A Splash of Salutations: The Season of Hello-Goodbyes

The past several months we had quite a few old friends from our Tainan days came to visit us here in Yilan. I suppose this social season began after our Taipei trip to see the Anne Frank exhibition with my dear friend Alisse and her niece. After then, we were quite busy. Most guests were in with us for a day or two. What to show these cities folk? Everything related to water of course. It was hitting the lake, river, waterfalls, the beach, hot springs and if we had time for firewater, the brewery, and distillery.

Wanglongpi Lake with the Coolidge Clan

Tony and his clan stayed at a temple near the beach. We took them to our home, to nearby Wanglonpi Lake for a hike, then headed over to Loudong for lunch at Spice Land. In the afternoon we explored Renshan Botanic Gardens and then the nearby waterfalls. It was a sweaty, active reunion. We somehow made it to Jim and Dad's brewery for a cold one.

Indian lunch at Spiceland. My kid and I  gulping chai.

There were so many macaques on our way down the Renshan trail, I was frightened. They weren't the least bit afraid of us though.

Later, my former student from kindergarten in Tainan, Emma, she just graduated from 9th grade and finished her stressful high school entrance exams. Her cool dad rewarded her with a trip to visit us. They were our good friends back then, one of the people who took my mom and us out to dinner when she came to visit.

Meeting Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-Je by chance, Kavalan Distillery 

They stayed at the nearby Country Grange Guesthouse, not our first choice. The recently opened glamping Nayi Villa was fully booked. He rented a car and our first day we went to Jim and Dad's Brewery and the Kavalan Distillery. It was crazy timing, the mayor of Taipei, Ko Wen-Je, was there shaking hands.

Z and Emma catching up, Nayi Villa

Checking out Nayi Villa, the new glamping village down the road from my house.

We sampled whiskey and stayed up late drinking and catching up, the girls inside doing their thing. We also made a trip to nearby Jiaxio and had a soak in some hot springs his friend recommended. The next day we just splashed around the river near my house and ate lunch near the local fish pond.

The river by my home was a place we'd return to when my former co-worker from our kindergarten Tainan days came with his wife and young son. We ate lunch at a local restaurant (枕頭山腳快炒), my daughter and I often go for home-cooked Taiwanese food.



Then my friend Monica (my coworker from 18 years ago in our Tamsui days) was in Jiaoxi with her sister and mother at the new Hotel Mu. We had a swim and a dip in the public hot springs, catching up. My daughter happily played a racing game in the game room, while we chatted. She and her family sometimes made it down to Yilan in the past, and once we even were in Okinawa at the same time, and met up then. How lucky to maintain friendships and connection throughout the years!

Last time I saw Eric's daughter was years ago

Speaking of my Tamsui days (before my daughter was born, I lived in Tamsui for a year and a half), one of my first roommates was in town with his Taiwanese wife and daughter, visiting from LA. He happens to be the founder of Happy Cow and so we were eating all vegan, new places, for his research. It was really wonderful seeing him again, it was four years since our last rendezvous and a little more than that since I met his wife ad daughter. How shocking to see how much our daughters have grown.

I'm so proud of him and the success of Happy Cow, because when we were squatting in a condemned building in Tamsui, he was starting out working on Happy Cow, and not for the money.

My! Have they grown!

They came to my house and we lunched at a nearby, pretty cafe. It kept reminding them of Hawaii. Later we went to Wanglonpi (of course) and I dropped them off at a temple near Dahu Lake (ten minutes away) where they were visiting friends.

The next day we went to Toucheng, hit the beach and went hiking for Xinfeng Waterfall at the end of the famous Paoma Historic Trail, but we couldn't find. Thankfully we found another one (Houdongkeng) for a nice long swim. The following day, he and his daughter and my kid and I enjoyed more playing in the mineral waters in Jiaoxi. I went more times to Jiaoxi's hot springs the past 2 months, then I did all of last year. We took them to the Art Spa Hotel, for the waterslide of course, and then we had dinner at a new vegan mom and pop shop- more Happy Cow research. It was the 4th of July, and he wanted to have a beer and fireworks, but it was getting late and they were moving on to Hualien the next morning. We parted ways at Yilan train station and it was with quite a heavy heart saying goodbye again.

Saying goodbyes, and farewells with heavy hearts are something I should be getting used to as they are next on our agenda.

Mad about Matsu

I recently read an article in the Features section of the Taipei Times about Taiwanese American Lin Wei-Kou and his experience filming "100 Days"  on Matsu. ("Hollywood to Matsu") I began to reminisce my April and thought I'd post a blog before 2013 becomes over.

My longtime friend and language exchange buddy Vicky (鄭鼎宸) and I, had planned on going to Matsu a year before and our schedules just couldn't flow together until April of 2013. We had a 3 day weekend or I took a day off, I can't remember. I had suggested we go to Matsu because neither of us hadn't been there before and Vicky is always up for an adventure. Our families and mutual friends had gone up to Alishan together and other various BBQ get-togethers before. Vicky and I used to meet every Sat afternoon at McD's so our kids could play in the indoor playground and we could do our "language exchange" (basically both of us mutually making fools of ourselves and having fun doing it.) She opened 2 successful guesthouses (The Flower House) in the beginning of summer this year and our Sat exchanges weened out to zilch. I know she is super busy, but I miss her!. ( If you ever need a new, modern decorated, cheap place to stay from visiting friends or family, they have a location in Anping across from Shi-men Elementary school and one by the train station.



Matsu  (馬祖列島 Mǎzǔ Lièdǎo) is made of 18 islands divided into townships. I counted almost all of them from my cropduster window. Our departures from Tainan high speed station was rife with strange energy. The train before ours had stopped because of a bomb, which rarely if ever happens here. Of course we didn't  find out until lunch later in Beigan, eating local handmade fishball noodles, the freshest I've ever tasted. (See 600 Evacuated from Taiwan Trains...)



We arrived Friday afternoon at Beigan 北竿, and spent the night in the stone village in Cinbe Cun across from Turtle Beach and Turtle island. Fujian, Mainland China out in the near distance called out like a casual, impulsive invitation  How strange to be closer to China than Taiwan. I could see the fishing villages and windmills.




Our accommodation was rustic, stone and wood, just perfect, with all the windows and doors overlooking a small beached bay and near little Turtle Island, The night was cool, we were bundled up, the big airy bathroom was freezing just for a piping hot bath. Wine mixed with the sound of breaking waves, lulled me to sleep, cozy in the cold.




At 芹壁村25號「Chinbe No. 25 Guesthouse」. 全海景宅所/全海景套房 (Panoramic Sea View Villa/Suites)  半海景多人雅房/半海景套房   (Partial Sea View Rooms/Suites)
Room rates include traditional Matsu breakfast. 住宿費用包含早餐 Online Reservation 



We toured Beigan on rented scooters on Saturday The island was dotted with pristine, empty beaches, innocent from any evidence of human footprints, except mine. There were tiny villages here and there, mosly old people and young soldiers, the old people living as time hadn't stopped. They were all fishermen, drying seaweed and tiny fish out in the day sun, drying themselves off from early nocturnal catches.




We parked our scooters and checked out a few trails. The most remarkable started from some Soldiers memorial museum (the Iron Fort) where they had displays on Comfort Ladies, bombs, stories of armed Chinese scuba spies (water ghosts Chinese People's Liberation Army frogmen infiltrators) that swam to Matsu's shores and occasionally killed locals. The trail went away from the island towards the sea and was a dangerous one person dirt trail that went occasional along the edge of a precipice (Suicide Cliff). One slip and it was certain death, which I suppose was crazy stupid since we had kids, but for some reason it seemed safe and doable they have been avid hikers/backpackers for years, and well same here. We moved slow and cautiously when needed, there was rope nailed into some of the rocks to help out. Mostly the trail went down the spine of this island's reaching arm, surrounded by some tropical kind of heather, island scrub, thistle flowers everywhere courted by darting lizards. We all certainly felt lucky to be there in fine weather enjoying the finer views in all directions, enjoying a clean perspiration that quickly cooled in the aquamarine breezes.

Saturday late afternoon we took a 20 minute boat to Nangan 南竿, the bigger island. We stayed in another picturesque coastal town with stone Fujian style homes in Jinsha, Village, Nangan.  This time instead of stone we stayed in a wood guesthouse and it seemed even colder. 

Saturday night minsu

After we arrived we quickly hopped on our scooters and started our exploration. It was definitely bigger, more villages. The biggest city had a famous distillery of which we had a few samples. The local dishes were flavored with locally made fermented  red rice yeast, that was added to the  rice. We ate a lot of seafood of course. There was a massive Matsu statue, a well placed garden cafe and lots of military things we stopped to see, Vicky's husband had done his military service here and we saw the museum he helped built (Folk Cultural Artifacts Exhibition Hall).

Tunnel 88 brand kaoliang (38 and 58 proof) sorghum liquor, as well as aged laojiou rice wine (around 30% alcohol). 

Would I go back? Of course! If only because the plan of developing the island is spoiling it into some second rate gambling wanna-be Macau.

Click here for all my Matsu photos.