of sun appears is a unique experience.

Except for the sea bed hot spring and exotic vocanic landscape, the underwater world is the jewel of green island. There are over 300 different species of coral in green island including a 13 meter tall Porites lobata that has lived in the Shrlang area for over 1200 years. Every summer the black current brings many different species of fish to the area making it the high season for tourism.


Video by Yang Zhe Ren, National Museum of Marine Biology & Aquarium.

Transportation:
To the island:
By ferry: NT$ 920/person for a return ticket. Take a ferry at Fugang harbor in Taitung City, check in 30min before departure. You can find the schedule and book a ticket online at http://www.ezboat.com.tw/  (Chinese only).
By air: NT$ 1028/person for an one way ticket. Take a plane at the Taitung airport;  there are 3 flights a day by daily air;  flight schedule.

On the island:
Motocycle is the best transportation to move around the island, NT$350/day, or you can take one of the tourist buses that depart at 08:00, 09:00, 10:00, 11:00, 14:00, 15:00, 16:00 and 17:00 at the Nanliao Harbor. The bus clockwisely circumnavigates the island, it also makes brief stops at  tourist attractions of the island and the bus final stop is the Nanliao Harbor. It takes about 2 hours for a bus trip, NT$100/person. ( for details call 089-671272)

Accommodation:
There are a lot of B&B on Green Island, most of them provide a package tour (about NT$2000 to 250 per person) including one room, green island return tickets, motocycle, snorkeling/ glass boat/ hot spring, night tour for wild sika deer sighting, etc. you can find out more by surfing the B&B info in the following websites:
http://www.gbnb.com.tw/
http://www.yoyogreenisland.com.tw/

Diving:
http://diving.okgo.tw/
http://blog.yam.com/black481861
http://www.089672010.tw/

South Tainan Station

Yong Kang (永康) and Bao An (保安) Stations are the two most famous stations in Tainan and  the reason those two stations obtained fame is weaved in their names. Departing from Yong Kang to Bao An (South bound), you can read the station names printed on the ticket counterclockwise (clockwise for North bound; Bao an to Yong Kang) and it’s read Yong Boa An Kang (永保安康) which means ‘safe and healthy forever’ so the ticket is a popular collectable in Taiwan. Being one of the stations in the Tainan Urban District  Underground Railway Project (details below), the long forgotten South Tainan Station is remembered again.

Located in an alleyway next to the parking lot of the Abab hotel at Datong road and Goumin road intersection, the South Tainan Station was built in 1943 for unloading reserve supplies for the air force base nearby. It’s 2.67km south of the Tainan Station and that’s how it got the name. The station was destroyed during the WWII and the building now standing was rebuilt in 1950. The station was left unused since 1991and was entrusted to the East district office for maintenance in 2006. In 2010, the Station was transformed from a station to a lounge bar under the 5 year BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer ) contract with the government and started doing business this summer.

The wooden roof, windows that used to sell tickets and two mileposts etc were kept in the renovation. Awards, documents, staff uniforms and railway badges are displayed in the building, it feels like walking into a railway museum instead of a lounge bar at the first glance. Sitting at the outdoor area, a cool beer in hand watching trains passing by, punctuality is not required anymore as leisure is the atmosphere of the station. I imagine passengers aboard passing trains would feel the desire to stop and get off as they see the station now. 

Address: 111, lane 635, Datong rd, sec. 2, Tainan City
Phone: 0926176815
Opening hours: Sun-Thu: 19:00-02:00 with minimun expense NT$150/person, Fri-Sat :19:00-03:00 with minumum expense NT$200/person.

Further reading: The Tainan Urban District  Underground Railway Project on MOTC News

In order to balance regional development, help integrate the transportation system, improve the quality of the environment, and solve the problem of increased traffic caused by the city’s socioeconomic development, the Tainan City Government and the former Taiwan Provincial Government conducted research on the feasibility of railway grade separation in 1993. In 1995, an overall plan was formulated for the Tainan Urban District Underground Railway Project (referred to as “Tainan Project”); in 1999, planning was continued by our bureau’s former Taichung and Tainan Office (changed on July 1, 2009 to the “Central Region Engineering Office”). On September 9, 2009, the project was approved by the Executive Yuan with a total budget of $29.36 billion NT (87.5%, or $25.69 billion, paid by the central government, and 12.5%, or $3.67 billion, paid by the Tainan City Government) and construction time of 7 years, 8 months. After over 15 years of effort, the project has finally been approved and is underway.
 
The project provides the following benefits:

1. Provides metropolitan areas with fast, convenient transportation.
2. Balances urban development and removes obstacles to the development of areas along the railway.
3. Removes nine railroad crossings, four underpasses, and two overpasses along the railway, increasing safety by solving traffic problems caused by crossroads.
4. Solves public environmental problems such noise and vibrations caused by trains.
5. Improves the city’s image and urban quality of life.
6. Increases economic activity, and urban land use value.

Additionally, the Ministry of Transport and Communications will form a working group to steer land development and integration of railway transport infrastructure in order to simultaneously complete railway grade separation works and urban development of the surrounding areas.

The Tainan Urban District Underground Railway Project stretches 8.23 kilometers. It starts in the north at 0.17 kilometers south of Zhonghua Bridge (Yongkang Bridge) on the southern side of Yongkang Station in Tainan County, and runs south to 1.91 kilometers south of Shengcan Road. Major works include:

1. Planning and design, urban rezoning, and the process of land site acquisition.
2. Tunnel construction: Cut & cover reinforced concrete box-shaped structure.
3. Tainan stations: Added two island platforms and additional commuter stations (Linsen Station and South Tainan Station) on four tracks.
4. Old Tainan station preserved and listed as a historic site.
5. Surrounding projects: Station’s surrounding facilities, transfer and improvement of freight (military) transport.
6. Electrical works: Tram line, signal, telecommunication, and station electrical engineering systems.

Six feet under

I started writing this article three years ago, after my Mom passed away, but I couldn't finish it. Every time I tried to go deeper, I ended up lost in overwhelming emotions; feeling suffocated and I couldn't put it down in words, until now. It's ghost month again, it is said every year in July (lunar calendar) all ghosts could pass the gate that separates two worlds and re-enter the world they used to live in and enjoy a feast prepared for them. More than 3 years have passed, I can't stop wondering if reincarnation does exist as it is claimed in Buddhism or Taoism, shouldn't my Mom have already reincarnated? The paradox is why those people keep worshipping a wood tablet for the rest of their life while they believing in reincarnation? Don't they wish the deceased had started a new life? Reincarnated or not.

Filial piety is one of the virtues in Chinese, in fact it is the core idea imprinted in Chinese and we are all chained in this invisible shackle. "You should build an altar in the living room as a home for ancestral tablets where the spirits rest and serve them with joss sticks every morning and evening"; " you should kneel and crawl all the way in to the house as when she passed away you were not by her side"; " you should order wreaths or better, towers made of cans and present them in the most prominent location"; you should...". Tons of "you should" during the funeral process and lots of them made no sense to me. It seemed everyone was an expert in this kind of things and the list of suggestions was not suggestions but orders, failing to comply was considered unfilial or blasphemy. Does it really work this way or it's an inescapable exploitation discovered by undertakers?  "How sad it is that none of the kids in this family got married" was an nice comment from the visitors; "How unfilial could you be, no grandson to carry the family name? She must die in regret!" was the mean one. Despite the fact that we did most of the "suggestions" in the funeral, we still couldn't escape the lynching from others with filial piety held as a weapon.

The funeral should be a final chance that the living can do something for the deceased and through the process the living get to grieve. Somehow, Taiwan developed a unique culture in the funeral ceremony like professional daughters who cry with a microphone in funerals (video) or funeral parade (video). "To make it presentable, at least once in a lifetime they are treated as someone important" says the undertaker, and of course the  filial piety works like a charm. It's for the death or for the living that puzzles me, it seems no one knows that you are dead or dying alone is the greatest fear in Taiwanese and arranging such "entertainment" somehow they manage to have the fear contained.

Years back, we had a discussion about "should we ban burning ghost money" in a class. It was started by a foreigner who posted an article in Tainan Bulletin, urging Taiwanese to stop burning ghost money in order to slow down the global warming. Almost all students in the class were angry; outsiders who came from a country that has the highest CO2 exhaustion, riding second-hand scooters that might not even have their exhaust checked to the protest/petition meeting, how ironic. Nevertheless, finding a substitute for ghost money is an ongoing evolution in Taiwanese's beliefs, with or without a protest from outsiders. The funeral business is adapting to the new thinking. The whole funeral that used to take 49 days is now acceptable to be done in 1 week, and the "funeral entertaining" service has became a sunset business. Even though a custom made furneral service can be arranged, without unleashing it from the shackles of "tradition" how much room can it evolve? I wonder.

Fussen

Fussen is a small town about 2.5 hours south-west of Munich city by train, it's the start/end point of the 350 km romatic road in Germany. The most famous castles, Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau, are located near the town. Travellers by rail change onto buses No. 73 or 78 at Füssen railway station to Hohenschwangau bus stop. I booked a room at Hotel Konig Ludwig in Schwangau, luckily enough, I got on a bus that didn't go to the castles as most of the buses did and 10 minutes later the bus stopped in front of the hotel already.

After checking in, the concierge told me it's better to walk about 10 minutes to the tourist information office in Schwangau Rathaus and then take a bus from there to the castles as not many buses stop at Hotel Konig Luwdig. I went in the tourist info office to get some pamphlets and the staff told me it's about 15 minutes by foot to the castles. Fifteen minutes later, I was still on the road that seemed to have no end and the Neuschwanstein on the hill seemed to be staying away from me at the same distance, it took me about 40 minutes to get to the ticket center! If what the staff told me about the distance was right than I must be a slow walker.

To visit the castles, one has to purchase the tour at the ticket center and arrive at the castle's turnstile at the time that is printed on the ticket. Tours are available in English and German or with an Audio guide. I purchased English tour for both castles, it was a great tour in Hohenschwangau, but I found it too crowded in the Neuschwanstein. It was so crowded that some people couldn't find their way to get in the Throne Hall when our guide started her introduction. So here is the advice: get an audio guide tour for Neuschwanstein. The tours last only 30 minutes, only 7 rooms are opened for the public in Neuschwanstein, and no photos are allowed in both castles. On the path to Marienbrücke (Mary's Bridge), you can get a great bird's eye view of the Hohenschwangau. The bridge itself is as famous as the castles as it provides a great view of the Neuschwanstein. However, to get a postcard-view of the castle, one has to cross the bridge and somewhere in the steep terrain is where the dreamy catstle pictures are taken.

It was around 20:30 when I got back to the ticket center and it was empty down there, no cars no people, I was the only one walking on the road. It was until I heard cheers from a bar at the corner of the tourist information office in Schwangau Rathaus then I realized it was the semi-final football game, Germany V.S Spain. I couldn't find a table available in the bar so I ran back to my hotel bar and ordered a small cup of beer, watching the game with everybody. Basically, my tolerance for alcohol is zero, by the time I finished my beer my eyes were all red like I was crying and the game ended with the result that Germany lost its chance to get the world champion by 1 point. Everyone in the room was disappointed and an old man looked at my red eyes trying to comfort me, he said: "oh well, it happens. Anyway, it was a good game, so don't be sad". I nodded and pretended to wipe off a tear from my eye.

2010 world cup this was the video broadcasted all the time in Germany.

I was wondering why most of the guests in the hotel were elders with walking sticks. During my stay, they even had a prosthesis conference held in the hotel and the hotel looked more like a high-end rehabilitation center then a hotel to me. From the Fussen official website I realized that  the town itself is a recognized hydrotherapy spa and "Where health is tradition" is one of the slogans in Fussen. The nature of the town is incredibly beautiful and the biking trails are well designed so the riders can enjoy the nature without worrying about having a close encounter with automobiles.

The bold €6.90 on the board of a Chinese restaurant attracted my attention when I was wandering around Fussen town. It's very difficult to refuse a Chinese lunch buffet for only €6.90, so I went in and the boss spoke fluent Mandarin made me believe that it would be an authentic Chinese delicacy. "Try our spicy & sour soup" said the boss, while I was enoying my food. I am not a soup person, so I smiled and nodded and kept eating my food. A moment later, she went by and said the same thing to me again, "they are so proud of their spicy & sour soup, it must be good" I thought, so I got a cup and gave it a try. I tasted it and had to try very hard not to scream out loud "man this place needs to hire a better chef, the soup is terrible, yuck!" It tasted sweet and sour instead of spicy and sour, actually it's so sweet and sour that I believed someone must had tip over the sugar and vinegar bottle. A few minutes later the boss went by to check on me (she really was persistant in having their guests try the spicy and sour soup) and she bursted out laughing, "that's not the spicy & sour soup, that's sour sauce for salad" she said. I was so embarrassed, even the "foreigners" at the other tables were giggling, I must be one of the few Taiwanese who could not tell the difference between spicy & sour soup and sour sauce. I finally never did try the soup, but their food was good nevertheless.




View Fussen in a larger map

Useful info:
You can search train timetables of Munich/Füssen as well as bus timetables in Füssen via DB Bahn website.  Print-out train timetables are available at the DB Bahn station lounge in Munich.

You can get a discount when purchasing the tour of the castles or the boat cruise in Forggensee with a hotel check-in certificate.  

A boat cruise on Forggensee is possible. There are long cruises (2 hours, €11),  3 boats depart from Fussen Bootshafen at 10:00, 12:30 and 15:00 daily; and short cruises (55 min, €8), 6 boats depart from Fussen Bootshafen at 10:30, 11:30, 13:00, 14:20, 15:30 and 16:30 daily. More infomation at http://www.tourismus-fuessen.de/schifffahrt.html

Hohenschwangau official website:  http://www.hohenschwangau.de/index.php?id=430
Neuschwanstein official website: http://www.neuschwanstein.de/englisch/palace/index.htm