It must be said that the range of beautiful insects in Taiwan is truly amazing.
Not much survives the blanket spraying practised on the agricultural lands. There are few really interesting insects in and around our street. But if you move away from the betel nut groves and rice fields into the forests in the mountains you are overwhelmed with the range insects.
Since my first stay in Taiwan in 1989 I have returned every two to three years.
Upon return there is always a flood of sensations, a mix between the familiar and the foreign as you accustom yourself with your past experiences here and the long absence.
After a week or so the foreign becomes familiar again and you start to notice those things that have changed since your last visit. On one occasion it was the discovery of bubble tea, another was the arrival of scantly clad betel nut sellers. Sadly, another was the absence of those sellers as they were pushed out from Koahsiung county.
On this most recent return it took a while to notice any immediate change in the landscape. But there is one and it is quite insidious, it is the proliferation of the CCD security camera.
I could never understand why people would pay to go fishing in a man-made pond. A small pool of water with a mechanical aerator at one end will have half a dozen people holding a fishing rod waiting for a big catch. Though I have not waited around and watched for long, I have never seen anyone catch anything.
Well the other day curiosity got the better of me and I stopped by a shrimp pond to see what it is all about.
