31 Mar 2012 ~ Temple & Golden Buddha

Listening to:  Y La Bamba ~ Squawk (Court The Storm)

This is the largest Golden Buddha in Taiwan.

The Samanthababhadra Bodhisattva with ten faces in ten directions.

This photo turned out pretty well considering I had to use the 10 second timer on the camera to I could run from the only nearby ledge where the camera was perched to get in front of the statue in time. It only took 2 attempts.

In front of the temple.

I heard the bells / drum but did not know I would come upon a lone monk in a prayer ceremony in the Main Shrine Hall.

The quality of this video is poor, but I wanted you to hear the sounds more than see the visuals, so I decided to post it anyway. I also didn't want to make a spectacle of myself and was trying to keep the camera low key out of respect.

http://youtu.be/jivvPk5-EP8

30 Mar 2012 ~ Heaven Summit Pagoda

Listening to: Flatt & Scruggs ~ Roll In My Sweet Baby's Arms
(RIP Earl)

The trek to the Heaven Summit Pagoda was well worth it.

The scenery was beautiful.

A short distance away was the Wishing Well.

This scene caught my eye in the lower left corner.

Decided to take a brief rest

at the garden.

25 Mar 2012 ~ New Furnishings

Listening to: Solander ~ The Garden (Passing Mt. Satu)

Went to Ikea today to get some poster frames. Surprisingly, that's where most people suggested I go for them if I didn't want anything custom.

I had brought 3 posters with me: Phil Lesh & Friends Summer Tour (1999), Bob Weir, Rob Wasserman & Jay Lane (Scaring the Children, 2009), and Crosby, Nash & Young (1997).

But then, I found out the wall is concrete, and I couldn't put a nail in, so I had to go to find adhesive tapes.

I also bought a new carpet for in front of the couch.

Adds a little color to the room.

Skye has been busy expanding her nest area. I took out the part she has pushed out one afternoon, and the next day, she had extended her living area, and has been busy decorating ever since.

It's amazing how she has "braided" the sticks into the cage wires. I make her work for the sticks. I stack them up outside the cage, usually 4 at a time, and make her forage and get them inside.

24 Mar 2012 ~ Tianxiang & Lunch

Listening to: Jimi Hendrix ~ Straight Ahead (First Rays of the New Rising Sun)
Finally stopped for lunch at Tianxiang, Taroko's largest settlement. This resort town is on the edge of the gorge and backed by verdant mountains.

The guide only gave us 30 minutes to cross the river to a six-story pagoda perched on a mountain ridge. So I bolted from the tour bus to climb to the top for some outstanding views. 

Had to cross the bridge.

Full entrance shot and a close up of the details.

Lunch was delicious. Took a picture of the menu so I wouldn't forget. My favorites were the Spareribs in Orange Sauce, Fish in Sweet and Sour Sauce (which actually was not deep fried but broiled - better in my opinion), Fried Prawns and Scrambled Eggs and Braised Pork with Eggplant.

I did eat an oyster...I still don't like them no matter how many times I try them.

23 Mar 2012 ~ Bridge of Motherly Devotion (Taroko Gorge)

Listening to: Elvis Presley ~ All Shook Up (16 March 1974, Richmond, VA)

Another pedistrian-only section is the twisting Tunnel of Nine Turns trail.

This trail is  series of short tunnels cut through marble, and the gorge drama reaches its peak here with the narrowest area.

About a mile and a quarter down the way we reached Cimu Bridge, or the Bridge of Motherly Devotion.

It is a good place to view the riverbed with its scattering of huge boulders thrown down from the mountains.

Situated just to the south of the bridge is a large white marble boulder known as Frog Rock. Atop of the boulder is the Orchid Pavilion, ereccted in honor of the late President Chian Ghing-kuo's mother, which subsequently became known as the "crown on the frog king's head."

And then, we went across a foot suspension bridge. Here is Josephine showing us the way and reminding us not hit our heads on the white gate as we step onto the bridge.

Yes, I have to admit I was nervous. My first experience of a suspension bridge was in the summer after fourth grade when we took a family driving vacation to Florida and stopped on the way in the Smokey Mountains of Tennessee. I dared to go on an extremely high suspension bridge, and just when I was in the middle, some nasty boys got on one end and started jumping, making the bridge sway to and fro. I was so scared, hung on for dear live, and probably cried when I got off.

But I made it across - and back - this one! Sorry the view is a little shakey, but I was trying to balance after all.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zj2Dig1lJRg

21 March 2012 ~ Jinheng Bridge (Taroko Gorge)

Listening to: Juston Stens ~ Edge of the Moon (Trash or Treasure)

The Jinheng Bridge spans the Ludan River, a tributary of the Liwu Rivers.

Before crossing, we stopped at a small cafe, with a memorial to Jin Hen, Chief Engineer, who was swept away by a landslide when inspecting the damage to the dam caused by an earthquake on 20 October 1957 measuring 5 on the Richter Scale.

Here is a view of Yindianren (Indian) Rock. One of Taroko's most famous sights, it was weathered into a shape resembling the profile of a native American Chief. Can you see it? The leaves supposedly represent the feathers of a headdress.

This rock formation doesn't have an official name (or at least the guide didn't tell us one), but it reminds me of an elephants trunk drinking from the water.

19 Mar 2012 ~ Swallow Grotto (Taroko Gorge)

Listening to: Tony Dekker ~ Song Sung Blue (Neil Diamond)
We have a lucky winner! I was getting worried that no one was reading my blog. Baretta's cockatoo's name was "Fred". Thanks to Uncle Google for providing the answer. Stay tuned for more trivia opportunities and you too could be a lucky winner!

Nearing the entrance to Taroko National Park Headquarters, took the time to soak in the vastness of nature, but also took the time to notice the small things.

Our first stop in the park was at Swallow Grotto.

This is the tour guide, Josephine.

Because the area is being repaired due to damage from an earthquake, we were required to wear hard hats, which is what she is picking up in the bags. Here's an example of the tunnel we needed to walk through.

Nice, huh?

I did not make it across this bridge as a special government permit is needed, but I did have an opportunity to cross one later in the day and I have video! [To be posted soon.]

The lower marble sections are pockmarked with hundreds of small grottoes, etched out of the rock by underground streams, where thousands of swallows once made their nests.

17 Mar 2012 ~ St. Patrick's Day

Listening to: Papa ~ Ain't It So (A Good Woman Is Hard To Find)

Doesn't only take green beer, but thanks for sharing this one.

I remember when I was about 15 or 16 my parents hosted a St. Patrick's Day party. I think it was Uncle Leonard who supplied the pony barrel keg of green beer. We had a couple tables of Sheepshead going on. Aunt Beverly, Donny & Doris, Marty & Judy were there. I think Karen came home after bartending at Dregger's and made us all Tootsie Roll blender drinks. I bet I saw leprechaun's after that event!

I wonder if I started a Sheephead "Meet Up" group in HK if anyone would be interested? I just checked and there currently is not one...

For those of you unaware of this exciting card game, I borrow from Wikipedia:
"It is the Americanized version of a card game that originated in Central Europe in the late 18th century under the German name Schafkopf. Although Schafkopf literally means "sheepshead", it has nothing to do with sheep. The term probably was derived and translated incorrectly from Middle High German and referred to playing cards on a barrel head (from kopf, meaning head, and Schaff, meaning a barrel). In the United States, Sheepshead is most commonly played in Wisconsin,, which has a large German-American population...There are numerous tournaments throughout Wisconsin during the year, with the largest tournament being the "Nationals", held annually...during the first or second weekend in November".

Yes, this is the lively conversation you get from me after a 70 hour work week.

What's this St. Patrick's Day all about? I know there is a patron saint of Ireland, something about chasing out the snakes...

Ok, back to Wikipedia:

Saint Patrick's Day -  a cultural and religious holiday celebrated on 17 March. It commemorates Saint Patrick (c. AD 387–461), the most commonly recognised of the patron saints of Ireland, and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland...Saint Patrick's Day was made an official feast day in the early seventeenth century, and has gradually become a celebration of Irish culture in general. The day is generally characterised by the attendance of church services, wearing of green attire and the lifting of Lenten restrictions on eating, and drinking alcohol.

I love how some religions celebrate the drinking of alcohol and others forbid it.

Enjoy your day!

12 Mar 2012 ~ Cockatoo Vidoes

Listening to: Mercies ~ In Your Mind (The Ballet)
Here are the video clips.

#5 - Getting Breakfast
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0PJHN2U_6I

#6 - Back Together

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v58kuMSh4j8


#7 - Close-up Eating

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8Rh4mOtFJk

#12 - After flying to ther palm tree.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NdJ_3UjOYg
Enjoy!

11 Mar 2012 ~ Wild Cockatoos

Listening to: Led Zeppelin ~ I Can't Quit You Baby

What a nice surprise one morning to see outside my window but a pair of Wild Cockatoos!

Skye alerted me to them by squaking up a storm, so I immediately grabbed the camera.

Although indiginous to East Timor and parts of Indoneasia, there is an introduced population here in HK common in the woods and public parks of HK Island. Their diet consists mainly of seeds, buds, fruits, nuts and herbaceous plants.

The cockatoo used in the TV series Baretta, was a Yellow-crested Cockatoo. [Trivia Game: To the first person to email me the name of Baretta's pet cockatoo, i.o.u. one dinner and drinks at a restaurant of your choice the next time we are together.]

According to Wikipedia, the large group has apparently developed from a number of caged birds that have been released into the Hong Kong skies over many years. An often repeated story is that Hong Kong Governor Sir Mark Aitchison Young released Government House's entire bird collection – including a large number of Yellow-crested Cockatoos – hours before surrendering to Japanese troops in December 1941.

http://youtu.be/v2JpqYX7aAI

The story reminds me of "The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill" in San Francisco (if you have not read the book or watched the documentary, I do recommend them). Interesting enough, I just read a newspaper article the night before seeing these Cockatoos that the Parrots of Telegraph Hill were "migrating" to Brisbane.

I have more [interesting] video clips, they are just taking too long to upload tonight and I need to sign off. Check back soon!