Around Hsinchu (新竹)

I wish I got out more to take photos here in Taiwan. With the teaching job, I only get time to go shooting on the weekends. Weekends though, I still get out and do some stuff around the city or in the mountains.           

Taiwan: Oddball out

We rode on the highway 7 across the northern part of Taiwan, through some pretty awesome mountains. Along the way I got some good pictures, but unfortunately it started raining after we took a pit stop to search for hot springs. In doing that, we got caught down the wrong trail and learned a lesson about inhospitable nature. The mountain side was wrought with loose rock and mud, and we ended up worried about how to get out. At one point I stepped on a loose rock and almost pissed my pants as I realized the thing slipping from under my foot taking me for a roll down the muddy hill where about 5 meters below a tree brought me to a stop. By some miracle from God, I came out with some scratches and 2 feisty bruises on my butt. I could imagine it ending up worse. This pit-stop-joy hike turned into kind of a survival situation as it started to rain. Fortunately we made it up the hill covered in mud back to our scooters before the rain got to heavy.
There is no denying the beauty of the Taiwanese mountains, but don't mistake that for a hospitable environment where you can take a walk frolicking through the woods... Make sure you know where you're going, and always stay on the trail especially in steep mountain terrain.
After that we made it to Yilan and chilled on a beach, which was quite appreciated.

Thinking of Home

A shot of the Organs on a cloudy day around 2010. It doesn't feel like so long ago I lived back home, but it feels like a long time since I've breathed that fresh NM air.

Man at the temple: Hsinchu 新竹

Taiwan is a great place to live because there is always something to take pictures of around the corner.

Palawan

In February we went to Palawan to check out the famed beaches and lagoons of El Nido. I was expecting something like Thailand, but it was completely different. Absolutely stunning white sand beeches and amazingly friendly people are what I will always remember about this place. Because it was Chinese New Year, the place was packed with tourists we could only stay in El Nido for a few days, but those were great days. After that, we went down to Puerto Princessa for the remainder, which was nice, but no El Nido. Bottom line, if you go to Palawan, go to El Nido. Puerto Princessa, Palawans hub city offered some beeches and great photo opportunites of life there. I got my favorite shots in the fish market.

 

 

 

My job:

Working at a kindergarten in Taiwan has it's perks some days. Today we got to go on a field trip to see the construction of the lantern festival in Zhubei. Most times the field trip concludes with a snack munching session, where every child must be photographed. The other perks of my job must be getting to hang with these crazy kids. Somedays I'm so used to teaching them I forget they are kids. More just funny little people.

Old Zhubei 竹北

In Taiwan I live in 竹北 （Zhubei） which roughly translates to North Bamboo. It is north of  新竹 （xinzhu) on the west coast of Taiwan. Here are some photos of the country side around Zhubei and near the coast.