Day Tripping: Bei Tou Hot Springs, Taipei

Other posts you may be interested in:

Day Tripping:  Jiufen
A Visit to the Lantern Festival in Zhubei, Taiwan
Clearing out the Camera:  Random Shots of Taiwan


Photos by Elizabeth Banducci

Taiwanese Holidays: The Year of the Snake

The Year of the Snake

Most of Taiwan’s traditional holidays are marked through the use of the Lunar Calendar.  modern Holidays are marked through the Solar Calendar.  Let’s take a look at the Taiwanese Holidays:

Lunar New Year:  春節Lunar Date is January 1.  (February 10, 2013)  This is the most important holiday of the year.  It is celebrated much the same way that Christmas is celebrated in the west.  Families gather for 3-15 days.  Traditional meals are served on Lunar New Year’s Eve.  People are given gifts of Hong Bao 紅包　these are gifts of money that are a wish of prosperity for the recipient.

The Lantern Festival:  元宵節　Lunar date is January 15.  (February 25, 2013) This is the first day a full moon can be seen in the New Year.  People celebrate by lighting and launching sky lanterns.  There are also huge venues where people go to see artistically made lanterns and watch them launched.  People often write prayers and wishes on the side of the lanterns before they are released.   The traditional food for the Lantern festival is the tangyuan 湯圓 (soup circle)  These are balls of gooey, sweet rice gluten.

Qingming Festival: 清明節 Solar Holiday: April 4, 2013.  During the Qingming Festival families gather to sweep the tombs of departed ancestors.  It is a day to honor the dead.  Many people use this day to burn incense and worship their ancestors.

Duanwu Jie (The Dragon Boat Festival): 端午節　Lunar date is May 5.  (June 12, 2013)  his festival honors Chinese Poet Quan Yu.  It is celebrated with the racing of the dragon boats.  People eat a special sticky rice pyramid called a

Zongzi. 

Night of Sevens: 七夕  Lunar date is July 7.  (August 13, 2013)  This holiday celebrates the legendary love of  Niulang and Zhinu.  According to legend they are forever separated, but are allowed to unite on July 7.  The Taiwanese view this as a romantic night celebrated much like Valentine’s Day in the west.

Ghost Festival: 中元節　Lunar date is July 15. (August 21, 2013)  The festival honors the departed ancestors.  People commemorate this day by placing offerings of incense, food and beverages outside their homes and the burning of spirit money for the family members who have departed the world.  This is the most important date of Ghost Month (The whole month of July on the lunar calendar.) 

Mid-Autumn Moon Festival:  中秋節　Lunar date is August 15.  (September 19, 2013)  This is the day when most people get together with friends and family and barbeque.  Look for an in-depth post on the Moon Festival in September.  A gift is given to friends and family of moon cakes.  Circular cakes made with egg yolks and other things inside.  The shape represents the moon and the cakes themselves are good wishes for the recipient.

Double Ninth Festival:  重陽節　Lunar Date is September 9.  (October 13, 2013)  People usually celebrate this holiday by climbing mountains or visiting flower shows.

Xia Yuan Festival:  下元節　Lunar date is October 15.  (November 17, 2013)  During this festival people pray to the water god for a peaceful year.

Winter Solstice:  冬至　Solar Holiday (December 21, 2013)  This corresponds to the Winter Solstice in Zwestern Countries.  Families gather to celebrate on this day.

Kitchen God Festival:  謝灶Lunar date is December 23.  (January 23, 2014)  This is the day to thank the kitchen god.  It is believed that on the twenty third day of the twelfth lunar month, just before Chinese New Year he returns to Heaven to report the activities of every household over the past year to the Jade Emperor (Yu Huang). The Jade Emperor, emperor of the heavens, either rewards or punishes a family based on Zao Jun's yearly report.

One final note is that the Chinese Zodiac is broken down into 12 years.  Each year corresponds to a particular animal.  It is believed that people born in a particular year will share the traits of the animal mentioned.  The following is a breakdown of the Zodiac and the corresponding years from 1924 through 2031.  See if you can fid yours.

Rat                  1924  1936  1948  1960  1972  1984  1996  2008  2020

Ox                   1925  1937  1949  1961  1973  1985  1997  2009  2021

Tiger                1926  1938  1950  1962  1974  1986  1998  2010  2022

Rabbit              1927  1939  1951  1963  1975  1987  1999  2011  2023

Dragon             1928  1940  1952  1964  1976  1988  2000  2012  2024

Snake               1929  1941  1953  1965  1977  1989  2001  2013  2025

Horse               1930  1942  1954  1966  1978  1990  2002  2014  2026

Sheep               1931  1943  1955  1967  1979  1991  2003  2015  2027

Monkey             1932  1944  1956  1968  1980  1992  2004  2016  2028

Rooster             1933  1945  1957  1969  1981  1993  2005  2017  2029

Dog                   1934  1946  1958  1970  1982  1994  2006  2018  2030

Boar                 1935  1947  1959  1971  1983  1995  2007  2019  2031

Waiting for Mick Jagger to Call

A few months ago, I received an email. It went like this:

Dear Chris,

I hope this message finds you well!

I am writing you following a visit on your blog, which I find interesting and appropriate for publication in book format!

I am an employee of Bloggingbooks, which is the new publishing brand of the well-established scientific publishing house, known as SVH Verlag.  We are currently actively looking for new authors.

Bloggingbooks would like to broaden its publication's portfolio and in this respect, comes my question:  would you have any interest in publishing your blog posts into book format?

Our website: htpp://www.bloggingbooks.net/

The best way to get in touch with me will be per e-mail.

Please let me know you thoughts!

Warmly,

Kind regards

I was somewhat taken aback.  At first I thought it was one of those vanity publishing deals, “For only $500 you can see your name in print.  Buy as many copies as you want $100 each.”  Then they told me it was actually going to be for sale all over the world, and I would receive actual royalties.  

It has always been a dream of mine to publish a book, but come on…I also want to be a rock ‘n’ roll star even though the only music I play these days is on the radio.  I’m only sort of expecting an email from Mick Jagger asking me to join his band.  

After some deliberation and a few questions to the editor who wrote me I decided to go ahead with the idea.  So now the Taiwan Adventure is in book form and available at Amazon.com and soon at some other bookstores around the world like Barnes and Noble. 

The title?  The Taiwan Adventure: An Expat’s Observations of Life in Taiwan

The interesting thing is that the publishing company uses a green method of publishing.  Books are published on paper as they’re ordered.  This way they're not printing lots of books and then having them sit around gathering dust and wasting trees.  

The book is made up of what, I think, are the best of the Taiwan Adventure Blog. It is a representative slice of each category:

Taiwanese History:

A look at the early moments of the Republic of China and some of the key people in its history.

Taiwanese Traditions:

The culture and religion of Taiwan and how it affects day-to-day life.

Cultural Unawareness:

The mistakes I made, and the surprises I experienced through the customs of  Taiwan.

Disability in Taiwan:

A look at the difficulties of living with disabilities in Taiwan from a disabled man’s perspective.

Eating My Way Through Taiwan:

The food and the adventure of eating in Taiwan.

Random Asianess:

The differences between East and West

Taiwan Travelogue:

A Look at a few of my favorite places in Taiwan.

Take a look for the book and if you like, please buy it.  Now that that’s done I’ll have to look at the old “Bucket List” and see what’s left to do…and sit by the phone waiting for Mick to call.  Keith Richards is looking a bit rough these days, so you never know.

I look sort of professorial in this photo.  

Taiwan Blog Review: Taiwan Duck

I’ve completely given myself to Taiwanese food and snacks.  I can’t help it.  There’s something about Taiwanese food that just grabs me.  So, even though I’m not much of a cook, I still like to look at Taiwan Duck.

I guess I’m into food.  Well, actually, I’m definitely into food.  I like to read about it. I like to talk about it.  I like to hear about it.  I like to look at it as I go by.  I like to smell it, (even Stinky Tofu). I mostly like to eat it.  One of the categories I have for Zite Magazine on my iPad is food and cooking.  So, this type of website is attractive to me.

Taiwan Duck is a website that shows you how to prepare many favorite Taiwanese foods.  They give you a recipe, and the steps to make it, then as an added bonus, they do a video where Joanne shows you how she prepares it.

Joanne is cool; she’s a Taiwanese woman who has been transplanted into the UK, by marriage.  She’s obviously a very good cook, and has quite a charming personality.  I don’t even cook, but my wife and I enjoy watching her videos and listening to her explanations of how to do it.  Sometimes as I watch the video, I can just imagine the delicious smells in that kitchen.

She will also tell you where you can find ingredients, usually found only in Taiwan, in the area where they live.  She tells you her secrets for preparing the food and shows you how it’s done.  At the end of the video she shows you the prepared food and those are the only times I wish that I lived in the UK, so she and her videographer husband, could invite me over to help them eat it. 

Her husband stays mostly in the background.  I can’t remember ever seeing him in any of the videos I’ve watched.  Occasionally, he’ll prompt with an English word or two, but mostly he just hides behind the camera.  I suspect, all though I don’t know for sure, that he writes all of the recipe descriptions and is the tech guy for the website. 

The recipes are varied from Taiwanese snack foods: Oyster Omelets, Salty Chicken (Yen Si Ji), Taiwanese Beef Noodles (Niu Rou Mian) to Beef and Spinach Lasagna.  Lasagna?  Well, apparently not all of the recipes are Taiwanese, but with a name like Banducci, I can eat some Lasagna, too. 

The website is easy to use, and really an enjoyable experience.  You can even slip over to the store and buy some nice Taiwan Duck apparel, so you'll look good in the kitchen.

So, if you have some time and want to  learn how to cook some of Taiwan’s favorites, then take a few moments, grabs some nice Taiwanese Oolong Tea and a notebook and learn how to cook Taiwan Duck Style…then call me up and invite me over to help you try out the meal you made.  I can tell you right now, without equivocating I’m going to like it.

Visit Taiwan Duck at www.taiwanduck.com.  Tell them the Taiwan Adventure sent you.  Taiwan Duck is very high on our list of favorite Taiwanese (and apparently Italian) websites.  Check it out.





Other posts you may be interested in:

Taiwan Blog Review:  Shuflies

Screen Captures from Taiwan Duck Website www.taiwanduck.com
Video from Taiwan Duck TV

Aaaahhhh Guotie! 鍋貼啊﹗

Guotie, Corn Chowder and Soy Sauce...Aaaahhh Guotie!

If you've spent anytime reading this blog then you probably already realize that I love to eat.  I like Mexican food, I like American food, I can eat Indian and Thai food, but I absolutely love to eat Chinese Food, especially the Taiwanese versions of Chinese food.  One of my all-time favorites, at least at this writing is Guotie, or for my Mandarin challenged friends…Pot Stickers.

My first encounter with these took place at my sister, Lori’s house.  I watched her wrap the meat in what looked like Won Ton wrappers and make little hat shapes then cook them in the frying pan.  Her remembrance of this event may be a little different than mine, but I think that’s what she did.  In fact, I may be way off the mark here, because it must have been a long, long time ago, because this is a very vague memory.  She may think that none of this is even remotely accurate.  If that is the case, then remember I grew up in the sixties and well…some of you, the older ones know, how it was.

Gather From All Directions Restaurant

I was reintroduced to them after I arrived in Taiwan.  About two years ago a friend came to Taiwan to preach a revival for me.  One of the couples in the church went with us to lunch.  They knew this little restaurant and they said the food was great, and inexpensive.

This little restaurant is called, 不妨雲集, or in English, “Gather From Every Direction.”  I like that the name of the restaurant tells you exactly what to do. I know a place that sells, Milk tea and Pearl tea, that’s called, 來買 or in English, “Come Buy” I like that, there’s no beating around the bush.    Who knows, the direct approach seems to work.  At Gather From Every Direction, (henceforth known in this post as GFED,) they specialize in Guotie.  They have Pot Stickers of every kind. 

Guotie prices each

A Pot Sticker, for the uninitiated is really a fried dumpling.  They take the same filling as in 水餃, steamed dumplings and wrap it in the same type of dough, but instead of boiling it three times they fry it in a mixture of water and oil.  They serve Guotie that’s made with curry, some with shrimp, some with Korean spice and other varieties.  The Guotie are homemade, right there in the restaurant. 

When we arrived four women were happily chatting and filling the wrappers.  They were delighted to see us taking an interest in what they were doing and allowed us to take their pictures.

The food is delicious and indeed inexpensive.  W had a completely filling meal for NT $125 (approx. US $4.00).  The meal included 20 Guotie and a bowl of delicious Corn Chowder.  My wife loves the Corn Chowder; I’m not really all that into it.  It’s not that it’s not tasty; I just don’t like sweet soup all that much.

If you’re in Taoyuan City there are two locations.  One is on Zhong Shan Road (中山路) the other is on Zhong Hua Road, (中華路).  They are both delicious and the service friendly. 

I promised them this picture.  The Giggling Guotie Girls!

Other posts you may be interested in:

Eating My Way Through Taiwan:  Baozi

Eating My Way Through Taiwan:  A Traditional Restaurant

Eating My Way Through Taiwan:  The Oyster Omelet.

A Visit to the Lantern Festival in Zhubei, Taiwan

The National lantern festival is in Zhubei, this year.  The lantern festival is a traditional holiday that occurs two weeks after Chinese New Year for more detailed information of the tradition of the Lantern Festival please see Taiwanese Traditions:  The Lantern Festival (posted February 9, 2012).  There are actually two things of importance that take place on the Lantern Festival day.  There is the traditional release of sky lanterns in Pingxi, in Northeastern Taiwan.  People write a prayer or a blessing on the outside of the lantern and release it into the sky.

These lanterns usual are a bag with a cross piece on the bottom where a candle is placed.  The candle is lit and the air in the bag heated causing it to rise up into the sky.   They will continue to rise until the candle goes out and the air is no longer heated.  The lanterns are released simultaneously and thousands on lanterns rise into the sky, it’s quite a site and Pingxi is famous all over the world for the lanterns.

But there is the other festival where lanterns are created but not released into the sky.  My wife had an opportunity, this year, to take the train with a number of her friends and visit the National Lantern festival in Zhubei, in Northern Taiwan.

Photos:  Brenda Banducci

Another Visit to the Chiang Kai Shek Mausoleum

That Funky Monkey, even on three legs he's fast

During Chinese New Year, we thought it would be a good idea to take some friends on a trip into the mountains.  We had a pretty extensive list of things that we wanted to visit.  At the top of that list was a three-legged Formosan Rock Monkey that hangs out on this walking bridge up in the mountains.  i first made his acquaintance while showing a friend the bamboo forest.  We stopped at the bridge to check it out when the monkey appeared.

My first thought was that I was seeing some actual Taiwanese wildlife.  I couldn't believe this monkey was that bold.  Unfortunately, so many people had fed this monkey that he was now reduced to hanging out and begging from visitors.  he'd long ago quit doing what monkeys do to find food, he now was just bumming scraps of food from the tourists.  The absolute highlight of that visit though, was when that monkey went after some kid who was teasing him and chased him around the parking lot a couple of times.  That was when I knew that this monkey was a kindred spirit.  I wanted to chase that kid around the lot myself.

The bridge where the monkey lives

I had assumed that people wouldn't be in the mountains during Chinese New Year.  I figured they'd be hanging around their homes with relatives.  I was wrong.  It took me more than an hour just to get through a small part of Daxi.  I sat at the same stoplight through twenty rotations.  Everyone was driving to the mountains on that particular day.  We were able to get as far as the Chiang Kai Shek mausoleum before we were hopelessly mired in the traffic.  So we visited the mausoleum and went home.

The mausoleum was packed with people, many of them tourists from mainland China.  We looked at the statue garden, where statues of Chiang from all over the island were gathered a few years back.  It's interesting because there are many statues in the same pose throughout the island.  At one point in history these statues were found all over the island, but were removed during Chen Shuibian's Adminsitration and brought to the mausoleum.

The lake near the mausoleum

After that we took the hike up to the mausoleum itself.  The area surrounding the mausoleum is beautiful.  There is a lake there that's home to about ten swans, both black and white, although at one time there were eighty-nine.  The swans are carefully numbered and have bands that denote their sex.  Chiang felt that the swans symbolized purity, loyalty and elegance.

The mausoleum is handicap-accessible they have constructed ramps for wheelchairs to make it easy for visitors to pay their respects.  The staff members carry little paddles asking guests to please be quiet as you visit Chiang's resting place.  There is an honor guard that is changed every hour.

Other Posts you may be interested in:

Taiwanese History:  The Chiang Kai Shek Mausoleum
Traveling with M13:  The Sequel:  Return to Toad Valley
Taiwan Travelogue:  The Cross Island Highway