Ilha Formosa

When the Portuguese saw the island of Taiwan in 1544, they named it "Ilha Formosa," or "Beautiful Island."  Yesterday, my uncle took me and my cousin to several tourist spots to see the many and different beautiful things Taiwan has.

Our first stop was Yehliu Geopark which is a coastline filled with geological landscapes. Admission to the park is NT50, or less than $2 USD.  The park is most famous for the Queens Head, so named because it is shaped like Nefertiti's head.  The geological landscape was formed due to sea erosion, which continues to this day.  This means that through the years, the neck of the Queens Head has become thinner and the park rangers are worried that in a few years, the Queens Head may break off.  I am definitely glad I was given the opportunity to see the real thing before that happens! 

Due to the fragility of the Queen's Head, the park made a replica of the head that is near the entrance of the park.  Here is my uncle and cousin with the replica, along with the entrance sign and a sign explaining the Queen's Head.

Here we are with the actual Queen's Head.  Unfortunately, due to the time of the year, there were just way too many people around so I could never get just a shot of the Queen's Head.  When my brother and my dad went last year, they were able to get great photos of the Queen's Head without anyone in the background.  C'est la vie.

Here's the line JUST to take a picture with the Queen's Head.  Ridiculous.

Us with other interesting rock formations.

After Yehliu, my uncle then drove us to San Zhi, which is famous for its water wheels.  One of the most impressive is one made entirely of wood and uses the water from the nearby river.  

Near San Zhi is one of the most interesting things I have ever seen.  There is a temple not too far up the mountain that is almost entirely covered with seashells.  In Mandarin, it is called "Pei Khe Miao."  Pei Khe being seashell and Miao being temple.  So literally, Seashell Temple.  It is customary for people during the first 15 days of the new year to go to the temples nearly every day to pray.  Usually, temples, even the Seashell Temple is relatively empty, save for a few devout worshipers.  We probably chose one of the worst times of the year to visit a temple.  The amount of people there was simply incredible, and we had to park maybe a quarter of the mile away.  The main hall of the temple is like any other Buddhist temple in terms of layout.  However, this particular temple also has a small tunnel that goes through the back and is filled with smaller deities, wishing ponds and of course, seashells.

In all the times I come back to Taiwan (which is quite a lot, considering I come back every 1-2 years), I had never been to the above places.  It was so interesting to see all the amazing things Taiwan has to offer.  I can't wait for my next trip back so I can visit other spots!

Upon returning home, we had some birthday cake for my cousin, who turned 9 yesterday.  He was so happy to have been able to go out with us that he barely slept the night before.  Generally, kids in Taiwan are in school 90% of the time.  Even though classes end at a reasonable time, most end up going to "bu xi ban," or extra study hall.  These can last until 8 or 9pm at night, so for him to have the opportunity to go out and play was a rarity. 

After a much needed nap and some dinner, I went with my cousins to the world famous ShiLin night market.  I had been to the night market on several occasions, but I had never seen it this full of people.  The night market is several alleyways that are filled with shops and moveable carts, so it's not one big open space.  I literally felt like I was being herded through.  CNY is probably the worst time to go, as it is full of locals, Taiwan tourists from the middle and south, and other tourists.  My cousins and I thought we were being smart by getting there at 7:30pm (usually the later it is, the more crowded it gets).  Even then, we had to wait half an hour to park our car in the lot!

The night market is most famous for its inexpensive products - clothes, jewelry, shoes, you name it.  It is also famous for the food.  Taiwanese culture revolves around food, and the night market does not disappoint.  Within a few blocks of the night market, you can already begin to smell the assortment of good eats the night market has to offer.  Perhaps the most distinctive smell is stinky tofu - which, in my opinion, smells quite good :) You kind of just get used to it.  There are also stands that sell milk tea, something called frog jelly tea, chicken cutlets, hot cakes, chinese sausages, oyster pancakes, you name it, the night market probably has it.  Actually I take that back, I've never seen pizza at the night market.  

pictures of stinky tofu, cold noodles, hot cakes, lanterns, and the crowd:

After buying the few things I needed and getting some stinky tofu, we decided it was time to escape the crowd and head home. 

Happy Chinese New Year

In Asia, Chinese New Year is probably the most rambunctious and jubilant time of the year.  Almost everyone has the week off from school and work, and a lot of people like myself, fly back to Asia specifically for Chinese New Year.  It is a time for celebration, family and traditions.

Celebrations begin on New Years Eve, and for us, it started with breakfast at my grandmother's house.  Tradition dictates that you spend New Years with the male's side of the family, so we went to my dad's mom's house.  Most people in Taiwan are Buddhist and have an altar at home for their specific family deity and also for ancestors.  The morning starts with praying to the deity and ancestors and showing them offerings of food, flowers and the burning of incense.  

This is the altar at my grandmother's house.  The picture on the far left is of my great grandmother.  the table in front of the altar has offerings of various food and also paper money.

Decorations in my parents' building

 

Most people will also tape writings of well wishes and luck on their doors.  These are generally written on red paper.

One of the most important meals during this time is the family dinner during New Years Eve.  As it is with the male's side of the family, my dad's older and younger brothers and their families all came over for dinner.  The dinner will usually have some kind of fish and noodles, and depending on the region, there may also be dumplings and nian gao.  We're not that traditional.  We only had noodles.  Noodles symbolize a long life, which is why it is very taboo to "cut" your noodles into smaller pieces during this time.  It basically means you are cutting your own life short.  The Chinese word for fish is "yu," which is also the same phonetic sound as the word for abundance.  Having fish at the meal therefore symbolizes a year full of abundance.  Almost all foods served during New Years have some kind of meaning, mostly from phonetics.  Our family dinner:

::correction::  I asked my dad about not having fish at dinner, and he said we did have fish.  We just don't eat it.  This way, we still have "yu" (abundance) for the next year!

After dinner, most families then head to the temple.  Traditionally, there is a race to be the first person to place their incense stick into the censer at the stroke of midnight.  For us, we get there as early as possible to avoid the crowd because of my grandmother's age.  At the temple, one prays with incense to the different deities for good health, fortune and other wishes for the coming year.

We again went to the Ma Zu temple that I mentioned in my previous post.  This is the temple at night:

My cousin & my uncle praying with incense sticks, and my grandmother praying at the temple:

 

The night continued with sounds of firecrackers in the streets.  It was surprisingly a nostalgic sound to fall asleep to.  The next morning, tradition dictated that we return back to my grandmother's house for breakfast.  Breakfast on the morning of New Years day is usually a vegetarian one.  According to my uncle, this is because during New Years Eve, it was believed that the world would end, and when morning came and people saw that they were still on earth, they would abstain from meat as a show of thanks.  After breakfast, we again went to the temples to give offerings and to pray for the new year.  Instead of going to the big Ma Zu temple (which, by this time, would be so crowded it would be impossible to get into), we went to two local temples, one of which my grandfather helped to start over 40 years ago.  His name is on the plaque on the wall.  The local temples are places where the deities protect the local people, people in that particular neighborhood.

This is the interior of the temple that my grandfather helped to start:

Other pictures from New Years: