Wide Open Spaces

I often spend a lot of my time when I need to get out on the local University Campus. National Taiwan University is one of the oldest in Taiwan, and a beautiful place. It's just two city blocks from my home, and next to most of the local restaurants, so I often wander there after eating as a way to relax.


Students enjoying the NTU campus environment around the library.


The pathway to the library.


Wide open spaces! Something rare in crowded Taiwan, much less in the middle of Taipei!


A nice place to just sit and reflect on whether those palm trees have coconuts or not... 

The Library

Nice and imposing, isn't it? A good solid modern campus library!


A nearby Japanese-styled student center where I went after taking these pictures.


Another shot the library, with it's stone name plaque, a very common thing in Asia. They like the permanence that having things carved in stone seems to imply. I wonder if Connie will want me to carve my wedding vows in stone too...


The Two Towers...The library bell tower, and next to it the distant Taipei 101, world's tallest building. 

What lies within...

A Taiwanese university cafeteria.


Weird modern art in the main hall. Looks like it was designed by engineers!


Pay phones! Which in Taiwan mean ugly grey or green boxes!


A student checking the announcements and somesuch in the hall, notice how the Japanese theme is carried on inside as well as outside. 

The way out!

What lies beyond this door?


Oh no! Trees! Triffids would love this place, probably as much as I do. It's a real garden campus.


Before crossing the street, look right!


And look left! 

Something Old

Bicycles are perhaps the most common form of student transportation here, and around the world!


Staircase from a Japanese-era building.


Another shot of the stairs, experimenting with light and camera angles.


The actual building, which I believe is an engineering building. The weathered effect is literally the result of the extreme weather here in Taipei. You should see what it does to people who spend all their time outdoors! 

End of NTU

Saturday and Sunday morning and afternoon the campus is filled with groups of men with cameras following around beautiful women in sexy or strange outfits. They're camera clubs who hire the model collectively to spend a few hours posing for them. It's a good gig for both sides, although one wonders how the models feel about it. In this case the model was wearing a sexy angel costume (with wings), a pink wig, AND bunny ears! You have to wonder how they explained what she'd be wearing to her, or how they decided this was the costume they wanted her to wear..."I want a bunny girl!" "I want an angel", "I want a girl with pink hair!" Still, it does keep the campus interesting!


A view of the agricultural gardens where they grow experimental crops, and one of the more modern buildings.



Flowers from the side of the path.


Students come,
Student go,
Knowledge flows forever.

And Rob went home to take a nap... 

YangMinShan

So, today I joined Connie and her mother in a tip up YangMinShan mountain to one of it's many parks! I met them at the train station, and then two bus rides later there we were outside of the visitor center..

I took this picture because I thought it was sad they had to put bars on the vending machines in such a beautiful and idyllic setting. I guess there are people spoiling things everywhere!

The bus stop area in front of the visitor center. That white stuff is clouds! We're actually up in the middle of a large cloud bank during these pictures! (Which is also the reason there are no scenic shots...)


Plaque outside the Temple of the God of Earth, an honorable and just local diety.


Said temple behind the plaque! 

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The area we were is called TsinTiangGang, and here's a map!


The rules of the park! I like the part about not playing with Oxen! As if I need to be reminded!


Up into the clouds....Well...More clouds!

Hard to believe that this rolling pasture is at the top of a mountain range! It looks like it's a field in Southwestern Ontario! 

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Rob takes a moment to enjoy the surprisingly comfortable top of the mountain. The breeze was warmish, the grass soft and I was a bit tired....a good place to nap, and I was hardly alone in doing so!


Connie's mother returns from her walk to find Rob asleep when he should have been on guard duty!



Princess Kang, queen of my world!



The mountaintop park was filled with families enjoying the fresh air, if not the view. The longer we were there, the worse the clouds got. Many families with there with children and pets, and one couple were even walking a rabbit! 

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A father-daughter moment. She thought he was sleeping, and learned that not all is as it appears!


A nice Chinese-style Gazebo where you can sit and look out at the landscape while you eat your lunch.


Time to go home! Off to the bus! But wait! There's a lineup! (Which we spent nearly a half hour in...1 small bus that only comes every 15 minutes on a busy day is not enough!


Connie enjoys her favorite snacks (bought by yours truely) while we wait for the bus. We went down after this and stopped at a nice Western Style-Japanese Style fusion place of the kind which are so common here. A good day had by all!