國立藝術館 National Museum of Fine Art

So here’s a first, a National Museum of Fine Art in Taiwan. There is an art museum in Taipei, but it’s really just a regional museum, not a national museum. It’s a surprise that Tai Chung was chosen to be the site because everyone complains that Taipei gets all the good stuff. Well, I am glad as well.

Before we got to the museum site, we parked a few blocks way to have lunch first. This is not your typical Taiwan city. It’s open, clean, organized and I actually felt comfortable. This is so unlike Taipei. I think I can live here.

The museum is a new one. The city government was trying to compete for the next Guggenheim Museum but did not make it for some reason. So they built this instead. Architecturally, it’s nothing impressive to rave about, but I like the openness of the facility, which is a good thing since Taiwan is always struggling for space. It is both a pleasant surprise to me and disappointment inside the museum. I was glad that there is finally a place in Taiwan to host major exhibitions and collection, a collection of our own other than those left from the ancient history. However, I was disappointed at the design and construction of the museum. It doesn’t look like a recently built building because the use of materials lay out does not show maturity in the designer’s, or rather, the decision maker’s judgment. This is the moment to shine, but I think they definitely need more buffing compound.

Nonetheless, I think this is a good start. Like I said, I am glad to be here.

Umbrella locker.

清境農場 Qing Jing Farm

There are several well known destinations in the mountains in Taiwan, resorts if you will. One of which is Qing Jing Farm. Most of these “farms” were established by the government in the past as a means to either house retired veterans or provide something for them to do. Over time, the presence of government influence wears out and tourists take over.

See, because Taiwan is such a small island, over populated, over urbanized and highly polluted. Since young, the concept of grass, or rather “lawn” only exists in dream lands. We ALL dreamed of laying on a nice patch of grass and nap away, but this was such an impossible dream in Taiwan. Even if there is unused land, it would have been used to cultivate food.

Oing Jing Farm is just that dream land that Taiwanese hold dearly to. It’s famous because of two things. Grass land and sheep. I mean, what’s the big deal with grass sheep???? That’s how small Taiwan is, that even grass and sheep are big deals.

Needless to say, Qing Jing Farm is an extremely popular spot and always jam packed with tourists. So why am I here? Well, I have no where else to go either. So I’ve join the rest of the island’s bored population to convince myself that I am not bored.

No that's not my kid!!!

The sheep are HUNGRY!!!! This is a terrifying looking feed dispenser.

I guess I am feeling underwhelmed because I just came back from a month-long road trip through America’s most epic landscapes, driving through the vast open desert and lush green forest, experiencing the wide variety of cultural difference and weather. Yet I spent 2 hours on the road to a spot, supposedly remote and away from the urban life, to find myself surrounded by Starbucks and 7-Elevens. Not to mention the food stalls that are everywhere. See, as long as there’s Taiwanese, there’s food, and as long as there’s food, people eat. It’s a unbreakable Taiwanese cultural law. It’s like…. if you didn’t eat, you aint here.

So, sheep. What about the sheep? They wonder around on the grass land, which is pretty tiny by any American standard of graze land, but they prefer to eat artificial feed from the tourists. And the tourists, instead of just grabbing a handful of grass from the ground, prefer to spend money to buy the animal feed to feed the sheep….. and people are also willing to spend money to ride horses, led by trainers, that walk around a tiny circle on the hard concrete. Seriously, what the hell if wrong with these people???

Cus Taiwan is small, and there’s nothing else to do.

Or really? Perhaps, that’s how they’ve convinced themselves to think.

Just now, the news did a segment about some mountain that has taken countless mountaineers’ lives and my mom was complaining how stupid these climbers are, who took the adventure despite knowing how dangerous it is.

So let’s all go feed sheep with feed that you buy with money and ride horses around a tiny concrete circle!!!!

DON'T MOLEST THE SHEEP!!!

Tea Plantations

Not-so-successful night shots. Damn clouds!!!

More photos HERE!!!

逢甲夜市 Tai Chung: Feng Jia Night Market

Tai Chung is the third largest city in Taiwan, after Taipei and KaoHsiung. I know almost nothing about this city despite having driven through it a few times, but never had the chance to explore it. I don’t know any one in this city, nor its lay out. Today, I am just a passenger on a car going to somewhere. We arrive at Tai Chung city as a half way stop to spend the night, but to explore its most famous night market, the Feng Jia Night Market.

There is something unique about Feng Jia Night Market, that is, it is right at the door of Feng Jia University. So really, the night market exists because of the student population. I was thinking how amazing it would be if I am a student here. There’s absolutely no way I will be able to maintain my weight!

Usually, night market means two things. Chaos and filth. Since this is the norm in Taipei, I wasn’t expecting any different in Tai Chung. To my surprises, considering the crowd, the streets were quite clean. It’s also interesting how the LED revolution has taken over Taiwan. Since Taiwan is the bigger exporter of LEDs, not only are many road signs now made of LEDs, even the stall signs are LED aided. It’s like the futuristic version of night market, when humanity progress from neon lights to the high tech and efficient LEDs.

The night was great because Tai Chung left me a good first impression. All that’s on the media on Tai Chung are its notorious night clubs and gang related events, but so far I am impressed. The streets are also relatively easy to navigate and definitely better laid out than Taipei. Of course, Tai Chung, being a younger city has the advantage of learning from prior experience. So here’s an option for me if I were to consider where to settle. Bring just 2.5 hours from Taipei, I think I can deal with that.

No, no one's selling dog meat. The girl behind was promoting some thing and the dog was there for show.

Coin operated fortune telling machine!!!!

More night market photos HERE!!!

Grand American Tour:The End

The plane approached Taiwan as the day was just about to begin. Descending through the thick clouds, the sun was just over the horizon waiting to show its face to the world. I’m back.



Walking out of the airport, there were tons of police and media. Apparently there’s some famous dude coming to Taiwan this morning. I didn’t see who he is, but as I got into the taxi, the photographers went crazy inside the waiting area. Oh well, not for me.

From the airport to home, I realized that there have been a lot of changes in the past year, more than any “year” that I’ve noticed. The airport is still under renovation after under heavy critics from the public of being out dates and embarrassing. I definitely agree. The immigration process is much quicker. The luggage conveyer were spitting out baggage more efficiently, although still a ways off Singapore’s Changi Airport. Getting onto the road, the road surface seems new. The roads are also installed with LED road signs powered by solar panels. Wow, that’s a first! Along the way, I see that the Taipei University campus is fully operational. Getting off the ramp, it’s been modified to have another continuing extension to another part of the city. Onto the local roads, the city drew up some bike lanes for cyclists although it really doesn’t make sense to have to share it with pedestrians. However, Taiwan’s traffic isn’t all that friendly either, so I guess it’s a compromise.

It’s 6.30am in the morning. The air is hazy as always, but businesses are already going at full speed. Food stands are packed with people accumulating energy for the rest of the morning. Markets are busy and even used car dealerships’ lights are already on. That’s the typical Taiwanese entrepreneur spirit. Most people work for themselves, therefore it’s up to them to put in the extra mile to make the buck.

So far, the biggest challenge I am facing is really the perspective of ethics. Having lived abroad for most of my life, I’ve learned to live in the most honest and respectful ways. Getting back home, my mom was telling me that she got a bunch of pears from this fruit stand for real cheap because it was at the end of the day and the stall owner had to discount them. 8 for NT$100, which is about US$3. Well, I am sure that somewhere in Confucius’ teachings, one will find teaching of not to take advantage of people in their vulnerable states. Which means, I’d not have liked to take advantage of the discount just because the lady needed to sell out before she closes for the day. The pears are fine, and there is nothing wrong with anything. So why should I pay less? Yes, I sound ridiculous. Why not take advantage when it doesn’t hurt? I don’t know, I just know that my mind doesn’t operate like any one here. So much for a start.

Grand American Tour Day 31: Later!

So here I am, sitting at the Seattle airport waiting for my plane to take off. It’s a 2.10am flight, will get to Taipei at 5.45am…. what a timing!



It’s at least another 1.5 hours before boarding, so here’s time to reflect before I get tooooo tired.

The decision to leave is both a carefully considered and abrupt one. How so? It’s matter of time that I will be leaving. I know it and I plan for it. It is abrupt because I was on the other side of the decision for quite some time until the moment when I felt that it’s time. Making this decision means a few things. It means that I am giving up a job that I am just warming up to. It means that I am giving up steady increasing savings, a routine lifestyle of 9-5, knowing what I need to do the next day, knowing that I can afford to waste my weekends because there is a next one, knowing that I will either go for a run or to the gym every day after work. I also gave up my access to a reliable car, one which I’ve had for just as much time as I’ve been in the states. I am also giving up what I am familiar with, after almost 10 years of being in the country. I am giving up speaking English on the daily basis, discussing, debating and writing in this language which I’ve learned to use much more than my native tongue. So what am I getting myself into? Well, I have to relearn how to write Chinese, learn how to type the way Taiwanese type, and learn how to speak Chinese at the level that I do with English. All the professional and technical terms that I learned in English, all the words of expression that I think with, I have to translate them to Chinese. I also don’t have a local presence in Taiwan. I don’t have a bed room, let alone a bed. I don’t have a phone, not that I have a lot of people to call in Taiwan in the first place. So I don’t know a lot of people. I will be staying with my parents, which is not uncommon, but that means I don’t get to live exactly to how I’d like it. I will get free meals, but as a family. It’s not better or worse, it’s different, and all it is, is getting used to the difference in conveniences and sacrifices.



But first, I made the decision to take this road trip. I knew it was going to be a massive undertaking, but I also thought that if I can’t even follow through with this, I won’t be able to pull through what’s coming ahead. So in a way, I am torturing myself. This trip is long. Sometimes it doesn’t feel so, especially when I am enjoying a particular spot. For example, when listening to the live band at Antones in Austin, that’s where my mind was. However, as I was driving across Texas towards El Paso, my mind was full of doubt. It’s always during the transition where I start to have thoughts of pulling out, because I do have a choice. After Boise, I was basically on a shut down mode. I made the decision to drive to the west coast, up to the north west corner before heading down to Seattle. The drive was much longer than anticipated, and the depressing weather did not help either. But I pushed up, almost in a numb way even though the road was simple awesome and I was having a blast driving through the twisty forest roads. When I arrived at Seattle, well, I just want to chill. Seattle is a great and energetic city, a very progressive one. To me, it’s the kind of city when you come as a visitor, but your mind keeps thinking how it will be live to be a local because it is that attractive. The demographics is very diverse, probably second to Vancouver and Toronto. It is very different from the rest of the country. It’s got it’s own mind and perspective.

That said, it’s been an interesting drive across the country. From Florida’s tropical coastal climate to the Spicy New Orleans, to the surprising young Austin then the Mexican town of El Paso. Scottsdale’s extremely hot desert weather and landscape was definitely a shock, and spending one full week starring at the red rocks of the canyons really gets into you. Then, it’s the farmlands of Idaho and rotten egg smell of Yellowstone. The clouds dominated the sky of the north west, it was like taking a mist shower constantly in the dense lush forest of the Olympic National Park. Finally, I arrive at one of the best cities to live in and very fortunate to be staying at a buddy’s place and not some motel.



Speaking of motels, I lost count of the number. I should have taken a photo of each room number. That would be awesome. During this trip, the rooms that I stay in varied quite a bit. From the very nice studio setting in Extended Stay in Austin and very unique themed furnishing of Victoria Inn in Kanab to the cheap beach front hotel of Flamingo Hotel in Panama City Beach and the trailer-like Bay View Motel of Neah Bay. I want to mention Days Inn of Bastrop, TX because the staff, Mike, was extremely helpful and accommodating. I heard that they suffered quite serious wild fire a week after I left, so I hope everything is fine over there. I also want to mention that Bay View’s trailer-like room is fully functional and I have nothing to complain about. So don’t lose faith in them.

I didn’t meet as many interesting people as I thought given that this is a month-long trip. However, I appreciate the friendliness of the mechanic just outside of Lafayette, LA, the flock of German tourists in the Arizona-Utah area, Jim and Barb and the goldens, horse, rabbits and birds, the helpful people at Neah Bay and of course friends who took me in along the way. Oh, also, the very nice folks at Monument Valley who towed the car out of the ditch… how can I not mention and thank them! Plus, the mechanics at Iraan, TX who fixed my tire so I can get on my way and drive 300miles to El Paso.

That said, it was a trip of luck. Luck that got me safely at Seattle. When I was stuck with a flat tire, I was lucky that I was able to put the spare on fairly quickly. I was lucky that I had a GPS that told me about the auto repair shop just 15 miles away. I was lucky that it was still early in the afternoon so the shop was still open. I was also lucky that the tire was fixable and I was on my way in no time.

I was also lucky that the couple with pick up truck stopped to help tow the car out of the sand pit at the right time, lucky that they had the equipment to do so. I was lucky to spot the rusting classic car parts laying in the open with the sun set directly behind them, lucky that I had my tripod with me to take those awesome shots. I was lucky that the night at Zion National Park was clear and was able to see a falling meteor breaking up as it burns in the atmosphere. I was lucky that when I was being stopped by the Border Patrol, I had my papers since I was leaving the country anyways. Phew on that one! So this trip has a lot to thank, and I can’t thank more by sharing it.

Parting with my car was probably one of the harder things to do. It reminded my of my experience of looking for a family to take my dog before I came to the US. Days before I sold it, as I was driving through the twisty forest roads, I kept thinking that this is the last trip with the car, and this is probably the best thing I can offer back to the car. To take it across the country, onto the variety of roads and surfaces that most cars don’t ever get to. It did favor for me by living up to expectation for all ten years, even till the last moment, when the new owner drove it away. It was still just as solid as it was. It’s a sad feeling, but I am glad that it is living strong in someone else’s hands.

Sitting here at the waiting area, I’m glad I have time to think about what happened. I guess when I get off the plane and onto the cab for the 45min ride back home, I will have time to think about what’s next. In the mean time, I am breathing the American air ( I won’t go as far as to call it “air of freedom”). Soon I will be stuffed into a tube and when I get out of it, I will be inhaling in the polluted Taipei air. Well, not looking forward to that. So I will save this entry, close the document, shut down the laptop and wait for the announcement to board. Yeap, see you on the ground.