Sun Moon Lake 日月潭, Taiwan's gem

And about how I proposed to my wife

The Sun Moon Lake (in Chinese 日月潭, pronounced as "Řì·üè·tán") is the second biggest lake in the country (after Tsengwen reservoir 曾文水庫). At the same time it's one of the most beautiful scenic spots of Taiwan, popular with local and foreign tourists. My wife (at that time still girlfriend) and I had the pleasure to visit it during our Central Taiwan trip. And that was also the place, where I proposed to her, so it bears a special meaning for us.

Our trip to Sun Moon Lake has begun on Sunday morning, when we took the bus from Shueili (we stayed overnight there) directly to the lake's resort area. It took us about 45min to reach there. Let me show you some of my photos:

The road to Sun Moon Lake from Shueili is very winding and steep.

This is the part full of hotels and shops. We were dropped off at the information center.

When we got all the info from the kind staff, we decided to walk to the lake.

We only walked around this small peninsula (show bigger map).

We didn't have a lot of time that day, because we were headed further to Puli, Nantou City and Taichung. We only walked around a very small area, but we still had fun. And it was so hot that day, I think it wouldn't be wise to attempt a long march around the lake. This is where we went:

The big parking lot is full of buses, that carried tourist from China to this famous lake.

Boats.

We walked on a narrow path along the shores of the lake and took lots of photos.

I liked the nearly emerald color of the lake.

We soon reached this spot, which has a very good overview of the lake.

The view on the small Lalu island and the famous Ci En Pagoda.

My cute wifey posing in front of the lake.

A lovely pavilion, one of the many in the area.

I loved the view. The Sun Moon Lake is definitely a place I will return to in the future.

We walked further and observed the area.

A posh yacht like many other in the area.

And that's a boat in old Chinese design. Not sure what to think about it.

And then we reached one of the spots with the best view: The Chiang Kai-shek pavilion.

We first enjoyed the beautiful view, the former president's favorite one.

And that was the time where I suddenly had the idea to propose to my wife (then girlfriend). I knew that our wedding day is very close and I knew that I need to formally propose, because Taiwanese girls are very romantic (and my wife is a "typical Taiwanese girl" in this regard). However, when we came to the pavilion, there were many people. A family was resting there and talking a lot. I tried to buy time and kept observing the lake and taking photos, but the family just wouldn't leave. So my girlfriend wanted to walk further, but I decided to pretend I was tired and that my legs hurt and asked her to stay here a little longer. She was ok with that and soon the family left. But we were alone only for a brief moment, because new people arrived and started to take photos. I was like "Damn", won't this place ever be empty? And after 2 minutes they finally left and we were alone. I took her by the hand and asked her to stand up and told her I have something important to say to her. I became a little nervous and started to shake, when I uttered how I loved her and how much she meant to me. I then went down on my knees and asked her, if she wants to marry me. She was totally surprised, but happy. Of course she said yes and I was released. We then sat down in the shadow of the pavilion and slowly people started to surround us. We were both shaking and smiling widely. My girlfriend was very happy and I was very released. It was truly a moment to remember. And although I'm not an admirer of Chiang Kai-shek, I can say that he now is somehow connected with our love story. Whether that's a good or bad thing, future will tell. Nevertheless, it will be remembered as the place, where I made history.

The Chiang Kai-shek Pavilion, when we left it.

We soon arrived back at the commercial center of the Sun Moon Lake.

And what a delight it was to take photo of tourists from China walking under the ROC flag. I'd give a fortune to find out what was on their minds in that very moment.

Soon after we returned to the bus station and headed up to Puli. And that shall be a story for another post. We had a great meal there and the town had a certain indefinable charm.

Click on the map for Google Map.

The Sun Moon Lake marked the first half of our Central Taiwan adventure. Later that day we went to Puli and further to Caotun and Nantou City and then in the evening to Taichung, to visit the famous Fengjia Night Market, which turned out to be a disaster. All that in my following posts on my second blog. Stay tuned.

If you're visiting Taiwan, don't skip the Sun Moon Lake, it's truly a gem. If you like nature, you will truly love the area. And there's so much to explore, you will need few days to see every beautiful spot there. I'm definitely planning to return in the future. Hope to see you there, too!

Central Taiwan Tour 2011: Puli>>

[My TAIWAN TRAVEL page][My CENTRAL TAIWAN trip][All photos by MKL, 2011]

Living in a condo in Taipei

What happened to my privacy?

A condominium like many others.

Last year I used to live in this area in a cheap apartment on ground level with a very small window, a bed, a desk, a TV and a bathroom. It was cheap, small and usually very dark. We went to check the apartment out in the evening and signed the contract right away, because we were in desperate need to get something reasonably priced as soon as possible. We had no idea that it will be so dark inside during the day and that was for me very hard to bear in the beginning. I used to live there alone and my wife (girlfriend at that time) used to visit me every evening. And even though the area was noisy, smelly and not very clean, the people were friendly (sometimes the convenience store clerks would chit chat with me) and everything we needed was available nearby for a good price (we even had a night market nearby, within 5 minutes of walk). The only thing that used to be a little troublesome sometimes was waiting for the garbage truck. But I felt free.

This year I'm living in a condo, similar to the one you see on the photo above. I live in one of the upper floors and have a good view of the surrounding area. I can even see the top of the Shin Kong Life Tower on a clear day. The apartment is not that much bigger, it's just one room with a small kitchen and a bathroom, but we pay almost double than for the one I rented last year. We have security guys, a lobby, elevators, a gym, a playground for kids and even a swimming pool (these are of course all common facilities). I like more space and I like the big windows, basically everything's fine so far, my wife chose a great place to live as a couple. But just the other day I was thinking: Where did my privacy go?

As you can imagine, I'm very obvious here. I'm a blonde white man and I'm always very interesting to the local population. The thing is, I can't lose myself in the pool of people like everybody else here. I will always be very easily remembered, people will wonder about me, probably saying things like: "Who's that young white guy every day passing by? What's he doing here?" "I saw him with a local girl, maybe he's married with her." "Oh, I see..." - That's a new situation for me. In Europe I'm "normal" and just one of many, here I'm "different" and one of the few. And not only that, I'm one of those few that are always sparking interest among the majority of people. That's of course very human and I can totally understand the locals, when they see me and become curious about me. I can live with that.

What bothers me more are the security guys. Every day when I leave my apartment, I need to pass through the lobby and greet one or more of them. And when I'm outside, another one will be there managing the traffic in front of our building and I need to say another hello or just throw a nod of recognition, when I pass by. And that basically means they know when I'm going out (to work) and when I'm returning home: I feel so monitored. It's like staying in a hotel with just a reception and no room service (How long could you take something like this?). Sometimes I feel like finding a way to sneak out without anyone seeing me just to get that feeling back, the one where I feel completely free.

Are you willing to trade security for less privacy? It's really hard sometimes, because where I grew up, we had nothing like that. Security personnel would be something you only see at factories, warehouses or government buildings. Growing up in a house surrounded by a forest marked me for life. In my heart I'm not a city person, but I know that living in Taipei is the best thing that ever happened to me. I want to enjoy it to the fullest, but at the same time I should not forget where I came from and where my heart really feels at home.

And the only ones, who monitored me there, were the chirping birds, that woke me up every morning. I hope I will see them again one day.

[My LIFE IN TAIWAN page][Photo by MKL, 2011]

Taiwanese shrimp farm sexy girl

A video, that will make your shrimps explode

Would she be too hot for your shrimp farm?

This video was shot at one of the plenty shrimp farms 釣蝦場 (pronounced diào xiā cháng) in Taiwan and became very popular on YouTube. The sexy girl is dancing like she's at a night club and all the men seem to be amazed how direct she is. The best part of the video is at 3.02, when she grabs a young guy's head and gives him a... well, you better see it for yourself! :-P I have to say I heard about this for the first time today and although it was new to me, I somehow wasn't shocked. You see a lot of crazy things in Taiwan and this one is one of the harmless ones.

What are shrimp farms?

These farms allow you to fish shrimps from their pools and the ones you catch, you can either bring home or barbecue them there and eat them right away. You only pay a certain hourly fishing fee. The prices vary, but they usually start at 150NTD per hour (that's around 3.5 Eur). Some farms differentiate the price by the gender of the shrimp, fishing at the pool of male shrimps is more expensive (not sure, if that's sexism or because the male shrimp is bigger). Some farms, like in the video above, hire hot girls to dance in order to entertain the men and attract more of them in the future. I have to say the marketing strategy is very simple, but highly effective.

Here are some photos from few years ago. My wife and her friend went to a shrimp farm:

My wife's friend caught a shrimp, yay.

And then they barbecued it right there at the farm.

That's how a shrimp looks like after it's done. It looks delicious.

My wife told me that a lousy fisher may only catch 1 shrimp in two hours, but there are people who catch over 30 in one hour. I'm not really that crazy about shrimps, so I probably won't be seen at some of these farms, but who knows. Maybe I'll go to see a hot performance.

How about you? How do you like the girl's dance?

[My UNIQUELY TAIWAN page][My TAIWAN page][All photos by LilyChen, 2007]

Ximending 西門町, Taipei

Ten things to do in Ximending

Ximending 西門町 (historically Romanized as Hsimenting, Shimending or Shimenting) is a popular neighborhood in Wanhua, Taipei's oldest district. Being the biggest center of youth culture and street fashion in the city (and probably in all of Taiwan), it's often labeled as "Harajuku of Taipei". Although Taipei is not Tokyo and Ximending is not Harajuku, there are some similarities between these two areas, but there are also vast differences. This post is intended to introduce Ximending to you, especially to those of you, who are considering to visit Taipei and heard about it, but want to know more. Please click on the links, they will lead you to my related posts (or to external information) and don't forget to check my map at the bottom of the post.

There's only 1 Ximending.

I will try to answer a very common question everyone asks me, before they come to Taipei: What to do in Ximending? I hope to provide you with a lot of useful information and links in order to help you plan your Taipei trip and your visit of this famous part. Whether you're old or young, if you come to Taipei, you have to see Ximending or you have not seen the real Taipei of today.

Here's my overview of the ten things to do in Ximending:

01 Learn about the history 認識歷史
02 Enjoy the atmosphere 享受氣氛
03 Observe fashionable people 觀察潮人
04 See performances 街頭表演
05 Go on a date 來個約會
06 Visit restaurants and bars 上餐廳逛酒吧
07 Do your hair 弄弄頭髮
08 Go shopping 逛街購物
09 Go to the gym 運動健身
10 Go to the cinema 看場電影

Scroll down to read more.

1 Learn about the history 認識歷史

The name 西門町 "Ximending" comes from the words 西門 "Ximen" (meaning West Gate in Chinese) and 町 "ding" (meaning neighborhood in Japanese). The West gate was built during the Qing dynasty, in 1882. China, who lost the first Sino-Japanese war in 1894, had to cede the sovereignty of Taiwan to Japan in 1895 and 50 years of Japanese rule over Taiwan had begun. The new Japanese government begun to expand Taipei and widen the roads. By 1905 the old defense wall as well as the West gate were destroyed in order to make way for a new boulevard, the today's Zhonghua Road 中華路. The area next to the former gate was named 西門町 (pronounced as Seimonchō) and was established as a business and entertainment district (source). The word behind the character 町 (pronounced tǐng, tīng, dīng) is very uncommon in the Chinese language and hence could be seen as a loan word from Japanese.

The Red House Theater 紅樓劇場 was built in 1908 and is today one of the most remarkable buildings in the area. It used to be a public market until 1945 and was then converted into a theater (read more about the history on their homepage). Ximending was thriving in the 1930s, becoming a center of Taiwan's film industry. At that time most cinemas in Taipei were founded there and they remained popular until the early 1990s (source, today over 20 cinemas remain in the area). There are also many other historic things to see in Ximending: The lovely small temples, that wait to be discovered. The most notable are Ximending Mazu Temple 西門町媽祖廟 (see on Google Maps) and Jinde Temple 晉德宮 (see on Google Maps). If you're interested, how Ximending looked in the 1970s, go and see photos on this website.

Ximending today is a festival of lights.

The famous Hanzhong Street, near the Ximen MRT Exit 6.

The Party World building is famous for it's KTV lounges.

A police station near Ximen MRT: Ximending is very safe, so don't worry.

The famous Red House Theater from 1908.

A view from the Red House to the most famous part of Ximending pedestrian area.

2 Enjoy the atmosphere 享受氣氛

Ximending is very crowded at Friday night. There's a lot of young people, you can observe all kinds of styles and meet new people. Taiwanese are very friendly and easy to befriend.

Entering the pedestrian area.

3 Observe fashionable people 觀察潮人

You'll probably see the craziest hairstyles and the hottest outfits in Ximending.

Ximending will overwhelm you.

Ximending will be like a whole different Taipei.

4 See performances 街頭表演

Ximending has many street artists and performers. Enjoy it for free.

Many famous (and less famous) Taiwanese singers come to Ximending to perform on the street to introduce their new song or album. Below you can see Jolin Tsai 蔡依林, Taiwanese most successful solo singer perform during the day. Ximending is also famous for all kinds of gatherings, even flash mobs (see the video on the right). Wanna join? Why not.

5 Go on a date 來個約會

Find a cute girl/guy here or bring them on a date. It's a great place to start.

6 Visit restaurants and bars 上餐廳逛酒吧

Be it the famous Ah-zong's noodles or Korean tteokbokki, Ximending has a lot to offer.

Ah-zong's noodles are always very popular, it's a must-try food in Taipei.

You can also get all kinds of good bubble tea here.

Or go to one of awesome foreign food restaurants like this Indian place.

Or enjoy some wacky dining in the toilet themed restaurant named Modern Toilet.

7 Do your hair 弄弄頭髮

Ximending is full of hair salons, get your hair style here.

Yes, that's a hair salon, too (on top). Awesome, right?

8 Go shopping 逛街購物

Ximending is a Mecca for every shopper.

You have all kinds of clothes available here. Get styled in Ximending.

How about some creepy SpongeBobs for you?

Ximending, where else?

9 Go to the gym 運動健身

There are also many gyms here. Come and workout in Ximending.

10 Go to the cinema 看場電影

Ximending is the center of Taiwan's cinema, the first ones were founded here.

Ximending is very easy to find and explore. And there is much more to see then just the popular pedestrian area (click my map on the left to enlarge). There are temples and old buildings found all over the place. This used to be the old Taipei and partly it still is. The atmosphere is unique and captivating. If you come to Taipei, you need to visit. If you stay here longer, I'm sure you'll return quite often. I know I will. I hope you enjoyed my tour.

My posts related to Ximending:

1 XIMENDING FOOD

✰ Gayke, Ximending's crazy cake, December 2010
✰ Eating out at Modern Toilet, May 2010
✰ Ah Zong's flour rice noodles, February 2010

2 XIMENDING RANDOM

✰ Ximen, West Gate of Taipei, July 2010
✰ Ximending at night, February 2010
✰ Ximending at day, March 2010

[My TAIPEI page][All photos by MKL, 2011]
[This post may be updated in the future]