My Secret Place

"I'm going to take you to
My special place
It's a place that you
Like no one else I know
Might appreciate
I don't go there with anyone--but
You're a special case
For my special place
For my secret place"
~Joni Mitchell, "My Secret Place" from Chalk Mark in a Rainstorm

I've done lots of New Agey things in my day.
I am not so New Agey anymore...just OLD Agey I guess. ;)
One meditation techinique I have learned is to "go to a special place," that is: visualize a real or imagined spot, a special place where you can go to get away from it all. It could be a still lake, a field of flowers, a deserted beach, etc. I'm sure most of you are familiar with this de-stressing techinique.

When we came upon this area of Taroko Gorge, I thought to myself, this is MY secret place. (I guess it's not a secret anymore).





Here's a closer view:



The gang's all here, posing in front of MY Secret Place:

A Gorgeous Gorge

After taking my photos of the misty mountains, I went to the gym and worked out for a half hour. It felt good to excercise after sitting (and eating) for so many hours.Then we ate a decent breakfast - well, at least we actually recognized most of the food that was served at the buffet!
After breakfast, we all boarded onto the Magic Bus and headed for Taroko Gorge National Park. To quote my Taipei Living Guidebook, "This exceptionally beautiful narrow ravine was created by a river that has cut through mountains of solid marble and granite. Here and there pavillions, pagodas and temples cling to mist-clad mountain sides;elsewhere, waterfalls gush from crevices in the steep hills...The colors of the rocks, jagged, striped and soaring are reminiscent of a mini Grand Canyon."And, as Chevy Chase did with his family in National Lampoon's Vacation when THEY visited the Grand Canyon, we also pretty much peeked over the "scenic view" spot and split!
No, not really. We weren't THAT lazy...at least we walked around for a bit...we hope to return when the weather is nicer and actually go hiking here.

A scenic view:




We walked across a VERY COOL suspension bridge. I loved walking across it. What a rush. Good place to meditate! :) [The photo above was taken from the middle of the suspension bridge].



Thomas the Train and Lyn




Chris and Thomas have NO FEAR!!




Thomas and Alice



I think this is a lion, but it could be a dog...Anjoli had fun climbing on it!




A view of the Central Cross Highway from inside the Magic Bus. This highway runs parallel to the Old Hohuan Trail, which was used by the aboriginal Atayal tribe to cross the island. In 1914, the Japanese entered the gorge area to gain access to the forestry and natural resources. The aboriginal tribe tried to resist the invasion, but were brutally defeated. The Japanese started, but never finished building the entire Central Cross Highway. The KMT completed building it after the Japanese left Taiwan after their defeat in WWII.
Sadly, according to my Lonely Planet guide, "450 workers, mostly retired servicemen from mainland China, lost their lives [building this highway]. The project took four years, with some parts of the highway hacked out of solid rock by HAND." Can you believe it??? It really was incredible.



The caves were cool:

The Grand Formosa

Well, after about a 3-4 hour drive from Ilan, we rested for a night at a huge, lovely hotel, The Grand Formosa. Here is a picture of Alice and Thomas outside the hotel:



This is a view from just outside the front of the hotel:








The hotel was a great place to chill. I read about the spa before coming, so as soon as we go to our room I made an appointment for a facial. It was WONDERFUL...very relaxing.
First order of business for Anjoli and I was to take a dip in one of the indoor pools (there were 2). It was weird because it was heated, so it was kind of like taking a bath. They also had a pool on the roof, a paintball area (!) and a rock climbing wall (all on the roof) but this area was closed until the summer season.

After my facial, I met Anjoli and went to the game room, where we bowled with Chris and Thomas:



Anjoli, Thomas and Chris tried out a dance video game:






Happy Hour!



Snugga bugga



That night we opened our window and slept to the sound of rushing water of Taroko Gorge...and we woke up to these views:

On the Road to Hualien

After a fun morning at the Center for Traditional Arts, we got back on the Magic Bus and headed for Hualien and Taroko Gorge.
We travelled along the narrow, winding Suao-Hualien Highway. This highway is literally carved into sheer cliff walls along the Pacific. The view was positively breathtaking. I wish I could adequately describe the feeling I had on this part of the journey. To my right I would gaze at the lush, emerald green mountainous forest (it looked like a rainforest) while on my left I took in a view of the majestic turquoise blue waters of the Pacific, its waves crashing into a rocky coast. I was in awe of the marble and granite cliffs which lined the coast for miles.
It was raining hard that day, so, unfortunately, I wasn't able to get many decent shots, but I will share the best ones.








Note: More pretty (albeit rainy) pictures coming. SOMEBODY back in the States was supposed to make my husband a disc but FORGOT. Maybe if I ask nicely he'll put it on the company's server, and I will post them as soon as I can! I may have short videos also...we'll see...

Ilan Night Market

More scary food pictures!
It seems like a great part of our stay here revolves around food! Our friends from the U.S. who visited were a bit disappointed with the local food. (I think you can see why).
When I first came to Taiwan, I really enjoyed the food here - especially the hot pot (or fire pot). I mentioned it before, and the method varies at each restaurant, but my favorite fire pot is having your own pot of broth (where you can control the heat) and you then make your soup to your own liking. You can add shaved, frozen beef, chicken, vegetables,noodles etc. The food cooks fairly quickly, but you could easily spend hours at one of these restaurants because the food is so light, and it's fun! Unlike in the U.S., waiters never try to hurry you out the door - they're not worried about "turnover" here. (Waiters do not work for tips - they are paid a flat salary. No one tips here, but I do sometimes. ).
I have figured out that the reason why people here are so thin is because they eat out of very small bowls. And can someone please tell me how you could ever get fat eating soup with chopsticks??? That kind of through me for a loop when I first got here! (You drink the broth, of course).
We also feasted like mad when we got here on both fried and boiled dumplings - they're SO good, but I have backed off for a few months now because they're really fattening. Aw...
I LOVE the variety of vegetables here - trouble is it's hard to find just plain, steamed or simply prepared vegetables. They love pork here, and they always add it to vegetable dishes, even if it's just pork broth. Something in the food doesn't agree with me, and I've found that when I eat certain stir-fry dishes I end up with a stomach ache. So, even though the food is often tasty, it's been tricky for me. I eat very little pork in general, so maybe my body isn't used to it.
There are very few beef dishes here - my Chinese teacher explained that they use cows for labor here in the fields, and also they, like people in India, revere cows because they give us milk. But the weird thing is, I didn't think dairy was a big part of the Asian diet. ??? Maybe they give it to their kids - I need to find out more about that.
Getting back to Ilan, we had a hard time finding street food that was palatable to everyone's taste that night. Sujoy, Alice and Thomas have no problem with the street food, while the rest of us...well...



Alice and Sujoy enjoy some street grub



Me eating "Stinky Tofu." Yup that's what they call it. The Stinky Tofu stands reek of this old, moldy sock smell...but everyone says, "It smells bad, but it tastes great!" It wasn't great, but it didn't taste as bad as it smelled! It's not the most flattering shot of me, but I got a kick out of the curious on-looker on the bike!




Peace out!!





We came upon a stand where a man was needing a sort of candy. Some of us waited in anticipation (I wasn't really into trying it). I will let the pictures speak for themselves!










Alice, Thomas, Sujoy and I enjoyed a really good sausage stuffed with rice. (I didn't get a picture, nothing exciting though).
We still couldn't find anything more appealing to all of us (read: the spolied Americans - myself included!!). So, reluctantly, we trudged through the rain and headed toward those Golden Arches...(NO!!)



Anjoli had her usual cheeseburger and fries, Sujoy and I split a salmon burger on a rice bun (I liked it, he didn't). Chris had a burger and Lyn had an ice cream.
The End!

Ok back to the Magic Bus Trip!

Our final destination on our road trip was the small seaside town of Hualien, located in northeastern Taiwan.
We made a few stops along the way though. Our first stop was the town of Ilan, where we stayed in a beautiful, yet simple Japanese style hotel at the National Center for Traditional Arts.

Along the way to Ilan we had lunch in a small town (I don’t remember the name). We ate some really great seafood. Once we entered the restaurant we were immediately taken by a group occupying 2 tables.

Some of you out there may remember the 80s group Men Without Hats and their infectious , new wave hit, “Safety Dance.”
Sadly, they disbanded due to an identity crisis of sorts…and it’s a little known fact that they actually did “find themselves,” after many years…in Taiwan of all places. They now call themselves, Men With Hats:








We tried to figure out what group they really belonged to...even with our friends speaking Mandarin, well, all we got was: "it's a club." I like my theory better. "S-A-F-E-T-Y Safety dance! " doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo...


We reached our hotel around dusk. The National Center for Traditional Arts is located along the Tungshan River. It looked like a college campus – and in fact they do have visiting scholars, so artists and students can study there. But not only is it an educational facility, it is also a place where tourists can take in traditional theater (pictures to follow), music, handicrafts, dance, toys and games and acrobatic performances. We visited a museum which featured puppets, pottery and other handicrafts. There was a row of shops filled with beautiful sculptures, traditional musical instruments, jewelry (I got lots of silver earrings and a beautiful silver and glass choker all at very reasonable prices) and other handicrafts. The best part was taking part in DIY crafts. Sujoy crafted a leather keychain and Anjoli and I made necklaces out of clay that you stamp and then bake. Sujoy also made an owl clock out of tile – it came out great. Anjoli made a very intricate mirror – she “painted” the mirror with a mixture of glue and colored crushed glass. It was taking forever – until our friend, Thomas had the ingenuity to think of making a tube out of a plastic bag which we squeezed onto the mirror as if frosting a cake. He saved the day! Thomas the Train is a man of many talents! (Anjoli is posting the DIY craft pictures on her blog, and I will post the link here as soon as they're up, in case you're interested).

Here are some pictures we took at the Center, with a few taken the night we arrived:






Alice in Wonderland:






This puppet costs $5000 USD. I kid you not.



We were able to catch a short opera performance. In this scene, two friends are saying a VERY LONG goodbye. They will not see eachother for a long time. I thought they were supposed to be men dressed as women - however they are actually men...dressed as men!





Chris and Anjoli pose with the performers



View from our hotel


YUM! If you are wondering what we had for breakfast, so was I...

Happy Birthday Pete!

You know him

You love him

Rock would never be the same

Without him!


Thanks for everything Pete.
Have a wonderful day!
Lots of love,
Sue D.

Happy Mother's Day!

I apologize for not posting for awhile.
I've been missing my mom so much this week. She passed away December 22, 2004.
I hear speak to me often though, and tonight I heard her say, loud and clear: "Don't be sad. Enjoy your family."
I did have a great Mother's Day, despite the sadness. Anjoli made me a basket at school filled with cards, homemade chocolate chip cookies (made at school) and origami flowers. She wrote a cute tribute to me. I promise to scan it soon.
Sujoy gave me a beautiful blue star sapphire set of earrings and matching neclace. The earings are very cool - they are tear shaped but the circular parts (with the stud behind them) are Chinese characters- one is a symbol of prosperity and the other represents good luck. I wore them all day today.

Last night, Sujoy took us out to a very nice, loungy restaurant downtown that featured a traditional puppet show by a group called the Shan Puppet Theater, that was really cool. I was surprised! We got special treatment when the owner heard that Americans were coming: he wrote up a brief synopsis of each scene for us. I wish I had brought my camera. We met the puppeteer after the show, and Anjoli and I got to learn how to work these gorgeous puppets. You wouldn't believe what he could make these things do! One of them was an old man who smoked a long pipe and coughed up real smoke! Another one was a beautiful woman with long hair - he showed us how he made her caress her hair (she was flirting in one scene) - she pulled it from behind and then flicked it back over her shoulder. He also got one to spin plates and a big bowl as well - on this very thin stick. He was a really sweet guy and very very cute! ;) We got his business card and I told him I would try to get him a gig at the nearby American School. (We're registering Anjoli there for next year). We met a journalist who was really taken by Anjoli's enthusiasm - so she was really a conduit for us- she translated and encouraged us to exchange business cards. It's funny because on our Magic Bus road trip we went to the Taiwan Center for Traditional Arts and we saw this amazing display of a Master Puppeteer who was known all over the world - he ended up settling in Paris. He died recently, and lo and behold this guy we met (Sam) was his protege! (Or one of them at least).

Today we went for a long walk and found the local recreation center (finally) with 2 huge pools - one outdoor and one indoor - plus a big spa (more like a lagoon), sauna and steamroom. I promised to take Anjoli every day (or therabouts). She's totally psyched.

We topped off the day with a great sushi dinner at a nearby restaurant. I am so full now. Back to salad city tomorrow!
Now it is way past Anjoli's bedtime, so I better say goodnight!
Hope you are all well.
Remember to appreciate your mom and give her lots of hugs - and not just on Mother's Day, ok?
Be well,
Sue

Here are some pictures of the puppets we saw.(I found these on the Shan Puppet Theater's website). The first one is of the old man who smoked:




The Shan Puppet Theater: