Strange Places

“It's a cruel and random world, but the chaos is all so beautiful.” -Hiromu Arakawa

If you take the time to explore and look around you can find some pretty interesting places that not too many people take the time to seek out. A couple of weeks ago we stumbled onto one of those places.

A couple of weeks ago I went out on the scooter exploring the countryside. I came across what looked like a cemetery and I stopped to check it out. What was surprising was that I saw that some of the graves were dug up and there were clothes draped around the area. After this I explored a little bit more but did not find anything noteworthy.

 I came home and talked to Adrien about going to see Sheh-Men reservoir since she has never been there and it is one of the cooler sights that I’ve found. I packed up my bag and we both got on the scooter and made our way towards the lake.  I did not use my GPS and I ended up riding above the reservoir into the mountains. We got to the top and saw a view of the lake at an abandoned visitor's center.

After seeing many Taiwanese take pictures of themselves in front of  the view we decided to continue on. On the way down the mountain we saw a yellow building with a big parking lot. I wasn't going to stop but just I made a last minute decision and pulled off the road.  In the front of the building there were lots of little glass pebbles and a Buddhist shrine.

We were just moseying about when a monk at the gate invited us to come in and take a look around. We accepted the offer and went inside. To our surprise there were two castles and other interesting structures around that were frozen in time.

It seems like someone built an amusement park but didn't maintain it for over 30 years and now plants have taken over the area. I’m guessing that the entire grounds are taken care of by monks, and in turn they decided the place would be better off if left alone.

  

Some of the structures were pretty curious, one was a 50 foot high gorilla holding a snake. We made a loop around and by the time we got back to our scooter the monastery was closed. We took a look at the sign and I used my phone to translate what this place was called. The name said Fairytale World, which explained the castle and the weird Mickey. 

We got to another monastery that was a little bit nicer and more traditional than the last, and walked around for 10 or 15 minutes then continued to go down the road. After we passed some orange orchards and got to the main highway. As the sun was setting I stopped to take a picture of the view that was less-than-picturesque.

Garbage in Taiwan

Ours is a culture and a time immensely rich in trash as it is in treasures.
-Ray Bradbury

One thing that was unusual to us was the garbage system in Taiwan. I remember the first time we were looking for apartments and our recruiter was saying something about being around at 7 o'clock to catch the garbage truck. We didn't really understand why we would have to catch a garbage truck and asked if there was an area in the basement or somewhere else where we can put our trash. She explained that there really isn't any areas where they put trash unless you live in an upper class neighborhood. 

So what do you do with your trash? If you asked a foreigner this question they would probably tell you to listen for classical music.

In Taiwan there are garbage trucks have loud speakers that blast Für Elise and you literally have to run outside your apartment and catch that garbage truck to throw your trash away. Following close behind the garbage truck is a recycling truck where you can give all your recycled items which is mandatory in the country. I guess that a country that is so densely populated they need to waste as little as possible. They are a little hypocritical with this philosophy because cashiers try to give you a plastic bag with every cup of coffee or tea you buy.

Taiwanese Garbage truck.

Taiwanese Recycle Truck.

In some ways I see how this trash system is good but in other ways there is a lot of noise pollution. It is not pleasant to hear while you're at home trying to relax or teaching a class. If you have a normal job and you don't work nights it’s an easy way to keep your house clean and trash free. 

One of the inconveniences of this system is there are not many trash cans to use on the streets or in buildings. At the school we work at none of the classrooms or the office has a trashcan. So if you have a piece of trash like a wrapper from something you have to walk outside across the schoolyard to the trashcan by the bathrooms where someone will take it to the truck later that night. Also if you're somewhere out in the city it is virtually impossible to find a trashcan anywhere except maybe in a convenience store.

Overall it's a great system but where we live I think some people don't take the time to find a garbage truck and if you run along the streets you can see big piles of garbage and decaying furniture along the streets. There are even some piles of garbage that look like people have been collecting it for over a year near some of the apartments. In the countryside it’s even worse since I don’t think the trash trucks even go out there, so if you walk around rural areas it’s difficult to enjoy yourself since there’s rotting trash everywhere and discarded toilets and furniture in streams and rivers. I think that from traveling there are very few countries that really care about properly disposing of their trash. It would be a lot nicer if you can take a walk and look at the scenery and not see so much garbage.

Trail running in preparation for a 100 miler

Great things are done when men and mountains meet. This is not done by jostling in the street.

-William Blake

Getting to the trails. I'm really glad I have a scooter because there's no public transportation to where I want to run.

I recently completed my first 100 mile foot race in November 7, 2015 which was call Rio Del Logo in order to qualify for the Western States 100 lottery. Once you complete a qualifying race it is not likely that you will be able to actually race. For example this year there were about 8000 people registered in the lottery and only about 350 names were picked for the race. So your chances of getting in are very slim but if you're persistent and register every year you might get to race in the next 5 to 15 years down the road. 

The finish line at the Rio Del Lago.

In the meantime it's important to train to run those distances and since I'm totally new at this I figured I should try to register for any race I can. So after spending a long time looking at a website called Runners Plaza I finally found an 100 mile race to train for. It is called The Race Across Taiwan (as far as Google translate is concerned). 

This is a road race and I've never spent much time running on roads. With this said it isn't necessarily going to be easier than my last 100 mile race. The course starts at around 1500 feet and climbs up to 10,800 feet by around mile 50. This is going to be especially challenging training for elevation since I'm living near sea level and there are no really big mountains nearby. But if I don't get altitude sickness I'm looking forward to seeing what big mountains in Taiwan look like. 

I prefer being on trails so it's a new area for me but it is always good to see new places and do new things. The only problem is all the information about the race is in Chinese and I really don't know what I am getting into. I have no idea if there's going to be aid stations or how far apart they will be. All I know is that this the distance and the basic route. The road that I will be taking goes through Taroko National Park which is famous for its road with steep cliffs and tunnels. You can view that information about the race here but probably won't make much sense even if translated.

With this event in mind I have been spending a good deal of my vacation exploring trails in the close proximity to where we live (which means 20 to 45 miles traveled on my scooter). I should be running on the road for my training but I really don't like it especially here in Taoyuan where there is no shoulder in many places, lots of traffic, and drivers that don't look where they're going. I've already been hit by one car on a rainy day. Even though it wasn't going fast and I didn't get injured I still am wary whenever I hear a scooter or car coming from behind me. 

One of the ladders to get up and down the steep parts.

 Most of the trails here are too technical for running long distances. You spend most of your time climbing / power walking up or down steep slippery slopes but it's still fun to get out there. 

A surprise to see a sign in English.

There are only a couple of places with trails that I've found that are close to Yangmei, one is Manyueyuan National Forest recreation area and Dong Yan Shan National Forest. I mentioned both of these places because I've only been there twice and most recently I ran to Dong Yan Shan National Forest then turned around and went to Manyueyuan National Forest Recreation area. These are probably my favorite places to run around. It was pretty secluded and on my last trip I saw wild monkeys, pheasants and an animal that looked like a possum but had a bushy tail. There are also supposed to be Formosan bears, leopard cats and yellow throated martens but haven't seen any of these critters yet. 

Beware of the Monkeys and Vipers. Luckily I haven't encountered any vipers or other deadly snakes but have seen some skins discarded here and there.   

Saw a group of wild monkeys. This one was confused why I was hanging out so long.  

There are lots of huge spiders around. When you run into them it feels like fishing line.

There are also a lot of really old trees hidden in the labyrinth of trails in this area and not really close to any popular roads which makes it nice. I got to this part of the trail as the sun was going down and the trees reminded me of the ones in the movie Avatar in some ways. 

One of the cool trees hidden away on the trails. They look very old and a lot different from anything that I've seen in different countries.

Some mushrooms growing on the trail.

They had some fossils on the mountain where crabs used to live. 

Once you got further away from the roads parts of the trail were a little sketchy. 

Plenty of steep climbs along the way.

A nice creek area that I passed as the sun was going down.

So many roots along the trail. I tried to move them a couple of times with my feet but they didn't budge. 

More roots. 

The other trail that I spend much more time running and hiking on is near Shih-men reservoir. At the reservoir there are a lot of different hiking trails but most of them are very steep with lots of ropes to aid your way up and down the terrain. 

Lots of nice vines going on the trees on the trail next to Shih-men.

Plants with lots of thorns.

View from a clearing.

Banana trees but no ripe ones yet.

These dogs live on the top of the mountain away from any houses or roads. Luckily people bring them food.

Trail from Shih-men Mountain to the reservoir gets pretty busy on the weekend. Was difficult getting around the crowds at times. 

A monument at the lake. 

Another view from the trail.

Weird statue in front of the abandoned monastery. 

A secret way to the trail past an abandoned monastery. 

I even went from the reservoir to the outskirts of Taipei but the last 10 miles of the trail were pretty overgrown and hard to navigate. With all that said I'm grateful to have these trails around. It is nice to see banana trees and bamboo everywhere.

 Links:

Race across Taiwan 100 mile race map

Description of the race across Taiwan (in Chinese but you can use google translate if your interested)

Runners Plaza - Where you can find races in Taiwan.

Western States 100 website

Rio Del Lago website

Winter Camp at Our School

Even a mosquito doesn't get a pat on the back until he is well into his work.

-Unkown

The Chinese New Year is the biggest holiday and all the schools are closed but since we work at a private school we still work. We had to work at our school’s Winter Camp the theme was “A Leader in Me.” We were obligated to teach nine classes a day and we weren't paid any overtime. In summary it was a pretty bad deal for us. In addition, Taiwan got cold. There was no heat in the classrooms and it got to be pretty difficult, especially because we didn’t anticipate needing real winter clothes.

The first day of Winter Camp our boss did not know how many students were going to come and therefore didn't have any materials for us. This is becoming a common theme at our school along with not having materials or supplies.  When we asked for more materials for activities the directors told us that the parents don't see the teacher’s manual so just do something else. With this said the school has been very difficult to work for. The management is unorganized and constantly passive aggressive. They with rarely talk directly to you and most of the time will get a student to tell you something even though that are standing right in front of you.

We knew that the winter camp was about leadership and that we had to come up with a performance for the parents to see. Again the director of the school didn't give us any information or guidelines except it had to be around an hour. We found a song and came up with some ideas about the seven habits to become a leader. Luckily there is a lot of information on the internet because schools in America teach around the same theme. We ended up doing a lot of skits about becoming a leader, a song and a play about Goldilocks that was changed to “Goldihood” (because the girls in the class were in a lower academic level than the boy, and he happened to be wearing a yellow sweatshirt one day) and speeches about famous leaders.

The student talked about leaders like Steve Jobs, Obama, George Washington, Queen Elizabeth... and these are the costumes they had to wear for their characters.

Goldihood

Practicing with the kids was a little bit frustrating. It was a challenge to keep the students motivated but we ended up playing a lot of games to break up the monotony. I thought up some challenges for the kids, some of them are very competitive, that also worked to tire them out. Adrien introduced some of the games like gagaball and crazy tag she learned while working for Royal Caribbean as a Youth Staff. We ended up merging some of our classes together because we simply didn’t have enough materials, and just played games instead. To us, that’s what a camp should be about, and that’s what we advertised to the kids before camp started.

At the end the kids did well and I have the parents were happy. So after two weeks of a semi-hostile work environment our bosses were finally happy.

Also if you want to see some videos of the kids practicing for the presentation click here.