Shan Ding Lu

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.

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Tags: Collections, Food by Stephen
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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.

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Tags: Collections, Kaohsiung, Mountains, Uncategorized by Stephen
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As unglamorous a subject as it is, it is fascinating to see the way the rubbish is dealt with. At its simplest, it goes into a truck, squashed up with lots of other rubbish and land-filled somewhere.

But the majority of rubbish is recycled one way or another. Between recycle trucks, local recycle yards and old women collectors, nothing with any residual value is placed in the ground.

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Tags: Around Da Liao, Collections, Taiwan, Uncategorized by Stephen
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Burning money in Taiwan is serious business,  especially at this time of year during ghost month. And with a full moon on the 16th of August everyone is out burning their ghost money making sure their ancestors and deities are all cashed up for another year.

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Tags: Chinese New Year, Collections, Taiwan by Stephen
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Most electrical work in Taiwan is quite professional. The original power circuits in our house are all orderly, neat and tidy. It is the homespun additions to original circuits that demonstrate that artistic license rather than an electricians license was involved. Here are a collection of such wiring.

The open-air switchboard of a street-side food store. Here the free form wiring is starkly contrasted by the accumulation of cooking oil and street dust.

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Tags: Collections, Taiwan, Uncategorized by Stephen
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