Caught this one outside of OCIT, in a polluted and otherwise forgettable stream. Beautiful things are everywhere in the world, if you can only take a moment to spot them.
Catching the action at 168, a popular hot pot chain. The food comes out on the conveyor belt to the left, and you pay a fixed fee and then take what you like. My kids love this place.
Customer and retailer enjoy a moment.
The Banciao High Speed Rail Station. Huge and beautiful.
Last Monday I took the HSR from Taipei to Tainan: $1350. Because the Tainan station is so poorly located, another 30 minutes (and $40) must be spent getting into the city. This increased the 1.5 hour travel time to 2. The ticket is just too pricey, although the ride was quick and smooth.
Danny Bloom, your work is unfinished. A couple of months ago Danny Bloom, the well-known local expat writer, wrote me to say that he had had an exchange of letters with the HSR management and they had agreed to put "Taiwan" and "HSR" on the tickets -- which are pretty nondescript for what was
once the world's largest BOT project. But no such luck, nothing has changed.
UPDATE: Danny tells me that the change will be made, it will just take time.
That rain last week induced seasonal affective disorder. Glad its gone and we are now in the sit-in-the-house-and-sweat season.
Plenty of great bugs out there. This beetle was hanging out on a wall at my university.
The lawnmower repair shop.
Some of my students from last year invited me to their reunion dinner. I was the advisor for this class, which was very special.
At the Shanghai on Wenhsin Road. Can't say much for the food, which was waaaaay overpriced. Company was good, though.
Hiking again! No chance for exercise this year, between the PHD classes and the ones I am teaching. Lots of great critters on the trail.
I love the desperate, suspicious looks of the lizards....
Butterflies adore rotting fruit...
Looking west over Taichung toward Tatu Mountain.
A tree heavy with ripe lychees. Our area is surrounded by lychee trees.
Can I sue this guy
for the bad English?
Taiwan is proof that Haldane was right.
[Taiwan]
4 comments:
Danny Bloom, your work is unfinished. **ALWAYS UNFINISHED!
A couple of months ago DB wrote me to say that he had had an exchange of letters with the HSR management and they had *agreed* to put "Taiwan" and "HSR" on the tickets -- in English, Chinese and Japanese! -- which are now pretty nondescript for what was once the world's largest BOT project. But ....nothing has changed.
ANSWERMAN SAYS: A deal is a deal. The HSR CEO and PR chief said they will make change to the tickets, and this was confirmed last week by a Taipei Times reporter who once again asked the HSR if they will make ticket changes, and they said YES WE WILL. But it will take some time. TIME, as in maybe one year or two years or 5 years. BUT they will improve the ticket and add a LOGO soon, maybe in 5 years. It is in their master plan now, but they other things to take care of first, they said, like improving the ticketing SYSTEM and getting the trains to run on time, and making passengers happy. The ticket deal is a deal, but it will happen on Taiwan Time, which means it aint over till the fat lady sings.... but watch, the newer improved tickets might debut in New Year 2008, things take time here, as you know. Maybe 2018.
END OF TRAIN OF THOUGHT MAN
You are a Taiwanese, from the V sign. I can tell. ;)
Nooooooooooooo!
Nice range of photos. I particularly like the hot pot one. Although I wouldn't say Banciao is a beautiful HSR station, it's definitely huge. Taichung station looks much nicer. But $1350 seems a lot - I paid $700 for Taipei>Taichung last Tuesday which took an hour. An extra $650 to travel for 30 mins more is crazy.
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