Wonderful insects
There are so many amazing insects in Taiwan that you could discover a new one every day. And after years, still find one that surprises you.
Entries Tagged as 'Uncategorized'
Old Fortress Taiwan
It is true that if the Communists had any sort of a navy in 1949 the history of Taiwan would have been very different indeed. When the Nationalists arrived in Taiwan they spent the first 20 years fortifying the nation for an impending communist invasion.
When I first arrived in 1989 Taiwan had just lifted martial law. Air raid drills were still common and the military had a very strong presence. You would often see movements of army vehicles and troops and there was a continual coastal watch. I remember being moved off the beach one evening by a couple of soldiers as well as being cautioned, though not badly, for taking photos of the Kaohsiung harbour entrance.
Digging up the road. Again…
It absolutely astonished me the first time I saw a team of diggers came to dig up the road not more than a week after it had been freshly repaved. They did their job and roughly patched over the hole leaving a beautiful street with a large uneven blemish. When I see these things now it doesn’t phase me at all.
It seems that each essential service is responsible for connecting to any new development. And these services typically run down the middle of the road. Most streets are a patchwork of different service entry scars, even the recently paved ones.
Election day
Yesterday Taiwan held its election for president. This was a simple vote for one of two candidates numbered (1) and (2). Along with the presidential vote there were two referendum votes. So every voter had 3 ballots to fill out. An easy and simple affair.
Ma Ying-jeou and running mate on the left. KMT, red and blue, number (2). Frank Shieh and running mate on the right. DPP, green, number(1)
I’ll have my power outlet here
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.
A dogs life
The quality of life for a dog in Taiwan depends entirely on it’s owner. That is no different from most places in the world. It just seems that the range of peoples attitudes to dogs has greater extremes than the culture in which I grew up.
