Taiwan (台灣) – 2014/2015
Besides Taipei exists the majority of Taiwan. Not as slick or international as the capital but more in line with what I was looking for (adventures), I tried to get out of the city as much as I could. I liked Taipei a lot but in some ways it felt like a generic, faceless city and lacked a certain energy I was seeking. So…I escaped a lot. Friends wanted to show me their hometowns, I wanted to go search for different dragonflies and the train system in Taiwan is amazing. Also, Taiwan is a relatively small island compared to where I’m from–if you had the technology to move Taiwan and duplicate it inside of the state of Texas, you could do so more than 19.3 times.
I love being in nature and as you will see from the following photos, there is a nice variety of natural landscapes and elements in Taiwan. Part of my most rewarding time was riding a motorbike through some mountains in central Taiwan. In addition to not having a windshield between you and the world (I don’t like protection), it is much easier to pull out quickly and take pictures on the side of the road. I want to travel like this again but more extensively. When I go back to Taiwan I will spend more time just traveling and seeing the natural areas than in the capital, which seemed to be a very uneven representation of the country in many ways.
Okay, hope you guys enjoy!!
-
- A trip to Hsinchu with some friends, late night, walking by the ocean. I got a bit sentimental but thankfully it was dark.
-
- Natural beauty out a train window on the trip Taipei to Hualien. Many times I just wanted to bust out the window and get off the train. I hope to go back one day with a motorbike stop wherever I want.
-
- Other fond memories of passing rice fields, writing poems and feeling excited but life…gotta get back there.
-
- This picture gets taken about 10,000 times per day. I took it so people would stop asking me why I wasn’t taking pictures. This is my lightly-edited postcard version that would probably sell better than my real prints.
-
- Taroko National Park (太魯閣國家公園) is modern man’s nightmare–no cell signal, no wifi, no electricity…you even have to move your own damn feet over the bridges. Despite being extremely technologically advanced, Taiwan has yet to install moving walkways in their national parks.
-
- Some quality mountain-time in Puli (埔里), searching for dragonflies with my sidekick 張小姐.
-
- Walking down a random road outside Puli (埔里). Felt like I was in a time machine.. Felt like I was in a time machine. After looking at my own photos I guess that’s the type of places I’m drawn to.
-
- Taiwan is so cool. Palm trees and regular trees grow next to each other, side-by-side. No more terf wars, no more gang colors consisting only of slightly different shades of green, no more seed-napping!!
-
- Hi, choose me! I’m everything you ever wanted in a damselfly. For example, my abdomen is red–you’ll know not to eat me bcuz full of poison. Ha-ha, that would be disaster. In addition, when you kill me for your insect collection and take me home to your America, I will be lightweight in your nice-looking man-bag. Please let me be your number one damselfly. I promise not let you down.
-
- Near Shimen, about to go “hiking” which consisted of walking up a lot of stairs that mysteriously created several paths through the mountain.
-
- Hiking in the land before time with some chick I met from a chick I met on the internet. I was hoping it would be dangerous but just my luck…this country is so damn safe I couldn’t even twist my ankle while sporting inadequate footwear while hopping around inauspiciously on moss-covered rocks.
-
- At this spot I threw down my expensive backpack, ate an organic orange (including the peel) and renounced my worldly life. Then I fell asleep peacefully and fell face first into this terrace, drowning. As my spirit ascended into the mountains wearing glistening all white hiking boots, I finally felt complete. Unfortunately, my robe got snagged on a tree branch and I plummeted from death back into life to be reincarnated as myself.
-
- Paused here and felt moody for a while. Lush mountainsides make me nostalgic for movies like The Land Before Time, as well as the actual period when clocks were unnecessary and dinosaur societies were free of arbitrary work schedules as long as they completed their necessary work.
-
- Fishing at the northern tip of Taiwan. To get from the mountains to the ocean it took us 15 minutes in my mistresses’ car.
-
- The train tracks to my industrialized society soul. If you can get through the dead grass, sterile concrete fence and the double barbed-wire…you just might be in for a treat…hopelessness to all edges of the horizon. ^___^
-
- The trains and subways were often dead quiet, people hardly ever looking up from playing games on their phones. I’m curious so I spied on people all the time. The majority of people were playing the same mindless game swapping jewels or candy. Some watched movies, less read.
-
- There’s a market that offers offers cheap plastic seating and disgusting noodles served at any hour of the day, any part of Asia…wherever you go.
-
- Time spent confused and intrigued in buses in foreign countries almost makes up for the fact that I was born.
-
- No people on Fruit Highway, just me, Pipi and our motorbike with a sticker that said “spicy girls only”.
-
- Seine fishing in a river off of Fruit Highway outside of Pingdong. I pulled off the side of the road and admired this guy’s classic style. I want a simpler life.
-
- Sometimes I have trouble choosing…
-
- We were walking through a bunch of alleys in Tainan and I saw all of these papers bundled together. I felt like Bruce Lee was going to bust through that cloth and shelf and kick someone’s rear end.
-
- “Dishonest building inspector” is the most lucrative career in all of Asia.
-
- Sleepy days after being worn out from wandering and exploring all day. That’s like a dream come true.
-
- I wear my oven mitts everywhere! Especially wear them when I’m in this abandoned sleepy village town in Xinying (新營). #KakarikoVillage
-
- Farmland in a small city called Xinying (新營) that we accidentally ended up visiting. Extremely interesting and fortuitous mistake/time portal.
1 comment for “Taiwan — Everywhere Else (I Went) – 台灣, 扁”