We stayed in Fusing, Taoyuan last night, within an hour and a half’s driving distance from Taipei. I suppose we could’ve returned to Jiantan yesterday, but there were still a few things to see in the area. Despite Fusing being an essentially empty town with the exception of our youth center, the “Mark of the Chiangs” is found in nearby Cihu, our first stop of the day.
I’ve already gone through an explanation of Chiang Kai-shek and his relationship with Taiwanese history, but as he was the first President of the Republic of China on Taiwan while ruling with Marshall law, people either love him or hate him. His legacy is often a political battle: should we honour and respect the guy who was a military hero back in the early days of the ROC in the 1920's / 1930's... why should we commemorate the guy who fled to Taiwan "temporarily" with military and government officials responsible for the 228 massacre and the forty years of White Terror? Political arguments have also complicated the aftermath of his death. His body is "temporarily" stored here, stuck between those who want him buried in Taiwan's main military cemetery, or returned to his birthplace in China. Yet, his body remains here for now. Reminds me of the KMT still temporarily on Taiwan.
Cihu was home to his favourite residence, filled with ponds and lakes.
The place we visited is full with statues and busts of Chiang Kai-shek, among pretty landscapes of a small lake, a river, some bridges, and of course, the mountains in the background. We also visited his Mausoleum, and after watching the changing of the guard, we were permitted to walk through the building, passing by open doors that showed a closed coffin, placed with his portrait and a cross.
Left: Ceremonial Guards; Right: Boardwalks on the Hill nearby.
Afterwards, we had about thirty minutes of free time, where we walked around the area, particularly over the bridges and along the river. Soon, we were back on our bus and driving towards our final stop on our “down south” trip: Yingge, known as Taiwan’s number one place for ceramic goods.
The town contains a ceramic factory as well as a museum dedicated to the history and science of ceramic goods, but our stop was its famous Ceramics Old Street, featuring over eight hundred shops selling… ceramic products (what a surprise!). We were now very close to Taipei; crossing a bridge on the way to Yingge gave us a view of Taipei 101 in the distance, and returning to sea level away from the mountains, the weather once again was very hot and humid. Thus, when we stepped off the bus into the heat, our first thought was to find air conditioning, which turned out to be at the 7-11 right down the street.
How often does a 7-11 get a rush of over a hundred foreign students looking for cold drinks and AC? =P
Once we had cooled down, we walked down the street, passing by several shops selling kitchenware, ocarinas, clay figurines, and tea sets, ranging from cheap souvenirs to bowls that cost more than my four weeks in Taiwan. We had about an hour; I didn’t see anything that caught my eye, and an hour later, we were back on our bus on the way to the Jiantan Youth Activity Center.
from expensive museum-like stores to much cheaper shops
The surrounding streets became more and more familiar; heading Northward, we crossed the bridge over the Keelung River, took a right turn at the first traffic light, passed by our bowling place, and returned to our Youth Center at Jiantan. We thanked the bus driver, took our bags, and headed to our new assigned room... well, except those who beelined for the laundry machines.
The room situation turned out to be quite chaotic though. By this time through the program, friends have been made, and there are others you want to room with, and perhaps others you don't. Hence, campers were involved in a huge shuffle of keys, a process that left nearly no one in their original room make. This would later make tonight's bed check a headache - for communication and liability purposes, the counselors need to know who is in each room and we need to sign for responsibility. A room sign up list would've been a better idea. Just sayin'.
By six o'clock (arrival was at four), we were settling down in our room, happy with our roommates. We had picked up our luggages from the basement (we were given bags to put our stuff in during the ten day trip), and many were now either sleeping or getting ready to head out in the evening.
I had plans with one of my dad's friends - Jim - who used to study in Toronto but is now working in Hsinchu, Taiwan high tech capital, as an engineer for iPad touch screens. Our first stop was dinner at the Miramar Entertainment Park, a five story mall with a rooftop featuring a concert area and a ferris wheel. We had sukiyaki for dinner, a Japanese style hot pot dinner, distinctive from other hot pot styles because of its traditional shallow iron pot, its specific broth, and a special raw egg [yolk] sauce for dipping. As it was a Japanese restaurant, we decided to give some of its sushi a try as well, ordering two shrimp-asparagus hand rolls.
Sukiyaki Dinner series. [I have started experimenting with embedded slideshows]
After dinner, we took the ferris wheel on top of the mall, offering a view of Taipei's night sky, with Taipei 101 not too far in the distance. The ferris wheel was 70 metres in diameter, taking about ten minutes to go around. There are two lines for the ferris wheel - we waited for about five minutes for one of the regular ferris wheel cars, but there were a few in line for the wheel's one transparent car. Waiting time was 72 minutes, but with the right person, what's nicer than having a 360 degree view of Taipei all around you?
The wheel. Left: The Miramar Entertainment Park/Mall; Right: The wheel at night.
The view from the very top.
Afterwards, we stopped by a bakery, and we then headed to Jim's parent's house (he would bring me to his, but it's at Hsinchu, an hour away). On the way, Jim insisted that we stop by another small shop specializing in Taiwan "small eats" near the area he grew up. We didn't have much seafood during hot pot, so he brought me to one of those places "only the locals know", where we ordered oysters, clams, a small fish, and some bamboo, all accompanied with one of our favourite drinks: Apple Sidra.
As eleven approached, I was dropped off back at Jiantan. After a ten day trip, a long day, and with a growing sore throat I feared would worsen, I was soon in bed, right after the nightmare that was bed check that night - glad I didn't have to wake up for some 6:50 wake up call next day =).
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