Shan Ding Lu

After two good years at Shanding Lu our time in Taiwan is now over. Our children are now more Taiwanese than Australian, my Perth work office have mostly forgotten what I look like and our house, family and friends in Australia are all ready for our return.
It is always sad to leave a place.  Shanding Lu, Daliao, Kaohsiung and Taiwan have been very good to us indeed and these two years have been enjoyed by us all. They will forever be remembered by our kids with family, friend and national bonds that will last their lifetimes.

Thank you and farewell the mountains, rivers and the great outdoors.  These are Taiwan’s backyard treasures and my pure delight.

Thank you and farewell to all Taiwan’s keen photographers and the Kaohsiung Flickr group. The monthly meetups and all the fantastic photo opportunities that Taiwan has to offer.

Thank you and farewell to all those fishermen, fish markets, seafood meals and fishing boats.

Thank you and farewell to the farmers and good people living on the Gaoping river plains.

Thankyou and farewell to the all the great people we’ve had the pleasure of meeting.

Thank you and farewell to Taiwan bloggers and Shan Ding Lu readers. I have thoroughly enjoyed photographing and blogging on the meanderings of living in Southern Taiwan. I have also thoroughly enjoyed reading many of the Taiwan blogs. There is some fantastic content provided by many and varied dedicated bloggers. My RSS feeds will remain a constant tie to you all. A special thanks to Fotozon and the Taiwan Picture of the day for publishing many of Shan Ding Lu’s The Weekly Photo.

Thank you and farewell Taiwan.

Tags: Shan Ding Lu by Stephen
18 Comments »

We recently stayed with our good friend Mei Jingyu in Chiayi. As always, her ever hospitable mother prepared a delicious meal of turnip cake, fried sweet potato, dried tofu, meaty sauce, fresh greens and cabbage soup.

The next morning we visited the rooftop garden where two dishes of the previous evening’s meal were grown.

The rich soil, sub-tropical climate and ample water all make Taiwan a perfect garden. Peoples toil and passion for the soil means every little piece of this island nation sprouts in green.

[Read more →]

Tags: Collections, Food by Stephen
3 Comments »

Kaohsiung, a city of nearly 2 million people, sits on the coastal edge of a broad alluvial plain that spans 25 kilometres to the foot of an impressive mountain range. Every piece of land from the ocean to the mountains is occupied by houses, factories, villages and farms. There is very little by way of natural open space.

But as soon as you reach the foot of the mountain range you are in a very different place. The flat populated plains change to precipitous forested ranges. The mountains are sliced by deeply cut valleys created by typhoon fed rivers.

The brief two months of Southern Taiwan’s mild winter have now past. In a few weeks the tropical rains will start and the stifling humidity will have people searching for cool relief. These last two years we have found that relief in the many pools and waterfalls accessible along the mountain range. Here are some of our favorites and directions on how to find them.

[Read more →]

Tags: Collections, Kaohsiung, Mountains, Uncategorized by Stephen
4 Comments »