tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4642215191354215202024-02-20T07:00:07.314-08:00Chang Family PicturesFamily pictures from Shanghai, Hong Kong and AmericaMangohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00972460189594220301noreply@blogger.comBlogger62125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-464221519135421520.post-51078807363534528272022-03-03T20:19:00.001-08:002022-03-03T20:24:20.626-08:00Gloucester Imposter 3<p>Getting ready to launch<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEghpDWopYn5g-Ld7C9Lv-bs2IRspfO9qjukSL9yKAcCwphxL1EmGNTQOPFWxxRZSE78lRQY11c4XS2pjT7NuMoDMtjk7uyIY5AzBjWCbLO9av4P7tfvhKs4dJVVLgPeho_HrXGH6TFK0gAsHY2rTgy1RPD6TzH_aG5jj2PgX8-KGEVCErgWpK1LRiM=s4032" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEghpDWopYn5g-Ld7C9Lv-bs2IRspfO9qjukSL9yKAcCwphxL1EmGNTQOPFWxxRZSE78lRQY11c4XS2pjT7NuMoDMtjk7uyIY5AzBjWCbLO9av4P7tfvhKs4dJVVLgPeho_HrXGH6TFK0gAsHY2rTgy1RPD6TzH_aG5jj2PgX8-KGEVCErgWpK1LRiM=w284-h320" width="284" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lao Tie climbing the mast<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>The boat was on the hard for 2 months for repairs. </div><div>Off the top of my head I remember:</div><div>-The bow thruster propellers were broken due to icing</div><div>- The main propellers needed to be straightened</div><div>- A section of the genoa (big jib) furler foil was broken</div><div>- The keel needed to be welded</div><div>- Various cooling problems</div><div><br /></div><div>Notice Loa Tie was climbing up the mast with no gloves on a cold autumn day.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhizAZ4ccbi4NCXJpUZ6HT8nylfkxf_PTSJ5J_VGAkaMOYQ9KIsQ5VK1lXTdYFd4dXZKg0KQ78S19PKhJMceblc1pbc2V0ixTCZkPPfxBDBMfhQ2-C-g_195NDn05xL0BK-VpTupb4fAR_ajwW3OZ0CiBdhR6eSmik1M9wFbXo6iwJ2Xrzw_lomMRM=s4032" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhizAZ4ccbi4NCXJpUZ6HT8nylfkxf_PTSJ5J_VGAkaMOYQ9KIsQ5VK1lXTdYFd4dXZKg0KQ78S19PKhJMceblc1pbc2V0ixTCZkPPfxBDBMfhQ2-C-g_195NDn05xL0BK-VpTupb4fAR_ajwW3OZ0CiBdhR6eSmik1M9wFbXo6iwJ2Xrzw_lomMRM=s320" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1st attempt </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>The marina is called Gloucester Marina Railways because the platform which the boat sits on is on railway tracks. On launch, the entire platform is lowered into the water slowly. Gross weight of the boat is 55 tons.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dy7E6KdawopNTY2i3eE_usmI9qCk3y41Tq3ZbeDbgqNpuNgrjlDDxebHMoPexFkcqsiiX7snrOOrI0VAmAnvg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><div><br /></div>Mangohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00972460189594220301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-464221519135421520.post-86511079892708501622022-03-01T19:16:00.007-08:002022-03-01T19:34:01.605-08:00Gloucester Imposter 2<p> Lao Tie (烙鐵) and Jennifer</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjT1H7WWHr1ePb2mcUGDc5mecq0msG71By4yJCLyLkGp4t5mSG6zdRfZ2b24XAW4RsiY1uHfxdPmZax-bxFmTEHKTakvYWLS2XAi4J0kDcmovGdTeyTfpuP-grWpzfKnW0D-wUjZM60A1yn4nH-HzxZ4h9wUY6N3LZlOmOK336jZ-IgzKEMMfONA4Y=s4032" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjT1H7WWHr1ePb2mcUGDc5mecq0msG71By4yJCLyLkGp4t5mSG6zdRfZ2b24XAW4RsiY1uHfxdPmZax-bxFmTEHKTakvYWLS2XAi4J0kDcmovGdTeyTfpuP-grWpzfKnW0D-wUjZM60A1yn4nH-HzxZ4h9wUY6N3LZlOmOK336jZ-IgzKEMMfONA4Y=w411-h308" width="411" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The love birds in my kitchen</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p>One of the crew members of the boat was Lao Tie (literally "branding iron"). Despite speaking very little English, he managed to hook up with a local musician named Jennifer. I did not know they were dating until he started to ask for rides to Rockport, turned out Jennifer lived only a couple of blocks from my house. </p><p>Sometimes we would invite them over for a drink and believe me you, simple sweet nothings like "everyday is a gift" was not all that simple to translate. 学到用时方恨少。</p><p>Eventually, they would be married by the Mayor of Gloucester at City Hall and Lao Tie became a neighbor of mine. Did anyone worry about losing the one third of the crew and the engineer of the boat? No, not even a little bit. </p><p><a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.gloucestertimes.com/news/what-a-catch----a-new-beginning-when-sailor-and-musician-find-love/article_6a6b5f7e-5d10-11ec-8f9b-3b05c9faa8b1.html&ved=2ahUKEwik_bmdvKb2AhXQkIkEHbelAYEQFnoECA0QAQ&usg=AOvVaw3_oWBdCYTF6M9-MuogS69-">Read about their story here</a><br /></p>Mangohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00972460189594220301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-464221519135421520.post-5746822823027995492021-12-15T04:03:00.007-08:002022-03-01T17:38:05.455-08:00Gloucester Imposter 1 (glostah impawstah)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiSwTr8G1LH11S0wmN4ub-4jgce0rJKl2GcuaBnWZDC5bvSdENKOAs_WKQ2iyMxfh2MIfNEBuVu7UfLHypjLhWIE-Tsv-FNSYiBczWnI8Hs17uo0ROeEPvjcu2ih2Rc69cQqJyv84PAjq5c8akVnXQhyULNVHY7nExoAVI5cpPDv8AhZxJPWJzvq04=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiSwTr8G1LH11S0wmN4ub-4jgce0rJKl2GcuaBnWZDC5bvSdENKOAs_WKQ2iyMxfh2MIfNEBuVu7UfLHypjLhWIE-Tsv-FNSYiBczWnI8Hs17uo0ROeEPvjcu2ih2Rc69cQqJyv84PAjq5c8akVnXQhyULNVHY7nExoAVI5cpPDv8AhZxJPWJzvq04=w400-h300" title="Sailing Vessel Zhai Mo 1" width="400" /></a></div><br /> Sailing Vessel Zhai Mo 1<p></p><div><br /></div><div>Several days after my last attempt at retirement, my wife noticed a story about a Chinese sailboat on the front page of the local newspaper Gloucester Times. Heather insisted: "Why don't you go give your countrymen a hand since nobody on the boat speaks English?" I said since I had more than a billion countrymen, what could I do to help these three? </div><div><br /></div><div>At any rate, curiosity got the better of me and I went to Gloucester Marine Railways where the boat was being repaired and ran into the famous Captain Zhai Mo. We had a pleasant chat about their aborted journey to circumnavigate the North Pole and invited the crew to come to my house in Rockport for a weekend cookout. </div><div><br /></div><div>Long story short, for the next 2 months, I did manage to help them with the shipyard as well as hordes of admirers. Not only were there Chinese wellwishers, we also were constantly invited to museums and art centers by the excited art community. (Zhai is a professional painter and the shipyard is smack in the middle of the biggest art colony around here.)</div><div><br /></div><div>At some point the captain sort of jokingly asked me to go back to Shanghai with them, I quipped I only need to go grab my toothbrush and we both laughed it off. Perhaps I didn't take it as a joke completely because I found myself casualy mentioning it to Heather hoping to de-sensitize her to the idea.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.gloucestertimes.com/news/chinese-sailboat-cruises-into-gloucester-harbor/article_f615a922-31d6-11ec-9843-ab2120c5a784.html&ved=2ahUKEwiUirDEi6T2AhWpkokEHUX5BnUQFnoECAYQAQ&usg=AOvVaw3-LZz0f69yiKZqfT4NQnjM">Click here for the Gloucester Times article</a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://m.jyacht.com/use/tyfx/j02201212614.shtml">Click here for 翟墨 自传</a><br /></div>Mangohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00972460189594220301noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-464221519135421520.post-15238736474094926092019-01-07T20:59:00.002-08:002019-01-11T05:05:41.984-08:00My Sister Ivy<br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: inherit;">A few months ago, My sister Ivy died after fighting lung cancer valiantly for three and a half years. Often, I think of her like she is still here, asking myself what would Ivy think about this and that, she was the sibling to whom I talked the most. Maybe it was a habit from when I was her baby brother.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="color: white;"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinCZFzegRBVRt3gDVvMgyyLZ2AV6yzS6vh3S5lYEW69NmPhTC0yxTOTq8gdghLTqs9f5aUWfuu8sfaNkaapTIdo0xCZrI9jhj3Sn1xOuH1cwgjV1P5hfXnONl5LXqenJl7C7lS5_BrtdE/s1600/ivy_me+%25281+of+1%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="757" data-original-width="765" height="395" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinCZFzegRBVRt3gDVvMgyyLZ2AV6yzS6vh3S5lYEW69NmPhTC0yxTOTq8gdghLTqs9f5aUWfuu8sfaNkaapTIdo0xCZrI9jhj3Sn1xOuH1cwgjV1P5hfXnONl5LXqenJl7C7lS5_BrtdE/s400/ivy_me+%25281+of+1%2529.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Ivy was 2.5 years older than me. We were almost the same size at this point, Ma said Ivy used to carry this big slug around.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="color: white;"></span><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ivy</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> was the rock of our family and to her husband and children, and the benefactor of many friends and relatives. No only she carried her chubby brother around, she held down the fort when the rest of the family left Hong Kong in the early 70s, she shouldered the </span>responsibilities of closing our family home of 20 years alone when she was still in secondary school. Sometimes she half joked that if there's such a thing as reincarnation, she wouldn't want to be human again because being human was just too hard. Perhaps she was right, setting the bar high for being a good human is not easy, not even for her.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="color: white;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="color: white;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="color: white;"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaexsKIhGEQH2TPXURyPjEmDN26iocqjA4tQgoj7ZAc5KfVPspd5E4Kibp0YjW-va6-Fe3nx_BjJQlr6xwH6ro7A2j05J6WaUx8bXQnGiBClOWHcXlG658S0owYXs7_oceooWD2eku5r8/s1600/KIMG0413+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaexsKIhGEQH2TPXURyPjEmDN26iocqjA4tQgoj7ZAc5KfVPspd5E4Kibp0YjW-va6-Fe3nx_BjJQlr6xwH6ro7A2j05J6WaUx8bXQnGiBClOWHcXlG658S0owYXs7_oceooWD2eku5r8/s320/KIMG0413+%25281%2529.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">A Victim</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="color: white;"></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: inherit;">Soon after our family moved to North America in the 70s, we all got stuck in the ruts of college, family and adulthood. The siblings did get together from time to time, still my memories of Ivy are mostly from our childhood in Hong Kong. That Ivy I knew was a vivacious girl or even a mischievous one. We often reminisced about how we used a rod stringed to an emptied out watermelon and tried to cover the heads of unsuspecting passers-by under our balcony with the rind. We probably never scored a direct hit from the 3rd floor, but we ruined enough clothes that rocks, and I swear, dog pooh were thrown at us by the angry victims while we laughed breathlessly.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="color: white;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicttFgBNqEjz0WiA31s7t97sWI-8oRgFv1G7xVp4yzG4kloGibj2N5Rmt-ht8a7K0aF8aVBJlpFkc0DcJJEnj3nqb-uni2xDkdzYRisYA48QW4YhOH5g4RcmZMDv2Ycib_tWCyppzn8As/s1600/Pa-Kua-mirror.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="130" data-original-width="120" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicttFgBNqEjz0WiA31s7t97sWI-8oRgFv1G7xVp4yzG4kloGibj2N5Rmt-ht8a7K0aF8aVBJlpFkc0DcJJEnj3nqb-uni2xDkdzYRisYA48QW4YhOH5g4RcmZMDv2Ycib_tWCyppzn8As/s320/Pa-Kua-mirror.jpg" width="295" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Trigram Evil Eye</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="color: white;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="color: white;"></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: inherit;">Some of our neighbors were probably not pleased with the Chang children either, and the flat on our right was upset enough that they hung a trigram mirror facing our balcony. One time when Ivy and I were on the balcony just minding our own business, the neighbor lady just suddenly flipped out, grabbed a 10 foot laundry bamboo pole and tried to kill us with it while shouting "I'm going to blind you! I'm going to poke your eyes out!" We ducked and realized there was no chance that she could touch us at that angle and started laughing loudly until the old witch exhausted herself. We used the expression "I'm going poke your eyes out" in exaggerated feigned anger and always found it hilarious (it is a lot funnier in Cantonese, word by word, it's literally "poke and explode your eyeballs".) Of course, Big Brother Robin set up some cleverly angled mirrors to retaliate the trigram evil eye, at certain time of the day, the neighbor felt they had a searchlight pointed directly at their living room.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="color: white;"></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: inherit;">Ivy's hands were impossibly small, if you shook her hand, her lack of strength would be immediately evident and she had no interest in anything athletic. When she was a girl, she was also extremely afraid of the needle, and it's at the doctor's office she was an athlete. It usually took more than one nurse to restrain her to give her a shot (at that time, if you went to the Doctor for whatever reason, you'd always get at least one shot). If she managed to escape, people would be chasing her around like a slapstick movie. One time Ma actually sat on her to stop her from struggling. At the time I found it very amusing, only if I knew how she had to deal with the needle in her last days, chemo session after chemo session...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="color: white;"></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: inherit;">When I was about 10, our mother bought a pair of discount airplane tickets from Canton to Shanghai, Ivy and I were to travel by train to Canton and from there take the plane to Shanghai to visit our maternal grandparents in Shanghai. To this day, that was still the trip of a lifetime for me. First, the two of us were totally on our own; second, no one we knew had been on an airplane; third, all the fellow travelers thought we were so cute. The train ride to Canton was uneventful but unbeknownst to us, we were to spend a night at a nice hotel (probably The Five Goats). <span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">We two country bumpkins were surprised by the hot water faucet actually worked (at that time in Hong Kong, most families did not have hot water on tap; the hot water faucet was only for show.) So we filled the tub to the brim and took turns having many luxurious baths until there was standing water on the bathroom floor</span><i>.</i> Dinner at the hotel was a rice plate with fresh mushrooms -- it was just before the outbreak of the Cultural Revolution -- and I suppose now it was actually quite a fancy dish, but both of us found it gross and spit out most of the food. Despite the "opulent" accommodations, we couldn't get on the plane soon enough the next day and luckily before they found out about the bathroom.</span><br />
<div style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="color: white;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: white; font-family: inherit;">The ride to Shanghai was extremely bumpy. I remember the plane was carrying lots of bananas and tropical fruits (probably for the party cadres, the Great Leap Forward Famine just ended a few years before so food in China was still scarce.) I am quite sure the airplane cabin was not pressurized because when the plane flew into the clouds we could see the white stuff immediately got inside the fuselage. We both puked our brains out most of the way and landed in Shanghai on an oppressively hot day.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="color: white;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="color: white;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="color: white;"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifXao81y7lorhxRGn1vsjy3NWtdonbcDWsodGMzFo9_IyiH9wM56JTqn9OpIhKlLWQVUhnh1iAv-uXfRk0SY5EtzW4erVe8Ur9nB_PsxC7mwcCjbhq-InOF_iuERe2HTVYhfs7s8JFKdI/s1600/ivy_me_shanghai2+%25281+of+1%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1380" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifXao81y7lorhxRGn1vsjy3NWtdonbcDWsodGMzFo9_IyiH9wM56JTqn9OpIhKlLWQVUhnh1iAv-uXfRk0SY5EtzW4erVe8Ur9nB_PsxC7mwcCjbhq-InOF_iuERe2HTVYhfs7s8JFKdI/s400/ivy_me_shanghai2+%25281+of+1%2529.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Shanghai Airport, notice the peasant air conditioner next to the mid century sofa and</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">the two Hong Kong kids in not typical proletarian clothes. Ivy was wearing a lot of beads.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: white; font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: inherit;">After getting thoroughly spoiled by the grandparents for a month, we could speak the Shanghai dialect like native Shanghai kids and were quite sad to leave. I don't remember if I cried or not, but Ivy certainly did bawl her eyes out. We took the train all the way from Shanghai to Hong Kong on the return trip. On the train Ivy discovered one of her male school teachers (from a school sympathetic to the Communists that she attended previously) was also onboard. It was then I saw Ivy's remarkable recovery from her sorrows and as a wildly excited prepubescent girl, running back-and-forth between two cars all giddy and silly. Half a century later, after my sisters and daughter had become women, I'm often think of their ephemeral girlhoods, sugar and spice do have a shelf life. Oh, only if I could bottle the exuberant spirit of a 12 years old girl.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="color: white;"></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: inherit;">Roughly at that time, Ivy transferred from a Chinese based school (a so called "patriotic school", not strong academically) to a more challenging English school. It was not a smooth transition and she needed a tutor. While my older brother and eldest sister had a decent tutor Mr Chen, Ivy's tutor was not a very good one. He transliterated English words into groups of Chinese mnemonics, English words were pronounced exactly like Cantonese.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> He explained that "ch" sounded like Cantonese </span><span style="display: inline; float: none; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px;">池, so "how much" was "how mut chee" and so on. Maybe because Pa snickered when Mr. Yuan taught English, I figured the tutor didn't deserve our respect, one day,</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> my younger sister and I tried to find ways to rouse this poor tutor. First we ran around the table where they were sitting chanting and singing silly songs, then it escalated to touching, ever so lightly, the tutor's shirt and the hair on the back of his neck while Ivy tried desperately no to laugh. After a few minutes, Mr Yuan's entire head suddenly turned beet red and he stood up, exploded into a very pompous rant and quit on the spot. I was too stunned and dared not to laugh, but Ivy couldn't help herself. To this day, a reenactment of that outburst is still our (inside) joke non plus ultra, a joke that never got old.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="color: white;"></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: inherit;">No thanks to the tutor, Ivy's grades improved and by the time she was in College, she was a hardworking math major and later earned her MBA. She had turned things around completely, from running away to taking challenges head on. Hard to imagine now, Ivy was a chubby toddler and she did gain her freshman weight when she started school in Maryland. Determined to overcome everything that's in her way, she kept the weight off for the rest of her days and never smoked nor drank. (Her son Chris is very much into wine, and his wine is still labelled Ivy Cellar.) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="color: white;"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0zD0Fy1V4NPaCgTjffV1sZ9Ss7fwQl3l27zPPADIKko5rq_GYSn8BLGzSmwGckw-zM9jMM80h_uslbprLdMzWWatFBri3RE2EFhB0nKSiP9KZLNu0WkbL98RdJ-sAPsAJv5K_QuoOY0Y/s1600/blueHawaii+%25281+of+1%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="722" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0zD0Fy1V4NPaCgTjffV1sZ9Ss7fwQl3l27zPPADIKko5rq_GYSn8BLGzSmwGckw-zM9jMM80h_uslbprLdMzWWatFBri3RE2EFhB0nKSiP9KZLNu0WkbL98RdJ-sAPsAJv5K_QuoOY0Y/s400/blueHawaii+%25281+of+1%2529.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Putting on the freshman 15 </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="color: white;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="color: white;"></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: inherit;">Recently, Ivy told me she never had a manicure in her life, she thought it's just too extravagant. Despite being very well-off, Ivy's taste was everyman with a few exceptions. She had nice houses, furniture, china, and a vast jewelry collection. Jewelry was almost an obsession, every city she visited, jewelry shopping was usually on her to-do list.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="color: white;"></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: inherit;">Maybe I have some clues about this very extravagant hobby. In Hong Kong, during Chinese New Year, children received lucky money from their parents and older (married) friends and relatives. The money was enough to buy some toys and candies or firecrackers. One year, Ivy and I had some lucky money in our hot little hands and we saw the most beautiful things in the world, a street vendor was selling what appeared to be diamond jewelry at prices we could afford. I remember we bought a pin and some unbelievably pretty earrings and ran to show Ma, Ma being a child herself, said our offerings were fakes and tawdry, she didn't think she could wear something like that. Ivy and I were so crestfallen that we never forgot the horrors of that experience. Perhaps from that experience, Ivy always bought stuff of real value, when she was sick, she spent a lot of her waning energy on shopping for diamond earrings for all her nieces and granddaughter. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="color: white;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="color: white;"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXDcxrjUMRQKrnGEfnXC2xr2kg1QTQq4eJFIJXaUYa68WcJXeP4QKOA0_k9DlQARbTn64mfhKHnrB8FH_BKyKis6rXYGpSwjNM0D3XxOOVXNZULWcJPfCtLOfdk_OU9rle1Ish1qXk8yQ/s1600/ivy_ma+%25281+of+1%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="690" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXDcxrjUMRQKrnGEfnXC2xr2kg1QTQq4eJFIJXaUYa68WcJXeP4QKOA0_k9DlQARbTn64mfhKHnrB8FH_BKyKis6rXYGpSwjNM0D3XxOOVXNZULWcJPfCtLOfdk_OU9rle1Ish1qXk8yQ/s400/ivy_ma+%25281+of+1%2529.jpg" width="268" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Ivy and Ma</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="color: white;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="color: white;"></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: inherit;">Since Chinese has difference 4 distinct words for old sister, old brother, younger brother, and younger sister, it's considered quite blessed to have one of each plus husband, children, and parents. By that criterium, Ivy was the most blessed but I still can't wrap my head around the fact that the most blessed person is gone.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="color: white;"></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: inherit;">When the wife of philosopher Zhuang Zi (369 BC 莊子) died, his friend found him squatted on the floor beating a bucket and singing this song: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="color: white;"></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: inherit;">生死本有命,氣形變化中。天地如巨室,歌哭作大通</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="color: white;"></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: inherit;">Life and death are part of the circle of life</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: inherit;">The transformation of gases and matters</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: inherit;">All in the big house of the universe</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: inherit;">Singing and crying are the same</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="color: white;"></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: inherit;">Of course we Chinese are not the only wise one. Around 500BC Greek philosopher Parmenides famously said "Nothing comes from nothing" therefore nothing is ever created or destroyed from the beginning of time (conservation of mass). Surely, every atoms in our persons came from the stars and shall return to the stars.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="color: white;"></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: inherit;">Maybe Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet says it better, when Juliet (mistakenly) thought Romeo had died, she remembered Romeo's smiling face and said:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="color: white;"></span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">When he shall die,</span><br style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Take him and cut him out in little stars,</span><br style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">And he will make the face of heaven so fine</span><br style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">That all the world will be in love with night</span></span></span></b><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: white;"><b>And pay no worship to the garish sun</b>.</span></span></span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="color: white;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="color: white;"></span><br />Mangohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00972460189594220301noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-464221519135421520.post-29247682757185003182017-01-18T10:48:00.001-08:002019-01-11T05:22:38.358-08:00White Horse Not Horse 白馬非馬About 2,400 years ago, Chinese logician/philosopher Gongsun Long (<span lang="zh-Hant">公孫龍) made the assertion "white horse not horse". Since classical Chinese lacks indefinite articles, it could read "a white horse is not a horse" which resulted in massive confusions and the entire logician school was dismissed by Confucian mainstream as trivial sophistry.</span><br />
<span lang="zh-Hant"><br /></span>
<span lang="zh-Hant">The dialogue began when someone asked Mr Gongsun: "If a person has a white horse and you say 'white horse not horse', can you say he has no horse then?" (Quite a clever question. By induction, a horse of any color is also not horse. Therefore, horses don't exists!) </span><br />
<span lang="zh-Hant"><br /></span>
Here's Gongsun Long's reply:<br />
<br />
(1) 求馬,黃、黑馬皆可致;求白馬,黃、黑馬不可致。<br />
(2) 使白馬乃馬也,是所求一也。<br />
(3) 所求一者,白馬不異馬也;<br />
(4) 所求不異,如黃、黑馬有可有不可,何也?<br />
(5) 可與不可,其相非明。<br />
(6) 故黃、黑馬一也,而可以應有馬,而不可以應有白馬。<br />
(7) 是白馬之非馬,審矣!<br />
<br />
My literal translation (which attempts to retain some of the ambiguity of Classical Chinese, my annotations are bracketed):<br />
<br />
(1) When one looks for a <i><b>horse</b></i>, a yellow or black horse will do. When one looks for a <i><b>white horse</b></i>, a yellow or black horse won't do.<br />
<br />
(2) If <i><b>white horse</b></i> is same as <i><b>horse</b></i> (i.e., we can freely interchange "white horse" and "horse" in the previous sentence), looking for a horse would be the same (as looking for a white horse).<br />
<br />
(3) If (2) is true, then it follows that <i><b>white horse</b></i> is not different from <i><b>horse</b></i>.<br />
<br />
(4) If looking for a horse is same as looking for a white horse, why a yellow or black horse won't satisfy the search for a white horse? (violates second half of (1))<br />
<br />
(5) The condition is either satisfied or not, but it cannot be contradictory.<br />
<br />
(6) Therefore, uniformly, a yellow or black horse satisfies the condition of a <i><b>horse</b></i>, but not the condition of a <i><b>white horse.</b></i><br />
<br />
(7) <i><b>White horse</b></i> is not (equivalent to) <i><b>horse</b></i>, that much is clear!<br />
<br />
After I understand the argument, I can hardly believe the controversies! If you had "New Math" Set Theory in middle school, a simplest Venn diagram of two intersecting sets would make the argument completely self-explanatory. Part of the difficulty is Classical Chinese is very terse, part of the problem could be the Logician School was known to be good debaters and enjoyed making grand and shocking assertions -- sometimes taking advantage of the semantics. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGMuq21wM3xdBCDadHTGAn1VZ3pROWuzGlx28ngVhiX3CbhqydB5vv2_ERhiN-4YfH2OCYFjrX_mLsUq137aMk45G2ocgyEJkQq0GnGauyikeKi5aVSb4LH_EFbqJLY-LryrUhJuUia5E/s1600/venn.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="426" data-original-width="640" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGMuq21wM3xdBCDadHTGAn1VZ3pROWuzGlx28ngVhiX3CbhqydB5vv2_ERhiN-4YfH2OCYFjrX_mLsUq137aMk45G2ocgyEJkQq0GnGauyikeKi5aVSb4LH_EFbqJLY-LryrUhJuUia5E/s320/venn.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Venn Diagram, Caius College, Cambridge University</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
The school was actually called "The School of Names" or 名家 。Unfortunately, almost all their important books were lost. I'd venture to guess the word Name could mean that they grappled with names & substance (名實), or maybe even symbolic logic as in the case the name "horse" is not interchangeable with the name "white horse". Regardless, I cannot but to come to the conclusion Mr. Gongsun was a deep thinker in his time, albeit a show-off. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Zhuang Zi <span class="st">(莊子) was a (much more famous) contemporary of Gongsun Long, his criticism regarding this argument was:</span><br />
<span class="st"> </span><br />
<span class="ya-q-text" id="yui_3_17_2_4_1484763674371_713" itemprop="text">(1) 以指喻指之非指,不若以非指喻指之非指也;</span><br />
<span class="ya-q-text" id="yui_3_17_2_4_1484763674371_713" itemprop="text">(2) 以馬喻馬之非馬,不若以非馬喻馬之非馬也。</span><br />
<br />
<span class="ya-q-text" id="yui_3_17_2_4_1484763674371_713" itemprop="text">My literal translation follows. Here I think the word </span><span class="ya-q-text" id="yui_3_17_2_4_1484763674371_713" itemprop="text">指 </span>means the property or attribute of a thing, like the horsi-ness of a horse. Literally, the word could be a noun (finger) or a verb (point). Anyway, bear in mind Zhunag Zi is a very esoteric book and my translation is highly unconventional.<br />
<br />
<span class="ya-q-text" id="yui_3_17_2_4_1484763674371_713" itemprop="text">(1) Using an attribute to show what it is not, is not as clear as showing what other attribute the attribute in question does not possess.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="ya-q-text" id="yui_3_17_2_4_1484763674371_713" itemprop="text">(2) Using horsi-ness attribute to define what a (white) horse is not, is not as clear as showing not all horses have the whiteness attribute.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="ya-q-text" id="yui_3_17_2_4_1484763674371_713" itemprop="text">Or, simply: It's more clear to say "Not all horses are white, not everything white is a horse". </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span class="ya-q-text" id="yui_3_17_2_4_1484763674371_713" itemprop="text"><br /></span>
Mangohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00972460189594220301noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-464221519135421520.post-83012349213518295382016-08-10T14:27:00.000-07:002016-09-13T10:48:20.082-07:00Taiwan, Hong Kong (7)Good Bye, Taiwan<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYap__sbCSBqx_IlHrl0vXwmmeAobL0hc4WK04u7rZ2Gms7pEYRHKlh4XEgvxgYq1GM-Q8pyTvpNfrT8Pq6748ie3rlyt_KKKDmNdfMzYUAyXcG8irXglNfg9AFFhnDTRjXSMB4zPX39E/s1600/__.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYap__sbCSBqx_IlHrl0vXwmmeAobL0hc4WK04u7rZ2Gms7pEYRHKlh4XEgvxgYq1GM-Q8pyTvpNfrT8Pq6748ie3rlyt_KKKDmNdfMzYUAyXcG8irXglNfg9AFFhnDTRjXSMB4zPX39E/s320/__.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
After 10 days in Taiwan, it's time to head back to Taipei City, The drive was uneventful other than something like a shoe got kicked up by a truck and struck our car on the freeway. We arrived in Taipei in the afternoon and still had time to do some sightseeing but our energy had waned so much that we kept getting lost. After crossing the same bridge 3 or 4 times, we gave up and spent the night at a fancy hotel in New Taipei City 新北市 (the periphery of Taipei City proper), with valet parking and all.<br />
<br />
This was the first time I traveled to Taiwan, but somehow Taiwan felt close to what I imagined China ought to be. Remembering the blood mobile in front of the 2-28 Memorial Park before dawn 10 days earlier, I made blood donation my project for the next day.<br />
<br />
I took the subway back to the 2-28 Memorial Park and found I was more than two hours early. Wandering around the park, I saw the same homeless man I met 10 days ago, I nodded and commented on the weather and suddenly he started to talk in Taiwanese rapidly, so fast that I couldn't make out a single word. He was a decent looking, if not handsome, man with long hair who could pass off as a Bohemian artist in different circumstances. I soon realized he was getting worked up and my sympathetic sighs and nods really had no effect on his ranting. After what seemed like ten minutes and many panicky moments later, I decided to pat him on the shoulder and make my exit. Incredibly, he stopped in mid-sentence and flashed me a broad ear-to-ear grin showing a couple of lonesome teeth. The transformation from an angry man to this comical face was so abrupt and complete that I was too stunned to respond. I heard him said "bye bye" cheerfully and disappeared into the dark near the gate.<br />
<br />
The blood mobile opened at 10AM and I found 3 nurses in pink uniforms busily setting up the equipment. I quickly filled out some forms using my passport for an ID, that's when the head nurse shook her head grimly and said "Xi ni lo, xi ni lo." I couldn't understand what that meant till she showed me a pamphlet about West Nile Disease (Xi is literally "West", ni lo is "Nile" phonetically and hence my confusion). They were not accepting blood from Mainland Chinese because of hepatitis and Americans because of West Nile disease. By that time, a small queue of blood donors was already forming outside the door and I left feeling a little presumptuous. Decades ago, it was quite difficult to persuade ordinary citizens to give blood. Obviously, it was no longer the case and they hardly needed my blood.<br />
<br />
Al that's left to do was to return the rental car and catch our flight back to Hong Kong. At the mom-and-pop car rental company in 中櫪, we discovered the car had taken a severe beating, the Toyota emblem had fallen off and the hood had several potato sized dents on it. Since we didn't buy the optional collision insurance, I was a little worried but my negotiator-extraordinaire sister told me to just wait outside. After several anxious minutes, W emerged with the entire family in tow exchanging pleasantries, she later told me the damage was about 100 US dollars. <br />
<br />
In a few hours, we would land in Hong Kong, a place where I grew up, but it has changed so much that I still can't wrap my head around it. For now, the Hong Kong portion of this travelogue has to be abandoned. There is a Chinese saying<span style="color: #eeeeee;"> <span style="color: orange;"><b>近鄉情</b></span></span><span style="color: orange;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">怯 </span></b></span>which comes from these two lines of a poem:<span style="color: white;"> <span style="background-color: #444444;"><span style="color: orange;"><b>"</b></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #1c2837; font-family: "verdana" , "tahoma" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"><span style="background-color: #444444;"><span style="color: orange;"><b>近鄉情更怯,不敢問來人"</b></span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "tahoma" , "arial" , sans-serif;"> -</span> </span>when I get closer to home, my resolve weakens and I dare not ask strangers (for information).Mangohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00972460189594220301noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-464221519135421520.post-82887334801706286882013-12-28T17:30:00.002-08:002014-01-07T11:12:57.512-08:00Taiwan, Hong Kong (6)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Kenting Nation Park (墾丁國家公園)</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifTyuUaSFTMboOdtCMH27D5dxbf3b4YvaUV4-il7M3JrJIGEgr-HqbpFHzhzXg1nu635ch-ZCbS1S7LCz7BqWY_4uAw1BDWEfoZWLgIoLagoOPy-h4sasSecXEoSsREwkzK9YgjEuFbOQ/s1600/kending+(1+of+8).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifTyuUaSFTMboOdtCMH27D5dxbf3b4YvaUV4-il7M3JrJIGEgr-HqbpFHzhzXg1nu635ch-ZCbS1S7LCz7BqWY_4uAw1BDWEfoZWLgIoLagoOPy-h4sasSecXEoSsREwkzK9YgjEuFbOQ/s640/kending+(1+of+8).jpg" height="640" width="576" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Seven Miles Aroma Chick (七里香)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Heading toward the southern most point of Taiwan, we were not very hungry but decided to stop for dinner when we saw a crowd gathering around this rustic looking place. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The chicken was placed on a TV info-mercial rack in a clay urn which was in turn heated by firewood on the outside. On every picnic tables there was Apple Daily food critic's review giving it high marks. Long story short, it tasted like regular rotisserie chick and whatever the substance the girl sprayed on the bird would soon make us both thirsty like rat poison. </div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgczEwrX_zAzVukKionOlIaTXPq3zsQcG5FBC0Uxw3jK-hfA-Gdi10-dvSFXrMs2wlB54H9neOzrjWZvfQ7vEMfQ3T4WzpY1S73PrSpSzAAGPVR45U1AXejZ-KQnBTcq7Ch7iPHsbwCSdQ/s1600/kending+(2+of+8).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgczEwrX_zAzVukKionOlIaTXPq3zsQcG5FBC0Uxw3jK-hfA-Gdi10-dvSFXrMs2wlB54H9neOzrjWZvfQ7vEMfQ3T4WzpY1S73PrSpSzAAGPVR45U1AXejZ-KQnBTcq7Ch7iPHsbwCSdQ/s640/kending+(2+of+8).jpg" height="532" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Bed and Breakfast Sans Breakfast (民宿)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Stopping briefly for a couple places along the way, we arrived at the vicinity of the Kenting National Park in late evening. Taiwan's middle class with disposable income just could not be overestimated, we had to have driven through 10 kilometers of rush hour traffic of vacationers (on a weekday). W managed to find B&B like accommodations for the night. It was owned by a Hong Kong lady and was quite tastefully decorated. </div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhFWX3niN3n6tXylm7QlFlguD_uA2F2cBGK1n3UO0UxNRWvohTjP3bBYognEl6wlunp5KCzPPmFqOff-vtSQXDfcElS8I28NcOD3yw7CgVXOwSGhm9-JV9-v9ttUPkDG7NUU08mQ3citM/s1600/kending+(3+of+8).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhFWX3niN3n6tXylm7QlFlguD_uA2F2cBGK1n3UO0UxNRWvohTjP3bBYognEl6wlunp5KCzPPmFqOff-vtSQXDfcElS8I28NcOD3yw7CgVXOwSGhm9-JV9-v9ttUPkDG7NUU08mQ3citM/s640/kending+(3+of+8).jpg" height="404" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Beautiful Beach</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I was slightly disappointed by the looks of Atlantic City in this remote area. On the other hand, all we had to do was cross the busy street and we had the Mainland and Taiwan Strait to the west and the Pacific Ocean to the east, not to mention the beautiful view of the rugged coastline.</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3AFKXvmZCR-JXSNDqsa4OedtngWbOg_WJtmni-IwZj1F_0Ea7v9O-ipNmXR5QBqEgYCwLD9V-ApcJ62hn5E8o4bRb5ZTD7UUzT1oBlixGbhYF30Zk3NYvc4SRehlNB_Zm6jnDnExhsRQ/s1600/kending+(4+of+8).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3AFKXvmZCR-JXSNDqsa4OedtngWbOg_WJtmni-IwZj1F_0Ea7v9O-ipNmXR5QBqEgYCwLD9V-ApcJ62hn5E8o4bRb5ZTD7UUzT1oBlixGbhYF30Zk3NYvc4SRehlNB_Zm6jnDnExhsRQ/s640/kending+(4+of+8).jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Mainland in this direction (西望神州) </div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1NQCg2ItetJq9L48rD6byvJdjMmlTtRz819Gcj26gkHJ7egXga18WEE_YlqqXHOkpnl83adWgogCKn5Y87wZwQjfsO8lPUebPCjGRKpRef9kV4xSEDLqtVqdIKKoKQ90btfNS6qemCgc/s1600/kending+(5+of+8).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1NQCg2ItetJq9L48rD6byvJdjMmlTtRz819Gcj26gkHJ7egXga18WEE_YlqqXHOkpnl83adWgogCKn5Y87wZwQjfsO8lPUebPCjGRKpRef9kV4xSEDLqtVqdIKKoKQ90btfNS6qemCgc/s640/kending+(5+of+8).jpg" height="418" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Seafood Restaurant</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
A grouper was being cleaned outside this seafood restaurant. The restaurant owner assured us there would be plenty fish left in the evening.</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEfv3J1EvP2uHwEHU1NGf1fDkO-DazF2htq13nXSj0QPWW3e4AL3aDg0FVQR36FSZ3Fgbz9YtPGbrycvhcpUVyBBSHRNd5ZAmpC-3HT-xUpB8lOxZXAWuRF0cTbEdEsnxpFDQMEtEhWAA/s1600/kending+(6+of+8).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEfv3J1EvP2uHwEHU1NGf1fDkO-DazF2htq13nXSj0QPWW3e4AL3aDg0FVQR36FSZ3Fgbz9YtPGbrycvhcpUVyBBSHRNd5ZAmpC-3HT-xUpB8lOxZXAWuRF0cTbEdEsnxpFDQMEtEhWAA/s640/kending+(6+of+8).jpg" height="502" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
It looked better than it tasted</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
After hitting the ATM and other errands, we returned o he restaurant and had some unknown part of the fish, the streamed grouper was chewy and certainly not the belly part we had hoped for. The patrons were mostly Mainland tourists, for some reason we saw many visitors from Canton in Kenting , maybe they were attracted by the seafood. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Earlier, we met a bus load of Cantonese on the beach, one rail thin man was curious about my bicycle and we struck up a conversation in Cantonese, he looked like a starving communist from decades ago, but the real reason for his leanness was because he was a ridiculously picky eater, there was almost nothing he could put in his mouth in Taiwan. </div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjacgs9MrAfWUADM783pLHIiS7-vQWOEpQXBRPUeesWOBIT_GpYszL9vDsMrtgPpQgalSruCEuBcpHHQauuFgXGIEm_zQ_vKdBGymEqUmiHuIi8xJRMW856_-vAIDajkk-J4IUIQXNeLC0/s1600/kending+(7+of+8).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjacgs9MrAfWUADM783pLHIiS7-vQWOEpQXBRPUeesWOBIT_GpYszL9vDsMrtgPpQgalSruCEuBcpHHQauuFgXGIEm_zQ_vKdBGymEqUmiHuIi8xJRMW856_-vAIDajkk-J4IUIQXNeLC0/s640/kending+(7+of+8).jpg" height="438" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Old Town Hang Chun (恆春, Forever Spring)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The nearby old town Hang Chun. Actually, the only old part was the gate. The streets were full of restaurants, 7 Elevens. they looked sort of like Hong Kong in the 70s, but not a lot older than anywhere else other than the big cities. I bought some anti-inflammatory pills from Watson's, a drugstore chain owned by Hong Kong's Superman Li.</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCDxs62jo-CZuXxYGVfGyfLq0cmsdazW-z4HQFgd-Lcw8maJ1cNthanaQMtTpeOwef2oNcZMAG1UHhDiMu0VCtd13VSr-QNapDwYMN40fQqp57dXW0i_ETIoEebho3JV-HS4KNKdXMf_A/s1600/kending+(8+of+8).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCDxs62jo-CZuXxYGVfGyfLq0cmsdazW-z4HQFgd-Lcw8maJ1cNthanaQMtTpeOwef2oNcZMAG1UHhDiMu0VCtd13VSr-QNapDwYMN40fQqp57dXW0i_ETIoEebho3JV-HS4KNKdXMf_A/s640/kending+(8+of+8).jpg" height="640" width="464" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The mandatory picture (到此一遊)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Actually, we did manage to do some bicycling along the coast, totally enjoyable except for the gusty winds. Since we only had a couple of days left, we decided to returned W's Giant rental bike in Kenting. The Giant store was a in a stand-alone resort a little up the west coast, we soon saw many signs related to the movie Cape Number 7, a famous movie that I vaguely remembered. The resort itself was very fancy, with valets clad in Hawaiian shirts outside, fancy restaurants and spas inside. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
My bike in the picture was a Bike Friday Crusoe, "Bike Friday" is a play on "Man Friday" from Robinson Crusoe. This versatile model is called Crusoe, sort of amusing. (Bike Friday makes many other models, all with whimsical names.) </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Mangohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00972460189594220301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-464221519135421520.post-1015877228201903382013-12-22T04:45:00.001-08:002014-01-08T08:32:38.602-08:00Taiwan, Homg Kong (5)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
Sun Moon Lake (日月潭)</h2>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1h3ph3a5vvEqDJHhh1VDosv7BOscDZp8u0iR-t05kkCOwB7r73KzOYywhj7-bsLHsqwjloDOolfEno11iNPu2V-CATrAshtaIZrdSA4qMHGrsxKB11SB2QfyBfHfkGhia6rrdrSgNm6Q/s640/SunMoonLake+(14+of+14).jpg" height="480" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Sun Moon Lake (日月潭)<br />I was hoping to go to the number one tourist trap in Taiwan, Alishan (阿里山), a famous mountain range in Taiwan. Alishan is known for their beautiful women by virtue of a popular song <i>The Girls of Alishan</i> (阿里山的姑娘) in the 60s. <br />Ethnically, Taiwan is incredibly diverse with tens of well known aboriginal tribes, by and large, they are ethnic Polynesians. In the early years, the natives were converted to Christianity by Catholic missionaries, in a strange case of Lamarckian evolution, some of the later generations of the natives started to resemble the priests and produced many beautiful round eyed Eurasian girls that made it to the entertainment industry.<br />Regrettably, we were too weary to drive to yet another mountain and settled instead for the other big attraction, Sun Moon Lake.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguqu2q9mdAy3xQ984-NlAx6u_YwFi8KkAs35Lt9y9in3Lps9R23l5Dxhhqjk9neUJYd5oHgccs6jgAUi7bl5srCJDaRk-HPg6CBiOir-dvYPyXFR-jCNnC5pjyrmRy5Ubq1PMmbAJkuMU/s1600/SunMoonLake+(1+of+14).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguqu2q9mdAy3xQ984-NlAx6u_YwFi8KkAs35Lt9y9in3Lps9R23l5Dxhhqjk9neUJYd5oHgccs6jgAUi7bl5srCJDaRk-HPg6CBiOir-dvYPyXFR-jCNnC5pjyrmRy5Ubq1PMmbAJkuMU/s640/SunMoonLake+(1+of+14).jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Road Arounf The Lake</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1h3ph3a5vvEqDJHhh1VDosv7BOscDZp8u0iR-t05kkCOwB7r73KzOYywhj7-bsLHsqwjloDOolfEno11iNPu2V-CATrAshtaIZrdSA4qMHGrsxKB11SB2QfyBfHfkGhia6rrdrSgNm6Q/s1600/SunMoonLake+(14+of+14).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1h3ph3a5vvEqDJHhh1VDosv7BOscDZp8u0iR-t05kkCOwB7r73KzOYywhj7-bsLHsqwjloDOolfEno11iNPu2V-CATrAshtaIZrdSA4qMHGrsxKB11SB2QfyBfHfkGhia6rrdrSgNm6Q/s1600/SunMoonLake+(14+of+14).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1h3ph3a5vvEqDJHhh1VDosv7BOscDZp8u0iR-t05kkCOwB7r73KzOYywhj7-bsLHsqwjloDOolfEno11iNPu2V-CATrAshtaIZrdSA4qMHGrsxKB11SB2QfyBfHfkGhia6rrdrSgNm6Q/s1600/SunMoonLake+(14+of+14).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1h3ph3a5vvEqDJHhh1VDosv7BOscDZp8u0iR-t05kkCOwB7r73KzOYywhj7-bsLHsqwjloDOolfEno11iNPu2V-CATrAshtaIZrdSA4qMHGrsxKB11SB2QfyBfHfkGhia6rrdrSgNm6Q/s1600/SunMoonLake+(14+of+14).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Sun Moon Lake is actually 2 lakes: Sun and Moon, this road goes all around the lake (or lakes), but we could only tell there's a big body of water (maybe we only drove around one?). The street is typical of a tourist town, full of eateries, restaurants, and souvenir shops. <br />
<br />
The store on the left was a big tea shop, we made friends with owners who invited us to a hike around the lake 6AM the next morning. We bought some Assam tea (the Japanese grew Indian Assam black tea during their occupation) and local millet wine (小米酒). Millet wine is often mentioned in Taiwanese novels, back when people were less politically correct, millet wine and aborigines were put in a context similar to whiskey and American Indians. I drank the bottle and we ate some native fried fish by the lake that night.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgibI-e9wraW4E39HSuHh-i4RyWJBoZcnnFUl1-e_HD6he6R79b1irZ33tbEQerVnSGIkzC4UtJo_b-fmV5dGSAB84WXgFShlycjgl2pnvwxpbC87XAYx__wFN84QoHmGyHhRQbrJgf9Hk/s1600/SunMoonLake+(2+of+14).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgibI-e9wraW4E39HSuHh-i4RyWJBoZcnnFUl1-e_HD6he6R79b1irZ33tbEQerVnSGIkzC4UtJo_b-fmV5dGSAB84WXgFShlycjgl2pnvwxpbC87XAYx__wFN84QoHmGyHhRQbrJgf9Hk/s640/SunMoonLake+(2+of+14).jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Sun Moon Lake campground</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">They reminded me of trips to the beach when we were small in Hong Kong, excuses to lounge and prepare food and had little to do with swimming.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw2S4SEUoTQyTZFTkiedfA-TlZKp1OHKMrm7Bj4gcQJy3M8CfoHSr64I3-UKOr1GB1LiUzwPJTSMguLf7i0b04E9T90WHpCsR4_3If_In-nPsWPR2GmVC-7-4C7UZQ7_Cm0eq29P-d-OM/s1600/SunMoonLake+(3+of+14).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw2S4SEUoTQyTZFTkiedfA-TlZKp1OHKMrm7Bj4gcQJy3M8CfoHSr64I3-UKOr1GB1LiUzwPJTSMguLf7i0b04E9T90WHpCsR4_3If_In-nPsWPR2GmVC-7-4C7UZQ7_Cm0eq29P-d-OM/s640/SunMoonLake+(3+of+14).jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">A Fish Farm<br /><br />I think only the natives are allowed to raise or catch fish on the lake. The natives used to set up floating platforms to attract fish. They also farm fish today.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCpMa51FliDNlKMuS8kR6e_PdB8wQktvl3v9hRGbQLI1I_K8HVPDxs7mmoRY620-uKq256CG2kjvoXx1GdETlKa-Nl4sQa4UTURXAuGKQEMHGEMMFTDrDPCqG5YRnUyqvvq63qdFiTW3A/s1600/SunMoonLake+(4+of+14).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCpMa51FliDNlKMuS8kR6e_PdB8wQktvl3v9hRGbQLI1I_K8HVPDxs7mmoRY620-uKq256CG2kjvoXx1GdETlKa-Nl4sQa4UTURXAuGKQEMHGEMMFTDrDPCqG5YRnUyqvvq63qdFiTW3A/s640/SunMoonLake+(4+of+14).jpg" height="494" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Everything is lush green</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNfbzOHsqOcNNYVYNqBPr5VbQz3Nr9jsFbOwr8l1t8Z1s5KIfwZOWcuvjlGfeHAbqC2XC3xvHBKj4RBO4sxw7eRKSzoVl3AjhYTpZvzj9hYJB-BFLdGLNTTH4TD_Wc9yKbsOhr2mv6VcI/s1600/SunMoonLake+(5+of+14).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNfbzOHsqOcNNYVYNqBPr5VbQz3Nr9jsFbOwr8l1t8Z1s5KIfwZOWcuvjlGfeHAbqC2XC3xvHBKj4RBO4sxw7eRKSzoVl3AjhYTpZvzj9hYJB-BFLdGLNTTH4TD_Wc9yKbsOhr2mv6VcI/s640/SunMoonLake+(5+of+14).jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Beautiful Colors<br /><br />This place was truly paradise 100s of years ago. A freshwater highland lake with plenty of fish and games all around. They said the lake was discovered by a native hunter stalking a deer. Deers (which had few natural predators) ruled this land for a long time, even after "civilization" came to Taiwan, deer was its greatest export and many geographical names still bear the word "deer". Taiwan likes to be called Treasure Island (寶島), for once, the substance matches the marketing term.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpuA2ToVH-_1RZWdJtQbHWbAivE08vNYN2RilVlOeqsDBQ3EV8g0NlitQ4jip5ouEqIpgaFszSIpLeNTB3Y4VFfy0XGRxwUdmYGsUJgH9_pSXwq7aoX_JsE-Q74f70gnGvDBPNM4_7-PA/s1600/SunMoonLake+(7+of+14).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpuA2ToVH-_1RZWdJtQbHWbAivE08vNYN2RilVlOeqsDBQ3EV8g0NlitQ4jip5ouEqIpgaFszSIpLeNTB3Y4VFfy0XGRxwUdmYGsUJgH9_pSXwq7aoX_JsE-Q74f70gnGvDBPNM4_7-PA/s640/SunMoonLake+(7+of+14).jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Many college aged kids were fishing</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHPfMQJU-Qw7d31MTbxWVmv48I6n2gvIuiBHtIV4khoLxUuVztnjIbgCcifpA7Tsogwk72FLXJhLuIrlo71yVc09CbZnUcGivQe1KqirdWUD2R_ZU3hyphenhyphenDQJM_KI_sh8DCrNb_Hzw7DAqQ/s1600/SunMoonLake+(8+of+14).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHPfMQJU-Qw7d31MTbxWVmv48I6n2gvIuiBHtIV4khoLxUuVztnjIbgCcifpA7Tsogwk72FLXJhLuIrlo71yVc09CbZnUcGivQe1KqirdWUD2R_ZU3hyphenhyphenDQJM_KI_sh8DCrNb_Hzw7DAqQ/s640/SunMoonLake+(8+of+14).jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">None too seriously</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV5bNF8K5H-HKGxpVWEZKjrD3MrZneUj1z_J8v6Mx7i7NgHsdQh6hBK2wIMI0BP5CMJs2Mjdc6tGxrINcOVowkX_WZHXxxi9VmD2WdGPOqF6PHB6-WtwXhoJQh7CSrtwXWly2E1jDcfnc/s1600/SunMoonLake+(9+of+14).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV5bNF8K5H-HKGxpVWEZKjrD3MrZneUj1z_J8v6Mx7i7NgHsdQh6hBK2wIMI0BP5CMJs2Mjdc6tGxrINcOVowkX_WZHXxxi9VmD2WdGPOqF6PHB6-WtwXhoJQh7CSrtwXWly2E1jDcfnc/s640/SunMoonLake+(9+of+14).jpg" height="510" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Our tea shop friends<br /><br />I think all or some stores must be owner by people with aboriginal blood. the tea shop owners were Taiwanese (Han) Chinese and only had native in-laws. They walked to this gazebo every morning with rice and a jug water . After a breakfast of rice porridge and freshly brewed tea, the folding table, the portable stove, pots, and kettle were just put away under the gazebo floor. (They drank Oolong tea from their farm, in case you wonder.) </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdKwEJzWdnoSPAYemNpBhm3Zl0fhyphenhyphenj2Cb1RlcjZvQdfmScfLN1VV-coJQLi-hu1NyWplRrCN1dN1uN7XboR7FuogTh09AjCcI_7eysHcC61_yLQZGbrkjTC8vmZ60Fi6fsCgeNMYwn20c/s1600/SunMoonLake+(10+of+14).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdKwEJzWdnoSPAYemNpBhm3Zl0fhyphenhyphenj2Cb1RlcjZvQdfmScfLN1VV-coJQLi-hu1NyWplRrCN1dN1uN7XboR7FuogTh09AjCcI_7eysHcC61_yLQZGbrkjTC8vmZ60Fi6fsCgeNMYwn20c/s640/SunMoonLake+(10+of+14).jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
Shao Ladies<br />
<br />
<br />
The two younger women in leggings were daughter-in-laws. I was told full-blooded natives are rarer than giant pandas. The local tribe is Shao (or Thao, 邵族), the tribe of the beautiful Alishan girls.<br />
<br />
W and I figured one could easily live to a hundred keeping such a lifestyle, in fact, their mother who was in her late eighties, walked as if she was weightless. The old Chinese cliche "great hermits hide in the market" (大隠於市) crossed my mind although their business hours were quite long.<br />
<br />
The man showed me an album of pictures of Nobel laureate Mo Yan (莫言)who was their house guest for 3 weeks. Mr. Mo, who is from mainland China, famously praised Taiwan by saying the everyman in Taiwan is Leifeng (雷锋) -- an exemplary communist soldier who gave his life to the people.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEF-EzhmVvUjt-BQeAWB004AdgOutrMlLQKjbE2kc1UH8D1Ga1jc3vw6ZCn_oPfdDZkNKruRE_zhb5qPuqdpIBRvhqInBuP05vejKYo1GojVupVr3e1HJAiGyD18p0tGj4e1AB2kCEuH4/s1600/SunMoonLake+(11+of+14).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEF-EzhmVvUjt-BQeAWB004AdgOutrMlLQKjbE2kc1UH8D1Ga1jc3vw6ZCn_oPfdDZkNKruRE_zhb5qPuqdpIBRvhqInBuP05vejKYo1GojVupVr3e1HJAiGyD18p0tGj4e1AB2kCEuH4/s640/SunMoonLake+(11+of+14).jpg" height="450" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Some anti-government banner</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Apparently the rights of the natives were infringed. Man On The Street comment was the banners will come down as soon as they pay up. Increditbly, we would see simmilar banners and hear the exact same comment a few days later in Hong Kong!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinrPABppKKKrpxzaf_GJLIlOfxLJk4nJzxIx6ytnkQaVM5jCCHkz0mCdvUsdG5GE3f9fLqn6oBpxnSferKEtDXgtEJpywDhO0uHv8KoXRsZ1xmJkD5TE5CzoOKY6mX7-vOUmOsnqbjFB8/s1600/SunMoonLake+(13+of+14).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinrPABppKKKrpxzaf_GJLIlOfxLJk4nJzxIx6ytnkQaVM5jCCHkz0mCdvUsdG5GE3f9fLqn6oBpxnSferKEtDXgtEJpywDhO0uHv8KoXRsZ1xmJkD5TE5CzoOKY6mX7-vOUmOsnqbjFB8/s640/SunMoonLake+(13+of+14).jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The boat</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
There were no personal pleasure boats on the lake, the tour boats all made the same stops. Here we visited a temple and the personal protestant church of Chiang Kai Shek. No clear what denomination was the Jesus Church (耶穌堂), Madame Chiang was Southern Methodist! <br />
<br />
On this boat we met one of the few Americans we encountered, he was a recent Princeton grad on his way to a Japanese aerospace program and decided to take some time off in Taiwan teaching English. More than once we met Americans fluent in Mandarin, another time after checking email, I was browsing NBA scores and this young man asked me for an update, he was totally at home surfing in Chinese and typing street names in Pinyin faster than I could, he claimed he just picked up the language on his own in Denver, CO.<br />
<br />
(Everything new is now in Pinyin, Wade-Giles Romanization is only seen on older signs. To me, many parts of Taiwan is now indistinguishable from Mainland)<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Mangohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00972460189594220301noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-464221519135421520.post-41509748455536095492013-12-03T20:49:00.000-08:002013-12-10T00:36:56.371-08:00Taiwan, Hong Kong (4)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Bicycle riding in Taiwan. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
This is how it's like riding in traffic (I am pretty sure it's in the Town of Yi Lan). I was riding fast to keep up with the scooters. You may notice Asian style driving in the clip, more than once I was in gentle physical contact with buses and scooters. Actually, despite the crazy driving (which we also participated), I only saw one minor fender-bender during the entire trip.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyo0RHOJCGIEakrIHSV4AOL4iZSsI7jk4GhG4B6S3Yi4HJ-uSGZqiw0cjgyeuGHqWx_iEp3pQ0ELEquroV7uQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />Mangohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00972460189594220301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-464221519135421520.post-22022487110290212922013-12-01T15:37:00.002-08:002013-12-05T14:30:49.372-08:00Taiwan, Hong Kong (3)<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">
Taroko National Park (太魯閣國家公園)</span></h2>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Sister W may have some photos, I was so in awe that I forgot about taking pictures. Once we entered the Central East West Highway (中橫公路)near Hua Lien (花蓮), there's the Taroko National Park vistor center that didn't look a lot differnt from its counterpart in the US. The information counter was staffed with very enthusiastic senior citizen volunteers, they said there would be a international bicycle race the next day. The following is the promotional blurb from the race organizer:</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 微軟正黑體; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 200;"><i>The Taiwan KOM Challenge saw more than 400 riders from 23 different nations around the world gather to take on the very serious challenge of riding from sea level up to 3,275 meters over 95km, from Hualien up to the peak of Hehuan Shan, also known as the Wuling climb.<br />3,275 meters is the height of the mountain but with elevation gain taken</i> into account, the cyclists <i>actually climb some 3,800 meters! ...</i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
3,275 meters is about 11,000 feet in elevation, there's nothing on the east coast of North America remotely compares to that, let alone rising from sea level so rapidly. It was already afternoon, we jumped back to car to drive to Tianxiang (天祥) hoping to do a quick loop from Tienxiang which is about 20 Km from the gate. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizUHHmw3LcXtA4deOmQaCv5Ao_TwX9JSnDf1fCWK3jI06zHSOTIA8B1d6ZGDfBgJPfsmjYqHI7ZTTV2qc0ANXr2Eyh5oAvAFlkWxYctc4VDB3jWJWbWtqqTQ_QzimDouFp20-grFW9BgI/s1600/map_route_en.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="454" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizUHHmw3LcXtA4deOmQaCv5Ao_TwX9JSnDf1fCWK3jI06zHSOTIA8B1d6ZGDfBgJPfsmjYqHI7ZTTV2qc0ANXr2Eyh5oAvAFlkWxYctc4VDB3jWJWbWtqqTQ_QzimDouFp20-grFW9BgI/s640/map_route_en.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Check out the terrain</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
From the gate to Tienxiang is not so bad. Toward the finish, the gradient is just incredible. I rode only the relatively easy part with a vertical drop of less than 400 meters from Tianxiang to the start line on the coast.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFmF0FVCSvwvaKtrXHXFXTYeKvmxruyR6Sb5JctHEeKYkUHU2MIPZ_QBPlh2KErL6CXAglP4d4dlDE2nYrti_hHjYNnL1KRxcrxaYZVb6Bhds15gEqWkKtCj3FvGRwZIaXJ8xdCiDFOJo/s1600/taroko+(5+of+11).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFmF0FVCSvwvaKtrXHXFXTYeKvmxruyR6Sb5JctHEeKYkUHU2MIPZ_QBPlh2KErL6CXAglP4d4dlDE2nYrti_hHjYNnL1KRxcrxaYZVb6Bhds15gEqWkKtCj3FvGRwZIaXJ8xdCiDFOJo/s640/taroko+(5+of+11).jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Tianxiang (天祥, I gleamed from other names that it's named after a historical figure 文天祥)</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Tianxiang is a major stopping point alone the highway, people would recommend it as a must see place to visit. The road to Tianxiang was just stunning, I was busy I eating and drinking as much as I could to prepare for the ride, even wolfed down a sweet potato we abandoned 2 days ago.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
At Tianxiang, we saw touristy stuff we had little interest in: pagoda, temple, and some rock statues. We never did bother with these attractions but there's where most of the tourists were. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
It was almost 2PM and I make haste getting ready (in a Porta Potti), putting on biking shorts, jersey, and helmet for the first time on this trip. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOav5EZ-wWHLK2IDQLChsNfN6dDiEyRjT3VSPKhmX1EwzVgF-XkVyTzFf1APUVhb1rnJLIk5G7Mdh-iu4AVURt5LiQWemDBgDoV-zvtcoTpG1VhOb7t3NszxuD8dnMImPbnhY2CHsirm4/s1600/Taiwan_2009_HuaLien_Taroko_Gorge_Biking_PB160057.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOav5EZ-wWHLK2IDQLChsNfN6dDiEyRjT3VSPKhmX1EwzVgF-XkVyTzFf1APUVhb1rnJLIk5G7Mdh-iu4AVURt5LiQWemDBgDoV-zvtcoTpG1VhOb7t3NszxuD8dnMImPbnhY2CHsirm4/s640/Taiwan_2009_HuaLien_Taroko_Gorge_Biking_PB160057.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
This picture still makes me grin</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
This picture I borrowed from Wiki. I can only describe the ride down from Tianxiang using the adjective orgasmic, it's 30 minutes of sensory overload and the scenery was as dramatic as this photo. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I didn't touch the brakes but didn't go all out either. The distance was about 20 Km and it took 30 minutes to cover it, so the average speed was roughly 40 Km/hour going downhill. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
On the steeper part, seat-of-the-pants estimate was probably 60 Km/hr and easily gaining on cars. How I wish I had my regular bike instead of the Bike Friday Crusoe.<br />
(BTW, Chinese phrase for sexual pleasure is "fast feeling", so I am hardly originally in my word choice.) </div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFw3jGfNneSkVYsu-txh4xIHxccEeXr0wZKSiy31CH-xiu-ZTOSjok36wE5W_-3JbCw7Hjd1lu6XO6ZDcr4LGGZ3oipG78d1VCdUp_XF9tw54IaU1Dn-xlkMMv9oGDqF_s0hNrwiYUm2M/s1600/taroko+(1+of+11).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFw3jGfNneSkVYsu-txh4xIHxccEeXr0wZKSiy31CH-xiu-ZTOSjok36wE5W_-3JbCw7Hjd1lu6XO6ZDcr4LGGZ3oipG78d1VCdUp_XF9tw54IaU1Dn-xlkMMv9oGDqF_s0hNrwiYUm2M/s640/taroko+(1+of+11).jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">Yianziko </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">(燕子口 - </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">Swallow Grotto)</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px;">I took this picture on our way up. You can see how the road became single lane, there's a foot wide drainage gutter on the mountain side. There were quite a few tunnels like this, riding with my sunglasses on, I couldn't see the ditch nor much of the road in the unlit tunnel (was in too much a hurry to bring a headlamp), and I knew oncoming cars probably won't see me (I had a blinker clipped on my jersey pocket, I was visible from behind). Heck, I was so deliriously happy and honestly didn't care.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlY1sLclMiJlmJBUaaWVi7SritRAU_FJ9op0rS6mOuTr-vz3CFIdIj_F2sOLsgtIqjY18xabUrDPTp6CPAqXxxFuQsBZxyuHIuwd_3fdRnuMekgLuGbP7CldQaP9hyphenhyphenzWzW50YqlAQ5lFc/s1600/taroko+(2+of+11).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlY1sLclMiJlmJBUaaWVi7SritRAU_FJ9op0rS6mOuTr-vz3CFIdIj_F2sOLsgtIqjY18xabUrDPTp6CPAqXxxFuQsBZxyuHIuwd_3fdRnuMekgLuGbP7CldQaP9hyphenhyphenzWzW50YqlAQ5lFc/s640/taroko+(2+of+11).jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px;">Hand made in Taiwan</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px;">The highway was hand carved in the 60s. You'd see tour buses swing wide to avoid the overhang sometimes, there were random places where the buses couldn't pass through if they stay in lane. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px;">Shot past the gate and kept on going for a while not wanting to stop, had my water bottle refilled by a food vendor. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px;">The return leg took me 3 times as long and I made it in an hour and a half of almost constant climbing. (I didn't notice the front shifter cable was rubbing the tire coming down, when I down shifted to a smaller chainring to start the climb, the cable housing buckled and I was stuck between the big and the middle chainring, clicking and clacking the entire way up.) </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDlTs3V_1W4jrMMyFjf6TzHkfypFjzoCU8KlOQqnU2oMw4xm9giHfppg3AmfDjqLu2XwddV5UGeC9xBEB45OMzSgja5_gRElJVCPVi_FjXpz2rU7mbj4_2TLXqRrT9wYd30FD4EdwHs6k/s1600/taroko+(4+of+11).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDlTs3V_1W4jrMMyFjf6TzHkfypFjzoCU8KlOQqnU2oMw4xm9giHfppg3AmfDjqLu2XwddV5UGeC9xBEB45OMzSgja5_gRElJVCPVi_FjXpz2rU7mbj4_2TLXqRrT9wYd30FD4EdwHs6k/s640/taroko+(4+of+11).jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Catholic church</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Meanwhile W had had lunch and checked out possible accommodations for the night. The choices were either a 250 USD resort hotel or the Catholic church for one tenth the cost. The resorted hotel was occupied mostly by Mainland visitors (陸客) and the church cabins by Europeans (I didn't see anyone obviously American), we opted for the tres chic Church. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkMIj5FqKQS05f3HAhxSPU7UBuuJBZ6e1STf6rTxaKbPIxLqTzSTZriHkFvgQplnVV0DYXpzvhhRBIDpM5lrVaxSheuMoOxntStelpXYJOZ5TKqPxnVYsqpymesSVo8BxmFoIEqteHmg0/s1600/taroko+(3+of+11).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkMIj5FqKQS05f3HAhxSPU7UBuuJBZ6e1STf6rTxaKbPIxLqTzSTZriHkFvgQplnVV0DYXpzvhhRBIDpM5lrVaxSheuMoOxntStelpXYJOZ5TKqPxnVYsqpymesSVo8BxmFoIEqteHmg0/s640/taroko+(3+of+11).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The cabin</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
High up on the hill, our cabin had a million dollar view, shared swat toilets and showers, wandering collarless dogs. In another word, perfect.<br />
I slept as well as any other place until I was awaken by W scolding two German girls not to talk so loudly outside our cabin.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0nD00cX6of-UMrSBjkGINlg0S6ZAW3xvE_TyiTvTVODbqN_IQEMk92n5S6TKNJp2ZqtC0kATqAqVgGJZZoE4cRtwUVxTKUaCmUQJ4QA-E_vpMyJMlQwN80JMtGXiBoVZ1uz3JfE8cSlQ/s1600/taroko+(6+of+11).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0nD00cX6of-UMrSBjkGINlg0S6ZAW3xvE_TyiTvTVODbqN_IQEMk92n5S6TKNJp2ZqtC0kATqAqVgGJZZoE4cRtwUVxTKUaCmUQJ4QA-E_vpMyJMlQwN80JMtGXiBoVZ1uz3JfE8cSlQ/s640/taroko+(6+of+11).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Xiao Feng Ko (小風口 - little wind pass)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Race day, we were ready to watch the race at Tianxiang but by the time we got out at 9AM they racers were gone. We drove and caught many amateurs stragglers, this pictures was taken near the peak of Wu Ling (武嶺). The professionals were long gone. Temperature was only a few degree above freezing.<br />
We stopped for breakfast at eithe Wuse (霧社) or Xiao Feng Ko (小風口 ). We found ourselves amongst backpakers in artic mountaineering gears. The well equiped hikers were climbing He Huan Shan (合歡山, it's literally "happy couplation mountain" in Chinese, turns out it's Japanese for "happy join forces"). </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeWes3klnYdLZUno1fFAhfIOv7KWs7EZRDEw7v2226btgmoWFzzH-qa_JqTd-lh3hs2NhlcoFdW9VpAJMqlTd04CMgOy0uEsmxLaPHb8p3648TLOdZpYqmO7GSivY037hV1DAPen4_WHg/s1600/taroko+(7+of+11).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="520" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeWes3klnYdLZUno1fFAhfIOv7KWs7EZRDEw7v2226btgmoWFzzH-qa_JqTd-lh3hs2NhlcoFdW9VpAJMqlTd04CMgOy0uEsmxLaPHb8p3648TLOdZpYqmO7GSivY037hV1DAPen4_WHg/s640/taroko+(7+of+11).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
At 10,000 feet</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
We were both feeling the altitude just walking around. Soon started the long drive toward Sun Moon Lake (日月潭).</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSkOJgEUWiFaqPwWG9oUiJ8EG5uoqItVC1IJWEJ3_T9xZcCiCQWRcXLOQeNFZpYlna66nRHcePzZwWExxTeiOGkgiBAS8VjcNm7vv_ffvsHt_gtuzK1INJZFY9rS7gmQrGXg1Tc82ZcdE/s1600/taroko+(8+of+11).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSkOJgEUWiFaqPwWG9oUiJ8EG5uoqItVC1IJWEJ3_T9xZcCiCQWRcXLOQeNFZpYlna66nRHcePzZwWExxTeiOGkgiBAS8VjcNm7vv_ffvsHt_gtuzK1INJZFY9rS7gmQrGXg1Tc82ZcdE/s640/taroko+(8+of+11).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Descending fast</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
We passed a bunch ponytailed female cyclists and was later overtaken by them bombing down the mountain, those girls were adorable! </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirYCa0QWXnYYDYRWY2U-gDxypKZN1QQ7gxhA54whTjBvC3AxURYKIJHTy1AGip1zeWw-E9wTdnjzujUsSM_sYQ7xjA3dnXUi_ztrjGKS9n88EZvXVIlDtM2dym1TdbvApKYG7q4_uaooE/s1600/taroko+(9+of+11).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirYCa0QWXnYYDYRWY2U-gDxypKZN1QQ7gxhA54whTjBvC3AxURYKIJHTy1AGip1zeWw-E9wTdnjzujUsSM_sYQ7xjA3dnXUi_ztrjGKS9n88EZvXVIlDtM2dym1TdbvApKYG7q4_uaooE/s640/taroko+(9+of+11).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Blue Mountains like a watercolor painting</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Going toward Sun Moon Lake, the mountains are behind us.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTJL5fR9jRAjaC4J5u0f2X7FAvXFOCbRlqfTMvhsnXYnRlfMpyQvf9dm6djJWILtqSlFkpitC6yu7jtlRPTDP0FqGoKs25qSgWI_ftolvTmsfM7ZKI-YJEHbbVBa5qg52IliuHcRMbDD0/s1600/taroko+(11+of+11).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTJL5fR9jRAjaC4J5u0f2X7FAvXFOCbRlqfTMvhsnXYnRlfMpyQvf9dm6djJWILtqSlFkpitC6yu7jtlRPTDP0FqGoKs25qSgWI_ftolvTmsfM7ZKI-YJEHbbVBa5qg52IliuHcRMbDD0/s640/taroko+(11+of+11).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Some sort of Lake</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Woe is the landscape photgrapher, I couldn't capture the grandeur of the view with my camea. Regardless, we thought it was money well spent when we paid for the overpiced cofees for the privilege of this view.</div>
<br />
<br />
Next stop, Sun Moon Lake.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Mangohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00972460189594220301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-464221519135421520.post-79514566187503940812013-11-28T04:43:00.000-08:002013-12-03T13:16:57.272-08:00Taiwan, Hong Kong (2)<h2 style="text-align: center;">
(2) From Taipei to the east coast</h2>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrIZ9ec1IFnQNILEcQ8KNvSkruOJDaRg4IouxUbp1hkwRzkBTdstfR1O7eqo-WizLUNyFNnVS_IYQfrO5KvR9PN8qxAIllgmYHiyvbynAaKfSboM8M7ip7UbInnB7nb0MXRTYVAOl3gRQ/s1600/yilan+(1+of+22).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrIZ9ec1IFnQNILEcQ8KNvSkruOJDaRg4IouxUbp1hkwRzkBTdstfR1O7eqo-WizLUNyFNnVS_IYQfrO5KvR9PN8qxAIllgmYHiyvbynAaKfSboM8M7ip7UbInnB7nb0MXRTYVAOl3gRQ/s640/yilan+(1+of+22).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Finally, all set to ride</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Riding out of the city, along the river Dan Shui (淡水河, freshwater river). This beautiful bike path was very lightly used. We started to wonder aloud Taiwan's claim to be "bicycle kingdom" was grossly exaggerated. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXXPCjOVUBaubSUcpK-ehZQb3KATCIlyBFzKINYuIZE_tpOGe2SLlrfxcMVBcEJjFGLzqam8gHp-QEbMnLb4KPig3Z4PpNWxpprNK9VMIDWGRmTwSCATE9V9t3HOdPRJv8iy-6iU9n2gc/s1600/yilan+(2+of+22).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXXPCjOVUBaubSUcpK-ehZQb3KATCIlyBFzKINYuIZE_tpOGe2SLlrfxcMVBcEJjFGLzqam8gHp-QEbMnLb4KPig3Z4PpNWxpprNK9VMIDWGRmTwSCATE9V9t3HOdPRJv8iy-6iU9n2gc/s640/yilan+(2+of+22).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
We stopped for lunch when we saw the long line</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
For me, that was our best meal in Taiwan. The minced meat rice 魯肉飯 sauce was a little heavy handed, but the 虱目魚 fish belly soup was absolutely delicious. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
This restaurant was also the turning point of our bike trip, the couple we shared the table with started to put ideas in our heads, they managed to convinced us that the east coast of Taiwan was worth visiting.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglx5MLSWgVuKNJakOTm4Wj2tvK7EGWw925ZAhBZuHDMnAIteD07NNopGNal0zfj7xlG0rmbVSdvCuFKNIQYRJeWgpxX-nCSQ5HwosGQP6mjdMDYgqKs5Ze0zal6L3Jfryoypp9W75bLqo/s1600/yilan+(3+of+22).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglx5MLSWgVuKNJakOTm4Wj2tvK7EGWw925ZAhBZuHDMnAIteD07NNopGNal0zfj7xlG0rmbVSdvCuFKNIQYRJeWgpxX-nCSQ5HwosGQP6mjdMDYgqKs5Ze0zal6L3Jfryoypp9W75bLqo/s640/yilan+(3+of+22).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Highest point on our way to Tao Yuan (桃園,peach garden), almost all downhill riding from here to the airport city. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
We were surprised how rural Taiwan looked. (I think this was taken on Wan Shuo Road 萬壽路)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA5AVEwC2UgMcF3uoIZmUOXrKgNmYWZVXmVLXHlGIiYO1BkmGFWhrfXPDx30rcLz9UbdS52w8jTktfMvp7CJ13dSG4iIKvCAZpIvCEncXaCfyK9_tMPrdS7KVVo7-OFjHF02Jf408y9VY/s1600/yilan+(4+of+22).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA5AVEwC2UgMcF3uoIZmUOXrKgNmYWZVXmVLXHlGIiYO1BkmGFWhrfXPDx30rcLz9UbdS52w8jTktfMvp7CJ13dSG4iIKvCAZpIvCEncXaCfyK9_tMPrdS7KVVo7-OFjHF02Jf408y9VY/s640/yilan+(4+of+22).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Motel</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
We were 20 Km from our destination Xin Shu (新竹, new bamboo), with much trepidation, we checked in to this motel. At this point we had ridden 50-60 Km and it started to get dark. W had to walk some hilly parts, but held up okay otherwise. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
The motel was in a town called Yang Mei (楊梅, bayberry), the room (including the ground floor garage) was relatively inexpensive (about 35 USD) and looked like a love nest sort of place. Despite the jacuzzi with neon lights, everything turned out to be decent. I particularly enjoyed their simple breakfast. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Outside of major cities, Taiwan is still very Taiwan, few people speak Mandarin and there are betel nut (檳榔)stores everywhere, working class people chew betel nuts all the time (because of the narcotic effects). I paid about 2 USD for a bag, chewed the heck out of them that night and felt nothing. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxufiOYNwoXeXbG5k4tzW-PdyWlC_bpuviYwc_NPieb4AeF2yjYnZzyZLkzRmQ_0uADVaLULXgzvGxvISdUlhq_XinUAlew7VSwlD4HigOFRhTb9IJaBDNksTez8In-8tUXud4yPB-B44/s1600/yilan+(5+of+22).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxufiOYNwoXeXbG5k4tzW-PdyWlC_bpuviYwc_NPieb4AeF2yjYnZzyZLkzRmQ_0uADVaLULXgzvGxvISdUlhq_XinUAlew7VSwlD4HigOFRhTb9IJaBDNksTez8In-8tUXud4yPB-B44/s640/yilan+(5+of+22).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Car</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
We tried to board a train to the south but decided to check out some rental cars in the town of Zhong Li (中壢, middle lowland). We ended up getting this spacious white Toyota (偷油的) for 10,000 (about 300 USD) for a week. The rental company required us to have a temporary Taiwan driving license so most of the day was wasted biking around to get the paper work done. That's when I discovered Hong Kongers are becoming Singaporeans, W was complaining constantly how inefficient Taiwan was and how superior Hong Kong was in everything... </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje7QmlMPG7szJPUFVTEhq7RIv9K6mn-jer5RT8ufkVUMmriThw06z_O8f8Kor9iu5lMt_2NTuMO8EPQen18rBv9olAW8eEiii7M2rFCWqFNAaYIDbVYPJUU_paSerG7IU2Vap-Uh3L728/s1600/taiwanRoad.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="430" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje7QmlMPG7szJPUFVTEhq7RIv9K6mn-jer5RT8ufkVUMmriThw06z_O8f8Kor9iu5lMt_2NTuMO8EPQen18rBv9olAW8eEiii7M2rFCWqFNAaYIDbVYPJUU_paSerG7IU2Vap-Uh3L728/s640/taiwanRoad.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
The long side of this map is only 2 miles</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
With the car, we changed our plan completely, we decided to make seeing as much Taiwan as possible our primary goal</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
At around 4PM when the painful paperwork was finally done, we set out to drive to the east coast via Northern East West Highway 北橫公路. Up to that time, everyday had been overcast and drizzly, through the fog the scenery was spectacular. The reason I didn't take pictures was the road was so treacherous that it demandeded all our attention. You can see from the Google maps (check the scale on the bottom) how tight the switchbacks are, the switchbacks are usually single lane meaning you must look at the convex mirror installed at the apex to know whether to proceed or wait in an area wide enough for both cars to pass.<br />
As dusk fell, visibility became nil, we got to Yi Lan (宜蘭,suitable for orchids) late in the evening, probably at an average speed of 20 Km per hour or less on the "highway". </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><img class="css-3d-layer" src="https://mts1.google.com/vt/lyrs=h@245000000&hl=en&src=app&x=27441&s=&y=14070&z=15&s=G" style="-webkit-user-select: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; height: 256px; left: 627px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: absolute; top: -478px; width: 256px;" /></span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><img class="css-3d-layer" src="https://mts1.google.com/vt/lyrs=h@245000000&hl=en&src=app&x=27441&s=&y=14070&z=15&s=G" style="-webkit-user-select: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; height: 256px; left: 627px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: absolute; top: -478px; width: 256px;" /></span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><img class="css-3d-layer" src="https://mts1.google.com/vt/lyrs=h@245000000&hl=en&src=app&x=27441&s=&y=14070&z=15&s=G" style="-webkit-user-select: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; height: 256px; left: 627px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: absolute; top: -478px; width: 256px;" /></span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdtubLNmTkGgepa6rDCsF7_gThY5elfubslnjbiOtjb9ZDS7wMsz4sp-IwQDp3wAXUVUQp4jXR8sUgNJ454mKoCpAOGgWPAyoPS9uvSMWaxv4QlJiM_81ZC7Cy7eRqpFcbg8SPIqA3epE/s1600/yilan+(9+of+22).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdtubLNmTkGgepa6rDCsF7_gThY5elfubslnjbiOtjb9ZDS7wMsz4sp-IwQDp3wAXUVUQp4jXR8sUgNJ454mKoCpAOGgWPAyoPS9uvSMWaxv4QlJiM_81ZC7Cy7eRqpFcbg8SPIqA3epE/s640/yilan+(9+of+22).jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Hotel in Yi Lan</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Checked into the first decent hotel we saw, so cool to park right on the sidewalk, inches from the lobby door.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsUxDQhP5e6GGm7ZhjSOjFqoZ1RzhaemNXhITFKdyg76irevoReXTrLj8cdEZ6c5ia3CANvjunt0vOvnqSP70sf5TiQ8AHqDY089A3wpsvIAzVvtKHvQYp3kVINQ9T34YwTagbsqKr3zE/s1600/yilan+(6+of+22).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsUxDQhP5e6GGm7ZhjSOjFqoZ1RzhaemNXhITFKdyg76irevoReXTrLj8cdEZ6c5ia3CANvjunt0vOvnqSP70sf5TiQ8AHqDY089A3wpsvIAzVvtKHvQYp3kVINQ9T34YwTagbsqKr3zE/s640/yilan+(6+of+22).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Gentleman Framers</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I saw many giant tractors, and a Range Rover and other SUVs parked on this dirt road, I'm guessing the produce is not their only livelihood. (I heard country people got rich from the land.)</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis3gWevGbNo0fkWnSlTs1yhWNkMeVOPBjpV_9LMljrLYqG6h7ftR-XfWis0oir3D6ZhIBF1URCdCDu9EnFlneBgHENgZs6qpG12nQ3DFsU4UtOSuiweQtvuyrKAxSWUExYyaJHXRlSv-Q/s1600/yilan+(7+of+22).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis3gWevGbNo0fkWnSlTs1yhWNkMeVOPBjpV_9LMljrLYqG6h7ftR-XfWis0oir3D6ZhIBF1URCdCDu9EnFlneBgHENgZs6qpG12nQ3DFsU4UtOSuiweQtvuyrKAxSWUExYyaJHXRlSv-Q/s640/yilan+(7+of+22).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Near the ocean</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2MbK25uoKT_4jD63_lsMZH0SI3lSGVGs_vR40Hh42MAS3unnPwskAy5AsPyNkZEua_k_OpEploATi1TBMA4NhkRe7T_9IBEpvLupaT08Zswq0SV8U4K7Lhluha2KpCEhCkLQFjz_4T_o/s1600/yilan+(8+of+22).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2MbK25uoKT_4jD63_lsMZH0SI3lSGVGs_vR40Hh42MAS3unnPwskAy5AsPyNkZEua_k_OpEploATi1TBMA4NhkRe7T_9IBEpvLupaT08Zswq0SV8U4K7Lhluha2KpCEhCkLQFjz_4T_o/s640/yilan+(8+of+22).jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
At mile 0 of the bike trail</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I was up so early that when I rode back to the hotel, the nearby market was just getting ready to open, W was just getting up. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpDvqwHSyU3xmlYX4l6lm3ZAXGCkGrG55kUAPquTPpWHIH1JZsi05HmZCnfnxVvgikEfSUglh3gjVQdQohl-QvAX99L7MP7n29F8o7pohjl1hLEAgMKLofgrbcRVS3kng1ZRsx4olMo_E/s1600/yilan+(10+of+22).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpDvqwHSyU3xmlYX4l6lm3ZAXGCkGrG55kUAPquTPpWHIH1JZsi05HmZCnfnxVvgikEfSUglh3gjVQdQohl-QvAX99L7MP7n29F8o7pohjl1hLEAgMKLofgrbcRVS3kng1ZRsx4olMo_E/s640/yilan+(10+of+22).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
The Market</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Truth be told, food in Taiwan was not great. But it turned out the market was staggeringly good, so much so that at we were asking strangers if we could borrow a kitchen to cook the food ourselves.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEQDFcCi-SzAsgUYFhkAALJzxzV1LDQwqPBhXWSva7wAwoMFKWALlmuZeoqmmLbTK5GZ-37z_I6ilT5XaHYPjbWXAYqb0NEClFPKeDPifd729km5gtLR7tO6K7xmyvv9UHCYSVMg-bEmg/s1600/yilan+(11+of+22).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEQDFcCi-SzAsgUYFhkAALJzxzV1LDQwqPBhXWSva7wAwoMFKWALlmuZeoqmmLbTK5GZ-37z_I6ilT5XaHYPjbWXAYqb0NEClFPKeDPifd729km5gtLR7tO6K7xmyvv9UHCYSVMg-bEmg/s640/yilan+(11+of+22).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Fashionista</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
A shopkeeper gave us some advice on where to eat.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPl_u4BnoR8uKdZ_1wgI_Q5eAUwGxTUebFrHGiM-swLYuTX9UEwXgy97evmlPnaJ6cZlhRMt2yIcQYnwHgXplXqU-ZoIgujwwxBs0XLt9pefGBTmc9yErmqjS-5vxDGkjskONEDCYBX7w/s1600/yilan+(12+of+22).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPl_u4BnoR8uKdZ_1wgI_Q5eAUwGxTUebFrHGiM-swLYuTX9UEwXgy97evmlPnaJ6cZlhRMt2yIcQYnwHgXplXqU-ZoIgujwwxBs0XLt9pefGBTmc9yErmqjS-5vxDGkjskONEDCYBX7w/s640/yilan+(12+of+22).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Many different kinds of chickens</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I could only imagine how good a home cooked meal could be. I could think of no reason for people to go to the supermarket where the selection was very poor. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEUADcAZ7f6cWXRFRJ0VftAozuRQF6LGpNZ1ufPIkxwtz-89lj3GlUJcoOdqfIUl-Ftw9YRssmxi9aDaBgr0tK-zP0iyjVaNH_EfwFJqLQGdZ30mth2Y35LIaKT_OdbJQdobo4oeksMMo/s1600/yilan+(13+of+22).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEUADcAZ7f6cWXRFRJ0VftAozuRQF6LGpNZ1ufPIkxwtz-89lj3GlUJcoOdqfIUl-Ftw9YRssmxi9aDaBgr0tK-zP0iyjVaNH_EfwFJqLQGdZ30mth2Y35LIaKT_OdbJQdobo4oeksMMo/s640/yilan+(13+of+22).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Friendly Photogs</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
A section of the bicycle trail I rode earlier was now blocked by SUVs and photographers.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZhSr8nZCFAn5HaKfPrCM6ycjKCVly01JAp_bfUBiZL3B5o6R8XdHJSmKh1MxSG3zE62kjthEQXlXT-8-_t-7LH0LKKBXUKdjZ8KqCTc9B4RtEhJgSgCgeFlJSnK5BXqqhF3bFMJLZr44/s1600/yilan+(14+of+22).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="449" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZhSr8nZCFAn5HaKfPrCM6ycjKCVly01JAp_bfUBiZL3B5o6R8XdHJSmKh1MxSG3zE62kjthEQXlXT-8-_t-7LH0LKKBXUKdjZ8KqCTc9B4RtEhJgSgCgeFlJSnK5BXqqhF3bFMJLZr44/s640/yilan+(14+of+22).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Dedicated birdwatchers</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Local birdwatchers had been monitoring the water around the clock both electronically and personally. I could only see the bird through a huge 800mm telephoto lens.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxt4E-veRkGY70YLqKE6ziPaNlkaIeTOitpDI_b30mw6qRWRGiWu_lZiWClUDzA9uUgDbJjJP-KaSj8e-cqLTk1AZKOcHczaUPOz2k3inkiBVnt6g4IZJ51m5N8LsQ9T9jDFknfAPflxY/s1600/yilan+(16+of+22).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="388" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxt4E-veRkGY70YLqKE6ziPaNlkaIeTOitpDI_b30mw6qRWRGiWu_lZiWClUDzA9uUgDbJjJP-KaSj8e-cqLTk1AZKOcHczaUPOz2k3inkiBVnt6g4IZJ51m5N8LsQ9T9jDFknfAPflxY/s640/yilan+(16+of+22).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Serious Hobbyists</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I had not seen so much top-end photo equipment used by amateurs in one place. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Some of the photographers were decked out in waxed cotton jackets and Wellington boots, properly attired to go skeet shooting with QE2 and Prince Philip. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGe62OLp-FwEAj7iLz1vpg-gYcu1ypYz5A9auEXUWWtcj-AnakH-HANPPwpQztwmhNKJWBKbJDQiAIh9Pemzi5LZfWguKkcOfi-ZvoKm1HeUH5jcBCRDsZH1TfAInS7I2ZSuZ9TLU3qoc/s1600/yilan+(17+of+22).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="468" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGe62OLp-FwEAj7iLz1vpg-gYcu1ypYz5A9auEXUWWtcj-AnakH-HANPPwpQztwmhNKJWBKbJDQiAIh9Pemzi5LZfWguKkcOfi-ZvoKm1HeUH5jcBCRDsZH1TfAInS7I2ZSuZ9TLU3qoc/s640/yilan+(17+of+22).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The star bird was a stork</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Strangely, I would see the same kind of bird later in downtown Hong Kong, a giant bird perched on a tree in Central!</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYAervSBZtOY3O1zCuFjjz4w2u3kDykCP2teKJIEKGU7DnmYrhMaQKa_q3G5UhwKVtczyUbOTl2N5_xPuDARa-YEYghZdgke5-tWDIPvNc-HA0w41EEazCCyAjPF2LFn04Z-q2qJknIGM/s1600/yilan+(18+of+22).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYAervSBZtOY3O1zCuFjjz4w2u3kDykCP2teKJIEKGU7DnmYrhMaQKa_q3G5UhwKVtczyUbOTl2N5_xPuDARa-YEYghZdgke5-tWDIPvNc-HA0w41EEazCCyAjPF2LFn04Z-q2qJknIGM/s640/yilan+(18+of+22).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Su Hua Highway</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
We took it easy the rest of the day in Yi Lan. The only project left was to visit a famous hot spring in Jiao Xi (礁溪, fish rock brook) 10 miles away. We wisely chose the (town owned ?) Japanese styled bathhouse, the other option was private bathtubs in by-the-hour resort hotels. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Japanese style is befittingly called 裸湯, naked soup, people share soups of different temperatures in several pools. Thankfully, male and female patrons are segregated these days. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
On to Hua Lian (花蓮, flower lotus) the next day via Su Hua Highway (蘇花公路). All of a sudden, the sun came out and we were too dsitracted by the breathtaking view to take pictures. Running out of road, we stopped to look at the sea, this was a popular spot with mainland China tourists and the parking lot was full of yellow taxis.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWpuX1UPCSfiY6TATelDNBfPpgx3EVxtDg-7QyeYVWJKxbFnVDrKDKZ06QZfXR-vowWEJBNDkyoWT15LGaFSXJmbDTTMjrkeQwG04GLFoqzcAcDG0KVp-TUyn0oSL25kc592_IqCncBDI/s1600/yilan+(19+of+22).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWpuX1UPCSfiY6TATelDNBfPpgx3EVxtDg-7QyeYVWJKxbFnVDrKDKZ06QZfXR-vowWEJBNDkyoWT15LGaFSXJmbDTTMjrkeQwG04GLFoqzcAcDG0KVp-TUyn0oSL25kc592_IqCncBDI/s640/yilan+(19+of+22).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Priceless beach with coarse charcoal colored sand</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
This is by no means extraordinary, cliffs and turquoise sea was everywhere. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGQADU9vjJqUv7wgHhD_c7rE9jZaXjQn6wmi4aT5CEAomphyOndAiZ0hfMr_9SlSAE9C2fltPadjE-w9oEYvEKuoIV5dU8ArRmpC3nEtvQEzPRm9tquGq8Pl2sLKN4HkSj-xEHkw6BNow/s1600/yilan+(20+of+22).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGQADU9vjJqUv7wgHhD_c7rE9jZaXjQn6wmi4aT5CEAomphyOndAiZ0hfMr_9SlSAE9C2fltPadjE-w9oEYvEKuoIV5dU8ArRmpC3nEtvQEzPRm9tquGq8Pl2sLKN4HkSj-xEHkw6BNow/s640/yilan+(20+of+22).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Big waves</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
My foot with Achilles tendon problem flared up after Jiao Xi hot spring, managed to hike down to the beach and feel the water nevertheless.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx1rM0i3cdaepyMWjCye8FeNR8j-kRR8LLoHNqgGBNfoKA5TeAiyk8jER9bS_wL9heEPNZt4KzEO8uB8oXeg5CvNiwQqRVIWv1_Dj9skNA5W8jIE8rj0jUGmQS7hBGTHZWnJl1YTWSttQ/s1600/yilan+(21+of+22).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx1rM0i3cdaepyMWjCye8FeNR8j-kRR8LLoHNqgGBNfoKA5TeAiyk8jER9bS_wL9heEPNZt4KzEO8uB8oXeg5CvNiwQqRVIWv1_Dj9skNA5W8jIE8rj0jUGmQS7hBGTHZWnJl1YTWSttQ/s640/yilan+(21+of+22).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Ocean of youth</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Sister W lost 90% of her age playing with pebbles. She took a 5 pound bag of rocks home. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRbxuTDYg9eHHKfrHBDFTHS4zmZ0Iss3pY6c_TqWOUeU_gr_3t4vKTIn0Q5Cxf3l3MdtY6_YTYUtQdRP1EzRfG0yzvQZZiUhs83UrOQnQ0ONaMIL4G8zQekouoluFjeAalIXfV0MTCISU/s1600/yilan+(22+of+22).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRbxuTDYg9eHHKfrHBDFTHS4zmZ0Iss3pY6c_TqWOUeU_gr_3t4vKTIn0Q5Cxf3l3MdtY6_YTYUtQdRP1EzRfG0yzvQZZiUhs83UrOQnQ0ONaMIL4G8zQekouoluFjeAalIXfV0MTCISU/s640/yilan+(22+of+22).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Most of the visitors were properly dressed for cold weather except these two</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
We were soaking wet and about to enter Tarako National Park (太魯閣, a name I first thought was Japanese, it's actually indigenous.)</div>
Mangohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00972460189594220301noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-464221519135421520.post-29518595208326108742013-11-24T13:36:00.001-08:002016-09-12T07:05:11.755-07:00Taiwan, Hong Kong<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "simsun"; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px;"><span lang="ZH-TW" style="font-family: DFGirlW5-B5; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; word-break: normal; word-wrap: normal;" xml:lang="ZH-TW"><br /></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "simsun"; line-height: 16px;"><span lang="ZH-TW" style="font-family: DFGirlW5-B5; line-height: 24px; word-break: normal; word-wrap: normal;" xml:lang="ZH-TW">昔日齷齪不足誇,今朝放蕩思無涯。</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: DFGirlW5-B5; line-height: 24px;">春風得意馬蹄疾,一日看盡長安花。</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "simsun"; line-height: 16px;"><span lang="ZH-TW" style="font-family: DFGirlW5-B5; line-height: 24px; word-break: normal; word-wrap: normal;" xml:lang="ZH-TW"><br /></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "simsun"; line-height: 16px;"><span lang="ZH-TW" style="font-family: DFGirlW5-B5; line-height: 24px; word-break: normal; word-wrap: normal;" xml:lang="ZH-TW">以上是唐代孟郊的名詩”登科後“, 詩人年四十六中舉, 其後士途也是一般。字面看, </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: DFGirlW5-B5; line-height: 24px;">孟郊的確是</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">趾高氣揚, 洋洋得意。 再看他寫的"慈母吟":</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 標楷體; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 標楷體; line-height: 19px;">慈母手中線,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 標楷體; line-height: 19px;">遊子身上衣。</span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 標楷體; line-height: 19px;">臨行密密縫,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 標楷體; line-height: 19px;">意恐遲遲歸。</span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 16px;"><br /></span>
原來</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: DFGirlW5-B5; line-height: 24px;">孟郊屢考不中,中時已幾近知命之年,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: DFGirlW5-B5; line-height: 24px;">孟媽媽複雜的心情可想而知。</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: DFGirlW5-B5; line-height: 24px;"><b>再</b>者, 京師豈容不善騎馬的南人(我們大同鄉浙江人)來”</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: DFGirlW5-B5; line-height: 24px;">馬蹄疾“?想</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: DFGirlW5-B5; line-height: 24px;">當然</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: DFGirlW5-B5; line-height: 24px;">孟老漢</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: DFGirlW5-B5; line-height: 24px;">是”打了個的“,讓馬車在長安走馬看花蹓躂一回。猜想”</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: DFGirlW5-B5; line-height: 24px;">一日看盡長安花“ </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: DFGirlW5-B5; line-height: 24px;">不過是詩人時不我予之自譏也。</span><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: DFGirlW5-B5; line-height: 24px;">兩周前和妹自行車遊臺灣,青春小鳥早無蹤影,老妹說這樣玩下次可能無期了。聞畢漠然,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: DFGirlW5-B5; line-height: 24px;">無病呻吟,良有以也。</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: DFGirlW5-B5; line-height: 24px;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: DFGirlW5-B5; line-height: 24px;">If you don't read Chinese, you don't miss anything. The above narcissistic preamble is just saying my sister W and I felt we might be running out of time (in life) when we started our bike trip in Taiwan two weeks ago. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: DFGirlW5-B5; line-height: 24px;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: DFGirlW5-B5;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;">I didn't bring a serious camera on this trip, but the compact and the cell phone were adequate for my purpose. First installment of pictures:</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: DFGirlW5-B5;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: DFGirlW5-B5; font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;">(1)臺北市 - Taipei City</span></span></h2>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: DFGirlW5-B5;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjezaD7XI9EkwH6Ar0IhuC8UjgrhCXbmyKctuNFFP5Pa267m4qRMincBP3cOvtAsRnMwM_pEVvyB6GQWJYkc-xJtUVlZvzTkujCk11zKey-UaJcbzfgO378EAo5Lilq2oIqdIr4Em6JToI/s1600/taipei+%25281+of+22%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjezaD7XI9EkwH6Ar0IhuC8UjgrhCXbmyKctuNFFP5Pa267m4qRMincBP3cOvtAsRnMwM_pEVvyB6GQWJYkc-xJtUVlZvzTkujCk11zKey-UaJcbzfgO378EAo5Lilq2oIqdIr4Em6JToI/s640/taipei+%25281+of+22%2529.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Sister W near the Taipei Train Station. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Our hotel was only 2 block from the train station, when we got off the bus, it was obvious that the driver thought we were from Mainland China. Soon, we would not bother to explain because virtually all the Chinese speaking tourists were from there. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTr01AATHAgku7xv8cIBCqLbhvD8eLg4eOMIRpZnTE3ZWOLEJEqx2I6jG71MkmQXzpCXR81RfSDFpOBO6enqH-bgxRDXLGTQ5-PiVnUUf3yRaJGBd0jRwkR9I50vwpYW29WPjyfXMpXNs/s1600/taipei+%25283+of+22%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTr01AATHAgku7xv8cIBCqLbhvD8eLg4eOMIRpZnTE3ZWOLEJEqx2I6jG71MkmQXzpCXR81RfSDFpOBO6enqH-bgxRDXLGTQ5-PiVnUUf3yRaJGBd0jRwkR9I50vwpYW29WPjyfXMpXNs/s640/taipei+%25283+of+22%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Xi Meng Ding 西門丁</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
The Time Square of the old Taipei City, it is now dated.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJMxfqwNsL0pGey-pw1xlXi4cHlaeGVAUqBpw0P1DmZO2ebs9uUKjMyIJd0dMppKGpN9CUS76mcYujr5OOglgzcPWlJswaRiqLmvNcqZyJCP0mOZ_IOwveUVjPNxnGS1ni7bC9RrvGWVk/s1600/taipei+%25286+of+22%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJMxfqwNsL0pGey-pw1xlXi4cHlaeGVAUqBpw0P1DmZO2ebs9uUKjMyIJd0dMppKGpN9CUS76mcYujr5OOglgzcPWlJswaRiqLmvNcqZyJCP0mOZ_IOwveUVjPNxnGS1ni7bC9RrvGWVk/s640/taipei+%25286+of+22%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Our first meal in Taiwan</div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
These are very typical local Taiwanese dishes. The USD exchange rate is about 1 to 30, food is quite reasonable anywhere in Taiwan. </div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJh9kWjpC1gXyg8EE_NGhANupOxxOBUt5YKd5fxu3BfVvoMhCz9jNlg7ryWsQwSfzDVgC9RSX2pOE7znkX_ZkwGdnVoq83IHE-1yJLW0FEh1o3P9rBNC8xsa2aiMd6AvnflZcFIuKiQ64/s1600/taipei+%25287+of+22%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJh9kWjpC1gXyg8EE_NGhANupOxxOBUt5YKd5fxu3BfVvoMhCz9jNlg7ryWsQwSfzDVgC9RSX2pOE7znkX_ZkwGdnVoq83IHE-1yJLW0FEh1o3P9rBNC8xsa2aiMd6AvnflZcFIuKiQ64/s640/taipei+%25287+of+22%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
The establishment</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ0KuVsgi9l16qMoP3gSGECoGd-No1jognpWeioc4w4LrPyTevbHM2N8dVIPNQ9lpLZmvPlmsXvvR1GkwMI7QDDFmD6zfXkjQEKFNFVHElZ6ALd4AvaKqEcrModslqj1ngdGDbaFsRn1E/s1600/taipei+%25285+of+22%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="468" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ0KuVsgi9l16qMoP3gSGECoGd-No1jognpWeioc4w4LrPyTevbHM2N8dVIPNQ9lpLZmvPlmsXvvR1GkwMI7QDDFmD6zfXkjQEKFNFVHElZ6ALd4AvaKqEcrModslqj1ngdGDbaFsRn1E/s640/taipei+%25285+of+22%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
The food</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Nothing fancy, about 10-15 USD.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3YSj9Dt2uSNNQTYX6iLJzesBhGXQUcBbLvF03Gx7DWHHJFLKFnwwVUFIYcER7ayeV_5N4im6I-qixtOIjl83e1ah20nrzt1U9MEE4M9zPXsb3B_N0Y7zaCGs9SfAhuqfqBS-PqhKY1DM/s1600/taipei+%25284+of+22%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3YSj9Dt2uSNNQTYX6iLJzesBhGXQUcBbLvF03Gx7DWHHJFLKFnwwVUFIYcER7ayeV_5N4im6I-qixtOIjl83e1ah20nrzt1U9MEE4M9zPXsb3B_N0Y7zaCGs9SfAhuqfqBS-PqhKY1DM/s640/taipei+%25284+of+22%2529.jpg" width="504" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Another patron enjoying his minced meat rice.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtg0omqCkLcoJnkTBlXhdxtDZNqc9jUMeQh5LLQ3DK5PONIa0MrIF54le8wv9G3k_40IjsOVaGxQPtix32vPPfmRoQidPkoDtZB4_LfSfpm0l1bY4A1shKIiWbx4Y-Jh4gU4l2MV9sER4/s1600/taipei+%25288+of+22%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtg0omqCkLcoJnkTBlXhdxtDZNqc9jUMeQh5LLQ3DK5PONIa0MrIF54le8wv9G3k_40IjsOVaGxQPtix32vPPfmRoQidPkoDtZB4_LfSfpm0l1bY4A1shKIiWbx4Y-Jh4gU4l2MV9sER4/s640/taipei+%25288+of+22%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
All kinds of street vendors everywhere, this one was selling dumplings.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-2zCn-59ZCHWlHBGM5GFgcW6vmld11UcCH1ieMBzg4S0n7OBSHkvmgXWRTHMppZMoczdLIBV2lxSUtjsgMz8Cx4eFxjmVU3LcZ_F2PibTDw5w_IjxMJdBD-OdQMQJNZO_46w6wyNwXYo/s1600/taipei+%252810+of+22%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-2zCn-59ZCHWlHBGM5GFgcW6vmld11UcCH1ieMBzg4S0n7OBSHkvmgXWRTHMppZMoczdLIBV2lxSUtjsgMz8Cx4eFxjmVU3LcZ_F2PibTDw5w_IjxMJdBD-OdQMQJNZO_46w6wyNwXYo/s640/taipei+%252810+of+22%2529.jpg" width="548" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Grilled squid</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib0y_Y0XY3t8rn44YNOLox3w4f0WItGxuc4gxI0gjlv8Gt3OZRc0SvdcMDOqDM9N2JC5XBHuY5wocVUsEE_A8zffx-CqZX1a6ZjjaDP2TpW4vHZVrWXTWbqjbVic0_gdGYYbpiRd2CArg/s1600/taipei+%25289+of+22%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="516" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib0y_Y0XY3t8rn44YNOLox3w4f0WItGxuc4gxI0gjlv8Gt3OZRc0SvdcMDOqDM9N2JC5XBHuY5wocVUsEE_A8zffx-CqZX1a6ZjjaDP2TpW4vHZVrWXTWbqjbVic0_gdGYYbpiRd2CArg/s640/taipei+%25289+of+22%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Stinky Tofu</div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Stinky tofu was a disappointment. Sister W advised not to buy anything from youngish vendors, that advice turned out to be not as dumb as it sounded. </div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2K-FNiXGeUqvQrwIrq4GfE4Brlrvgto5Sf8rNKgUCHwnqPdTRxATauU5ibTjFD3Mbd_nTCnZ8IJdGpQPsxaesAFQ1IqcroRB6t33a8_LIkEA05p27okfrOK-1i0OQ9BP0ZVc9m3r_mWE/s1600/taipei+%252812+of+22%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2K-FNiXGeUqvQrwIrq4GfE4Brlrvgto5Sf8rNKgUCHwnqPdTRxATauU5ibTjFD3Mbd_nTCnZ8IJdGpQPsxaesAFQ1IqcroRB6t33a8_LIkEA05p27okfrOK-1i0OQ9BP0ZVc9m3r_mWE/s640/taipei+%252812+of+22%2529.jpg" width="480" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
The vendors running from the police</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
The police was a young man on scooter, driving around at walking speed trying very hard not to catch anyone. Ten minutes later, everyone returned to the same spot again. Some lady from the second floor apartment came down to complain about the stinky tofu stench was making her flat a living hell, apparently it had been going on for more than a few days. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJV4DggRgr4WGHAWFgTN4nwlIlPPlAjpYcDxYj3cIL041u95-96PJngPzC2OovNb8pHva1hS9ZOTbJtCCnAFBzeMbXv6ulG61vsdJjRp3RUPTJ97YwEdb7jCrL09t1rIkNWgmMxvTaf0A/s1600/taipei+%252813+of+22%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="628" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJV4DggRgr4WGHAWFgTN4nwlIlPPlAjpYcDxYj3cIL041u95-96PJngPzC2OovNb8pHva1hS9ZOTbJtCCnAFBzeMbXv6ulG61vsdJjRp3RUPTJ97YwEdb7jCrL09t1rIkNWgmMxvTaf0A/s640/taipei+%252813+of+22%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
These scooter riders, male or female, would do well in Genghis Kan's cavalry. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Ttt7V1u6FJLygg8xiCLoCbYqY7ABMc6bXBuABkdaMvFAPosHRfM-POlZX8TOx8AKzScsoFYrv_eNhQl_T1EzbVoBYt6SPiYhbiqDlSS0AVulSBcxnRh85MnK8l9UyOJXwknQkVZOi6A/s1600/taipei+%252811+of+22%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Ttt7V1u6FJLygg8xiCLoCbYqY7ABMc6bXBuABkdaMvFAPosHRfM-POlZX8TOx8AKzScsoFYrv_eNhQl_T1EzbVoBYt6SPiYhbiqDlSS0AVulSBcxnRh85MnK8l9UyOJXwknQkVZOi6A/s640/taipei+%252811+of+22%2529.jpg" width="470" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Even this demure looking young girl would ride aggressively in traffic. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXhVWkewuKFtepo6XX0Kmn9gGXWWs8ogC1Qhl5e8W9s_vxNtupoEUTXCVBvMzx3__SbAp0gMTtQlhZ41Iq75UqBROFIicjj2bCGjOoqR2-sFtjjpWEDAfIcerQs4UYHKJU6bzYlchzu78/s1600/taipei+%25282+of+22%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXhVWkewuKFtepo6XX0Kmn9gGXWWs8ogC1Qhl5e8W9s_vxNtupoEUTXCVBvMzx3__SbAp0gMTtQlhZ41Iq75UqBROFIicjj2bCGjOoqR2-sFtjjpWEDAfIcerQs4UYHKJU6bzYlchzu78/s640/taipei+%25282+of+22%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
There are tutor (cramp) schools everywhere.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
High schools students get additional after school classes there. The names of the top students, their scores, the schools they got accepted to, are posted outside to entice new customers. Talk about pressure!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpDxPN6pQBHpl8cSkel1ZvjsVwAWMWMTqfeWOGZlCNRTXM3pzCtIX87SLdFfQUeuNNeGhzu4atJr7my11HLLJvRdSke_FSKhQasf-gqOG5sE_9H85hKv9IW_Wmx5YJqXJVN-6a_Wc4sIs/s1600/taipei+%252822+of+22%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpDxPN6pQBHpl8cSkel1ZvjsVwAWMWMTqfeWOGZlCNRTXM3pzCtIX87SLdFfQUeuNNeGhzu4atJr7my11HLLJvRdSke_FSKhQasf-gqOG5sE_9H85hKv9IW_Wmx5YJqXJVN-6a_Wc4sIs/s640/taipei+%252822+of+22%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
The Presidential Ofice (總統府)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The two mornings I was in Taipei, I was up before 4AM, either walked or rode around on my bicycle. I Will always remember the feeling of having the city all to myself. </div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhSlJkhczQZMVDhkzWRVZHCYhK8MhZXJDHZhbltGO-T4ARBMm9PfsGv3OHC2IzBZTFXes4YF0Wo0mOKaeCpI_K8arpKEdTmXyOqydU9saQKpuD-ruhpUNSJBN7OVabJgJgzfIdIIzeh9A/s1600/taipei+%252820+of+22%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="378" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhSlJkhczQZMVDhkzWRVZHCYhK8MhZXJDHZhbltGO-T4ARBMm9PfsGv3OHC2IzBZTFXes4YF0Wo0mOKaeCpI_K8arpKEdTmXyOqydU9saQKpuD-ruhpUNSJBN7OVabJgJgzfIdIIzeh9A/s640/taipei+%252820+of+22%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Sitting here, looking at the Presidential Office Building, I thought about how the make-believe ruler of all China (小朝廷)here. How the very arrogant KMT learned their lesson (<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , , sans-serif; line-height: 24px;">十年生聚,十年教训</span>). How all the street names seem to yearn for a new beginning, and sadly, the futility of it all.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG8-XIfmHNzVru5HTRi_ptoxWEW5xJcYBiHey-TpDvEMfFbni6a9zKEu_dR1oSJIYPAM1R38MTYlDoGRe0MmtczAA8b8Ll8LkSQYAt09cAykrlj5SU7kLWobOWEn_nUZ2my5txTaE83pk/s1600/taipei+(1+of+1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG8-XIfmHNzVru5HTRi_ptoxWEW5xJcYBiHey-TpDvEMfFbni6a9zKEu_dR1oSJIYPAM1R38MTYlDoGRe0MmtczAA8b8Ll8LkSQYAt09cAykrlj5SU7kLWobOWEn_nUZ2my5txTaE83pk/s640/taipei+(1+of+1).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Another early riser, a foot long rat that's not at all afraid of me.</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0q9IBQ49qcT7ldre-h_AzvgwQes_O5aKmAGzKNC5ibPK9w7OEoQ8owLnytDUtb-0fe5i-WCdUzASdC-nM5l3uCx_ciHBT5hCAj0IDUHQL1ceE1HNN9-0gjjT5DsxYKJ9erObI262y3xA/s1600/taipei+%252818+of+22%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0q9IBQ49qcT7ldre-h_AzvgwQes_O5aKmAGzKNC5ibPK9w7OEoQ8owLnytDUtb-0fe5i-WCdUzASdC-nM5l3uCx_ciHBT5hCAj0IDUHQL1ceE1HNN9-0gjjT5DsxYKJ9erObI262y3xA/s640/taipei+%252818+of+22%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
February 28 Memorial Peace Park</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
February 28 Incident was also called 2-28 Massacre of 1947. An unspeakable taboo until recently. Today, this big city park is named after it. I was moved by the fact in some way Taiwan and KMT own up to its past. While waiting for daybreak in the park, I saw this homeless man meticulously going through his worldly possessions stashed in 4 shopping bags. I smiled thinking no matter how little or how much or how little we possess, we're all the same inside. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I would meet him again on my last day in Taiwan.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXCyGDLP8iUmjztAJdPgb_GUk4uGoJzNzp0xC6DMdfx6gqGJhKn5DoHk1QpW5d0ed-byFaMNf8WZx0ZKcH63WzxhEKkeQARdhcN3_LEYkN03xJi6Itj9tiEeb0s5j5y2Lt0QIfVWmILic/s1600/taipei+%252821+of+22%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXCyGDLP8iUmjztAJdPgb_GUk4uGoJzNzp0xC6DMdfx6gqGJhKn5DoHk1QpW5d0ed-byFaMNf8WZx0ZKcH63WzxhEKkeQARdhcN3_LEYkN03xJi6Itj9tiEeb0s5j5y2Lt0QIfVWmILic/s640/taipei+%252821+of+22%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
There is also a monument for the victims of White Terror following 228, incredible!</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE0NuQkaZUBSoGrxwkeHwl6qM7eXkyxekLaRdbtmI0E0wMUIwYtPNweUvS_5SHabdAAKeSAtCXipgremqG7xBLoYtrMki1Fkf321gwCMFhUc1SXjbIEszDZ8oTlQ_Hr1HyXOzOmou4A2Y/s1600/taipei+%252817+of+22%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="376" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE0NuQkaZUBSoGrxwkeHwl6qM7eXkyxekLaRdbtmI0E0wMUIwYtPNweUvS_5SHabdAAKeSAtCXipgremqG7xBLoYtrMki1Fkf321gwCMFhUc1SXjbIEszDZ8oTlQ_Hr1HyXOzOmou4A2Y/s640/taipei+%252817+of+22%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
We rented a U-Bike while waiting for W's rental bike in Taipei.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Rode to the National Palace Museum (國立故宮博物館). The museum has a collection of Chinese treasures unrivaled anywhere. Most of the tourists were either from China or Japan. Here's a group of Japanese.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrmwxKGbY4NY0kZG9OV4AU-HUm8R3T5ullSsXZRC0uLcA07a0LcoW4w0wktwX0TO0VUE042zgHR6203trxsZ3bgSqicuarBzrD7DKgZS5LMbvKVNthSgyMocgcCSHwDV_2eBhz-SRYkEw/s1600/taipei+%252816+of+22%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrmwxKGbY4NY0kZG9OV4AU-HUm8R3T5ullSsXZRC0uLcA07a0LcoW4w0wktwX0TO0VUE042zgHR6203trxsZ3bgSqicuarBzrD7DKgZS5LMbvKVNthSgyMocgcCSHwDV_2eBhz-SRYkEw/s640/taipei+%252816+of+22%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Looking down from the museum building. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
It's not as popular as I expected, the collection so vast that they could go for decades without repeating what they exhibit. I found the exhibits to be overly showy and not very stimulating.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSZdBrINI4NvgB8NQBfo7mWhiG95MylASgTZ3SuIXbW3UOHtkvux0mdBpbO-7UjsKrZkTby44vkBlS7nipi9wbZKv0-9j2zjqbVYuw9Ayuxr8qmMhb0L79s42iztxjzI2Dxx30QJ2B2qk/s1600/taipei+%252814+of+22%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSZdBrINI4NvgB8NQBfo7mWhiG95MylASgTZ3SuIXbW3UOHtkvux0mdBpbO-7UjsKrZkTby44vkBlS7nipi9wbZKv0-9j2zjqbVYuw9Ayuxr8qmMhb0L79s42iztxjzI2Dxx30QJ2B2qk/s640/taipei+%252814+of+22%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
If it ain't broke, break it</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
While waiting for the Giant bike shop to open, we walked by a stadium call Little Giant Egg (臺北小巨蛋, there was a recreational area next to it. W wanted to walk to loosen up and I saw these guys running track and ran 5 or 6 laps with them. I felt OK afterward, but my bad foot would act up after the hot spring 2 days later and hobbled me for the rest of the trip. </div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkLmC0SxfbAPmtAsIVwXcEcuzbad6l-AVH4VrrvuvAWDP62NWgkGQYXVvKJ7L0UB-DsFo1hFkKTSM2zsV4cctHMmGjYXeq1I3eX7twM3exl9ZdK9jJmijrwrbWSCODxmKAOTVtQaIwEis/s1600/taipei+%252815+of+22%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkLmC0SxfbAPmtAsIVwXcEcuzbad6l-AVH4VrrvuvAWDP62NWgkGQYXVvKJ7L0UB-DsFo1hFkKTSM2zsV4cctHMmGjYXeq1I3eX7twM3exl9ZdK9jJmijrwrbWSCODxmKAOTVtQaIwEis/s640/taipei+%252815+of+22%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Buddhist nun </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI54B8o0vAMBFfGDHeHJnfSC8ePt3Pepkw7aM2TisTihHd9H1gZmRKDxM7f1WvoO-rEIbLl__T_hN0269HAYTpTX4v-LKfqjJTkJkOUs5UIfnbfcq5Fc1Z1ojTNumVqCtjI3csBMnAFck/s1600/taipei+%252819+of+22%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI54B8o0vAMBFfGDHeHJnfSC8ePt3Pepkw7aM2TisTihHd9H1gZmRKDxM7f1WvoO-rEIbLl__T_hN0269HAYTpTX4v-LKfqjJTkJkOUs5UIfnbfcq5Fc1Z1ojTNumVqCtjI3csBMnAFck/s640/taipei+%252819+of+22%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Street scene from our room. The yellow sign says "National Remedial Classes", another name for cramp schools parents would send their kids to after regular classes. The green signs is Starbucks coffee. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: DFGirlW5-B5;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: DFGirlW5-B5;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;">Once the rental bicycle was secured, we were reading to leave Taipei City. </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: DFGirlW5-B5;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: DFGirlW5-B5;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: DFGirlW5-B5; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 16px;"><br /></span>Mangohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00972460189594220301noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-464221519135421520.post-34988953466368615052013-08-21T23:22:00.001-07:002020-04-02T09:46:50.269-07:00Cantonese Music Used to Make My Little Head Hurt <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOj_CHTUkc4go5NICCcngYoJTJSWoOE-ScdN5PbEB8LKMVRmlL0cZNINS2tiYxpjnJiAWk6EUSjdzUKTw4DFx8wpjvY6X9A5PEbiiYfEtWh6pjpZrwCypg7AdKK02qbDuQE0IhRf-yTgE/s1600/ChineseMusic+(1+of+4).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOj_CHTUkc4go5NICCcngYoJTJSWoOE-ScdN5PbEB8LKMVRmlL0cZNINS2tiYxpjnJiAWk6EUSjdzUKTw4DFx8wpjvY6X9A5PEbiiYfEtWh6pjpZrwCypg7AdKK02qbDuQE0IhRf-yTgE/s320/ChineseMusic+(1+of+4).jpg" width="320" /></a>One of my earliest memories was watching our maid ironed clothes impatiently (back when Hong Kong middle class families had help). I had to have asked her countless times: "When are you going to be done?" She replied: "In a moment", then I would follow with: "How long is a moment? Is it a moment yet?" More than the unbearable boredom every child felt, it was the Cantonese opera music she put on the radio, it was that sad music and the high falsetto singing that made me check and re-check the minute hand and the spot she said where a moment was to be due. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
That's probably why I disliked Cantonese operas so much in my youth. I surprised myself last weekend taking a small interest in it, instead of doing Chinese grocery shopping in Boston Chinatown, I watched the amateur performers till they packed up their instruments.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8dxh5EmemouF4CJxaxgKgkB5UfWfJRwvuIypnYKS30vr-zcqsJBVgmaxsY-TKRSZsC3NFePXx5rexb9RP_fmWkMCLLsWSOwciFckjOGQFJoRsGQL4DlJmw_1MDUDdAZ27TK6b9VgQUSQ/s1600/SheetMusic+(1+of+1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8dxh5EmemouF4CJxaxgKgkB5UfWfJRwvuIypnYKS30vr-zcqsJBVgmaxsY-TKRSZsC3NFePXx5rexb9RP_fmWkMCLLsWSOwciFckjOGQFJoRsGQL4DlJmw_1MDUDdAZ27TK6b9VgQUSQ/s640/SheetMusic+(1+of+1).jpg" width="502" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I've been told in Mainland China even traditional Chinese musicians use Western music notation. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
These Chinatown players used Chinese sheet music (工尺譜) where each of the seven full notes are represented by a character. In Cantonese music, all seven heptatonic notes are commonly used, the reason there are more than 7 different characters is because a note in different octaves may have different names (sometimes it's just a dot under the word to lower an octave). The music usually has a strong beat and there are 板s and 眼s marks for the percussion instruments on the right on some of the notes (look like accents).<br />
<br />
The cadence and time measures follow some well known patterns (板) and is written before a segment. This obviously leaves a lot of room for the musicians to interpret or improvise. The 板s are very similar between different regional Chinese music. <br />
<br />
(1 or 2 columns of notes and lyrics, Read from top to bottom, rightmost columns first. 工尺譜 could be the only actively used word based musical notation in the world.)</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaK5YWSfRl83hKcMSEm0LEgXlZuDWupYoXS2eG01E2x-wBthPnX3tTtWybY3yKw3gM-qqRUyGd3iFTrbcwzVz6yoEe8dd9lgh02VsVEYDhggVogh6-B3vgfwktEal01n7A6kirX_1-fk8/s1600/ChineseMusic+(3+of+4).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaK5YWSfRl83hKcMSEm0LEgXlZuDWupYoXS2eG01E2x-wBthPnX3tTtWybY3yKw3gM-qqRUyGd3iFTrbcwzVz6yoEe8dd9lgh02VsVEYDhggVogh6-B3vgfwktEal01n7A6kirX_1-fk8/s400/ChineseMusic+(3+of+4).jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I was breathing down this poor lady's neck for half an hour, during breaks she was happy to explain the basic notation to me. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib6PC83fMugjwdzQ7zeCWWmXOr3JTWROGXKRlW7sESE_8Q2uO4tOfP31vhaKj28OJcX2digYJEAxPGsihMMvC1ibf7aMAqV-0SlFkOI9iRcj9cMQN7_trz1crO2XGEc7wkpkCy-S_8KfY/s1600/ChineseMusic+(2+of+4).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib6PC83fMugjwdzQ7zeCWWmXOr3JTWROGXKRlW7sESE_8Q2uO4tOfP31vhaKj28OJcX2digYJEAxPGsihMMvC1ibf7aMAqV-0SlFkOI9iRcj9cMQN7_trz1crO2XGEc7wkpkCy-S_8KfY/s400/ChineseMusic+(2+of+4).jpg" width="381" /></a><br />
<br />
Even the sax player used Chinese sheet music. Of all the instrument players, only one of them used western notation. The reason they can mix traditional Chinese instruments with western is because they are all tuned the same these days. Near the end of Ming dynasty, a Chinese prince <span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">朱載堉</span>calculated the equal temperament frequencies, it spread quickly to Europe and Johann Sebastian Bach was the most notable beneficiary. (Possibly brought to Europe by the Jesuits. <span style="font-family: inherit;">The Jesuits were scholars, the importance of this 5,000 page book on music <span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;">樂律全書 had to be apparent to them.)</span></span><br />
<br />
Here's the wiki page of its come about and how it became the foundation of western music theory: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equal_temperament">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equal_temperament</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg83KyJo1mRu9a9Q5DXWmiwImn9JCd04MrJQJzTl3GDG5T_uGbVP2GJNh2q8IO2jtRvoaJ6kNT_LaJYMgem2o908w_JHoUwbN9yhvO8EdXW8a2v270pQm8j_rWLKpI0Rs4pC7_yIhApD0c/s1600/ChineseMusic+(4+of+4).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg83KyJo1mRu9a9Q5DXWmiwImn9JCd04MrJQJzTl3GDG5T_uGbVP2GJNh2q8IO2jtRvoaJ6kNT_LaJYMgem2o908w_JHoUwbN9yhvO8EdXW8a2v270pQm8j_rWLKpI0Rs4pC7_yIhApD0c/s400/ChineseMusic+(4+of+4).jpg" width="397" /></a></div>
The main erhu player (probably equivalent to the first violinist) was a young white man. He didn't use any sheet music. (I saw on the news he's studying music in Asia now.)<br />
<br />
Because the lyrics was also on the music, I knew the first opera was <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 16px;"><i style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">三策論乾坤<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">, </span></i></span>a story about a real Tang Dynasty hero 李靖 and the loveliest (probably fictional) girl 張出塵 (紅拂).<br />
<br />
The 2nd was 紫釵記, this version was written by 唐滌生, a modern genius (born 1917) who wrote over 400 operas in his short life. (The gist of this play is just a man and a woman flirting, a perfect vehicle to showcase his writing skills.)Mangohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00972460189594220301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-464221519135421520.post-85757908743487665372013-05-31T10:08:00.000-07:002013-06-01T03:24:01.740-07:00The Eleventh Semitone 無射<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">Not only readership of this blog is very poor in general, the last 2 posts about music are particularly pathetic according to the stats. Perhaps I didn't make myself clear, or the subject was just too boring. I shouldn't have left out something that made me laugh so hard that I nearly dropped the laptop.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">From 史記, the 11th semitone (in the order of the Circle of Fifths) B flat is called 無射, although it is not pronounced as written (e.g., it's pronounced "wu yi" in Mandarin), the literal meaning is simply "no shoot", not quite sure what it means, but the 2 ancient words always conjure up feelings of Chinese antiquity for me. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">Turns out the 12 notes are mapped into the 12 months, and </span>史記 goes on to explain there are rules in music just as there are rhythms in nature like the seasons and the 12 months, since B flat is the 11th note (the 11th month in lunar calendar is normally the winter solstice month):<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">律中無射。無射者,陰氣盛用事,陽氣無餘也,故曰無射。</span><br />
(There's a musical note called No Shoot. No Shoot -- femininity is at its peak, masculinity is exhausted, therefore it is called No Shoot.)<br />
<br />
Okay, it's clear that the Grand Historian 太史公 minced no words -- 無射 literally is no ejaculation. It's especially ironic (or admirable) because the Grand Historian himself was castrated, he chose the castration punishment (his other 2 "options" were death or a 500,000 fine which he couldn't afford) for defending a brave general 李陵 . Man, you don't even have to have a penis to be ballsy!Mangohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00972460189594220301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-464221519135421520.post-55577000298236784752013-04-24T06:42:00.003-07:002013-04-30T06:44:37.737-07:0012 Semitones 十二律 againI struggled with the 12 semitones in the previous post. It's a little easier to explain with music jargon and freshmen math.<br />
<br />
Given any note, another node within the same octave that goes well with it is 1.5 times its frequency, in music it's called the perfect fifth. What I tried to say was if we begin with a root note and its perfect fifth, we'll naturally end up with 12 semitones.<br />
<br />
It's self evident on a string instrument the pitch and length relationship is logarithmic, every semitone is a multiple of the previous note, the math is:<br />
(ratio of note to the previous notes) raised to the (number of semitones)th power = 2 (frequency doubles to the same note in the next octave). <br />
<br />
Now, let x be the number of semitones, and y be the order of the perfect fifth (in relation to the root), to get 1.5 times the frequency, we have this equation:<br />
<br />
2 ^ (y/x) = 1.5<br />
<br />
Stick this equation into Wolfram, we get:<br />
<br />
y=<b>0.585</b> x<br />
<br />
The only reasonable (small) integer ratio that comes very close to this is <b>7/12 (=0.583). </b>There! The perfect fifth is <b>7th note</b> out of <b>12 semitones</b>. <br />
<br />
Since the octaves are circular, if we keep adding 7 semitones to get to the next perfect fifth in modulo 12 math, we'll get the sequence of 0, 7, 2, 9, 4, 11, 6, 1, 8, 3, 10, 5. Align 0 with C in western notation of C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G, G#, A, A#, B. it maps into C, G, D, A, E, B, F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, F -- Circle of Perfect Fifths (with the 5 pentatonic notes leading the way).<br />
<br />
There are integer ratios like 10/17 (=0.588) that works well also. For the Chinese, 12 was probably a natural choice, not only 12 is smaller and less odd than 17, there was already 12 months to a year, 12 hours to a day, 12 <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">地支 to count things</span>, etc.<br />
<br />
<br />Mangohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00972460189594220301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-464221519135421520.post-61141694035815671962013-04-23T08:07:00.001-07:002016-12-20T16:54:17.933-08:00A 2,500 Year Musical Journey <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The best known Chinese history book was written by 司馬遷 which is simply called 史記 or Records of History. The reason for such a generic name was because no name was given in the first place! But once this momentous book was completed, it became <i>the</i> Records of History. That's how important this work is in the Chinese culture. Not only the Grand Historian (which also became a proper noun) was historically accurate and fair, the writing was equally superb, 2,100 years after the 5,000,000 words were written. My classmates and I studied the biography about an assassin <span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px;">荊軻 </span>from this book verbatim in our Chinese subject class in Hong Kong secondary school. In my opinion, it must rank as one of the best biographies or short stories ever written.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">After gaining a tiny bit of knowledge in music recently, by chance, I came across this biography again and I was astounded by the musical details. In a famous scene where the assassin was sent off to kill the tyrant, a good friend <span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;">高漸離 </span>came and played two songs to bid him goodbye, 司馬遷 wrote:</span><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">太子及賓客知其事者,皆白衣冠以送之。至易水之上,既祖,取道,高漸離擊築,荊軻和而歌,為<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">變徵</span></b>之聲,士皆垂淚涕泣。又前而為歌曰:「風蕭蕭兮易水寒,壯士一去兮不復還!」復為<b style="color: #990000;">羽</b>聲慨,士皆瞋目,發盡上指冠。於是荊軻就車而去,終已不顧。</span><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I won't bother to translate the lyrics of the songs and how they moved everyone to tears, what's important is the key of the first song was in <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">變徵 (</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">徵 </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">flat, i.e., key of F) and the second in </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">羽 (key of A). </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> So does it mean ancient Chinese music was not necessarily pentatonic since the F note is not in the traditional pentatonic scale (C, D, E, G, A)? Did we use the 12 semitones and were they equal temperament (evenly spaced on the log scale) as in modern chromatic Western music? It turns out the answers to these questions can be found in the same book.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Skip the following paragraph if you know music ...</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I had zero interest in music until very recently. You have to start somewhere when you try to learn something new. In music, even the experts can say nothing more than that music is a universal language and thus requires no explanations. For some reason (or maybe because we all shared a single ancestor), we all like the C tone (DO in DO RE ME). Whether it's Mozart or a little random melody you make up, the last note would almost always be C. In Chinese, the C note is called 宮, palace or home, perhaps for this reason. In frequency, C is 261.6 Hertz.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">When you double the frequency of C, you again have the C note of the next octave which is still recognizable as C. Between C and the higher C, there are 11 white and black keys on the piano and the complete cycle contains the 12 distinct semitones, if I call the lower C 0 and count to 11, I'll be next to the key of C (the period is 12). The 7 white keys (or the C Major scale) in this system would be 0, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11. The minor scale is just a different pattern of 7 notes.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Just when I think I can recognize the C note and use it as an anchor, it turns out the C note is not much of an anchor at all. The relative positions of the notes or the pattern is far more important that the absolute positions, one can start from any piano key, black or white, follow the 0, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 11 pattern and you'd think you're hearing DO RE ME FA SO LA TE. Someone that's around music a lot may be able to tell what key a song is in, for the rest of us, we can only tell that sometimes a song feels different in different keys.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Harmony is important in Western tonal music because chords (playing several notes at the same time) generate pleasing harmonics. A major chord is 0, 4, 7 semitone intervals (4 is almost exact 1.25 time the frequency, and 7 close to 1.5 times) and a minor chord is 0, 3, 7 (1.2X and 1.5X). (e.g. using the C note as the 0 position root, C major chord is C-E-G, and C minor chord C-D#-G). This is the main reason to have all the 12 chromatic keys on the keyboard, to produce harmonious sounds when several keys are struck at the same time. "Traditional" Chinese music is commonly known, or misunderstood by me, to be pentatonic (pattern 0, 2, 4, 7, 9) and one note at a time.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">This is all I have to say about notes, scales, and chords before we go back to 司馬遷's Records of History 史記 and see how Chinese people tuned their musical instruments 2,000 years ago. The Chinese knew how the pitch of a string is inversely proportional to its length. Furthermore, if the string is shortened by 50%, we move up exactly one octave. The algorithm to calculate the string length for each note was described in Records of History, it's called "Lose and Gain 1/3" (三分損益) method. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">One starts with the number 81 which is 9x9, a favorite Chinese number that also produces some nice integers doing 1/3 fractions:</span><br />
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">81</span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">54 which is 81 - 1/3 of 81</span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">72 which is 54 + 1/3 of 54</span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">48 which is 72 - 1/3 of 72</span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">64 which is 48 + 1/3 of 48</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Let's peg 81 to the C note at 261.6 Hz</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">then use the ratio of the next length 54 to 81, since it's inversely proportional, 261.6 X 81/54</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">=392.4Hz.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Carry out this simple calculation for the first 5 notes, we get:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">81 = 261.6 Hz C 宮</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">54 = 392.4 Hz G 徵</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">72 = 294 Hz D 商</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">48 = 441.45 Hz A 羽</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">64 = 331.08 Hz E 角</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Very, very close to the mathematically correct 261.6, 392, 293.7, 440, 329.6 frequencies of the pentatonic tones of C, G, D, A, E.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The algorithm continues to generate the 7 major diatonic notes and the rest of the 12 semitones (very good approximations using only 1/3 fractions) in near equal temperament. And most surprisingly, at least for someone naive in music, the 12 semitones in the order of the Circle of Fifths! </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The Circle of Fifths (actually only 4 white keys away) first published in the 17th century in the West, this is the diagram every student of modern music theory is familiar with:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwujN5PcBFwqnlmL6EGl9S2w5j4PYm13K2QVhm3n7mVu3hxyMMOhOEIqTeyvvYfurIzvaDmP0Psce4-eOJSosGO6bBgqu_7koz1zDxSjsCwij9ynno4o7e5AS9Jv4xtdDTGdv_y6f1CAw/s1600/Circle_of_fifths_deluxe_4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwujN5PcBFwqnlmL6EGl9S2w5j4PYm13K2QVhm3n7mVu3hxyMMOhOEIqTeyvvYfurIzvaDmP0Psce4-eOJSosGO6bBgqu_7koz1zDxSjsCwij9ynno4o7e5AS9Jv4xtdDTGdv_y6f1CAw/s400/Circle_of_fifths_deluxe_4.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Clearly, ancient Chinese music was similar to modern western music as recorded by the Grand Historian 2,100 years ago. Nonetheless, it was no small wonder when it was confirmed in 1977 by the excavation of the still perfectly tuned bells of Marquis Yi. This huge five octave, 12 semitone instrument was made 2,500 years ago, several hundred year before the Grand Historian was born. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">This gigantic instrument has the coverage of a modern grand piano with all the white and black keys minus one octave. The reason there are fewer bells than notes is because a lot of the bells chime 2 non-interfering notes (depending on whether it's struck in the front or on the side). 2,500 years ago, this much bronze was a GDP busting undertaking, I can imagine the importance of this musical instrument and how it must have had been the Terracotta Army </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"><b>兵馬俑 </b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">sized project of its time. When this instrument was played (by many musicians striking multiple bells at the same time, that is, playing chords), it is a live demonstration of chromatic tonal music one can obviously hear and feel the resonance.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6tYEvyZeMUYD2M3YFNc5M0zCkTxr37Tq1V-fd1Gfh41smwmS6bVMxGeYuqwhnyGufbXZr2mt9bhZYnoW9NvFxYM2LNnEalKm5Pr2F2WNUKc_ywbk72laCO72XcgoT3r6Za9SrOUB3R6I/s1600/bell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6tYEvyZeMUYD2M3YFNc5M0zCkTxr37Tq1V-fd1Gfh41smwmS6bVMxGeYuqwhnyGufbXZr2mt9bhZYnoW9NvFxYM2LNnEalKm5Pr2F2WNUKc_ywbk72laCO72XcgoT3r6Za9SrOUB3R6I/s640/bell.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The 5 octave bells of Marquis Yi, the big ones weigh hundreds of kilos each</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">All this music stuff is quite mind-boggling to me until I started to ignore the little music knowledge that I have acquired. Without the baggage, everything then is quite logical. The big decision after the root note (say the middle C) is established is to make another node that's 1.5 times its frequency to generate pleasing harmonics, and if you carry this out onto the next octave for the 3rd note (effective doing modulo 12 addition of +7). Why 12 notes? because after 12 times, you'll come pretty close to an integer multiple of C again. All it takes is fudging the numbers a tiny bit to taste (for example, mathematically correct equal temperament by flattening each tone a little). My guess is, the history of Chinese and Western music began with the note C, then the next harmonious note at 1.5 the frequency -- G was fixed, everything after that is just trying to make things neat, either mathematically or harmonically. Although the chord progression 12 semitones are not exactly 1 octave (like the 12 lunar months don't exactly add up to a year), it is most logical that many cultures ended up with a 12 semitone system independently. I was only confused by my own preconceived notion that Western music is more precise or advanced. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">This suggests that tonal harmony was the first priority in the Chinese system. Otherwise the math is simpler. If we set out to calculate the 12 equal temperament semitones, every notes is 1.0595 times the frequency of the note before it. Do this 12 times, you'll get 2.00 (exactly one octa</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">ve). Even without a calculator, a little trial and error should yield the 1.0595 ratio in a short time. The Lose and Gain 1/3 Method strongly suggests chord progression (or harmony) was paramount in the calculation of the 12 semitones (十二律). However, the convenient number 12 is not exact, using the Circle of Fifths to visualize, this method overshoots the next C slightly after F. The Western solution is to flatten each semitone slightly to make the circle close. I don't know enough to say, but I suspect that the Chinese system may be similar to the Greek system that a wolf note is used to close the circle. This is somewhat similar to the calendar systems, in the western Gregorian Calendar, each month (obviously a unit related to the moon) is stretched to the point it has little to do moon phase in order to line up the solar year, while the Chinese calendar preserves the moon phase and uses an occasional leap month to prevent the new year from deviating more than 1/2 month from the spring equinox. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I cannot offer a theory for why we picked the 7 or 5 notes out of 12 for scale in most cultures, maybe the granularity is too fine to tell the 12 semitones apart, maybe fingering is just too difficult, or maybe it's something innate and we respond more strongly to certain patterns of frequencies. I am stretching badly here... </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">In the 2,500 years since the Bells of Marquis Yi were forged, we could only make non-functional ornamental replicas of the bells, before the excavation, the dual tone bells were thought to be a myth. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">In the last 100 years, the Western system had been adopted and today even traditional Chinese music is played with instruments tuned to Western standards and sheet music written in Western notations. In some way, the Chinese music has lost some of its uniqueness; in another way the music is going back to where it began. The upshot of wholesale Westernization is that one can freely mix Chinese instruments with Western which is a very good thing.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
Here's the original text from Records of History, instead of using letters, each semitone has its own 2 character name. Additionally, the 5 pentatonic notes also have the more familiar 1 character names 宮, 商, 角, 徵, 羽:<br />
<br />
<i>律數:九九八十一以為宮。三分去一,五十四以為徵。三分益一,七十二以為商。三分去一,四十八以為羽。三分益一,六十四以為角。黃鍾長八寸七分一,宮。大呂長七寸五分三分。太蔟長七寸分二,角。夾鍾長六寸分三分一。姑洗長六寸分四,羽。仲呂長五寸九分三分二,徵。蕤賓長五寸六分三分。林鍾長五寸分四,角。夷則長五寸三分二,商。南呂長四寸分八,徵。無射長四寸四分三分二。應鍾長四寸二分三分二,羽。生鍾分:子一分。醜三分二。寅九分八。卯二十七分十六。辰八十一分六十四。巳二百四十三分一百二十八。午七百二十九分五百一十二。未二千一百八十七分一千二十四。申六千五百六十一分四千九十六。酉一萬九千六百八十三分八千一百九十二。戌五萬九千四十九分三萬二千七百六十八。亥十七萬七千一百四十七分六萬五千五百三十六。 </i><br />
<br />
<i>(There were errors in the original text, and both the algorithm and some numbers are recorded here. The errors seemed to be introduced when the text was transcribed, the algorithm existed 100s of years before the book.)</i></div>
Mangohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00972460189594220301noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-464221519135421520.post-74871105396519102112013-03-24T20:04:00.000-07:002013-04-30T07:00:53.146-07:00Shooting Film Again<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwIwzoHbdENrCOEgOeoN3qzXFVIIYSzv8-qX_VTK6jpW1qNrEgkqnMKjFD5XXWqGIwV1RUQkmKqewfhvGZgJM-jIPdqXs36Y6HoWzsSBNU7gGrvOJRpkWkFeHGD35wgrhpwtkM47LoGlM/s1600/film+(3+of+1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwIwzoHbdENrCOEgOeoN3qzXFVIIYSzv8-qX_VTK6jpW1qNrEgkqnMKjFD5XXWqGIwV1RUQkmKqewfhvGZgJM-jIPdqXs36Y6HoWzsSBNU7gGrvOJRpkWkFeHGD35wgrhpwtkM47LoGlM/s640/film+(3+of+1).jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
For no reason at all, I'm shooting film again. It's amazing how a cheap film camera can produce very good images and the negatives would easily outlast your electronic media (floppy, CD, DVD, every generation has a shorter lifespan than the previous). I remember how I just abandoned all my cassette tapes and floppy disks when something better came along.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyDSFt1wMOPRyOXESES38QhZe8VGouBv3ZZcSeILsO1S_cI8qoIZAKZBA4cb2qgzLk1PaE9SSmLywRbMewgtu3btml4TMVft8zECiJrhDn7a7zUneH__W5eAEsNQrSEjmI9wI8AoCBu_4/s1600/film+(3+of+3).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyDSFt1wMOPRyOXESES38QhZe8VGouBv3ZZcSeILsO1S_cI8qoIZAKZBA4cb2qgzLk1PaE9SSmLywRbMewgtu3btml4TMVft8zECiJrhDn7a7zUneH__W5eAEsNQrSEjmI9wI8AoCBu_4/s640/film+(3+of+3).jpg" width="640" /></a>The catch is that I no longer have the patience for darkroom, I only develop black and white film in a change bag and do the sloppiest scanning with a flatbed scanner. So, is there certain <i>je ne sais quoi </i>about film? I am not sure a casual viewer would ever notice the difference, and we can safely disregard the opinions of the photo technicians (most of them mistakenly call themselves photographers because they follow the camera industry and take pride in knowing how to use their equipment, I'm afraid I'm a member of this group). Photography is the largest and lamest hobby in the world simply because anyone with a pulse can do it, to use a computer analogy, we amateur photographers think we can write good novels by using the word processor correctly, and we must upgrade to the latest and greatest version and all great writers must be using something vastly more expensive.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTUrFDPZ6E5arSVmya0sGcX0lOTZu87zNSNrilAzGx6dSSOFnAUOuSza9bMC09bizVN4D9SS5upiOKIuLtSLS9ez1P2mg5JoM6GWR2XSWXxbywKZsE5yEeO9wB3Pc2YtF5f2JzTlNC3Q8/s1600/film+(3+of+2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTUrFDPZ6E5arSVmya0sGcX0lOTZu87zNSNrilAzGx6dSSOFnAUOuSza9bMC09bizVN4D9SS5upiOKIuLtSLS9ez1P2mg5JoM6GWR2XSWXxbywKZsE5yEeO9wB3Pc2YtF5f2JzTlNC3Q8/s640/film+(3+of+2).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Back to the subject of shooting film, the only reason for me to go back to chemical photography is nostalgia, I can still remember how it felt like Christmas morning in my school darkroom waiting for prints to develop. Today's printer does come close with a lot less trouble and there's no point in wet photography anymore until I heard somebody made a statement to the effect that "the medium itself is the message". I am still dumbfounded by this assertion, how is it possible to convey more (whatever) with a fuzzy Polaroid? I can accept that it's possible to convey something more profound in a drawing than a photograph even the photograph contains more information. The engineer in me just cannot accept the argument that less can be more in a mechanical process such as photography, one can always photoshop a more detailed image into lesser one but the message doesn't change, right? Errr, truth of the matters is Andy Warhol prints are still popular and the great engineer artist has yet to be born in this world.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgopCC8fqNDoSH4tWBS68k4WtZYT6tEgc8VRrO6vKGEgHUqde9VeCwKG9wuoXo2DFMy9zz-wHHmcyYPoefoCr7A4HKA9L35-O7z4Y0MsUcsPAe7kuZ19HsI-400DEmbidnVWYrCt0c_D28/s1600/film+(4+of+3).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgopCC8fqNDoSH4tWBS68k4WtZYT6tEgc8VRrO6vKGEgHUqde9VeCwKG9wuoXo2DFMy9zz-wHHmcyYPoefoCr7A4HKA9L35-O7z4Y0MsUcsPAe7kuZ19HsI-400DEmbidnVWYrCt0c_D28/s640/film+(4+of+3).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtbdwktd7FcU7jrpoFar_QA4aOfKYYQx_21999t7tEN_jBAlMiMj4vVBep5Ums5GolmvD_PSWq9H2xS4KAn0rxZwUoo1BTj2Btft0EvZL2sRWaEUKiMYjCJQU1NEAQwgam7qWM5uDCC_0/s1600/film+(5+of+3).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="414" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtbdwktd7FcU7jrpoFar_QA4aOfKYYQx_21999t7tEN_jBAlMiMj4vVBep5Ums5GolmvD_PSWq9H2xS4KAn0rxZwUoo1BTj2Btft0EvZL2sRWaEUKiMYjCJQU1NEAQwgam7qWM5uDCC_0/s640/film+(5+of+3).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4glfXQdO0uHHYd6q9D6XTolzLAYVqeqUROLpEE3b7RukNLYFBNa3BDC00ZMXa1_DlQYd0UncMeYlE5_nrjRZ57SKpz6fSOabbVu5jlNGcTQVaxjKWFfoFzLxStlemuWj1wikBow0voVk/s1600/film+(4+of+2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4glfXQdO0uHHYd6q9D6XTolzLAYVqeqUROLpEE3b7RukNLYFBNa3BDC00ZMXa1_DlQYd0UncMeYlE5_nrjRZ57SKpz6fSOabbVu5jlNGcTQVaxjKWFfoFzLxStlemuWj1wikBow0voVk/s640/film+(4+of+2).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />Mangohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00972460189594220301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-464221519135421520.post-56956806295079380372013-03-13T04:53:00.000-07:002013-03-26T05:56:51.910-07:00Shanghai Pride <br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb0KKjJtHTIYC4QxVr4RKyAKL8mglnf9Azhivz10_3iCLf_bcHZjnjuHvK9_0TWfs42d_B0Zs7UDdEtC52nODN88ZMcY35bXPrPYgq0efqt4e5UYrdB2g3uY1VUExAgh362CV2LLx3SVQ/s1600/shanghaipride+(4+of+3).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb0KKjJtHTIYC4QxVr4RKyAKL8mglnf9Azhivz10_3iCLf_bcHZjnjuHvK9_0TWfs42d_B0Zs7UDdEtC52nODN88ZMcY35bXPrPYgq0efqt4e5UYrdB2g3uY1VUExAgh362CV2LLx3SVQ/s320/shanghaipride+(4+of+3).jpg" width="303" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Young family in Hong Kong</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
As the compradore economy made Old Shanghai affluent, Shanghainese started to become a little bit like their colonists, westernized in appearance as well as believing they were a cut above the average Chinese. Nothing is more apparent and irrational than the bigotry toward people from the north of Long River (Yangtze River), true blue Shanghainese keep track of who's got tainted blood even there's no such thing as indigenous Shanghainese neither as a people nor as a dialect (a lot of people agree the Foreign Concession Shanghainese 租界上海話 before 1949 as the standard dialect, it's based on the local language with hip and fast evolving foreign and outsider influences). Before Nanking Treaty, only (poor) people whose livelihoods depended on the ocean were allowed to live by the sea (海禁) to counter Japanese pirate raids. The traditional political center near Shanghai was Nanjing (pingyin for Nanking), many time national capitol. The regional commercial center was Yanhzhou, the terminal of the magnificent Grand Canal of China, both cities happen to be on the north of the river. (Actually, Nanjing is on both side of the river, but it's called north by Shanghainese.)<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFOj1xNNNWxBy4o2XSuSjGceAvvyzr-ig7ihu3oPpci83t5uYM7WvvV9jpsYQIRfyMrLAL-cXRdAWEyOrh4SYkxF28DXOe7372mzo82W8SdOavEexhaMWi0LVDBO15ZvA_QfG6Yxhs8_4/s1600/shanghaipride+(5+of+3).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFOj1xNNNWxBy4o2XSuSjGceAvvyzr-ig7ihu3oPpci83t5uYM7WvvV9jpsYQIRfyMrLAL-cXRdAWEyOrh4SYkxF28DXOe7372mzo82W8SdOavEexhaMWi0LVDBO15ZvA_QfG6Yxhs8_4/s320/shanghaipride+(5+of+3).jpg" width="309" /></a>When Pa left Shanghai and started to make a living as a textile engineer in Hong Kong, like most Shanghainese, they brought that pride with them (the textile mills were staffed with mostly Shanghainese). People with similar background really had little interest in the local Cantonese culture and would speak very broken Cantonese even after spending decades there, If a Hong Kong Shanghainese is linguistically gifted, he is more likely to study western languages rather than everyday Cantonese. (The British were worse, most HK born British kids couldn't read the most common sign in Chinese: 不准在此小便,or "Do not urinate here". Haha.)<br />
<br />
For us that was born in Hong Kong, We grew up feeling we were different and that manifested in many subtle ways. Our Cantonese pronunciation was flawless, but there's something about the Cantonese tonality that struck us as being too expressive or even funny. We'd subconsciously flatten the tones and choose Mandarin like words and phrases to be not "too Cantonese". Although Parents's transient stay in Hong Kong outlasted their years in Shanghai, we hardly interacted with the community and socialized mostly with families similar to ours and it took me a long time just to realize that the Cantonese culture is not inferior. Regardless, the upshot of all this is our generation's Hong Kong experience was somewhat watered down. (My younger sister returned to Hong Kong after college, she still does not think she totally assimilated.)<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhS4HZ5DYeJWO-o_zUGJ60mz0moT_SMZDxs3qB3QNr5mdv3Rt9ZReA_sGRODpVrflYOX1QiO5sF9OQf3lskeWcCXfDScHdWjx97jlj21oWbcKhpsKM8ln7DpTslalFmVlmMw_mIgdRMo8/s1600/shanghaipride+(3+of+3).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhS4HZ5DYeJWO-o_zUGJ60mz0moT_SMZDxs3qB3QNr5mdv3Rt9ZReA_sGRODpVrflYOX1QiO5sF9OQf3lskeWcCXfDScHdWjx97jlj21oWbcKhpsKM8ln7DpTslalFmVlmMw_mIgdRMo8/s400/shanghaipride+(3+of+3).jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
In China, the movement to eliminate local Chinese dialects is finally taking hold after a 100 years, now Shanghainese speaking people are decisively a minority in Shanghai thanks to huge influx of out-of-town workers. I am glad this effort hasn't been successful in Cantonese speaking areas, we cannot afford to lose the richness of our language in the name of progress (i.e., unification). <br />
<br />
Here's an example of the Cantonese continuum that I think is priceless, a poem written in Tang Dynasty more than 1,000 years ago by Mr Hu (胡)making fun of his 胡 (northern barbaric people) wife who could not speak clearly:<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #6aa84f; font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px;"><b>呼十卻爲石</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #6aa84f; font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px;"><b>喚針將作真</b></span><br />
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #6aa84f; font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px;"><b>忽然雲雨至</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #6aa84f; font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px;"><b>總道是天因</b></span><br />
<br />
In both Mandarin and Shanghainese, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #6aa84f; font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px;">十</span> and <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #6aa84f; font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px;">石</span>, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #6aa84f; font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px;">針</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px;"> </span>and <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #6aa84f; font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px;">真</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d; font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px;">,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #6aa84f;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px;">因</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px;"> </span></span>and <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #6aa84f;">陰</span>, had long degenerated into the same sounds as spoken by his Tweety Bird wife. They're still clearly distinct in Cantonese while the mispronunciations had become the official 國語。<br />
<br />
<br />
(Also, the term compradore economy is unflattering in English, but in our Ningbo dialect, the transliterated word of compradore 康白度, still means a extremely successful person, a big shot, very flattering indeed.)<br />
<br />
<br />
</div>
Mangohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00972460189594220301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-464221519135421520.post-26274983373648896502013-03-05T03:57:00.000-08:002016-12-20T17:29:04.893-08:00Shanghai Style<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDTMpa5FQcamTcjZVdVp3YEViyuD0AcjK12zhb1YjQ_rxRAACh9gPWw_GoblkNgWggmFS2FHLCMuUy5eoQ3vnH762eAMPv8htL9UUZvz6mTdnv_yq5Xu9V0akYTBPuoSiBh4iTmm4btYs/s1600/maGrandma+(1%2Bof%2B1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDTMpa5FQcamTcjZVdVp3YEViyuD0AcjK12zhb1YjQ_rxRAACh9gPWw_GoblkNgWggmFS2FHLCMuUy5eoQ3vnH762eAMPv8htL9UUZvz6mTdnv_yq5Xu9V0akYTBPuoSiBh4iTmm4btYs/s1600/maGrandma+(1%2Bof%2B1).jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><b>仍願翻百千浪</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><b><br /></b></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLaqHfs1bqU3Cf6pJIDiKqCpoYVro0x3lQDIbdPjqKShwBnIIjRmRz25Q2rqaJVX_fIEpyNiLGzlHHXjre1sqXeskSVttlOr5dNIe-2FQlMy2IAO8RtHD406Xlqac0srs8MYdA_rpkJvg/s1600/shanghaistyle+(3+of+1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLaqHfs1bqU3Cf6pJIDiKqCpoYVro0x3lQDIbdPjqKShwBnIIjRmRz25Q2rqaJVX_fIEpyNiLGzlHHXjre1sqXeskSVttlOr5dNIe-2FQlMy2IAO8RtHD406Xlqac0srs8MYdA_rpkJvg/s200/shanghaistyle+(3+of+1).jpg" width="140" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pa</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><b></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><b></b></span>
If you've been to China, you probably notice how Shanghai people are universally disliked there. Maybe it's the airs they put on, maybe it's the smugness you feel even before they open their mouths. Things only get worse when they talk, which is usually loudly and insensitive. But still, one cannot deny there is a certain style about these Shanghainese, a style other Chinese are begrudgingly copying.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPUgk6NQfRHM59GAAAt0GqvqeBmT83neItdnd-CLdly9hDYx_-gZNn_-Ha72Fe61hVHtkMV1a707B2x-QRh5F7FRgRQ5psEJa0x16h0utGyyLxo1HujYPcsIesLaKhCQBcoiaYkKC46WM/s1600/shanghaistyle+(3+of+5).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPUgk6NQfRHM59GAAAt0GqvqeBmT83neItdnd-CLdly9hDYx_-gZNn_-Ha72Fe61hVHtkMV1a707B2x-QRh5F7FRgRQ5psEJa0x16h0utGyyLxo1HujYPcsIesLaKhCQBcoiaYkKC46WM/s320/shanghaistyle+(3+of+5).jpg" width="196" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ma</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
As I am scanning some old family photographs for my sister, I realize that these very familiar pictures taken in Old Shanghai tell a lot more than just the stories of the lives of our parents, they take me to places I dare not think too much about. There are a couple of photo albums full of our parents in smart outfits looking quite Westernized, many more with similarly well dressed, well-to-do teenage friends.<br />
<br />
After the Opium War with Britain, China was forced to open five ports for trade with the signing of Nanking Treaty in 1842. In the lifetime of my parents, who had gone through three of those five trade ports, from Ningbo to Shanghai, then to Hong Kong. When my parents were growing up in the 30s and the 40s, Shanghai as we know today was actually quite young. At that time, Shanghai had just caught up with Hong Kong's slight head start and was in many ways more advanced and grandiose (much like today). For example, the Australian oversea Chinese department store Wing On in Shanghai was the size of Macy's, much larger than the original store in Hong Kong.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMkewzVZyQw-4dj1XMH0rMirePuV-4Pu2n_YQz3Nk23NVRHfoMn23hlaL4skaHeN4o4z6SbSAUA4fbV8A4sk-TImldb0L8LrE0Vya7sOpi4v2YMTh-J8RdUH-c17IO0CXGvKZrtNKyPvA/s1600/shanghaistyle+(4+of+5).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMkewzVZyQw-4dj1XMH0rMirePuV-4Pu2n_YQz3Nk23NVRHfoMn23hlaL4skaHeN4o4z6SbSAUA4fbV8A4sk-TImldb0L8LrE0Vya7sOpi4v2YMTh-J8RdUH-c17IO0CXGvKZrtNKyPvA/s320/shanghaistyle+(4+of+5).jpg" width="235" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ma</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I was quite indifferent to these pictures when I was small because they were just ordinary family photos, then slowly I became proud of them because my friends seemed to be impressed by Parents' good looks. As an adult, I started to have many doubts, wasn't there a fucking war going on? Pa was born in 1927 and Ma in 1928, how the hell did they managed to look so well-fed and well dressed during the 14 year Sino-Japanese War from 1931-1945? All the heroic novels I read on the war just don't jive with these photographs. (In Chinese, the war is called 抗戰, Resistance War. Clearly, we were taking a beating.)<br />
<br />
<div>
<div>
Before the war officially broke out in 1937, my paternal grandfather had already leased a place in the French Concession in Shanghai, hoping the turmoils would blow over quickly. According to Pa, that wise decision rewarded our family nicely in the next decade, especially when the French Vichy Government became part of the Axis countries (Germany, Japan, Italy, etc.)<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghfpl0GrPbiuTo2zKFKMyL7KHLD1IWt7LRdx4LLRurWS8ZhD5bzdjUm-MC7CavLgpy18jAH78BXuvT44FbYsEBzqSp-KlBmtx07cR86AfNkxj5fZxSpXPvPua488kw0oWUGxRmTXog-i0/s1600/shanghaistyle+(6+of+5).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghfpl0GrPbiuTo2zKFKMyL7KHLD1IWt7LRdx4LLRurWS8ZhD5bzdjUm-MC7CavLgpy18jAH78BXuvT44FbYsEBzqSp-KlBmtx07cR86AfNkxj5fZxSpXPvPua488kw0oWUGxRmTXog-i0/s200/shanghaistyle+(6+of+5).jpg" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pa</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
What the hell does it mean by hoping the unrest would settle down quickly? In 1937, Japan was confident that the entire China could be conquered in a matter of months, when the Battle of Shanghai began in August of '37 (more than 4 years before Pearl Harbor), China was fighting alone, in a war nobody would give it a chance to win, let alone quickly. The wise businessmen of Shanghai hoped that China would submit quickly so they could go back to business as usual.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidEcYa7_n43vwM2Et3cUY4sl7jXBn_y13SbtcIzkquOggr8pZp4VlH4X8UHEVukiF6h58KCd9oYAJNZVD2G8zlcDCXxfi7GFVcpK-mK_xdwUA1TwF1BQ5CA3KFSi95mcqXeolX_8IsIjA/s1600/shanghaistyle+(5+of+5).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidEcYa7_n43vwM2Et3cUY4sl7jXBn_y13SbtcIzkquOggr8pZp4VlH4X8UHEVukiF6h58KCd9oYAJNZVD2G8zlcDCXxfi7GFVcpK-mK_xdwUA1TwF1BQ5CA3KFSi95mcqXeolX_8IsIjA/s1600/shanghaistyle+(5+of+5).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYpFQvLjCQofT0hdJGWuxwh1f-OhihJJlH3ak8D5culjM04rtt1-HTP8Aguo_lWUcoBsFryGvRY5t2rY5wZjYRydf6RvBw6DuIpG627ZeRNB-65WxfIAl-hhhNz5OKVm14cATYSYcQZEk/s1600/shanghaistyle+(5+of+5).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYpFQvLjCQofT0hdJGWuxwh1f-OhihJJlH3ak8D5culjM04rtt1-HTP8Aguo_lWUcoBsFryGvRY5t2rY5wZjYRydf6RvBw6DuIpG627ZeRNB-65WxfIAl-hhhNz5OKVm14cATYSYcQZEk/s320/shanghaistyle+(5+of+5).jpg" width="305" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ma</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<br />
Now that I am much older, do I feel embarrassed by my parents' petite bourgeoisie upbringing while brave warriors were dying because they didn't have enough to eat and had to fight with their bare hands? In my generation, four out of five siblings were born and raised in Hong Kong, one of the five trade ports. To call them trade ports itself is an embarrassment, the only trade the British cared about was opium. We all grew up in a place where China was drugged and raped. Did I feel like I was having involuntary sex growing up in Hong Kong? Probably not, I remember how we often marveled about why the former colonies, Hong Kong and Singapore under Great Britain, and Taiwan under Japan, were doing so much better than China itself.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIZXUUVzfVFBvLb7s0eBw6cuOIK3_2uTbct4Bp1TYP5qAJp0ZN5_mIIO_euYkbb4_LJST8Jc3aZaxL3hyphenhyphen7LaCm5aMWaV9CmFZ9x_6ONRJhWOjimaSCNvoY51qVDFijUrp5W58mrQydoI4/s1600/shanghaistyle+(7+of+5).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIZXUUVzfVFBvLb7s0eBw6cuOIK3_2uTbct4Bp1TYP5qAJp0ZN5_mIIO_euYkbb4_LJST8Jc3aZaxL3hyphenhyphen7LaCm5aMWaV9CmFZ9x_6ONRJhWOjimaSCNvoY51qVDFijUrp5W58mrQydoI4/s200/shanghaistyle+(7+of+5).jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pa</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Wing On in Shanghai, which I mentioned earlier, was a department store that sold almost all imported goods (other than Chinese foodstuff and silk), grew tremendously during the eight years of Japanese occupation, doubling in sales virtually every year while maintaining a patriotic reputation at the same time. Sadly, there's a conspiracy of silence about this period, not very citizen was a resistance fighter, there is little written how people prospered under those unusual circumstances.<br />
<br />
After Japan was defeated in 1945, the central government and the old boy network was once again in control of Shanghai, and within a few years, hyperinflation hit China (highest paper money denomination was 180,000,000 yuan, and it was not worth the paper it's printed on). In no small part the collapse of the economy led to the the demise of the first Chinese republic in 1949.<br />
<br />
Today, I walk on the Fifth Avenue of Shanghai, Nanking Road (a shameful name bestowed by the shameful British Empire to commemorate the Nanking Treaty) I see almost no remnants of the Communist revolution, everyone seems eager to go back to the life my parents left in 1949.<br />
<br />
This is the same Shanghai that was the epicenter of the Cultural Revolution, the term "petite bourgeoisie" 小資, used only derogatorily not so long ago is now complimentary, much like the "yuppie" label was used in the 90s. Hong Kong and Shanghai are now huge cities, and the West has an opiate addiction...<br />
<br />
Such irony is Shanghai, such irony is our family.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixrIMfT1nkS9J6hnq2KLtv_Jpkt0UyEf8G-JWj81fHzaZkHyMXuCAz0TQ9YQy_Jl7alcVRXG6hvGcOiWK48QClDRXBrr_W392bi0vdzPs2WH9xKBu7Rbn-KGZEHC5v5zAtMo-oS23mmk4/s1600/shanghaigirl+(1+of+1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixrIMfT1nkS9J6hnq2KLtv_Jpkt0UyEf8G-JWj81fHzaZkHyMXuCAz0TQ9YQy_Jl7alcVRXG6hvGcOiWK48QClDRXBrr_W392bi0vdzPs2WH9xKBu7Rbn-KGZEHC5v5zAtMo-oS23mmk4/s400/shanghaigirl+(1+of+1).jpg" width="226" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shanghai girl today</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
++++ Update 9/25/2014:<br />
I think most people are more interested in seeing Old Shanghai pictures than my babble.<br />
Some of the following pictures were scanned recently with brief annotations.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP_JsykL7Rsm4U1PAUFMJ1FAZQqre-XO8PrsnTfMFPoFmF_5VzeKALYSfiX-BTBbrajJDuXzjfdbqOUZwVseHETDH21dDMC6_DCeZ0Gidn4CW6S1M-VO5XR3NjjAxm5a5gmnHsDnHeu9g/s1600/grandma+(1%2Bof%2B1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP_JsykL7Rsm4U1PAUFMJ1FAZQqre-XO8PrsnTfMFPoFmF_5VzeKALYSfiX-BTBbrajJDuXzjfdbqOUZwVseHETDH21dDMC6_DCeZ0Gidn4CW6S1M-VO5XR3NjjAxm5a5gmnHsDnHeu9g/s1600/grandma+(1%2Bof%2B1).jpg" width="441" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The girl with handkerchief was our maternal grandmother, the other girl was her younger sister. Around 1920, could be taken in Shanghai, Ningbo, or Qingdao (Shandong province). This is the oldest family picture known to me.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB4c3Aw-oVutFFbOGUAvBgAudBYRQ_rHWyWtSaIKBQav1TKoMybyOSir8KXEyPz0FG9umiW9vnAfevx4S5Jtx2vPgHDpVy5rbFNPJAiVhaZeR91UA8B553UeRQTF2jfsK_8-fuVcsuZjM/s1600/MA026.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB4c3Aw-oVutFFbOGUAvBgAudBYRQ_rHWyWtSaIKBQav1TKoMybyOSir8KXEyPz0FG9umiW9vnAfevx4S5Jtx2vPgHDpVy5rbFNPJAiVhaZeR91UA8B553UeRQTF2jfsK_8-fuVcsuZjM/s1600/MA026.jpg" width="462" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Grandma in her prime flanked by Ma and her brother. Maybe 20 year after the above picture was taken, early 1940s in Shanghai</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT8UdiHcIkN3i7tigb-Hoi2AfRxGs9qRLwP7LEenEuZyoPrzD37b3eLVsJMhm9XsrUvi7VRnozx6P2bKpSoqIJgTiEcq4BThBqNltwRe8qfET6QZlCgAjtUm8ktvtjMnlryPbiyAywpOU/s1600/PaYoung+(1%2Bof%2B1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT8UdiHcIkN3i7tigb-Hoi2AfRxGs9qRLwP7LEenEuZyoPrzD37b3eLVsJMhm9XsrUvi7VRnozx6P2bKpSoqIJgTiEcq4BThBqNltwRe8qfET6QZlCgAjtUm8ktvtjMnlryPbiyAywpOU/s1600/PaYoung+(1%2Bof%2B1).jpg" width="270" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Earliest picture of Pa in Ningbo before the family moved to Shanghai. Ma finds this picture most amusing, not only Pa seemed to be snotty, he was also raised in the rural part of Ningbo. </span><br />
<br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX7IbASEG03d97Ifnz5M5aFCbFswHUQ7360G5273GqvtKKAOe4UzI_hujNHASEiyIO5NmuVNleFAbW7hjxRei0rctF36MiZUT8Z3-CnsuttQGJwkHdbo-ypbqsxgtKRFJ6coDVFv7gkq0/s1600/paschool+(1%2Bof%2B1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="440" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX7IbASEG03d97Ifnz5M5aFCbFswHUQ7360G5273GqvtKKAOe4UzI_hujNHASEiyIO5NmuVNleFAbW7hjxRei0rctF36MiZUT8Z3-CnsuttQGJwkHdbo-ypbqsxgtKRFJ6coDVFv7gkq0/s1600/paschool+(1%2Bof%2B1).jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">In Shanghai, Pa enrolled in Shanghai Municipal Council School for Chinese Boys 工部局華童學校. Pa was the boy at the lower right corner in shorts</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia0ytFWYVqmdj9gXWt1LYILw7T3qDfP4magmJlTnsLsqDJTMHRmYo26Qd6b-IVZLimPWgMO82Ng5-YrOBTG5179bA_tkz8TnXyeCP4eOXMNMkcGynfVGn4IAE8AhpHySwwbTmy685YItA/s1600/PA015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia0ytFWYVqmdj9gXWt1LYILw7T3qDfP4magmJlTnsLsqDJTMHRmYo26Qd6b-IVZLimPWgMO82Ng5-YrOBTG5179bA_tkz8TnXyeCP4eOXMNMkcGynfVGn4IAE8AhpHySwwbTmy685YItA/s1600/PA015.jpg" width="379" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Pa's nickname is "Yah Mieh", it could mean either "wild cat"野貓 or "savage"野蠻 in Ningbo dialect, but his uncle seemed to think it's just "young man" in pidgin English. Naturally, Pa prefers the "wild cat" name for his untamed spirit, he still reminisces about the corporal punishment administered by the British schoolmaster.</span><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDTMpa5FQcamTcjZVdVp3YEViyuD0AcjK12zhb1YjQ_rxRAACh9gPWw_GoblkNgWggmFS2FHLCMuUy5eoQ3vnH762eAMPv8htL9UUZvz6mTdnv_yq5Xu9V0akYTBPuoSiBh4iTmm4btYs/s1600/maGrandma+(1%2Bof%2B1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="466" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDTMpa5FQcamTcjZVdVp3YEViyuD0AcjK12zhb1YjQ_rxRAACh9gPWw_GoblkNgWggmFS2FHLCMuUy5eoQ3vnH762eAMPv8htL9UUZvz6mTdnv_yq5Xu9V0akYTBPuoSiBh4iTmm4btYs/s1600/maGrandma+(1%2Bof%2B1).jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Ma as a baby. Grandma was standing and the lady holding Ma was allegedly an ex-prostitute. It was somewhat socially acceptable to marry women from brothels 堂子 (especially swanky ones, which were outrageously expensive. For example, businessmen would take turns treating each other at high-class brothels. Each time the cost could exceed the entire yearly household expenses for the rest of the family) Socially acceptable didn't mean wholehearted acceptance either, one woman was known as "Slutty Ah Yu" 爛污阿玉 in Ma's family, I give her a lot of credit for not hanging herself.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjfEhCPDfTBzXeuVxjCayox3LLnkWOOl9o9ZH20hlhWR9uw4j94ZJe0LCqEUUb2eQ1j4aD4WoOzguvn44tXwxnZS_kFMmRLO21dIWKdx2K20Ob0F5NFj3zG37inOYjEAuvVN_u_75ttgo/s1600/MA016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjfEhCPDfTBzXeuVxjCayox3LLnkWOOl9o9ZH20hlhWR9uw4j94ZJe0LCqEUUb2eQ1j4aD4WoOzguvn44tXwxnZS_kFMmRLO21dIWKdx2K20Ob0F5NFj3zG37inOYjEAuvVN_u_75ttgo/s1600/MA016.jpg" width="508" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Ma is about one year older than Anne Frank, but her life in occupied Shanghai was very sheltered, she often gets the timeline and facts wrong about WWII. She remembers the war time as her happiest years. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXV79Zn4s6UCqI7R9xjY-VFUHFZPiu2MG6t_MBkQWyrGjYkMa0roSxd7ua9SnlxVxLAKLZB8XTToIZ2WcvIQuxwt4JhrnceVucflsoruRSzwZ9IHhyEH4xbA6pjV1sD4STODYPMHUmyvw/s1600/MaTeen+(2%2Bof%2B3).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXV79Zn4s6UCqI7R9xjY-VFUHFZPiu2MG6t_MBkQWyrGjYkMa0roSxd7ua9SnlxVxLAKLZB8XTToIZ2WcvIQuxwt4JhrnceVucflsoruRSzwZ9IHhyEH4xbA6pjV1sD4STODYPMHUmyvw/s1600/MaTeen+(2%2Bof%2B3).jpg" width="444" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Lots of good friends</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNhlKHmoyElaMQnrxip8KxIH7IQXTZW1thODKEq6AEGb0tyiOGv4lQVkcSiHEois2cKSEElKEu_KLPMNSwsb9nt5iiMoE8DHjsgjTlmx6fH0uEJGOGFhXBJ2ftGAhOZKctUAOvXWr9_A0/s1600/MaTeen+(1%2Bof%2B3).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNhlKHmoyElaMQnrxip8KxIH7IQXTZW1thODKEq6AEGb0tyiOGv4lQVkcSiHEois2cKSEElKEu_KLPMNSwsb9nt5iiMoE8DHjsgjTlmx6fH0uEJGOGFhXBJ2ftGAhOZKctUAOvXWr9_A0/s1600/MaTeen+(1%2Bof%2B3).jpg" width="454" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Ma's favorite cousin </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGQScSL5nKeqKzb0cXU98LIX1g-zeQ-KL-qma5KnT474m-5HVl3cM9A_kLasfsjehph-8XIXAo3DpI1R1_LJ-NDZd1TeS0t3i4pf9AHUuaDQswGnhRmLQ8Zv3Eu7LYPlCDUOuFlQlsTfE/s1600/MaTeen+(3%2Bof%2B3).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGQScSL5nKeqKzb0cXU98LIX1g-zeQ-KL-qma5KnT474m-5HVl3cM9A_kLasfsjehph-8XIXAo3DpI1R1_LJ-NDZd1TeS0t3i4pf9AHUuaDQswGnhRmLQ8Zv3Eu7LYPlCDUOuFlQlsTfE/s1600/MaTeen+(3%2Bof%2B3).jpg" width="444" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Ma in a qipao like a pretty calendar girl</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj82m-OowBx26tr1hUXkoxyNhA73YFxB5pfVmEaFXAN-tC8YYcJymmexZIrn4hYSaEilOosKrBPNqxrgnTRnlAxrPk_3veCpmtr6-cgu5VjP3oXK2s7qAWFwdyD9JEDVpiauMTiTpO4BaM/s1600/MaTeen+(1%2Bof%2B1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj82m-OowBx26tr1hUXkoxyNhA73YFxB5pfVmEaFXAN-tC8YYcJymmexZIrn4hYSaEilOosKrBPNqxrgnTRnlAxrPk_3veCpmtr6-cgu5VjP3oXK2s7qAWFwdyD9JEDVpiauMTiTpO4BaM/s1600/MaTeen+(1%2Bof%2B1).jpg" width="372" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Ma thinks her friend 俞覺 was the prettiest, for some reason Pa didn't like her nor her sister complaining they were false proletarian revolutionaries because they used to powder their legs. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDo8v9THiIxBTtqO2quyor2a32BFh12of0NYwNDYoscMQx7iS9QXXOPn5xolu2AHNXmEgJC-_XMNHCUam9nSK4HBTT_pwyO0BB9Zh0sbyYGPZP1JcAiYfoQDWJmCd_HkemaDl3c3fsFR4/s1600/MaFamily+(1%2Bof%2B1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="470" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDo8v9THiIxBTtqO2quyor2a32BFh12of0NYwNDYoscMQx7iS9QXXOPn5xolu2AHNXmEgJC-_XMNHCUam9nSK4HBTT_pwyO0BB9Zh0sbyYGPZP1JcAiYfoQDWJmCd_HkemaDl3c3fsFR4/s1600/MaFamily+(1%2Bof%2B1).jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Ma's family was getting a little well-off. I think this is my grandfather's 40th birthday. The children were dressed in Western suits and silk, looking a little, err, mais oui, nouveau riche. The young woman on the far left was a wet nurse (?) </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">This picture was taken by C. H. Wong Studio 王開照相 which is generally considered the best in Old Shanghai, the lighting is very harsh in this picture though.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
Mangohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00972460189594220301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-464221519135421520.post-14508337211347390932013-01-19T17:25:00.000-08:002013-03-05T10:41:02.204-08:00Maggie (2002-2012)<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyJSwPeEiXT_3RGz8Puk4aW6dPOw4g2Pkpjx0pmpdbE7s8Z95Q1kbilrznNBjpnjnJ9xIH1m7VjnuG6DA7inYxWIL1OlEwUG13Jky4FQ4fXypqxzgb7T2Jzy06k2YeneNZlycHoUpQ9iA/s1600/maggiecrowd+(3+of+1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyJSwPeEiXT_3RGz8Puk4aW6dPOw4g2Pkpjx0pmpdbE7s8Z95Q1kbilrznNBjpnjnJ9xIH1m7VjnuG6DA7inYxWIL1OlEwUG13Jky4FQ4fXypqxzgb7T2Jzy06k2YeneNZlycHoUpQ9iA/s400/maggiecrowd+(3+of+1).jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maggie drew a crowd on her 1st day with us</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDj_zfXk1LOP0QOI3D67lPVrPN5lu36e_jG-WwCCD-HVS3iNH6V7gFk47dll_R0RtlvM5ucDTVf3EKUR7BgVvGs57xsptLZYnzHnx8YPN7dE95E_l47WWHRTIaln5GaJi9NWeFI2LSbn0/s1600/maggie+(3+of+1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDj_zfXk1LOP0QOI3D67lPVrPN5lu36e_jG-WwCCD-HVS3iNH6V7gFk47dll_R0RtlvM5ucDTVf3EKUR7BgVvGs57xsptLZYnzHnx8YPN7dE95E_l47WWHRTIaln5GaJi9NWeFI2LSbn0/s400/maggie+(3+of+1).jpg" title="Puppy" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maybe 3 months old</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
It's often said that the best way to deal with a loss is to talk about it. I tried to write about the shock and relief that I felt on the night Maggie died but I couldn't. This is a second attempt after a month, time has distilled the memories to just happy ones.<br />
<br />
Almost all of my life I had dogs and Maggie was my best dog. She was not the prettiest nor the most obedient chocolate lab, she was just a good dog with a personality that almost everyone found endearing. In general, I only had to yell at her once in anger to teach her not to do something, so I guess she was obedient in her own way, and to a greater degree, on her own terms.<br />
<br />
She slept very close to the foot board on my bed because I did not appreciate her dog breath, but on other beds where she knew she could get away with, she would sprawl out on her back with her head on the pillow like Red Riding Hood's grandma. She was also flexible when necessary, when put in a home with multiple cats for a week while we were on vacation, she coexisted peacefully with the cats and received nothing but praises from the home owner.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7TjtLnccpqlziS-gNX_iTYkpHbc1p8h6QOmJe9HbFRV8xv_W-wY407asNLqehaISFWy-HmNqd6q7cZPxdaZ_MdhOGv-xd5e7HlthAYPz6yE8rUdcUJ0EEn8sFQDrgXvws1jxO0z3bb2Y/s1600/maggie+(2+of+1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7TjtLnccpqlziS-gNX_iTYkpHbc1p8h6QOmJe9HbFRV8xv_W-wY407asNLqehaISFWy-HmNqd6q7cZPxdaZ_MdhOGv-xd5e7HlthAYPz6yE8rUdcUJ0EEn8sFQDrgXvws1jxO0z3bb2Y/s400/maggie+(2+of+1).jpg" width="313" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Here's some very ancient Chinese verses (from 詩經 about 2,000 years ago, simple unrhymed poetry) <br />
<br />
彼狡童兮,不與我言兮。 --- That coy child, she no longer speaks to me.<br />
維子之故,使我不能餐兮! --- Because of her, I lose my appetite!
<br />
彼狡童兮,不與我食兮。 --- That coy child, she no long eats with me.<br />
維子之故,使我不能息兮! ---- Because of her, I cannot rest!<br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">The word 狡, in ancient written Chinese, could be synonymous with 姣 (feminine form of good looking), I am using the literal meaning here which I think is more appropriate.</span></i><br />
<br />
How true, the first thing we remember about Maggie is her coyness. Maggie lived for food, she ate her food with such gusto that I always thought she was going to develop some sort of stomach problem. Secretly, she madly coveted human food but manged to show no interest in it when people were around, she would look totally bored while we were having Thanksgiving dinner and would not bat an eyelash if the turkey carcass was thrown into the trash. <br />
<br />
To what extent could Maggie carry this act? A few months ago, as I walked toward my car to go to work, I realized I left a roll of bagels on the kitchen table and quickly ran back to the house to put it away, but it was already too late. The bagels were on the floor and one of them was next to the dog bed where Maggie was sound asleep with her snout inches away from the evidence. Apparently in less than 1 minute, she ripped open the plastic, took a bagel out, took a hasty bite, heard my footsteps, and did her best to pretend the whole thing had nothing to do with her. <br />
<br />
Everyone has a favorite story to tell, pies, loaves of bread, an entire roasted duck had disappeared. when it came to food, she was totally unmoored from her values and her sneakiness knew no bounds, she simply could not help it.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpM6la-XF6rl_OaKdxpdwhJyxWi_3oyfQNtM67BIE5qfRphJDbsQ9-Hzkm2V0GhDdaQCinff2AQLDpC7go0tryEP3ZqWVEwPW-TDzAsCepSS-b-nrLK3es7ktFunOC5adOCxfP6sSCPs0/s1600/maggiepup+(3+of+1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpM6la-XF6rl_OaKdxpdwhJyxWi_3oyfQNtM67BIE5qfRphJDbsQ9-Hzkm2V0GhDdaQCinff2AQLDpC7go0tryEP3ZqWVEwPW-TDzAsCepSS-b-nrLK3es7ktFunOC5adOCxfP6sSCPs0/s400/maggiepup+(3+of+1).jpg" title="Who, me?" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Who, me?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVxGOn_pGHQaZG5SEDWKFDq2uvSmCjY9YbSqWZ_NedAhFwzhY5VPzeErFsFLEsG8l12Tkn-bqLi2wU0qGb2TKjc5kzVxcmJ9GP5LzNtlAu-IgXudmNDWNGC0BFkjKdboX24FHQYsEhy4w/s1600/maggiecatch+(3+of+2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVxGOn_pGHQaZG5SEDWKFDq2uvSmCjY9YbSqWZ_NedAhFwzhY5VPzeErFsFLEsG8l12Tkn-bqLi2wU0qGb2TKjc5kzVxcmJ9GP5LzNtlAu-IgXudmNDWNGC0BFkjKdboX24FHQYsEhy4w/s400/maggiecatch+(3+of+2).jpg" width="306" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Playing catch</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPEPS3PQTGyCHF6PjQ16xOS1uhvLD-bOj9YGKNghxAOp97QB3xcNtp4s8JpTtazN3Q6zfjOKLfOxHcWqd11P5rNXscsTHXA-OwyPJNYneiW67uwJ0hnHsvMx8BvLqXychLxLLvY7ju770/s1600/maggiecatch+(4+of+2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPEPS3PQTGyCHF6PjQ16xOS1uhvLD-bOj9YGKNghxAOp97QB3xcNtp4s8JpTtazN3Q6zfjOKLfOxHcWqd11P5rNXscsTHXA-OwyPJNYneiW67uwJ0hnHsvMx8BvLqXychLxLLvY7ju770/s400/maggiecatch+(4+of+2).jpg" width="300" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiowpzOJ-G-MGNc6OMw-Zhh1mk5zH9zSo-9FdsDOGTwf2hgyqrNYLzIM__wjWZyoQYDspp1tsj9zEXYxl-B3TcDTn-9aLJIU-Y9pf73h73e0cpq2UHXbpAPvG9JI_PCDJBj5mhbG1ivejE/s1600/maggieSnow+(3+of+1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="492" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiowpzOJ-G-MGNc6OMw-Zhh1mk5zH9zSo-9FdsDOGTwf2hgyqrNYLzIM__wjWZyoQYDspp1tsj9zEXYxl-B3TcDTn-9aLJIU-Y9pf73h73e0cpq2UHXbpAPvG9JI_PCDJBj5mhbG1ivejE/s640/maggieSnow+(3+of+1).jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ha Ha Ha</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<br />
Maggie was a country girl, she loved the great outdoors. To her, hiking meant carry stuff for people, charging ahead and doubling back to find out what's taking you people so long, and, of course, swimming wherever there's water.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGR21XTAkyh68ob4YwrnfCP55pYsf8HEcKvHLQqqP2Y-f4fg1oRnJwY9-Y7Zu_-6p7ieczOMDa5SPWyJ-u2HZEOUwiUnaIc3W8U6OwFOKzt1BWJWO1_3cXrX6EctG7eP-w3vAAY1Yrxdk/s1600/maggieBlog+(3+of+1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGR21XTAkyh68ob4YwrnfCP55pYsf8HEcKvHLQqqP2Y-f4fg1oRnJwY9-Y7Zu_-6p7ieczOMDa5SPWyJ-u2HZEOUwiUnaIc3W8U6OwFOKzt1BWJWO1_3cXrX6EctG7eP-w3vAAY1Yrxdk/s400/maggieBlog+(3+of+1).jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bert with a famish dog</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0v5oAtR-RT6BQLN0kv21OaqKND1Pwp_gDWGNmSbldaAosm7Ej-oawZqokLGGHyJyknElKfDTVzgKeR27CZCz7C84lWQGZV5TBJubJi6e7Hh7hGz-_0Q_0nrVNbmymfjX2gJCJlTul_VI/s1600/maggieAnne+(3+of+1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0v5oAtR-RT6BQLN0kv21OaqKND1Pwp_gDWGNmSbldaAosm7Ej-oawZqokLGGHyJyknElKfDTVzgKeR27CZCz7C84lWQGZV5TBJubJi6e7Hh7hGz-_0Q_0nrVNbmymfjX2gJCJlTul_VI/s400/maggieAnne+(3+of+1).jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anne with a famish dog</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_qQNpDczvgWwhW_6pMV72OBP9CIt8VDC-1OuQVN8MuzFTVLmpYpDnYCN4gvxJZmcdU0GTzFVD-Gb3X7pnPaggyOSgDmpUdNyc0N11a8_Kc-iKaZTItvxYnLM6aogfEB4YvUAAQfV9QxU/s1600/maggieswim+(3+of+1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_qQNpDczvgWwhW_6pMV72OBP9CIt8VDC-1OuQVN8MuzFTVLmpYpDnYCN4gvxJZmcdU0GTzFVD-Gb3X7pnPaggyOSgDmpUdNyc0N11a8_Kc-iKaZTItvxYnLM6aogfEB4YvUAAQfV9QxU/s400/maggieswim+(3+of+1).jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nothing beats swimming after a number 2</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
One time we almost had to be rescued. It was late spring, a most dangerous time at Mount Washington's Tuckerman Ravine (where numerous hikers died in the past) . There was only a lone skier in the whole place other than us. To make a long story short, Maggie and I climbed over the rocks at the top of the bowl in the second picture (because it was too steep and risky to climb down), the caretaker actually prepared my sister and my children for the worst before he "found" us.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkZTAR5DHWwj1ZT9hd_OXlYWhyphenhyphenusrjjgefVtWsLc36uOq0DAD30FHLh-DirfT1ltBqTu7CRXerkOrzsAn7HufhH6bK2CV3lAXM0bf6GfUlwozZa6dBJDI6kzZJAPUve2a1VufBT7xHGMM/s1600/maggierescue+(3+of+3).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkZTAR5DHWwj1ZT9hd_OXlYWhyphenhyphenusrjjgefVtWsLc36uOq0DAD30FHLh-DirfT1ltBqTu7CRXerkOrzsAn7HufhH6bK2CV3lAXM0bf6GfUlwozZa6dBJDI6kzZJAPUve2a1VufBT7xHGMM/s320/maggierescue+(3+of+3).jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl1OsJ41hvJfOg-dxvR8kP8_TyTcVmnq8yaf5fZrZEz30QcO4_qn9Qnu4g3iKF7pBW3Z2aksXPlCBll2od6CFcvj6HlkdDYG3hvUTzHyrmK6a0y_8z1OBmYTyP7pUGBsVZNW6NrQe7Rvk/s1600/maggierescue+(4+of+3).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl1OsJ41hvJfOg-dxvR8kP8_TyTcVmnq8yaf5fZrZEz30QcO4_qn9Qnu4g3iKF7pBW3Z2aksXPlCBll2od6CFcvj6HlkdDYG3hvUTzHyrmK6a0y_8z1OBmYTyP7pUGBsVZNW6NrQe7Rvk/s320/maggierescue+(4+of+3).jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixbacaNBQ3_EGe1w1GPH26KxDLVF5dGcYYvm6GscqpNjz_jmsGL5Myug0nKRoj91bxI7UUZi_ra5qDAJiBtN6yGtwBziJm-pCrbx6hyphenhyphenQKcBO9jaCdJ5hct9Muxik6RvB-z9vvrDEX1odk/s1600/maggierescue+(5+of+3).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixbacaNBQ3_EGe1w1GPH26KxDLVF5dGcYYvm6GscqpNjz_jmsGL5Myug0nKRoj91bxI7UUZi_ra5qDAJiBtN6yGtwBziJm-pCrbx6hyphenhyphenQKcBO9jaCdJ5hct9Muxik6RvB-z9vvrDEX1odk/s320/maggierescue+(5+of+3).jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
People say Labs are perpetual puppies. To me, Maggie always had been the little sisters to my kids and nephews and nieces. Even when she was becoming a senior, she was full or energy and would walk away from her meal to play with them. Somehow she felt the energy of young people and would do anything for attention. She was the little sister that's always doing cartwheels in front of her older siblings and their friends, nothing pleased her more than hanging out with the older kids even she knew not what they were talking about.<br />
<br />
I'm afraid I'm becoming 祥林嫂, a woman in a famous Chinese short story, who could not get over the death of her young son and ultimately became an unsympathetic figure. I've already deleted most of the words I wrote in this blog. OK, let it be a boring remembrance of Maggie, still I can't help wondering if I went first, would my coy child be heartbroken too?<br />
<br />Mangohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00972460189594220301noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-464221519135421520.post-63975499956140236032011-07-29T14:10:00.000-07:002013-03-05T10:42:08.667-08:00Centennial of Modern China 辛亥革命100周年 (part 1)This year is the 100th anniversary of the 1911 revolution 辛亥革命, it is hard to imagine China is only 100 years from the last imperial court. Modern China is younger than most of the great nations of the world. The French revolution (1789) and the American Revolutionary war are both 100 years older. In Asia, Japan's Meiji Restoration (wholesale modernization) started in 1868. The Bolshevik Revolution in Russia was roughly in the same era in 1917. Lucille Ball, the star of the <i>I Love Lucy</i> TV show, was born a few months <b>before</b> the birth of the Republic of China. <br />
<br />
So what happened in 100 years? The number one reason for overthrowing the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912) was to restore the majority Han rule. China was twice ruled by minority invaders, the Mongols during the Yuan Dynasty and the Manchus during the Qing Dynasty. To that end, the 1911 revolution was a success, the Manchus court was toppled relatively bloodlessly and the Manchus have been co-existing peacefully with the Han people since. It is now impossible to distinguish Han and Manchu visually and our "traditional" Chinese costumes are actually Manchu horseman riding garbs.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjemHYGxqlIiZSHIDzOf4po4zfYcaxZFA3hCD6D7NeUHw69fQr-EoixOaPc8zerXxDN7N6PvobA2Zadjij1fscKjIztT6EECho9ymdujX5ZczADU88uX8AJZht0PSsEc5TCw5ksE8JDYBw/s1600/chineseMen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjemHYGxqlIiZSHIDzOf4po4zfYcaxZFA3hCD6D7NeUHw69fQr-EoixOaPc8zerXxDN7N6PvobA2Zadjij1fscKjIztT6EECho9ymdujX5ZczADU88uX8AJZht0PSsEc5TCw5ksE8JDYBw/s320/chineseMen.jpg" width="218" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tight fitting clothes with exposed buttons, this young man has no respect for tradition</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwvut-8EHBHyNmZWiL5IRkCrnzbzdNdhBOc_ppjX1iB4PJoVDq8nhrykr3sIScW7ZJIYxKYurTuXHrfKw9WL5Sa6wGEw67KyJceDVqDIFmRn5iMzasWla063M3FzKM2T8SfJ7QXUaUue0/s1600/han_clothing_hanfu_movement.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwvut-8EHBHyNmZWiL5IRkCrnzbzdNdhBOc_ppjX1iB4PJoVDq8nhrykr3sIScW7ZJIYxKYurTuXHrfKw9WL5Sa6wGEw67KyJceDVqDIFmRn5iMzasWla063M3FzKM2T8SfJ7QXUaUue0/s320/han_clothing_hanfu_movement.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You're going look very silly in real traditional Han clothing these days</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Today, the traditional Han clothing can be seen only on movie sets. For a least 2000 years, Han clothing or "han fu" 漢服 had always been loose fitting with no buttons. The lapel had to be on the right side even the whole thing made it really hard for a right handed rider to shoot an arrow. There were attempts for reform but tradition won out every time. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Incredibly, what's once considered shocking has become a Chinese traditional, it's hard to imagine many Han men died refusing such barbaric costumes in the 1600s. The Manchus forced the Han men to adopt their style of shaved head and tight fitting clothes. The iron wrist policy said "keep your head and lose your hair; or keep your hair and lose your head", 1000s of Han men chose the second option.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje1B61nN1EPp6EvgHQhZvkeNxAFP59BxwQLH6MUR73ScvbQzAgkLPze9oBAb3Toi4DKcLFBrK-OP_yYBUIx5xhCGcq2bneYOhEzeI-vlUzX-n5hJ5K9D8NKyL9LtfAffsRS697B_oFJWo/s1600/bush.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje1B61nN1EPp6EvgHQhZvkeNxAFP59BxwQLH6MUR73ScvbQzAgkLPze9oBAb3Toi4DKcLFBrK-OP_yYBUIx5xhCGcq2bneYOhEzeI-vlUzX-n5hJ5K9D8NKyL9LtfAffsRS697B_oFJWo/s200/bush.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Three cowboys in horseman outfits comparing empires</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZX-zfHk9ZT-p0QpF1PDRmwgnWJNJJjxVBgTVyvEOvCC3Lm4FmFSKl0F5qpfX4lNrsXb23OwDtd3GIW7RMuoZeEuu3ricJsnau6KOkgO3tA5rf9mKtZ1m_b0T_PucDBYcpFllM1cDHF1Q/s1600/genghis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZX-zfHk9ZT-p0QpF1PDRmwgnWJNJJjxVBgTVyvEOvCC3Lm4FmFSKl0F5qpfX4lNrsXb23OwDtd3GIW7RMuoZeEuu3ricJsnau6KOkgO3tA5rf9mKtZ1m_b0T_PucDBYcpFllM1cDHF1Q/s200/genghis.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
I'm a great admirer of Greek antiquity, but if you visit Greece today, you'll find Greeks with mostly Christian names and their Presidential Guards wear national costumes similar to the Turks. What happened to heroic names like Ajax and Achilles? What happened to the toga?<br />
OK, maybe the toga is a little impractical.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtMnBO5hmo8lFGZM7GacDhvLJVwGp2Txby0gjQxU6qgtBDtCPNrOb976CZQOHfhd2LJF6O4H8Mhjp6a-wg-Qllpq8cTKReV7p1821r7q0_muR3NwIK22a9nw6h28uGxdpXmlR8NFA5nHk/s1600/toga.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtMnBO5hmo8lFGZM7GacDhvLJVwGp2Txby0gjQxU6qgtBDtCPNrOb976CZQOHfhd2LJF6O4H8Mhjp6a-wg-Qllpq8cTKReV7p1821r7q0_muR3NwIK22a9nw6h28uGxdpXmlR8NFA5nHk/s200/toga.jpg" width="108" /> </a></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Unsafe for bicycle riding</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuITqf8GgBopr5wjp2w07kIUsjZ4xzDWR8y0nB24WJlvk66ffT3JU2us_sFsAluo_5LfbBkcof90fg0HQ1Jyj89c9ZUliQlSOki_-gOsyEYG5EFJeDw6AqSw66eOifTTQRFpWNzN8mK6o/s1600/bike.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="109" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuITqf8GgBopr5wjp2w07kIUsjZ4xzDWR8y0nB24WJlvk66ffT3JU2us_sFsAluo_5LfbBkcof90fg0HQ1Jyj89c9ZUliQlSOki_-gOsyEYG5EFJeDw6AqSw66eOifTTQRFpWNzN8mK6o/s200/bike.jpg" width="200" /></a>Mangohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00972460189594220301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-464221519135421520.post-44437621520086751442011-07-18T05:17:00.000-07:002011-07-19T11:38:49.412-07:00First Hair<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbiW5LiYsR0GWvIMtlv7gn_JqWhZO4l29LibsxtvBCrYXFT6cP2hPEeH1CI1AxI_O2ZKy_Bw7GOjlWVl2W7AC-Z2O2LaBJJjTduhbez7ClGVTp9lIn4upn-xNIXp_23zvONYzwT7xgtgo/s1600/hairFord.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbiW5LiYsR0GWvIMtlv7gn_JqWhZO4l29LibsxtvBCrYXFT6cP2hPEeH1CI1AxI_O2ZKy_Bw7GOjlWVl2W7AC-Z2O2LaBJJjTduhbez7ClGVTp9lIn4upn-xNIXp_23zvONYzwT7xgtgo/s320/hairFord.jpeg" width="287" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Betty Ford</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Betty Ford died last week at the age of 93. I always admired Betty Ford's unique style except for her hair. Apparently she was styled by the same White House stylist Tracy who invented <i>Der Stahlhelm</i>:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEcy4N-BQFIG0LMcFCxfyG8HLpwaIy6ea-ISUmYfq0kXDIUEfEhJYKEffHmec3zKw7KGc1dM1kp6JchNMOovDvrtQ__IPAzV8DHeCfxrYvQ3BzxPxjTCbrwbJQFL8Bxz3IpD1FCxoiWoA/s1600/hairSpray.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEcy4N-BQFIG0LMcFCxfyG8HLpwaIy6ea-ISUmYfq0kXDIUEfEhJYKEffHmec3zKw7KGc1dM1kp6JchNMOovDvrtQ__IPAzV8DHeCfxrYvQ3BzxPxjTCbrwbJQFL8Bxz3IpD1FCxoiWoA/s200/hairSpray.jpeg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The youthful looking hair stylist</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 6px; padding-right: 6px; padding-top: 6px; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><img height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Mdswxb8eOHtZ2mQsmdOAqkrBFdpDSpj7Y8sFY5YHjwRjXd9NYPx5M86pRJDAP2pCPtP5Oy0ATMeSpN_FNszbM2PFrkKkTbB0tK4n2H1dtwNnK39trwwAD4c9u-jBWbvEgmjv7qUNr00/s200/helmet.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="118" /></div></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> Der Stahlhelm</div><div><br />
</div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
<br />
Tracy managed to duplicate her own hairstyle for most of the First Ladies in memory:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0RFORpz8Okp2ZPAGMejcc5H9EBku0Tsi5g8vtMr5LpgXOjD9IYvIFPrMx_ngmFYSRVvfz8qS6BhvgU8gDVskLeBj1hbSZX54ug-_XPTbn4YbESvfe1whPC5RoOeVCUbjbw7229ubVoFg/s1600/hairjohnson.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEiskb4QY084fAer0H1X5kivx9-9kpz2-Iaw8WH3iNWjqCIsfoKlB2P8dykJpSYCtSKHvqTY10Z3Nhwf8BBM_gbjQ6AmW6B7UOAEF3g1WBFNcdey9fxeU37gC-YimycSBVIW_fSK0K8zE/s1600/HairJackie.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEiskb4QY084fAer0H1X5kivx9-9kpz2-Iaw8WH3iNWjqCIsfoKlB2P8dykJpSYCtSKHvqTY10Z3Nhwf8BBM_gbjQ6AmW6B7UOAEF3g1WBFNcdey9fxeU37gC-YimycSBVIW_fSK0K8zE/s200/HairJackie.jpeg" width="149" /></a><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0RFORpz8Okp2ZPAGMejcc5H9EBku0Tsi5g8vtMr5LpgXOjD9IYvIFPrMx_ngmFYSRVvfz8qS6BhvgU8gDVskLeBj1hbSZX54ug-_XPTbn4YbESvfe1whPC5RoOeVCUbjbw7229ubVoFg/s200/hairjohnson.jpeg" width="152" /></div><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5N9xL68w9BenJnoKqOfw5T-c4kN0enm2QVFX2XlRiAZlLAIODJVWiYpfsai2B-JudI3jVK_ZhOE0EwDlI84cfRbqqDQHfaJevX-PVxXmhdXSNCdiuoGuNhyphenhyphenSgMJhAa5lR3sWogEYHgX8/s1600/HairNixon.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5N9xL68w9BenJnoKqOfw5T-c4kN0enm2QVFX2XlRiAZlLAIODJVWiYpfsai2B-JudI3jVK_ZhOE0EwDlI84cfRbqqDQHfaJevX-PVxXmhdXSNCdiuoGuNhyphenhyphenSgMJhAa5lR3sWogEYHgX8/s200/HairNixon.jpeg" width="142" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0_pMpzxXEmKdEyn7UPV0R4LE6Qdhy93tVULfMqnmDZvkawDah5U_BKSZVz0XGFamyayQqpwuC3Cf7bz0IEBpHk0YRmgNEKEZ2X8fnCi2e-Yjj-Ox_J-LCrDeuq33b9pmFzyCHTF64wpc/s1600/HirCarter.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0_pMpzxXEmKdEyn7UPV0R4LE6Qdhy93tVULfMqnmDZvkawDah5U_BKSZVz0XGFamyayQqpwuC3Cf7bz0IEBpHk0YRmgNEKEZ2X8fnCi2e-Yjj-Ox_J-LCrDeuq33b9pmFzyCHTF64wpc/s200/HirCarter.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCji4Q7PI6WSuuS0topaoTfKYtaEI7BvOl0wC4OVhV7075WELtAsNdFw2M_AHyrEMVJNTnZifQv7MaFIBGaRCNLh3LLcbpd6YcBC2ILCZk0IUhCVV4M9HL9GwkSr6RXM2IJd0k47hOue4/s1600/HairBushsr.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCji4Q7PI6WSuuS0topaoTfKYtaEI7BvOl0wC4OVhV7075WELtAsNdFw2M_AHyrEMVJNTnZifQv7MaFIBGaRCNLh3LLcbpd6YcBC2ILCZk0IUhCVV4M9HL9GwkSr6RXM2IJd0k47hOue4/s200/HairBushsr.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihrnUkZ8InxbQIPN9b0KW0pGorqrijCLCO_EC21h-i8Lohdl3jWpnf0KPXSPxKASQl9s303D5TNCubuxQpRDOLpl1ADKMTC3kWYJL90DZDR76hpUhRKG3qutxOXR5kQS_aNAuPd5GLHvA/s1600/hairbush.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihrnUkZ8InxbQIPN9b0KW0pGorqrijCLCO_EC21h-i8Lohdl3jWpnf0KPXSPxKASQl9s303D5TNCubuxQpRDOLpl1ADKMTC3kWYJL90DZDR76hpUhRKG3qutxOXR5kQS_aNAuPd5GLHvA/s200/hairbush.jpeg" width="160" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcqoQiH6QzzPnZE965wJ9z2Mnqz-9B40kq9ALJIIQ4cLzegsSMHBS7EFfILvFH3GHih-bfVtmKOHA9FsFBm0MATMm5c-sGFJ12BRbeKthWaR0AGtIRxOKyCfiBLO7aKwGmsJozKwZdJyo/s1600/Hairclinton.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcqoQiH6QzzPnZE965wJ9z2Mnqz-9B40kq9ALJIIQ4cLzegsSMHBS7EFfILvFH3GHih-bfVtmKOHA9FsFBm0MATMm5c-sGFJ12BRbeKthWaR0AGtIRxOKyCfiBLO7aKwGmsJozKwZdJyo/s200/Hairclinton.jpeg" width="172" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitLwNVVA9wsTHQWUh3swLAzA_cU9L3usiDXB_pwDVZ2uhWLzw3ShyphenhyphenviBw-W9hvZQryHbX6inY-teiTaY-BliuVobMVDa8FJ3Qs503vzbQB5aW95NRSzYBGXwv0ZuZQRl1-LD8TSWtbpCA/s1600/hairobama.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="147" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitLwNVVA9wsTHQWUh3swLAzA_cU9L3usiDXB_pwDVZ2uhWLzw3ShyphenhyphenviBw-W9hvZQryHbX6inY-teiTaY-BliuVobMVDa8FJ3Qs503vzbQB5aW95NRSzYBGXwv0ZuZQRl1-LD8TSWtbpCA/s200/hairobama.jpeg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIc_xB1XVR6zIMRTTKDXDoSgo72rA85wwgoJ5vqYiy3wachJa3nru7cCTkdoascaZA-PQ8U7IzAICBToocTF3lnVfSTyYElcUhOpDmzc97DmwDACwcNt9ssDXkheF_n0PO_aFf13MiWPg/s1600/hairReagan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIc_xB1XVR6zIMRTTKDXDoSgo72rA85wwgoJ5vqYiy3wachJa3nru7cCTkdoascaZA-PQ8U7IzAICBToocTF3lnVfSTyYElcUhOpDmzc97DmwDACwcNt9ssDXkheF_n0PO_aFf13MiWPg/s200/hairReagan.jpg" width="178" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">Although popular in the White House, the helmeted look failed to help Mike Dukakis get into the White House. I guess it is not a very flattering look for people with round faces:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><br />
</div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKBkyORY9QslawUHTjqcDwZg1ksyO01HM2EzP-ncKjxuWDejwKCpX_0PJWVJSqXaH4Hdc3rrlJuJOfsH0UKbLVDqsnNr7Vt7neKe1_wd1f2x-GKeN_uLvm-rPNcxMuTJ6VsZsWt8q-Dw8/s1600/hairdukakis.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKBkyORY9QslawUHTjqcDwZg1ksyO01HM2EzP-ncKjxuWDejwKCpX_0PJWVJSqXaH4Hdc3rrlJuJOfsH0UKbLVDqsnNr7Vt7neKe1_wd1f2x-GKeN_uLvm-rPNcxMuTJ6VsZsWt8q-Dw8/s1600/hairdukakis.jpeg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mike Dukakis</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRvQXQ71_XQhC7pUqhQfNcud6FCiKphTtev0JjEOUXVXEPJQ0OY" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Monica</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Actually, us commoners don't care for hair so neatly coiffed, messy hair is OK so long as the house is kept clean:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6RfeK2mVvytaC1GyMG6_fi6tzYX-38nFWEj0I5RR4x9SWZvN31w93d6BSjdILVYQMI7K-Ql3QIPK2YInRanM0dAoknf39sxcbWZ2j1qGUKhyaR8IitA8hrsQCTlvQiNrKIVYlHpjhH1s/s1600/hairfonda.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6RfeK2mVvytaC1GyMG6_fi6tzYX-38nFWEj0I5RR4x9SWZvN31w93d6BSjdILVYQMI7K-Ql3QIPK2YInRanM0dAoknf39sxcbWZ2j1qGUKhyaR8IitA8hrsQCTlvQiNrKIVYlHpjhH1s/s320/hairfonda.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Good job, Jane. I think the floor is clean now.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAE0ke7EUdiu11Nz-2ph230qApapowYTIH-r8AI1Dbral1wQm7mLh8_ut9F5VqiZghNlbqJ_ME1_2W9TplQhhLJEqx8nk9dkrSlBgO205PuVQHurGKb3dN_JLKFdealaH2p2gd3Ezbykw/s1600/hairPamela.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAE0ke7EUdiu11Nz-2ph230qApapowYTIH-r8AI1Dbral1wQm7mLh8_ut9F5VqiZghNlbqJ_ME1_2W9TplQhhLJEqx8nk9dkrSlBgO205PuVQHurGKb3dN_JLKFdealaH2p2gd3Ezbykw/s1600/hairPamela.jpeg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A clever way to clean the floor without messing up her clothes.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvJ7U43LlM42rORNQsqPqzRlVRtpqLE4yvllpey79PrLTu4GlrF_at4o7zkWVGWLrHlDh-_Nonexr_d5m4Ctb_mS_qv69Oqe_PeVDGMjAVWI4r-ov2T_kN6YUtzk1FN3jWI3395pRrrRM/s1600/hairBardot.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvJ7U43LlM42rORNQsqPqzRlVRtpqLE4yvllpey79PrLTu4GlrF_at4o7zkWVGWLrHlDh-_Nonexr_d5m4Ctb_mS_qv69Oqe_PeVDGMjAVWI4r-ov2T_kN6YUtzk1FN3jWI3395pRrrRM/s1600/hairBardot.jpeg" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw14P-vk5Dv7Hw15adQ-mxvlnueuqSe1nB_5-gcCvEovBbeV4pOzr_O3JLmHsgpFDgCj5FbrSu6Fsk1oP_s3h9aTkYonx3Vz4Fh-DHK4eykrKPfCa_sP13BTpfjw59KX8xHkv7dk9u9ew/s1600/hairmonroe.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw14P-vk5Dv7Hw15adQ-mxvlnueuqSe1nB_5-gcCvEovBbeV4pOzr_O3JLmHsgpFDgCj5FbrSu6Fsk1oP_s3h9aTkYonx3Vz4Fh-DHK4eykrKPfCa_sP13BTpfjw59KX8xHkv7dk9u9ew/s1600/hairmonroe.jpeg" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaI7tUK5zGGjHh6j7XiKoMJCyUm_bb2GXlSp3xaASBLKe6V3IlDMMnvgNu6Sh8TUrZvidVgUZxYTwC5rS9nZUgWOsQ7OvOhoh1qHmeEY1Ao5RmV2pWGRk1EdKjXT5AK9lxhRi2FRfoGb8/s1600/hairRaquel.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaI7tUK5zGGjHh6j7XiKoMJCyUm_bb2GXlSp3xaASBLKe6V3IlDMMnvgNu6Sh8TUrZvidVgUZxYTwC5rS9nZUgWOsQ7OvOhoh1qHmeEY1Ao5RmV2pWGRk1EdKjXT5AK9lxhRi2FRfoGb8/s1600/hairRaquel.jpeg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div>Mangohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00972460189594220301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-464221519135421520.post-59931146312182009412011-06-21T12:25:00.000-07:002011-06-22T09:52:29.194-07:00Airplane BoardingYesterday, I posted something about airplane boarding which I pulled immediately because it was just embarrassingly naive. Here's the problem statement in the form of a bad limerick:<br />
<div><br />
</div><div>On my way to my assigned row,</div><div>I was stuck behind a bimbo, </div><div>In the overhead bin she's trying to stow</div><div>A bag weighed at least 50 kilos.</div><div>That's just the beginning of my woes, </div><div>A passenger I didn't even know,</div><div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Struggling to his seat by the window, </div></div><div></div>Put all his weight on my poor little toe.</div><div>Wouldn't it be better if we go,</div><div>LIFO instead of FIFO?</div><div><br />
At first glance, I thought a Last In First Out (LIFO) boarding order, i.e., back-to-front, window-to-aisle, would be the most efficient. if we board the plane in the reverse order of how we deplane (which is naturally front-to-back, aisle-to-window), significant time can be saved.<br />
<br />
Turns out there are papers published on this very subject, all schemes work about the same and random boarding is actually the quickest in simulation and real life. Any kind of zone/group boarding creates localized congestion which cancels out the benefits. This is not too surprising because we see this in engineering all the time, for example, we haven't been able to improve on the efficiency of Ethernet which uses random timing.<br />
<br />
Here's a link to <a href="http://leeds-faculty.colorado.edu/vandenbr/projects/boarding/boarding.htm">one of the studies from University of Colorado</a>, they have pretty cool simulation of different boarding schemes that you can play and watch.<br />
<br />
Next time when you're caught boarding the plane before your zone is called, you can sincerely explain to the airline staff that you're just trying to improve efficiency, they found the cheaters (about 10%) do make the zone boarding process slightly faster in another study.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
</div><div><br />
</div>Mangohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00972460189594220301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-464221519135421520.post-31473011277845630572011-06-11T04:37:00.000-07:002011-06-21T09:17:45.319-07:00Fish Galore<div>Green Steel, you da man!</div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJoNl58b70MVjUld6Xz2FFGDlPZX6xx_XpTIZOuAquw2eMb-W9t1E7oUoZFTiNDUP9Fu9IPBf_oiWgTynguGUcfjYhtQNf5C669zFrHw_dgDWejdigwgUSagXamYdHoq90nSYnvybZM2E/s1600/Fishingx+%252849+of+50%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="468" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJoNl58b70MVjUld6Xz2FFGDlPZX6xx_XpTIZOuAquw2eMb-W9t1E7oUoZFTiNDUP9Fu9IPBf_oiWgTynguGUcfjYhtQNf5C669zFrHw_dgDWejdigwgUSagXamYdHoq90nSYnvybZM2E/s640/Fishingx+%252849+of+50%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red snapper galore</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<br />
<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/NMaOvVzvOv4?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div> Bait fish galore</div><div><br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidlUMLNqUgwvGFCNkbj_FvIP0WnChoYYusrVn8QS1IslZd9H0R3F3gTDf0cGfFKfNNJe7pMbNS9P8RhUZ6OhDMGD84dFfvs_dvf63tB8nBomsQhI3glDrJHioYG7LZ_SLlYJl1Le9eEaM/s1600/Fishingx+%252844+of+50%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidlUMLNqUgwvGFCNkbj_FvIP0WnChoYYusrVn8QS1IslZd9H0R3F3gTDf0cGfFKfNNJe7pMbNS9P8RhUZ6OhDMGD84dFfvs_dvf63tB8nBomsQhI3glDrJHioYG7LZ_SLlYJl1Le9eEaM/s320/Fishingx+%252844+of+50%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beer galore</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsuov2JzAT09jZfqn6ZS3MzrnpaumXtAx666xUjRWoEBe4Pg6PbpxQeZvv5KcA970-BQr1P3JzMj13ukDU5DxHTF11iR8Z-OkMiDqljq8nhdZKEd1MFQ7aOnI2Oq2WvIftvjgzSTZnJTs/s1600/pussy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsuov2JzAT09jZfqn6ZS3MzrnpaumXtAx666xUjRWoEBe4Pg6PbpxQeZvv5KcA970-BQr1P3JzMj13ukDU5DxHTF11iR8Z-OkMiDqljq8nhdZKEd1MFQ7aOnI2Oq2WvIftvjgzSTZnJTs/s400/pussy.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pussy_Galore">Pussy Galore</a> (played by Honor Blackman) </td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
</div>Mangohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00972460189594220301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-464221519135421520.post-42660455722744639362011-06-10T07:32:00.000-07:002014-01-07T11:19:24.282-08:00My Favorite Bicycle - Jamis Sputnik fixieI have a lot of bicycles. Above all, I like American bikes, I have a Fat City Yo! Eddy, a Schwinn Paramount, a classic Trek tourer, and an Ibis mountain bike. The problem with having many bikes is keeping the tires all pumped up, if there's a bike in the herd that's always ready to go, it's my Jamis Sputnik fixie. Fittingly, "<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sputnik_program">Спутник</a>" </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">mean travel companion in Russian</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">.</span></span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEDGm75P5kUqNYPpGJVqSAEvQAqrfPFqjnHE_4QXhVIMC_QaE6a-c4IxFqfELcQdqbD-MuOG5LwpuZsAC_rv9eyoNEnryFh1gHz2WSl1rxt1gDiT9TsHVvvEEErg1dsAiFRhnjaO2AWW8/s1600/bike+%25281+of+1%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEDGm75P5kUqNYPpGJVqSAEvQAqrfPFqjnHE_4QXhVIMC_QaE6a-c4IxFqfELcQdqbD-MuOG5LwpuZsAC_rv9eyoNEnryFh1gHz2WSl1rxt1gDiT9TsHVvvEEErg1dsAiFRhnjaO2AWW8/s640/bike+%25281+of+1%2529.jpg" height="497" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sputnik posing suggestively in Boston</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
Jamis doesn't have any pedigree to speak of, the name is supposed to be French, most people just say "jay-mis" instead of the proper French pronunciation which is <i>de rigueur </i> for real European brands. Jamis bikes are often middle of the road, made in China, "high value" models, yet the Sputnik is such a simple, purposeful looking bike that I couldn't resist when I first saw it in Simple Living Cycles in Framingham. Phil, the proprietor, runs a messy bike shop, he hates Shimano for its virtual monopoly and their unnecessary innovations such that much of his small shop is devoted to single speed and fixed gear bikes. It was also a good price, I paid less than $500 for a bike retailed for more than $700 in 2007.<br />
<br />
A fixed gear bike, or a fixie, is just a track bike ridden on the street. Like real track bikes, the Sputnik doesn't come with brakes (you stop a track bike with your legs), the bottom bracket is higher than normal (so you can keep pedalling through a corner) and is made of Reynolds 631 steel (good stuff). I put front brakes on mine for safety reason, not to mention my bike handling is just not good enough to ride brakeless in traffic like some bike messengers (rear brakes are not essential on a fixie, actually, rear brakes don't do much on any bike because most of the stopping power comes from the front).<br />
<br />
It takes a few rides to get used to not freewheeling, whenever you try to coast, the pedals would keep turning forcefully and you feel like you're getting pushed off the bike violently. But surprisingly, I hardly miss the gears, the bike is currently geared at 42x16 (lowish) and I can take New England rolling hills without stressing my knees too much. I spin out at just around 30 miles per hour, so going downhill is hard work twiddling wildly at 140 RPM and I use the front brakes to slow down when my legs can't keep up..<br />
<br />
I estimate I have 5,000, mostly commuting miles on the bike. Here's some of my thoughts:<br />
- Great frame, I have a Trek with Reynolds 531 steel frame which feels harsh in comparison. This 54 cm Reynolds 631 frame, TIG welded in in Taiwan, is one of the most comfortable bicycles I have ridden, The wide 44cm handlebar helps also.<br />
- It's quite reliable because there's little to break to begin with. I rode through winters and it was virtually maintenance free (=neglect) for the first 3,000 miles. When I finally decided to clean the bike after the 2nd winter, I discovered it was missing 2 chainring teeth and one cog tooth, the entire drive train basically went south after 4,000 miles.<br />
- So far I have replaced:<br />
Bottom bracket twice (once with the crankset)<br />
Crank arms (caused by loose pedals, my fault)<br />
Chainring<br />
Cog<br />
Chain<br />
Headset<br />
On 3rd set of tires.<br />
The fancy Brooks Swift saddle upgrade (at around mile 2,000) works OK, I like it but it's not a day and night difference compared to the original saddle.<br />
1990ish small Shimano Ultegra SPD road pedals are OK. I know it's silly to have clipless pedal on a fixie but I like road shoes that I can walk in. The pedals are holding up well but look horrible, both the pedals and the cleats need some lube once in a while to disengage cleanly.<br />
- Clip on fenders are great, you must have fenders for commuting, and there's no eyelets on the frame.<br />
- Original wheels are still true, no maintenance required.<br />
- Track bike riders are obsessed with chain line, I stopped paying attention to it after the 1st component change.<br />
- Winter riding in Boston is no problem up to an hour, beyond one hour, nothing works. Less than 10 days a year is not ride-able.<br />
- Messenger bags are not waterproof, I can only rely on my Ortlieb backpack to keep my laptop and cell phone dry.<br />
- Bicycling is roughly as costly as driving. Assume my total investment was $1,000 over 5,000 miles, it comes to 20 cents a mile not counting the extra food consumption. <br />
<br />
Fixies are popular among hipsters. I knew about the <a href="http://raychang-familypicture.blogspot.com/2011/02/kerouac.html">Beatniks</a> and Hipsters of the 40s but had to wiki for the new meaning of "hipster". Regardless, I am at a point trendiness doesn't bother me one way or another, how funny how one has to conform to the non-conformist culture to be one. I was interested in fixed gear bikes because of the late <a href="http://www.sheldonbrown.com/">Sheldon Brown</a> (bicycle guru) and the bike messengers. In Hong Kong, fixed gear bikes are called 梗牙. a most charming Cantonese term meaning jammed/stuck teeth.Mangohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00972460189594220301noreply@blogger.com3