Rotary Friendship Exchange - Rotary District 5960

Rotary Friendship Exchange
“Trip to Taiwan in February 2012”
Author: Fred Eaves 2/21/12
Taiwan with respect to surrounding countries
Island of Taiwan
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Taiwan trip 2/3/12
The plane ride, yesterday, was nothing short of miserably long and uncomfortable. I suppose that is the best you can expect if
you travel coach for more than 30 hours straight. That includes the boring layovers at each of 3 airports. The longest flight was
12 to 14 hours. I kind of lost track of the exact time but it was on that order for sure. I watched 3 movies and slept a lot. It was
still very boring and tiring. The return trip was not much different but at least I could think about all the wonderful things that I
had seen and the great people I met.
I am getting ahead of my self now so let me jump back to the first day in Taipei, Taiwan. Our Rotary Friendship Exchange team
arrived on different days and at different times. Five of us arrived, late evening, on the 2/1/12. One couple arrived in the morning
of 2/1/12. One couple arrived 2/3/12. The last person arrived on 2/5/12.
When we arrived, there were several Rotarians waiting for us outside customs. One of them offered to exchange money if we
wanted. The exchange rate was 29 point something when I checked before leaving home but the Rotarian offered to exchange at
30 New Taiwan Dollars (NTD) for each US Dollar (USD). I exchanged money there in the airport. Our hosts presented us with a
lanyard and badge (same badge on both sides so if it flipped, it did not matter). The greeters helped us with our bags and we split
up to go with our host family. My host family took me to their home. They showed me my quarters, we talked for a little while
and then we went to bed. My quarters were much better than I have at home.
Our hosts were very fluent in English. We had 3 people in our team that spoke a language that the Taiwan people general understood
and were able to communicate with those Taiwan people that were not comfortable with English. Communication was very
easy for all of us. If we talked to someone that was struggling with English, either a host or one of our team members helped out
with translation. That was great because I have trouble with English let alone another language.
I awoke before 7am and my hosts were up and about the same time. They called me to come get breakfast. I had no idea what
was typical for breakfast. Apparently, it is common to have a 5-course breakfast. We had tea, a bowl of soap, some fruit, some
fruit juice, 2 eggs and bacon, plus assorted breads. I don’t eat that much at home. The host told me they like to eat a hearty meal
in the morning. I told them that while I am staying could I please just have some oatmeal, fruit, bread and tea. That was fine with
them but Ali (my host) still ate the big meal. He particularly liked eggs. For the rest of the visit in Taiwan, my hosts kept saying
“how can he be so big because he eats so little?” I think the kind of food makes the difference. I ate lots but actually lost 12
pounds during my 2-week visit. I ate more vegetables and seafood than I would typically eat in a year at home. Well, maybe not
quite that much but certainly a big difference.
A typical lunch was a box lunch but even that had a lot of food in it. It contained lots of vegetables, some fruit and a small portion
of some kind of meat.
We were wined and dined almost every evening. We attended 3 very fancy dinners. The District Governor hosted one dinner in
New Taipei with an honored guest that was Taiwan’s member of the International Rotary Fund Board of Trustees. A Rotary Club
in Yilan hosted the second and multiple clubs from Hualien hosted the third dinner. Each was a 10 coarse meal. I have not seen
such a spread anywhere in my life. It looked like smorgasbord only it was laid out on a large lazy susan in the center of our table
so everyone at the table could help themselves to whatever they wanted. It was amazing that I ate and ate and never seemed to get
full. There were a few things that I did not like but for the most part, everything was delicious. The food was not spicy at all. I
was told when there was a spicy dish or if one of the small dishes with seasoning sauce was spicy and I avoided them. I now
know that squid and octopus won’t be on my list of things to eat again. I found seaweed to be much like spinach which I like a
lot. I enjoyed the soups. Some soup looked like bullion based. Other soup looked chowder based. I enjoyed the sea cucumbers.
The table had elaborate presentations of many different foods. All meals, regardless of content, typically included red wine. The
teacups (much smaller compared to our cups) and wineglasses were replenished as soon as they got low. Every meal included
many toasts. I quickly realized that I better just sip on each toast to remain sober. One of my favorites was what they called a
miniature lobster. I am not very fond of lobster but this one was a bit bigger than a shrimp and tasted great.
Most of our team chose to use chopsticks for all meals. We were offered silverware at some meals but most of us chose not to use
them.
Much of the traveling we did, to go from one interesting place to another, was done with a tour bus that our RFE Team hired.
This action was planned before the trip started. Our hosts paid for all the transportation, some meals and kept track of the expenses
for us so we could refund the host before we left Taiwan. Two weeks of shuttling around in the tour bus, the subway for
the trip northeast of Taipei and a public bus took us to East Coast of Taiwan. The expenses also included the tour bus along the
East Coast, the train ride back to Taipei and a few box lunches came to a total of $240 USD per person. I could not believe how
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inexpensive it was. We got dropped off at the entrance to each place and picked up at the same place when we were ready to leave.
While I am talking about expenses, let me tell you what the trip cost in total. I added up all of my pre-trip expenses (shirts, badges,
pins, host gifts, plane fare etc) and all the cash spent on things I wanted to bring back home with me came to a total of less than
$3,000. I ended up buying a suitcase (bigger than a carry-on) to hold all the things I brought back.
We saw many things that could probably be seen on the Internet but seeing them in person and talking to the people at these places
gave me memories that will always be accessible whenever I choose to think about them. We got up around 7am, kept busy most
days until 9 or 10pm when we got back to our temporary homes.
Temple on Old Street of Saxia 2/3/12
The first sight we went to see was a Temple and the Old Street of Saxia. The mayor of the city was visiting the temple when we
toured and as we left, one of our hosts told us that the mayor would like a picture with our group. That was fine with us so we got
together and several media photographers started snapping pictures. We asked if they would take some pictures with our camera
and they graciously agreed. As you can see, they took a great picture.
Although there was obviously lots of gold and other precious items inside the temple, there was no sign of special security. People
came and went as they pleased. It was very crowded most of the time.
The people in the area during our photo shoot seemed to be busy with what they were doing and did not pay much attention to our
presence.
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Mayor of Taipei 2/3/12
At this point, I want to talk about “personal space”. In Taiwan, there is none. At home, I feel uncomfortable when some one gets
within a foot of my presence. In Taiwan, because of the population density, the distance between people is often nothing. No one
is pushing or shoving but there is a lot of incidental contact. This is especially true on an elevator. The goal appears to be to exceed
the density found in a sardine can.
Next, we stopped at the Yingge Ceramic Museum. We also went to a place where they teach pottery making. It appeared that the
classes were intended for young people but they asked if any of our team would like to learn. Some said yes and you can see the
teacher on the left and John (from our team) on the right. John did quite well. The teacher did have to restart the project a couple
times but in the end, John had a quite nice looking pot. I took some 10-second movie clips at this location.
We also did some shopping at a night market where they sold everything you can imagine from food to textiles to jewelry. I
bought a few small items, as did others in the team. I did not want to spend all my money so early so I kept the cost low. Some
things were very inexpensive and some things were quite expensive. In general, we found that the USD converted to NTD bought
quite a lot in the night markets as well as in other stores.
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Pottery making 2/3/12
We learned early that you could find a 7-eleven store on almost every block in Taipei or Old Taipei. We saw a few McDonalds but
not so many. It was hard to find a gas station but little repair shops for vehicles were everywhere.
An early culture shock for me was the traffic techniques. In the US, we are used to fighting for our position in traffic. In Taiwan, it
appears that each driver has the obligation to make sure the other driver can do what it takes to achieve his or her goal. I watched
many cases of politeness/courtesy so the other driver could make lane changes or even dramatic direction changing. Traffic was
typically bumper to bumper with 2 lanes each way on major streets. I was fascinated that there was virtually no honking. The only
honking was when someone did something very inconsiderate. The drivers that I rode with and the drivers of vehicles around us all
seemed to be very laid back and relaxed. There appeared to be no evidence of any form of road rage that we see in our country.
There are millions of scooters in addition to the cars and trucks. The motorscooters have the right of way. At signal lights, there is
the typical pedestrian crosswalk, then a space to accommodate scooters and then the rest of the traffic. At a red light, the scooters
come up through traffic and accumulate in the scooter space ahead of the rest of the traffic. When the light turns green, the scooters
charge forward. Often there is a 4-foot lane on the right side for the scooters to use. For the most part, the scooters simple go wherever
they chose amongst the other vehicles and drivers seem to look out for them.
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Our first evening meal was quite a surprise. Our host families also hosted our first formal evening meal. As you can see from the
picture, it certainly was a grand meal. Formal evening meals are either 8 or 10 course meals.
Host sponsored dinner 2/3/12
It was a long day but we all enjoyed it. I certainly did sleep well that night. Even though we did a huge amount of standing and
walking, I was able to find enough places to rest my legs and back. It turns out that this would be a typical day with lots of standing
and walking. I slept very well every night.
I struggled a bit with Internet connection but between my host and me, we finally got it set up. I could not send email directly
from my computer but I could go to my web site email program and handle emails from there.
Taiwan trip 2/4/12
This was another very busy day with a visit to the National Palace Museum and the Shulin Garden Residence. I got up early and
decided to take a couple pictures of my first host’s home before beginning the days adventures. The apartment is on the 14 th floor
(top floor) of a fairly new apartment building in New Taipei. I took the pictures from near the entrance to my quarters. My quarters
consisted of a bedroom, computer/library room and a full bath. The view out the side window looks towards the 101 building
that we went to visit later in the week.
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First host home 2/4/12
Our first sight of the day was the National Palace Museum. I estimate the entire area of the grounds was on the order of 40 acres. I
base this estimate on the view of 40 acres that I have from my dinning table in my home in Wisconsin. In the background, is the
actual museum. There was a large open area behind the entry with a building on each side of the open area. This seems to be a
common layout for museums in Taiwan.
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Since I am not much for statues etc, I did not take a lot of pictures but I did enjoy looking at the artwork. One of our members is
very artistic and was in his glory in the museums we visited. That person took something like 2000 pictures compared to my approximately
500. The collection in the museum totals more than 700,000 bronzes, jades, paintings, and calligraphy works ranging
from the Neolithic Age through the end of the Qing Dynasty.
Chiang Kai-shek lived in Taiwan (Formosa) from 1949 to his death in 1975. Chiang brought with him a large quantity of Chinese
treasures. They are stored inside a mountain and the museum shows some of the treasures. I believe I was told that Taiwan is
willing to return the treasures if China will sign a document saying they will leave Taiwan alone. Apparently, nothing has happened
so the stalemate continues.
During the Second World War, the communist guerrilla forces were well led by Zhu De and Lin Biao. As soon as the Japanese
surrendered, Communist forces began a war against the Nationalists. The communists gradually gained control of the country and
on 1st October 1949, Mao Zedong announced the establishment of People's Republic of China. Chiang Kai-shek and the remnants
of his armed forces moved to Formosa (Taiwan). Chiang Kai-shek died on April 5 th , 1975.
We visited his residence and gardens. Being outdoors and the fact that I like flora and fauna, I took several pictures. I took some
10-second movie clips of a fiddle player that was playing for tips in the gardens.
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We noticed a beautiful building on our way to Chiang Kai-shek’s home and gardens. We went there next to see what it was. It was
the Grand Hotel of New Taipei. There was a huge courtyard and the hotel looked almost like a temple. These pictures show the
building, the front entrance, the lobby and the view of the 101 building from the front entrance.
Grand Hotel 2/4/12
Late afternoon found us watching a “Changing of the Guard”. I took several 10-second movies. In the evening, District 4390 Governor
Andy hosted a formal dinner for our team. He and Fancy (RFE Exchange Team chairperson for their district) presented each
of us with a certificate of welcome. The gentlemen also received a tie that was the district official tie. I was told wearing a tie was
not required but I wish I did because I was one of the few that did not. We took group pictures before the meal. The meal was a
formal extravaganza. So many great selections of food were put before us that I can not even begin to say what they were. I definitely
had more than enough to eat.
District Governor Andy 2/4/12
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There were lots of merriment, toasts and friendly people. We handed out our 2 flag pins and exchanged lots of business cards
(ours was the team card. We ended the evening late and went back to our host homes. I spent some time on the Internet before
going to sleep.
Taiwan trip 2/5/12
The next day, we toured the Freedom Plaza. The contents are all about Chang Kai-shek and his name was used as the name of the
museum but it got changed to the Freedom Plaza after he died. Of the buildings on each side, one was dedicated to music and the
other was dedicated to theater.
The lower left picture (below), shows a demonstration group. They are demonstrating against atrocities that occur in China. They
can not peacefully demonstrate in China, so they do it here in front of a Chinese museum. They are very quiet and do not block
the entrance. They perform various physical positions for long periods of time. They typically have pictures of atrocities around
the perimeter of their space. We saw this at various places that we visited around Taipei.
The upper right picture (below), shows the bibles that Chang Kai-shek used. He converted to Christianity some time before he
died.
Freedom Plaza 2/5/12
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Next we visited the S. Y. S. Memorial Hall. Numerous building were moved here to preserve the history of the living quarters of
the indigenous people.
Next we visited the Taipei 101
Building. The first thing we did
was go to the 5 th floor and eat
lunch. It was very different from
what I am used to eating and it
was very delicious.
S. Y. S. Memorial Hall 2/5/12
Lunch at 101 building 2/5/12
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views from 98 th floor 2/5/12
We took an elevator to the 98 th floor to the indoor observation deck. I took pictures from all of the windows on the observation
deck.
There was a doorway to the center of the 98th floor where you could look at the counter balance used to maintain stability of the
building. I took several pictures but the weight was so big, none of the pictures could show what it looked like. I think it was
about 50 feet across and had hydraulic actuators that moved the weight in the opposite direction of any building movement. They
get winds in excess of 100 MPH so this counter balance is important.
Late afternoon, we went to a place called the Night Market. No, the left picture is not of a riot. It is a street market where people
basically fill the street for the evening to shop in the stores that line both sides of the street for several blocks. Each shop was
small and you could buy almost anything you wanted from food to clothes to souvenirs.
We stopped at one of the night market places and ate our evening meal. It was delicious. The young lady on the left in the picture
on the right (below) is a Rotary Exchange Student from New Mexico, USA that is studying in Taiwan. She spent a lot of time
with us as we visited Taiwan.
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Again, the day ended late and we went back to our host homes. I had access to the Internet and it was my turn to put something on
the team’s blog site. I could not figure out how to upload pictures to the blog so I just put some words about our day of sight seeing.
My Internet Explorer was too old a version to do pictures on the blog site. I have since upgraded that computer. My tablet was
not useable on the Internet and upon getting back home, I found out that it had failed and was covered by warranty. I am waiting
for my new tablet to see if it works better.
Taiwan trip 2/6/12
Evening meal 2/5/12
The next morning, We went to the Panchiao bus station and took a public bus to Lo-Tong on the East Coast of Taiwan. I tried to
find Lo-Tong on Goggle Earth but it was not shown. I did find Lo-Tong Hotel in Yilan so I am guessing Lo-Tong is a portion of
Yilan. I know that there is a Rotary Club of Lo-Tong.
We were told that the only flat land on the East Coast was the river deltas. The East Coast is isolated from the rest of the island by
a mountain range. We were also told that the West Coast has most of their agriculture land. We saw, from the bus, lots of rice
fields. Each field was a rectangle that appeared to be about 10 acres in size. Homes were typically located near one corner of a rice
field. Some times there was homes near a single field and other places there appeared to be several fields for a home. We saw a
tractor moving through one of the fields. I based my estimate of field size by the relationship of the tractor to the field size. The
wheels were in water that seemed to be a foot or so deep. It had some kind of implement behind it but I could not tell what it was.
We were traveling on a bus on a bridge with pillars flashing by so I took no pictures.
I did take pictures (below) of the Traditional Museum that we visited when we arrived In Lo-Tong.
Box lunch 2/6/12
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The next thing we did was go to a place where we were given a spin-top to paint. Some of us were more artistic then others. We
were allowed to take the top with us when we were done. They did show us how to use the rope to spin the top but some of us
could not get it to work. After the painting episode, we were invited to afternoon tea. There certainly were a lot of nice treats to
go with the tea.
Spin top painting and Afternoon Tea 2/6/12
The days tour group 2/6/12
Dick arrived yesterday so the group picture below includes our entire team and several hosts.
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We were about to get on our tour bus again when a parade started in the street. There were about 25 to 30 trucks similar to the one
below and each was decorated in similar ways. Some had a small band on board. Some had cymbals and drums. They made quite a
bit of noise including some firecrackers. I took some 10-second movies of the parade.
Lantern Festival Parade 2/6/12
Next we went to a market area in town to see the Lantern Festival Parade. There were the usual shops along both sides of the
street. Each shop was probably about 500 square feet. Certainly, the shops were no bigger. Again, you could buy almost anything
in these shops. While at the market, one of our team members found some stones laying behind a building and picked them up.
Old building stones 2/6/12
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Our next stop was at a night market where there was going to be a Lantern Festival Parade. When it got started, I took several 10second
movies of the parade.
Lantern Festival Parade 2/6/12
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I got tired and sat down behind the crowd on a chair that was setting outside one of the shops. I could see a couple kids looking at
me. What was probably their mother, came over and tried to ask me something. One of my team members that translated things for
me, told me that the kids said I looked like Santa Claus and their mother wanted to take a picture of them with me. I said sure and
they sat on my lap while mama took a picture with her camera and then with my camera. Another person took a picture of the
mother and me.
Santa? 2/6/12
On our way from the festival parade to our evening dinner engagement, we stopped at a park that had unusual lighting. At the entrance,
I noticed a couple kids that were eyeing the balloon vendor. It appeared they wanted a balloon but mom was not listening or
did not want to buy the balloons. William was with us and I asked him to talk to the lady to see if it would be all right if I bought
the kids a balloon. The balloons cost less than 1 USD each. William said it would be okay for me to do that, so I did. The smile on
the kid’s face was more than enough reward. The mom asked if she could take a picture of the kids with me. Next thing you know
we had a photo shoot going.
The monument was a memorial to military personnel that gave their life for their country. The overhead lighting was very unique
and pretty. The other 2 objects are actually the same objects. The color of the writing changed every few seconds. I caught the 2
colors I thought were the nicest looking.
mystery park 2/6/12
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The evening meal was with our hosts and I only took one picture to show how elaborate each course of the meal was.
One entrée of the evening meal 2/6/12
After the meal, we went to stay at our second hosts location. My second hosts knew someone with an apartment that was empty
so William and his wife stayed there upstairs and I stayed there downstairs. It was a nice place. We did not have Internet access at
this location.
Taiwan trip 2/7/12
My second host brought breakfast to the apartment for us. Because of having to bring it to the apartment, it was a bit simpler and
that was fine with me because I was getting way too much to eat for breakfast. I normally hate orange juice but even that tasted
good. It had no pulp in it at all and no oil looking stuff floating on top.
Breakfast 2/7/12
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After breakfast, we went to visit my second host’s hardware store. I found a hatchet that I really liked and tried to buy it but they
would not accept my money so it became a gift. I now know that one should not admire something a lot or it may become a gift.
Me and my hatchet 2/7/12
Our next stop was a very unique museum. It was the Lanyan Museum and Fine Art Carving Gallery. It appears that one end of the
building has sunk into the ground but inside the floors are level with the ground I am standing on to take this picture.
There were two portions to the building. I spent most of my time in the portion that contained the history of the indigenous people
of Taiwan. I did not take pictures inside the art gallery per the request of the tour guide.
Lanyan Museum & Fine Art Carving Gallery 2/7/12
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Lanyan Museum & Fine Art Carving Gallery 2/7/12
The montage above is some of the pictures I took of the indigenous people displays. The tour guide was talking but unfortunately,
I was so busy looking at the things that attracted me, that I did not hear much of what was said.
The team spent the afternoon at a SPA. My health prevents me from attending such a place so I sat outside while the others participated.
That was fine with me because I was ready for a calm sit down anyway. The SPA manager came to me part way
through the time and asked if I would please go into the gentlemen’s side and explain to a couple of our members that clothes are
not allowed inside. I did so but my message was not all that welcome. They did not ask me to do the same for the ladies side. I
think I know why. No pictures were allowed at that establishment. I think I know why.
The Assistant District Governors of Yilan 1st and 2nd Subgroup hosted our evening meal. Again, the meal was excellent and far
more than enough to eat. We partied, toasted, exchanged flags, exchanged cards, handed out our 2 flag pin and generally had
great conversations.
District Governor hosted dinner 2/7/12
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After dinner, we returned to our host provided apartment for the night. I had no Internet access at this location.
Taiwan trip 2/8/12
When I got up, I decided to take pictures of the unique living room furniture. I believe it is carved from a Cyprus tree trunk.
Cyprus furniture 2/8/12
Our first place to visit today was a whiskey brewery. Some of us taste test some liquids and some even bought some. I bought a
whiskey bible that contains a description of every kind of whiskey from almost every country.
Our next stop was a greenhouse that raised orchids and other flowers. I was able to be inside without problems with my allergies.
Have no idea why it worked, but I enjoyed it as long as it was working.
Whiskey Brewery and Flower Greenhouse 2/8/12
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More of the greenhouse 2/8/12
Close ups shots taken in greenhouse 2/8/12
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Some time during the day, I took a picture of a very elaborate carving. I have no idea where this was located except that is somewhere
between the greenhouse and our Japanese lunch.
Elaborate wood carving 2/8/12
We stopped at a Japanese restaurant for lunch. It was quite a show with all the knife work and fancy cooking of each course of the
meal. The food was good. The chairperson of the RFE Team visit in Taiwan, Fancy, hosted lunch. She is the person on the far
right of the left picture below.
Lunch at Japanese restaurant 2/8/12
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We spent the afternoon looking at various sights in the area of Yilan.
Temple in Yilan 2/8/12
Fisherman’s Warf 2/8/12
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We stopped at a place that makes clogs. They are like shower togs but made of wood. We watched a demonstration of clog making
and then some tried their hand at it too. It was not as easy as it looked during the demonstration.
Clog Shop 2/8/12
In the evening, we attended a meeting of the Lotung West Rotary Club. When we arrived, we were asked to participate in a tea
test. Each of our team sat across from a pair of local Rotarians that helped us with the taste test. They fixed 3 different teas and
asked me to comment on what I smelled and what I tasted. They explained the purpose and tradition of tea tasting as we proceeded.
The first tea had a good aroma, had a bitter taste and the after taste was bitter also. I must have done something right because
both of the servers smiled and said I was correct in my description. The second tea had a good aroma, had a nice taste but
had a bitter after taste. Again, they agreed with me. The third tea had a good aroma, had a nice taste and had no bitterness in the
after taste. They told me that I was correct on all analysis so I guess I passed the taste test.
My taste test servers 2/8/12
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The Rotary meeting was similar to the meeting we had in Yilan. We exchanged flags, handed out our flag pins, exchanged cards
and talked with lots of real nice people. The meal was elaborate and very good.
Lotung West Rotary meeting 2/8/12
At the end of the meeting, we went back to the place we stayed the night before. We were tired but very happy. I had no Internet
access at this location.
Taiwan trip 2/9/12
We took a train from Yilan to Hualien and then took a tour bus to our next place to stay. It was called a B&B but it must have
different meaning in Taiwan. I would call it a motel. It was located across a bike path and beach from the Pacific Ocean. We
checked in and put our luggage in our rooms. My room had 2 large beds and 2 bathrooms. The rooms were across a driveway
from the restaurant building.
The B&B place silverware at our meal place setting for all meals. No one complained. They offered chopsticks if we preferred
but by this time we had used chopsticks enough and silverware was welcome.
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We ate lunch and then began our travels in our tour bus.
B&B 2/9/12
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Lunch 2/9/12
Our first place to visit, in Hualien, was the Tzu-Chi Culture Center. A tour guide, from the Center, welcomed us, asked us to remove
our shoes (sandals were supplied) and took us on an informative tour. The organization serves people around the world.
The leader of the organization, a young woman, decided to establish the organization to provide help for the less fortunate in the
world. The campus is huge, as are the buildings. We were shown rooms that could accommodate thousands of students to be
trained in the methods used to help people around the world. The training lasts a few weeks and then new batches of trainees arrive.
I believe the organization leader is a follower of Buddha but I did not actually hear the guide say so. When asked, the guide
said he was a Christian.
Tzu-Chi Culture Center 2/9/12
We attended a meeting and dinner of a joint meeting of the clubs in Hualien. We handed out our 2 flag pin, exchanged cards and
talked with numerous very nice Rotarians.
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Joint Hualien club meeting 2/9/12
We made our presentation, at this joint meeting, but we took way too much time. We were supposed to be done in 45 minutes. We
cut it short after an hour and a half. We had lost the audience long before that. I hope they are not too upset with us.
We returned to the B&B to get some sleep. I was able to get on the Internet through the B&B wireless connection and sent emails
to say that I was doing fine. I got some emails as well and replied to them.
Taiwan trip 2/10/12
I awoke about the same time as the rest of the team and took some more pictures of the views from the B&B out over the Pacific
Ocean. I was able to get on the internet through the B&B wireless connection and sent emails to say that I was doing fine.
We ate breakfast at the B&B before beginning our tour of the area on our tour bus. It was a chowder like soup with chunks of what
tasted like potatoes.
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view from B&B 2/10/12
Soup for breakfast 2/10/12
Our first place to visit, this day, was the Stone and Resource Industry R&D Center were we learned a lot about stone works.
Their method of R&D is different from the US. They do the technology research, the manufacturing technique design and the
marketing planning before another company takes on the task of manufacturing and selling a product developed by the R&D
company. The Central Government provides some financial support for the R&D Company. We also learned about deep sea
drinking water and unique uses of corrugated cardboard for such things as furniture (top row, second from left in picture below).
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Stone and Resource Industry R&D Center 2/10/12
Alisa and Marco 2/10/12
We met 2 exchange students from the USA and they traveled with us this day and the next. They are Alisa from New Mexico,
USA and Marco from California, USA. Both were very nice and added to the enjoyment or our visit. We had more people on the
tour today that spoke the language than people that did not.
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Our next stop was at a museum for the long ceased logging industry. The carving was amazing and the chunks of wood used as
monuments outside were also amazing.
Museum of Logging 2/10/12
We stopped for a late lunch at a restaurant that I do not remember the name of.
Lunch 2/10/12
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We went to the B&B to rest and change clothes for the evening dinner. DGE Young hosted the dinner. We exchanged cards,
handed out our 2 flag pin and talked with more great Rotarians.
We partied and had a great time. After the party, we went back to the B&B for the night. I was able to get on the Internet through
the B&B wireless connection and sent emails to say that I was doing fine. I also got some emails and replied to them.
Taiwan trip 2/11/12
Dinner hosted by DGE Young 2/10/12
Today is our last day in Hualien before we go back to Taipei. We ate breakfast at the B&B before starting our day of touring.
Breakfast at B&B 2/11/12
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We gathered outside the B&B for one last photo shoot before beginning our tour of the area.
RFE Exchange Team and friends 2/11/12
Our journey, today, took us to the Taroko National Park. This park includes a long gorge with a road carved into the side of the
mountains. There is barely room for buses to traverse this road. I watched as a double-decker bus negotiated a tight turn. There
was no room for other vehicles in the curve and the roof barely cleared the ceiling. Some places the road was carved leaving a
ceiling over the road and some places there were no ceiling. We were given helmets and told to wear them anytime we left the
protection of our tour bus. The tour bus stopped and let us out to walk the edge of the road so we could take lots of pictures.
The Park provided a guide to travel with us through the park to explain what we saw and to answer questions. The building we
came to in the park had displays that showed where the park was with respect to various views of Taiwan.
I made a collage of pictures of the National Forest. If you set the word processor to the maximum, like 500%, you can move
around the next three images and see more details.
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National Forest building display 2/11/12
Views inside the gorge at the National Forest 2/11/12
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Views inside the gorge at the National Forest 2/11/12
We arrived at some buildings at the high end of the gorge road in the National Forest. We ate lunch there and walked around the
area. There were interesting trees and animals. I took movies of the lady in the picture below as she did her weaving. We also
saw some indigenous people carving wood statues. I got movies of that as well. While walking around the various trails, some of
the team saw monkeys in the trees. They were very bashful and left as soon as people came along the trail. I bought a bunch of
decks of playing cards from the indigenous people’s store. These people get all the revenue from their store.
The guide told us that there are still some indigenous people living on the mountainside. She pointed to one place on the road to
the buildings where there was a walking trail. There was a village about a half days walk up the trail and another village, a full
days walk, up the trail. The trail was so steep, I doubt if any motorized vehicle could have gotten up there.
We ate at the restaurant at the National Park. The center, bottom row picture, shows what I ate. It was eel and oysters and other
things that I did not recognize. The eel was good except for the center part.
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Buildings at the high end of the gorge road 2/11/12
Late afternoon, we got on a train for the ride back to Taipei to stay with first host family until we left for home. I was able to get on
the Internet, in Taipei, and continued my communication with people back home.
Taiwan trip 2/12/12
On this day, some of the team went shopping. I went shopping for a suitcase and then went back to my host’s home. I needed a
suitcase, bigger than carry on size, to get all my gifts and purchases back to the USA.
I spent most of the day packing and getting ready for the trip home. I knew the trip was grueling so I got a bunch of rest to get my
body ready for it.
Taiwan trip 2/13/12
It was hard to say goodbye, but we did, and our hosts took us to the airport. There were more hosts with us than we had luggage so
we did not have to work very hard. There were so many Taiwan Rotarians that we befriended that it was very hard to leave. I intend
to continue to nurture those friendships.
I arrived at the Eau Claire airport at about 11pm on 2/13/12. It was 2am on 2/14/12 by the time I got home and went to bed. We
crossed the date line from the opposite direction so we arrived the same day we left. That plays tricks with the brain. The total
travel time from our host home to my home was real close to 40 hours. The trip back was even more stressful than the trip going.
There were long boring layovers in Tokyo and Chicago. Chicago was the worst with a 7 hours layover.
Would I go back? Absolutely! The lavish treatment may not happen next time but the people, the sights and the environment
would be the same.
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This booklet would not be as nice as it is without the help of the rest of the RFE Taiwan Team. Their help
got rid of various errors in details and some word problems.
Thank you
I am also grateful for the support shown to me by my local Rotary Club. Their encouragement made it easier
for me to make this trip.
Amery Area Rotary
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