Taiwan Trance 台灣出神

After the Typhoon - Milk Fish 虱目魚 Fiesta

noreply@blogger.com (Spencer) — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 11:12:00 +0000

After the typhoon hit Kaohsiung City last weeks and caused massive flooding around the area with as many as 30,000 cars submerged. Somehow today 7 Oct 2010, Love River have a different twist of fate.

We decided to go for a city ride which covered almost 10km and our route took us back by the Love River and we were surprised that there were so many anglers along the river. We decided to stop and see what was the commotion..... It was a Milk Fish Fiesta!!! Everyone was trying to lay their catch and we too took a few fishes home, by the way Milk fish is Taiwanese delicacy.

Anglers along Love River

The catch

more catch

more more catch

ok...guess the catch is not going to stop

er...that many catch??!!!

Let me count...1,2,3,4 .......

Siboy is dumbfounded with so many Milk Fish

Our catch ....NT10 for 1 fish, good deal!!

Tainan Dog Park

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 13:18:00 +0000

26 June 2010

燒肉屋 BBQ House

noreply@blogger.com (Spencer) — Mon, 17 May 2010 10:16:00 +0000

12 May 2010

This is the third time we patronized this BBQ restaurant but this time is different. A very special friend to us and our family, Breden Chua. Currently he and his college, Lim are here on work assignment by Manitowoc, an American Crane Company. I got to know both of them through work when I was their client. Over the years Breden and me got to know each other better because we shared the same passion, beers and bikes. Those years we would set off from on our BMW bikes to Thailand and enjoy the sun, sand and sea.

I liked this BBQ House is because the food is great and you can eat till you drop. They have both BBQ and hotpot which I find is a great combination if you need something light after the BBQ. The services in this restaurant is fantastic, the workers and especially the boss will come over to your table and teach you a trick or two how to BBQ.

明誠三路433號 (高雄高等法院斜對面)
Kaohsiung City
07-553-6234
Website
Lunch NT459
Dinner NT500

BBQ in action

hot pot

fish dish

beef

pork, lamp, beef

seasoned meat

art of BBQ prawns

kimche hot pot rice is really tastey

chocolate tower

ice cream

鳥松鄉 NiaoSong MTB

noreply@blogger.com (Spencer) — Sun, 09 May 2010 14:12:00 +0000

View in Google Map

9 May 2010

This is basically a short trail around 8.5Km but mostly technical, from hill climb, riding down the steps and even carry the bike up the hill.

Last time I rode in this track was about a year ago. It felt good coming back to the place again and see those bridge crossing we made was still intact. Today's weather was hitting hard on me, my whole body was burning hot. Wish there was a waterfall.

Riders: AhXing, AhTang, Ak, JinSan, A-Ui and me

Photo Slide

Met at ChinChin Lake McDonald around 8am and we rode off to meet JinSan and A-ui at the temple

met a few of the downhill riders preparing their fun

rest stop

casualty...guess who?!!

We saw alot of these cards laying on the ground. It was left there by last few hikers who came to the hills to have fun. Come On people, pick up your rubbish when done!!

bridge crossing we built last year 2009

here is another....

.......guess it survived through time

These people hike up the trails just to play Mahjong??

My vote for Star Rider of the day..Ah Tang

烏山頭水庫 WuShanTou Reservoir

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 13:31:00 +0000

30 Mar 2010

N23 11.497 E120 23.784

We arrived WuShanTou Reservoir from Siao Ruishi 小瑞士 pretty late in the afternoon. After contemplating if you should camp at 烏山頭水庫風景區 Wusantou Reservoir Camp we decided to drive around the reservoir using the plantation roads till we find a nice spot to spend a night.

After few winding dead end routes around the reservoir we came to a temple. We consulted with the care taker old man who was a round 80 plus of age if we can spend a night. He later told us alittle history of the temple and it was also to commemorate a Han General 太祖老君. In the evening many villages would come up to the temple to pray.

The next day we proceed driving around the area. I decided to be more adventurous and drove towards the reservoir bank hoping to get some scenic view. But what we found was a vast piece of dried up area. I thought this will be a good place for MTB so I kept exploring the road a head.

As we when deeper into the reservoir I realised my fuel was low. We decided to head back the main road which took us a while till we met with route 174. Along the way, we stop by a few plantation and farm for some pictures.

大手燒 DaShouShao

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 04:54:00 +0000

21 Apr 2010

N22 35.243 E120 17.194

Located on Cijin Island, Kaohsiung City, together our friends ZhongHan and YaPing we decided to head down to Cijin Island to try the Japanese 關東煮 and BBQ. It was understood that most of their dishes were imported from Japan.

our friends

I must say the food is delicious however we did find the prices on a steep side, maybe is the import cost from Japan or the high cost renovation for this shop.

彩虹瀑布 Caihong Waterfall

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 09:49:00 +0000

6 Sep 2006

N23 33.997 E120 56.201

Located north east from 東埔 DongPu Hot Spring area, the waterfall is a short hike away around 1.5km from the town.

彩虹吊橋 Rainbow Suspension Bridge

彩虹瀑布 Caihong Waterfall

hot spring pipes

view of DongPu Town

DongPu old street

勝華溫泉飯店 where we spent a night

關子嶺紅葉溫泉山莊 GuanZiLing Honye Hot Spring Villa

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 08:58:00 +0000

15 Mar 2009

N23 19.941 E120 30.213

GuanZiLing is another hot spring area in Taiwan, it is also one of the few places in Taiwan with mud hot spring. We decided to drop by this area to get a hot shower and wash our clothes as we had been camping in our van for few days. As it was a weekday, there was hardly any crowd and we decided bargain for the prices. We managed to get NT500 for both us otherwise we would have to pay NT700.

hot and hotter mud hot spring

mud hot spring

關子嶺水火同源 GuanZiLing Shui Huo

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 08:39:00 +0000

15 Mar 2010

N23 19.328 E120 29.087

九份 JiuFen

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 07:59:00 +0000

15 Jul 2009

N25 06.743 E121 50.880

When I was in Singapore, my friend Calvin who runs a camping store told me he was coming to 九份 JiuFen. He told me it is one of the most beautiful places in Taiwan, situated on a hill over looking Taipei City and the sea. When I returned back Taiwan, without returning home we headed for JiFen.

Sunset

indeed the view is beautiful

Taipei City

old streets

undergound passage to the other side of town

口吅品麻辣臭豆腐 KouSongPin Mala Smelly Tofu

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 06:44:00 +0000

22 Feb 2010

N25 10.315 E121 26.747

I have eaten many smelly tofu hot pot and really like them but this is different. When we were in 淡水鎮 DanShui Night Market, we decided to try this 麻辣臭豆腐 Mala Smelly Tofu. As I am a very fussy food eater, we decided to order just one bowl of house special. So what did we think about it? This is one of the best Mala Smelly Tofu we have tasted, even my partner who is a Taiwanese agrees with my point of view. At time we will still miss this Special Mala Smelly Tofu.

We ordered the house special. It comes with lean pork, pork ball, duck blood, cabbage, straw mushroom and of course the smelly tofu in Mala broth served in a claypot. The Mala broth is not too spicy but just nice on the tongue, the duck blood have a very smooth texture and the smelly tofu comes with the right pungent taste that goes well with the Mala broth.

Apparently we found on the internet there are few more franchise shops around northern Taiwan but not any in the southern part.

九族文化村 Formosan Abooriginal Culture Village

noreply@blogger.com (Spencer) — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 06:16:00 +0000

6 Sep 2006

N23 52.248 E120 56.636

Located just around the corner of Sun Moon Lake, this was our first Theme Park when my kids first came to Taiwan. It is not a place just for kids to play but a very informative back ground on the natives of this island.

There are many aboriginal tribes before the Hans or Japanese landed in Taiwan. Somehow during the course of time some tribe merge some vanish or annihilated during Japanese occupation. Now in this park they featured the 九族 nine main tribal culture. From Sun Moon Lake, you can easily get to this Theme Park by cable car, there is a special package. Highly recommend place to visit, here is a web link

Getting pumped up for the rides

My son missed the first roller coaster ride when we were in Gold Coast Universal Studio in Australia because he was too young. Even in this ride he almost could not get in because of the hight requirement, I had to persuade the attendant to allow him to got in. Now he gets the first roller coaster ride with a head spin...LOL

In the park there are cable car rides to get to the culture village

Culture village

A little fun under the rain

磯崎 Jici Beach

noreply@blogger.com (Spencer) — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 10:41:00 +0000

7 Mar 2007

3 Apr 2010

N23 42.066 E121 33.035

This is a surfer paradise beach, there is a campsite Jici Beach Recreation Area 磯崎海水浴場 located at the beach but it seems that everytime when I am there, it is not opened. The last time I was there on 3 Apr 2010 it was still not open. I had a closer look around the area and it seems to be in operation but no one is in there. Prior to posting, I just check the website, I was not able to hook up to the website.

頭社水庫 Toushe Reservoir

noreply@blogger.com (Spencer) — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 08:02:00 +0000

6 Apr 2010

N23 50.183 E120 53.951

Located just east of Sun Moon Lake, we came up to this area when we saw a camping signboard. We were surprise to find this tranquil area. The owner of the campsite briefly told us that this area was previously used for farming irrigation and now the government had taken back some of the area and rebuild it. He also informed us that we can view firefly around the lake but we did not get the chance as it was raining for last 2 days. Around the lake, there are few Chalets but they have stop the construction due to grey water being dump into the reservoir.

When the reservoir is full of water

now is currently at the lowest point

合歡山 Mt Hehuan

noreply@blogger.com (Spencer) — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 06:28:00 +0000

7 Mar 2007

N24 08.578 E121 17.066

The first time we headed up to Hehuan Shan we were in luck. It started to snow as we drove from Taroko National Park. Being a tropical lander, never did me and the kids seen snow. It was an extreme delight for all of us, the kids enjoyed so much in the snow.

5 Apr 2010

My second visit to Hehuan Shan was not so lucky. We were planning to hike up the mountain but was hampered by bad weather. At time is was so foggy that we could only see 5 metres ahead of us. We decided to camp at the carpark hoping the next day would clear up but it did not. We gave up the idea and drove south.

Hehuan 3158mtrs

Wuling 3275m

南灣 South Bay

noreply@blogger.com (Spencer) — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 03:58:00 +0000

19 Oct 2009

N21 55.895 E120 44.781

Aound Hengchun Township, Pingtung County, my favourite hangout area would be at 南灣 South Bay. The water over this area are less choppy and makes a great place for water sport activities. However because of the Nuclear Power Plant location, many locals worries about the contamination of the water. As for me there had been no reports of any accident still make a good place to enjoy. Here are some tips

Nanwan Beach a good place for water sports, sun bathing or a dip.
後壁港漁港 Houbi Fishery Port a nice place for fresh seafood and very cheap Sashimi
Houbi Marine Reserve has a nice place for snorkeling
Power Plant Cooling Water Outlet 核三廠出水口 is a place to try your fishing luck
雷怕石 Thunder Rock which looks like miniature James Bond Island however you need to do a short hike to get there. Around this area there are few make shift diving and snorkeling center where you can hire gears or arrange actitvities with them. I do feel it is a good place to pitch your tent and hid away from civilisation.

雷怕石 Thunder Rock

Power Plant Cooling Water Outlet 核三廠出水口

Taiwan Southern Point

noreply@blogger.com (Spencer) — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 03:06:00 +0000

19 Oct 2009

N21 53.888 E120 51.481

Caoshan Moon World 草山月世界

noreply@blogger.com (Spencer) — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 09:00:00 +0000

16 Mar 2010

N22 59.087 E120 26.452

Following my GPS to the nearest place of interest, we ended up this area coming down from 308 high land (三0八高地). The downhill from 三0八高地 to Caoshan Moon World was rather steep and mostly off-road. After driving around the area we found that the whole place had been under tourist. Most of the tourist site were not taken care and most of the area are slowly turning into a farm land. This area is definitely not worth the visit.

安平黑豆花 Anping Black Soybean Curd

noreply@blogger.com (Spencer) — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 08:35:00 +0000

N22 59.981 E120 09.187

I love soybean curd, first time I tried Taiwan's cold soybean curd was a bike ride with the club from Kaohsiung to Tainan. Ever since we pass by the area we would stop by for a cold soybean curd treat. I must say it is one of the best soybean curd we had. There are 2 shops located side by side. One selling the white version soybean curd while the other the black soybean curd. We prefer the black version which was smoother and tastier.

plain soybean curd

soybean curd with red bean

Black soybean curd, they provide sample of deep fried bean which is very tasty

Fort Zeelandia 安平熱蘭遮城

noreply@blogger.com (Spencer) — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 08:12:00 +0000

2 Feb 2010

N23 00.094 E120 09.652

Fort Zeelandia was build over the span of ten year from 1624 - 1634. Dutch last strong hold after 38 year of occupation on the island was later defeated by the Chinese Ming Dynasty General Zheng Cheng Gong after 9months of siege. The Dutch surrendered the fortress and left the island in 1662 after a signed agreement Treaty. The defeat was partly blame for failed reinforcement from the Java.

what was left of the fortress was the walls, the tower and buildings were later reconstructed

European weapons

Chinese weapons

antique Dutch wardrobe

book press

the brick on the wall were shipped from Java

walls made of oyster shell, sugar, glutinous rice and sand

Friend's daughter Grace and her partner from Singapore

Hoya Spa Hotel 虎爺溫泉會館

noreply@blogger.com (Spencer) — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 05:12:00 +0000

28 May 2009

N23 30.132 E121 21.551

The spa hotel is ran by an elderly couple, the main spa pool area is separated by a road from the hotel. The hotel room is pretty comfortable and they come with an indoor hot spa tub. Around the spa pool area there are water parks for the kids. The main spa area consist of few different pools with various temperate hot spring water.

秀姑巒溪泛舟 Xiuguluan White Water Rafting

noreply@blogger.com (Spencer) — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 04:44:00 +0000

29 May 2008

N23 29.360 E121 24.085

Guess this is the only place we currently know that we can enjoy white water rafting after the 8 Aug 2009 disaster that destroy the Laonong River in Kaohsiung County. Comparing both rafting area we preferred Laonong River as there are more rapids however the Xiuguluan River will cover more distance. Rafting arrangement can be done at location otherwise here is a contact link. The rafting center provide camping site, click here for details

River Rafting Center

safety boat

some area the rapid are so slowed that we need to be towed

me getting pulled up the safety boat, the cool dip was real refreshing from the hot sun

Scott first time white water rafting

more towing

buffalo having a cool dip

Houbi Marine Reserve

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 08:02:00 +0000

1 Apr 2010

N21 56.162 E120 44.782

A small stretch of Marine reserve area, great for soaking yourself or snorkeling however there is no washing point available.

後壁港漁港 Houbi Fishery Port

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 07:51:00 +0000

1 Apr 2010

N21 56.765 E120 44.654

This is one of my preferred fishery port, not only the water is blue and green but the "sashimi" is one hell of a bargain.

rolls of seafood of your choice but I always choose the first from the main door

fly fish

giant sea beam

red groupa

stir fry potato leave

NT100 (SGD5.00) 20pcs of sashimi but we got 30pcs

Highway 26

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 07:20:00 +0000

2 Apr 2010

I was curious why there was not a coastal road from Syuhai to Daiwu instead you will need to drive around the mountain to the other side. On my GPS it did indicated a small road, previously I did attempt from Syuhai trying the small road but it came to a dead end at a radar station. So this time I tried from the other end from Daren village.

well... it says Highway 26 construction and should be completed by the end of 2010. Finally they are building a road.

suddenly the road stops here...and is off road all the way to Syuhai

bumpy ride..

Debris from last typhoon on 楓港溪 Feng Gang river that we have to drive through. If this is a rainy season there is no way you going to get across the bank

Highway 26 end here, there is no more road ahead

over this section, that will be Syhai village

very creative idea

nice bamboo house

stone house

out of the blue there is a park