sun moon lake 6

I was especially drawn to the chicken coops. Each tribe had their own design and they were all interesting. The pic above is me next to one. I also got to try some archery which i really enjoyed. i hit a balloon and got a free arrow, it's difficult to aim, but i find i enjoy games where i have to hit a target. maybe i will do some more archery, it seems like a strange thing to be interested in but it's kind of fun. And seeing zen archery when i was in hawaii as a kid really made an impression on me. anyway, it was fun.

And that's it. We went home (the return trip was quicker with less traffic) and even though it was the best or most relaxing vacation, i kind of missed it when it was over.

sun moon lake 5

Finally, we went to the aboriginal park on the last day. This place was a wierd combination - half culture park museum, half amusement park. This can be somewhat explained by their interest in attracting school groups. Parents, teachers, etc. want field trips to have some educational value but actually kids don't care and just want to go on the dumb rides. So this place, with recreations of the villages and carving of various aboriginal tribes in taiwan next to a roller coaster and other stuff like that. I didnt ride the rides (other than the gondola which took us to the top of the hill so we could walk to the bottom and see the villages) but i enjoyed the villages. You can see me next to some recreations of skulls above. Taiwan had several tribes who were headhunters, and they would display the skulls of fallen enemies as warnings, much like me and the dead mosquitoes i leave on my ceiling.

sun moon lake 4

The last day, we went on a boat ride around the lake. The picture of me with the ridiculous sunglasses was next to an island that was holy for the aboriginal people. Then the japanese flooded the lake with a dam (which used to be able to supply all of taiwan with power) and all that remained of the island was the tip. Now it's surrounded by this floating thing and only tribe members are allowed to walk on the sacred land.

sun moon lake 3

Here's me with the moon at sun moon lake. Maybe you can see a little lake behind me, but the sun is the opposite direction and in the process of setting, so don't expect to see that. There was a nice little wharf to enjoy the moonrise from, though the sunset disappeared behind mountains before it became too interesting.

sun moon lake 2

This is me at the love temple, dedicated to lovers and male and female energy. I'm next to the dragon, symbol of masculine energy. There was also a phoenix, a symbol of feminine energy. I was there at 5 pm, when they rang a bell and banged a drum, signifying the switch from yang (male) energy dominance to yin (female) energy. It was very interesting, and you could see couples praying together. Sun moon lake is a famous honeymoon destination, though I have to say that it's not exactly Paris as far as being romantic goes. And the food, which I consider important to any romantic experience, was not good. On this evening I had my most expensive dinner, and it was terrible, the worst, with slow service. Next time I will stick with the street food (the deep fried mushrooms and fried wild boar with onions that I bought on the street was the best meal I had.)

sun moon lake 1

heh, that last post was stu-pid. oh well. So, now I'll write a bit about my trip to sun moon lake. 10/10 is a holiday in taiwan, considered the birth of their country. This was the day of the Wuchang uprising that led to the end of the Qing dynasty and beginning of the Republic of China. Anyway, for me it's a long weekend. And the only major tourist destination I haven't visited in Taiwan is Sun moon lake, so off I went.

I took the bus, which wasn't fun. Sun Moon Lake was the favorite destination for Chang Kai Shek, but I'm assuming he went by helicopter or chaufered limosine, which is different from sitting in an uncomfortable chair next to the bathroom for 6 1/2 hours. ugh. That trip really wiped me out, and by the time I got there, I just wanted to sleep. However, there were fireworks coming and a musical recital next to my hotel, so sleep was out of the question. I ate a mediocre dinner, then sat and drank a beer (heineken, yuk) while I waited for the fireworks to start at 9. 9 came and went with no fireworks. 930 came, and I went inside my room to use the bathroom. Then, boom! the fireworks started! I looked for my key, but couldn't find it. And about 15 seconds later the fireworks were done. I missed them all Wow, not too great. Anyway, at least I could sleep. I was out by 10.
Slept 10 hours or so and got up for a mediocre breakfast, then rented a scooter to ride around the lake. The scooter was a piece of junk (no horn, which I consider suicidal in a country where no one knows how to drive). but the weather was great, not too hot but sunny and clear. riding around the lake I saw temples and smelled bamboo, betel nut palms (which smell great, surprisingly), and clean air. the pic above was from a temple dedicated to students, with a big confucious statue and the red faced police man god who, apparently, was also an excellent student.

My Great Poetry

At 37 and 1 month, which I will reach in about 10 days, I will have outlived Rimbaud. And I've already outlived Mayakovsky. So, there you go.