May Heaven Bless Taiwan

Chiang Kai-Shek ruled Taiwan for 27 years. He was a ruthless dictator who came here from Mainland China in 1949 and brought his KMT (Kuomintanag) government. Previous to 1947 Taiwan had been occupied by Japanese for 52 years.  Japan was forced to relinquish Taiwan at the end of WWII. Chiang enforced Martial Law. He was responsible for the White Terror, when 10,000  to 30,000 citizens were slain.

Chiang died in 1975. Martial law remained in place until 1987. In 1996 Taiwan held it's first election and became a democracy. An outsider, like me, doesn't quite understand why this young democracy continues to have so many monuments to him, but there you have it.  I'm an outsider.

September 2015, we visited Chiang's bunker type home in the Yangming Mountains.  This year we visited a few more places where he has been memorialized. At the Yangming Mountrain retreat we learned that in private life Chiang was a poet and his wife a painter - lovely people. We also learned that he entertained important political figures from around the world.

The summer residence.

Our first stop this year was Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall and Cultural Center.  This is a gorgeous park, with a fabulous gate, two enormous performance halls, museums and a grandiose monument with an enormous bronze statue of him looking  kind and scholarly. It was difficult for me to take photos of the individual elements in the park because they are so big.

An enormous bronze sculpture of Chiang sitting on a chair is located in this monument.  Chiang died at age 88 so there are 88 steps leading up to the statue hall.  The statue is reminiscent of the Lincoln Memorial

This is one of the two performance halls, and the white entrance gate is toward the left with the blue tile roof.

There are two covered walkways like this one.  Perfect for trying to stay cool and out of the sun. While we were walking through we came across a group of 90+ year olds singing old Japanese folk songs.  These people grew up during Japanese occupation so these were the songs they learned as children.

Reindeer sculpture near the children's playground

Another quirky sculpture.

Another day, we visited the Shilin Official Residence where where Chiang and Madam Chiang lived for 26 years.  This home was originally built by the Japanese in the middle of a lovely botanical garden.  According to the tour we took, Chiang was kindly and quiet.  He was a scholar, poet, husband, father and grandfather.  Just like at the summer residence, there was no mention of his politics.

The grounds of the official residence are lovely.  No photos allowed in the residence.

Because the grounds of the official residence are botanical gardens started during Japanese occupation, there are greenhouses.

We also visited the 2-28 Memorial Peace Park.  Here, we started to get the feel for the real Chiang.  The monument was built in 1996 in recognition of the murder of 10,000 to 30,000 people when riots erupted in 1947 after a woman was arrested selling black market cigarettes.  When police fired into the crowd and killed a bystander the crowd snapped and began an uprising against Chiang's harsh rule.   Just think, it took the government 49 years to recognize or apologize for this tragic period in history.

The monument itself is somewhat shocking with its angular design, but it works for me.

I love the final two sentences.

Within the park is a temple. We were lucky enough to discover this during the chanting session.

Offerings that are being blessed.

Our final destination in Chiang's memory was Treasure Hill. This small area on the edge of the Xindian River originated around 1950.  It was built by veteran KMT soldiers who came to Taiwan with Chiang from Mainland. They  built themselves homes on the side of a hill overlooking the river using recycled materials that they "borrowed" from army storage sheds.

Treasure Hill exists today as an artists colony.  We found it extremely charming.

Houses are built higgelty piggelty up the hills.

Artists were taking advantage of the charm.  School children were working in a community garden and singing.

These kids put on quite a show for us with their singing and hand motions.

Treasure Hill even has it's own temple perched on the side of a hill.

This was my favorite god.  I think it must be the god who takes care of children.

I love all the hidden corners of temples.

Disclosure:  My history lesson is over.  Taiwanese history is very complex, and these are high points that stuck in my head as we toured the various sights.  There may be inconsistencies or errors in my over simplified telling of the stories. The important point is that Taiwan is now a democracy and they fought hard to achieve this.  I admire this country for their dedication.

Restaurant Row

Taylor and I normally go to bed quite early, so we aren't out at night to see what our neighborhood in Portland is like after dark.  Here in Taipei however, we go out every night at 8:40 p.m. to meet the trash trucks. A consequence of this behavior is we have discovered that we live in a lively neighborhood.

One night, on our way home, we realized that the lane around the corner from our back door is a regular restaurant row. During daylight hours it's shuttered and quiet, but it opens up late in the day to become a vibrant gathering center for those who stay up later than us.

Here's the address in case you want to visit any of the restaurants.

Here's the view from our table at the Samovar.  In addition to restaurants, this lane is also home to quite a few bookstores. Can you see the bookstore across the street?

Hot latte for her, cold latte for him.  This was the most expensive coffee we had in our entire month in Taipei.  But, isn't it pretty?

Samovar from the outside.

You've got to love the name, "Piglet friendly cafe."  It serves coffee and pasta.

A fancy looking display of pastries at L'Amor.

L'Amor.  Possibly French?

We think the Apple Diner serves American. I just noticed there's a mailbox right there.  We had trouble finding a way to mail post cards.  There was a mail box right here all the time.

Mr. Martin is an ex pat Londoner serving up British fare from his closet sized cafe.

Mr. Martin has one table.  I don't know if you have to make a reservation to get to sit there, or what?

What could be a better place than Kitchen 66 for my 66th birthday.? We never did have a burger here, but David liked the fish and chips that we got for him.

Gardening in Taipei

Those who know me know that I am an enthusiastic gardener.  I'm not an expert, but I like to get my hands dirty and surround myself with peace and nature. I also love to look at gardens and parks.  I think many people in Taipei feel the same.  However, I've got a small yard in a moderately urban setting in which to indulge my gardening needs. Taiwanese live in a crowded urban environment, most often in multistory buildings.  No matter, they find a way to enjoy greenery.

The gathering of pots next to this temple is typical of the gardening efforts of people who live on the ground floor of multistory buildings located in lanes and alleys.

This is a typical sight while walking down lanes and alleys. The planters may be official pots, or random plastic containers salvaged from the recycling truck.

Look closely at our alley. The folks who have the ground floor property have filled their garage area with trees that are poking out into the alley.

This is the lush window garden that is in our bedroom.

I've seen these living walls all around the city.  This one is at the National Taiwan University. The wall is filled with individual potted plants.

Some shops and homes are lucky to have small courtyard areas where they have created green hideaways in the city.

Can you see how this small garden is wedged right up to the building next door?

It's rare to see large open grassy areas. Perhaps that's because they are so hard to maintain.  We didn't see any riding lawn mowers.

I like discovering informal gardens on the edge of alleys,  on balconies and window ledges, and I love the formal parks. However, I think my favorite gardening experience in Taipei was the lot that I walked by every day on my way to the MRT.  When we first arrived I thought this space was an overgrown abandoned lot.  However, I started noticing people digging around in it and taking photos of the flowers.  Before long it became apparent to me that this area, overlooking the entrance to an express way, is a community garden. I hope to show by my photos the progress the community made in transforming it from a winter weed patch into a structured and welcoming green oasis.

Some local gentleman has been weeding, as you can see from the far left of the photo.

If only I could talk to the people I've seen working here.  I have so many questions. I wonder if they are an organized gardening brigade, or do people just drop in to dig as the mood dictates?  I wonder if they had a landscape plan, or is this a randomly planned garden?  Did they have to get a permit from the city? Whatever the answers, the community certainly notices and enjoys this small plot. Those who work in it, are able to indulge in their gardening needs. I know I would be among them if I lived in Taipei.

Central Lush 2-BR Apartment@Guting/Da-an

I love reading the titles of Airbnb listings. Fortunately, the listings include photos and maps so I can figure out where I am considering renting since the titles don't necessarily tell the full story. I have learned to read between the lines to decide if I think the listing is somewhat accurate.  In our case, our apartment is lush because there are some dead Christmas cacti and orchids in the cage attached to the bedroom window.  It does indeed have 2 bedrooms. As far as the Guting/Da-an assignation - that is a bit of a stretch. The Da-an and Guting MRT stations aren't close at all. The apartment is in Da Xue Village (University Village) and is very close to the Taipower MRT and the Gongguan MRT.  I suppose if a potential renter is familiar with Taipei the title of this listing would grab their eye, more than the actual location. Who knows?  We are happy with our selection.

Here's the street sign that indicates you've found our Alley.

Walking toward our building which is on the right, beyond the bicycle.

This is what you see when you first walk into the apartment.

This is the room with the window filled with lush dead plants.

Solomon's room has a crib to the right in the photo.

Here's the two burner cook top and full size refrigerator.  Many apartments have dorm room size refrigerators. I doubt anyone has an actual oven.

If you look closely you can see that we have plenty of appliances: hot water machine, Nespresso machine, blender.  There is also a rice cooker. The door to the left goes to the laundry porch.

Here's where we wash and dry our clothes.  There is no dryer so we hang them on hangars from rods on the ceiling.  We also sort our trash in this room.  It gets pretty crowded on laundry day, but we appreciate being able to wash our clothes.

Bathroom with the Taiwanese shower.  You can see the drain just under the shower curtain.

Bathroom door to the right.  Notice our rubber sandals that we need if we use the bathroom.

The best part of the apartment is that Solomon Soup comes to visit every day.

I could stay in this apartment indefinitely, if I could snuggle with this guy every day.