Wild Vegetable in the Mountains

My father was going to Douliou on business at 7:30am, so he dropped my mother and I off in the mountains in Lugu, as it was on the way.

We went for a long walk in the soothing breeze and the beautiful scenery. It was sunny in the morning but the weather changed in the afternoon and the area became misty, it looked poetic.

At 4:30pm my father collected us and we all went to a very nice restaurant called Bamboo Inn (竹棧) for dinner. We were surrounded by the pleasant fragrance from the tea plants and bamboo trees which grow on the mountains. We had wild fish, river prawn, wild pork, bamboo shoots, flower buds and different wild vegetables; it was delicious. I had never eaten such nice food before, as I grew up in a big city. The owner of restaurant was very nice and talked with us.

BrokeMind Mountain

The painting is on canvas 91x73cm, I drew the design from shapes while hiking in the mountains and transformed it onto canvas. I paint on large canvas using windsor blue paint to make my lines flow.

At this point I will leave it to my imagination where the painting will go.

Walking in the Mountains, 26 August 2006

Today we got up early and ate homemade bread which my dad made. The smell was very nice, and it tasted even better because my dad had made it. Then we had the energy to go to Sitou (溪頭) for mountain hiking.

My father and mum love Sitou a lot, because we can breathe fresh forest air and commune with nature. Everyone is very friendly here, they said a hello, as mountains friends do. My father is very sociable and the people shared what they had made for lunch with us.

We went along an eight story high, 180-meter long Sky Walkway; it was funny as we can touch the trees by walking amidst them instead of just looking up from the ground. You can closely observe the symbiotic relationship the trees have with ferns.

The Sanyi Wood Carving Festival, 24 August

My dad is off work this afternoon because he wants to take us to visit Sanyi 三義as it is venue of the annual Sanyi Wood Carving Festival from19 to 27 Aug. Sanyi is in Miaoli Country, about 40 minutes from Taichung city and is Taiwan's wood carving capital and also home to master craftspeople. We visited wood sculpture museum and saw many great wood sculptures. I was impressed by one particular piece of a bee with water lily leaves; it looked so like life. I was also very interested to understand and learn from the worldwide culture of wood sculpture. Also we saw a wood sculptor at his artwork; I could hear the sound that the tools made when he was carving wood.

Afterwards we visited a street where different styles of wood sculpture were for sale and we bought cheese tofu and meat cake, as it is local food.

Later we visited Shengsing Train Station 勝興車站. It is the highest train station in western Taiwan. We visited the remains Long Teng Bridge 龍藤斷橋. This iron bridge was built after the disastrous Taichung earthquake in 1935. The remains of the original brick-built bridge can be seen from the east of the iron bridge. It is the most famous attraction on the old Mountain Line.

Then we drove back to Shengsing area to eat local food. The restaurant is very traditional; I remembered my childhood life. The menu card is very special; it was made from bamboo and did not state the prices. They gave us free plum wine, which tasted very good and made me feel relaxed. The meal which was of local food was also very good.

My Mum's Home Made Spring Rolls

My mum made spring rolls today. Spring rolls consist of various types of vegetables such as; sliced carrot,cabbage, mushroom, chicken, fried egg and spring onion,ground peanuts, sesame power and dried laver are rolled inside a thin pancake type wrapper and deep fried for a crispy outside. My mum knows I have not eaten them for 8 years; she spent a long time preparing the different of types of vegetables, then I chose the fillings and added a lot of ground peanuts. They were delicious, I love my mums cooking.

Lost & Found

I went to Panchiao to visit my friend Wei who had got an MA in Art in Edinburgh University last saturday. When I arrived at his home I went to give him a BSL Finger spelling alphabet note, the note was in a book, Wassily Kandinsky's Point and Line to Plane. I opened my bag but could not find the book. I remembered that I was reading it while on the way to Panchiao from Taichung on the coach. Oh, I did not put it back into my bag; it was on the seat while I read it. So I asked Wei's wife to call Panchiao coach station, they said please call to Taiching lost and found office.

After 3 days I went back to Taichung. I asked my mum to ask if any book was handed in at Taichung lost and found office. They said they did not have it, so they said they will call Panchiao and would see what happens the next day. I thought that if they cannot find my book, I will buy new one in Taiwan or London, as I had borrowed it from my college.

The next day my mum told me that they had found the book but it was still in Panchiao. So my mum asked the driver to take book to Taichung on the Taichung coach, where I was able to collect it. Thank goodness I got my book back.

Visit to My Old University, 21 August

Today I visited my old university- Culture University in Taipei city with my friend. The university is on a mountain in Yangmingshan National Park 陽明山國家公園. We took a bus north from Taipei train station and talked for 40 minutes on the way. It was a lovely day with a blue sky.

My friend asked me if I had been to the national park before. He said he been to the national park while he was a student. I told him that I miss my student life. The park contained outstanding beauty spots. We ate chicken and wild vegetables, and saw a beautiful view at night from the top of the mountain. It was very relaxing.

When we entered the campus, I was surprised because a lot of buildings had changed and they were building new ones. We visited the new sports center. From the building, I could see a river flowing down a mountain. We also visited the new computer center. It looked very cool, like a futuristic space. We also bumped into Lee Fu, chairman of the Fine Arts department. I was very happy to chat with her and wished I was back at university.

We also visited the resource room – I used to work there part-time. We met a teacher, Chen, who helps disabled students. Chen asked us to go out for lunch with him and we had a nice talk.

Taipei County - Pingshi, Shen Keng - Tofu, Tea and Trains. 20 August

Bill had planned a trip for us as we have not met up for 2 years. He wanted to see the old towns that he knew. I love seeing the old villages in their natural surroundings and Pingshi 平溪 is one of the best to visit.

There was quite a large group of us, 20 people with 5 cars so we all met at Kunyang metro station and set of by road, Bill leading the way to Pingshi.

As we drove along I saw beautiful mountains along the road and the fresh air made me feel very energy, because I was up late chatting with old friends until 3:30am.

After about 30 minutes we arrived in Pingshi which is in Taipei County, inland from the northern tip of Taiwan's northeastern coastal scenic area.

The town was once an area that bustled with coal-mining activities but today only an old railway line threads its way through the mountains and forests and is all that is left from those glorious bygone days.

There is only one train an hour, so we can walk along the railway line. There were people saying, "Rail come, rail come", which I guess meant a train was due then other people said, "Rail come, rail come", as the warning was passed down the line.

The railway station is of wooden construction and its architecture is entirely of apanese style. The longest coal cabinet in Taiwan can be found opposite the railway track. Here also they sell a lot of sky lanterns which are miniature hot-air balloons. It is a unique local custom in Pingshi to release the sky lanterns, at the time of the Lantern Festival, two weeks after the Lunar New Year. I saw one family buying a lot of sky lanterns and making them ready to fly.

Most of the food here is of traditional local origin. We sat down and drank iced maei cha - pasty tea and ate rice-flour noodle, dark plum juice and fruit ice. It had begun to rain and this was very relaxing to watch as it poured in the old village.

We moved on to Shen Keng to buy tofu for take away dinner. ShenKeng 深坑 is a small town near Taipei city and is famous for tofu and tofu cuisine. What makes Shen Keng's tofu so special? Because they follow the way of the ancients, blending salt into soybean milk to bring out a smoky flavor and making all the tofu by hand.

I had to cue for one hour to buy 9 boxes of cooked tofu, and then we went to a tea house to eat the tofu and chat and play Chinese chess. Big black asked me, do you want to play Chinese chess, I said yes, and he said, they want to talk with me, until I turn my head back, I did not notice they were planning to buy a birthday cake for my birthday on 31st August, so they celebrated my birthday early, I was surprised and I felt warm in my heart, we sing happy birthday to you with Taiwanese sign language.

I had a wonderful time visiting the towns and villages that are set in the local countryside.

met old friend Wei

Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts in Taichung

I visited Taiwan Museum of Fine Art, its great architect and a nice park and also a nice indoor desigh, l like grey and shape. Lovely mix of hard and soft shapes, with sympathetic materials to match in the form of the angular, rounded and hard surfaces seen in the old worn appearance of statue, contracted with the audacious angling out of wall, oppsite the statue. The stark stone used in the main building structures emphasising the effect. Overall it produces a clean pleasing result.

© Sheng-Kai Chou 2006

My Friend from Kaoshiung-Taiwan is a Heaven for Eating

My friend from Kaoshiung came to visit me in Taichung. Taichung is about 2.5 hours by coach from Kaoshiung. At university, I was a volunteer in a Taiwanese Sign Language club that ran evening classes for a Taipei deaf school. I taught him math, art, and geography, and we became good friends.

He brought me home-made chicken soup and a hand-made ring. Since my mum is a volunteer with the National Museum of Natural Science, she got us free tickets for the 3D Theatre. We saw the films ‘Tree Robo’ and ‘Fighter Pilot’. We sat at the back of the theatre, wearing special glasses to appreciate the 3-D effects. While watching the film, I saw lots of the audience's hands move and dance, as though they were using sign language.

We also visited the Botanical Garden opposite the theatre and saw various plants. We took a lift to the top of the glasshouse, where we had a good view of all the plants.

We went to the Fengchai night fair, which is the biggest night fair in Taiwan. My friend bought 6 T-shirts and 1 pair of shorts. I did not buy a lot, just one pink T-shirt and sunglasses to match. Then I bought some food - sliced noodles, oyster thin noodles, oyster omelet, and fruit juice. After eating, we were so full it was hard to walk. We ate so much my stomach was about to explode. I think Taiwan is a heaven for eating and shopping. My friend said that the Fengchai night fair sells things cheaper than in Kaoshiung. He was very happy and enjoyed his visit.

Book- A Great Revolution in the Brain World

I read a book entitled A Great Revolution in the Brain World, by the Japanese doctor Haruyama Shigeo. The author of the book seems to think that happy people are healthier people. I think that is the point of positive thinking leads to good health he is trying to make. It is probably true, but I do not know if it is scientifically proven.

A face from the past

I recently met my old university friend - we had the same part-time job at university in Taipei. We have not met for 7 years.

We met at my sister's Aria di caffe in Taichung in Taiwan. She ordered Alleviating Herbal Tea, while I ordered Sakura Imperial Iced Green Tea. She liked the café and the tea made her relaxed and sleepy. We had a long chat about our friend's lives - most are married and have children. Time passes fast as we grow up. She still looks the same as 10 years ago - still young and slim. She said that I am so slim and tanned. She was surprised that my read lip-reading Mandarin is still good since I was in the UK for a long time.

We laughed a lot and she took a cushion to throw at me, as we used to at university.

We will meet again soon.

Meat ball

Sitou forest trip

Today we went into the forest. It was about an hour and a half drive by car with my parents and sister Wan Yu.

My parents picked wild vegetables, and added noodles, fish balls , and other thinks to the wok. The wok is very special and has a pretty handle. We were happy to have a nice lunch, and used a burner to cook the wok on.

In the forest, it was wonderful to see monkeys jumping in the trees. We think they wanted lunch also!

we had a fantastic time in the forest together.

kiki restaurant in Taichung

The food looks tasty! I am feeling very satisfied after a spendid meal. We were very full, because we called a lot of food.

Soy pudding

Soy Pudding

Shopping- bring your own shopping bag

I went to a supermarket to buy some fruit, vegetables and fruit juice , which I love to eat as they a good healthy foods . The supermarket is also a good place to cool down as it has air conditioning....haha. I think people in Taiwan spend a lot of time shopping in the supermarkets and malls as it's a free way to stay cool!

Book - Why We Eat Salt

My father has recommend a book to read it called: “Salt Food a Method of Preserving Health”, written by Japanese a professional.

The book talks about how to keep body and brain clear. A sour body can get very sick. vegetable is more calcium,

One of the functions of the diet is to help balance the levels of fluid in the body, which helps to maintain normal blood pressure and keep nerves and muscles working properly. It is important to replace salt and fluid lost through perspiration, particularly in hot weather. It is a good book for understanding how to keep good health, so our life will be great.

88 Happy Father's Day

Today is Father's day in Taiwan. I made a card for him and hid it in a travel magazine. I gave him the magazine and asked him to turn over the pages which he did and then he saw the card and was suprised and smiled. He liked it a lot and said it was a good painting.

My sister Nico came home from her café, because she wanted to see me and celebrate my father's special day, and we had a nice dinner together. My other sister WanYu will come back home this Friday.

We went to a night-time fair (FenChai Night-time fair) for a walk around, it's the biggest night-time fair in Taiwan as it's not far only 5 mintues walk away. At the fair there were many people selling different things; fruit, juice, food, clothes, dvds…etc. I have bought some new sandals as the weather is so hot here.

Ghost Festival in Taiwan

Today is Ghost Festival in Taiwan, people always want to remember dead mothers and fathers etc, and this gives a way to do that. For example,yesterday my parents and I bought food from supermarket, nice and special food ,for for a feast!

visit my grandmother in Taichung country

My grandmother's house looks very interesting and unusual, spacious!

Today I went to visit my grandmother. She is 98 years old and sometimes looses her memory but today she remembered me and said, " I always give you a red envelop when you leave Taiwan for the UK." Then she looked in her pockets for some money to give me, this made me laugh because she is so sweet, at least she can remember who I am. I told her; "Please don't give me a red envelope, I am only here to see you." My father translates for her, as I cannot speak Taiwanese.

Then I went out for a walk and to look around the area. It has changed a lot since I was last here, there are less fields and the countryside is now being repalced with many new buildings. Also I visited my aunt and said hello.

arrived in Taiwan

I took a new type of plane back to Taiwan, it was a B777-300ER, which has wider seat space, that was good for me as it was such a long flight! I had my own video screen and watched 8 films on the flight which were in Chinese with subtitles.

The meals were good too, but why Eva Air offer 3 meals. They kept offering me chocolate too, I don't like chocolate ! argggg....

It was exciting to see Taiwan by night from the air as it was evening when I arrived. When I came out of the airport, my dad and mum were there to greet me and waved their hands and then I gave them a hug.

Delayed action to Taiwan because I had to attend important lecture

There were lot of hearing people on the BSL guide tour at Tate Modern, the main speaker said," deaf people sit the front, because we need to look at the sign interpreter."

The art talk- Kandinsky was very interesting, a lot of art work displayed in one week. I planned to go back to Taiwan on 29 July, but delayed my trip because of the lecture that was worth the wait.

pack my luggage

I am packing my luggage today. I have had the same luggage case for over 10 years. it is the same one I used when I came to the uk for the first time. I borrowed 2 books from the UEL l library on Kandinsky's theory. I also took some clothes and gifts for my friends and family.

Watering Andrea's Jungle

My friend Andrea is away to Canada for 3 weeks so he asked me to look after his plants and water them. There are many plants on 2 floors. I go there on Monday and Wednesday, because the weather is hot and the plants need more water, his home look like a jungle....I hope there are no snakes !

Knee Injury at Asda's

I went to ASDA from my friend’s home last night, the weather changed to rain, the road was wet, and I walked very carefully. I looked at my watch to check the time and left 20 mins before the supermarket closes. When I got to the shop there were no rubber mats on the floor and I slipped and walked into the door and fell cutting my knee and got blood on my shorts. It’s so nasty, while foodshopping, I checked my knee to make sure the bleeding had stopped.

I used a wipe to clean the wound on my knee area until it was dry and then applied a dressing to protect the wound. I should sue the company for personal damages!!