Shoushan 壽山 and Monkeys Galore at Monkey Mountain, #2

We enjoyed Monkey Mountain so much the first time, we decided to head back and hike another route. This time, we persevered and found the entrance near the Gu Shan High School. We parked the car in the large parking lot, shaded by a rock face. We took the wooden stairs by the vendors selling hiking gear, to the trail and began the ascent.

The northern parking entrance

We began our hike here

Just the same as the southern side of Mt Shoushan, the trails are very well marked in Chinese and English.

Before we knew it we were face to face with some friendly, and also not so friendly, mountain Macaques.

This little guy was chilling waiting for
some orange from a fellow hiker.

We were strangely fascinated to see some gym equipment occupying some shaded leaf littered areas of the trails.

Jeff couldn't resist

The board walks took us to numerous caves, view points and banyan trees. The vegetation changed from coarse and dry to soft and lush throughout the hike. We ended up walking the entire route that day. In part because we had lots of energy, and in part because we got a little lost. Regardless, the hike was enjoyable and entertaining.

A view of the eastern side of the Kaohsiung

And the view of the east 

During the last 15 minutes of the descent to the temple, a few minutes north of where we began our hike and parked the car, we stumbled across a troop of monkeys making their way up the stairway. The numerous amount of placid monkeys at the bottom can be attributed to the temple and large amount of visitors feeding them. Definitely the place to go if you want the monkeys without the hike.

Hanging out on a side trail 

Can you see the monkey in the background?

See how close you can get to the Macaques in this short video I took

 

Christmas Day Cycling in Meinong 美濃

My partner and I are not your usual present-giving types. For birthdays we have taken each other to Normandy, France, and to a Broadway production in New York City. Christmas' have been spent in Casablanca, Morocco as well as in scenic and snowy Collingwood, Canada. This year, due to a mildly confusing rule at the semi-International School where we work and only Chinese holidays are observed, Christmas this year would inevitably be spent in Taiwan.

We attended a 'Croissant, Champagne and Coffee Christmas Brekky' organised by an Aussie family from work. After, we decided to do something a little more unusual and headed 45 minutes north east of Kaohsiung for some cycling around the fields of Meinong.

The drive was pleasant along the quick paced highway. Following the signs for 'Meinong' there was no chance of us getting lost. Once closer, we then looked for signs directing us to the Hakka Museum. The Hakka are a Chinese minority who migrated to Taiwan in the 12th century.

We rented bicycles for a steal at 100NT each in the building next to the museum. Then it was up to us to ride our single speed bikes through the various fields of tea, tobacco, bananas, cabbages and other numerous green vegetables.

Bike Rental 

We took a map from the bicycle rental store, which although in Chinese, gave us a little piece of mind that we could find our way back if need be. There are various bike routes in Meinong, but we decided to venture on our own. We came across the Green line and Red line. Faded painted colored lines can be found on the road, along with interspersed signs containing maps.

One of the Bike Route signs

We found the maps a little difficult to read, but followed some of the lines regardless to see where we would end up. The Green path led us to a large temple. The Red path led us to an Arboretum where we decided to eat our Christmas picnic lunch of tomato and cheese crackers, fruit salad, juice and chocolates.

We stumbled across this Temple on our ride

A sign in the arboretum

Heading back to the rental shop, we saw some familiar sights so we knew we were on the right track. The lush scenery, endless working fields, sleepy towns and friendly faces make us want to return. Although we don't need an excuse to return, I want to see some of the Oil Paper Parasol workshops for which Meinong is famous for. I am looking forward to our next visit.

We stopped for some water at a small shop

Meinong can be found here,

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E-Da World Ferris Wheel

View of the Ferris Wheel from my workplace

I work at I-Shou International School which is part of the E-United Group. The E-United Group is the fifth largest steel producer in the world. It is also responsible for a university, amusement park, luxury hotels, housing development, theater, mall and giant 80m in diameter ferris wheel. 

I had been wanting to ride the Ferris Wheel since arriving at work during August. For some regrettable reason, I did not ride the London Eye, although I walked past it on many occasions living in London for almost 2 years. So this was the next best thing. Tickets were on sale, just 80NT, down from the usual 200NT, so it was time to ride the wheel.

The Ferris Wheel has 40 carriages which carries its passengers for one full rotation in 15 minutes.It stands atop the roof of the Outlet Mall. My friend and I decided to take the ride at night, as the university, mall, amusement park and other grand buildings shine brilliant lights upon an otherwise vacant landscape.

The view of the rooftop of the Outlet Mall

The Crowne Plaza

Jess getting ready for the ride

 The Ferris Wheel's luminous rainbow neon lights change constantly and are quite spectacular from the ground and while in the carriage.

However, I am quite glad we weren't among the passengers on board when the Ferris Wheel malfunctioned earlier in the year, leaving passengers locked in for over an hour. See the article about this incident, reported by The China Post here.

If the above China Post article doesn't freak you out, visit E-Da World here.

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Shoushan 壽山 and Monkeys Galore

Shoushan gives me a feeling of deja vu - it is similar to that of Cascades D'ouzoud; a large waterfall in Morocco that is home to many Barbary apes. It was a destination we wanted to visit, but that kept being put off. When we finally went, we were very glad we did and wondered what had taken us so long.

Shoushan, or Mt Shou, is located on the western side of Kaohsiung. It is home to various temples, a zoo, a military base,university, walking, hiking and mountain biking trails, wild dogs and many Formosan Rock Macaques. Shoushan stands tall to the side of Kaohsiung and is visible from our apartment's kitchen window on clear, non-polluted days.

Jeff and I had tried to hike there previously, but the poor signage and lack of parking, as well as our lack of navigational skills, left us driving around the city in all directions. So after some research and advice from friends, we made it.

We parked just before the zoo, in front of the February 28 Memorial Park and walked up the stairs. We followed the signs and found ourselves on a pleasant 2 hour hike, surrounded by Taiwanese locals and non-threatening macaques. The main paths are well signed, with rocky short cuts interspersed throughout the trails. The higher up the mountain we climbed, the more macaques we encountered.

Where we began our hike

Take the stairs to the top, and keep going

The view of the city from the top of the first stairs

Try your luck on some of the smaller trails

We went a little off trail and ended up at an
army base.
We were offered some help from some
locals and followed their lead.

The view of Kaohsiung and the 85 story building

Short clip of the view from the highest vantage point on Shoushan

Short clip of a family of macaques grooming and goofing around 

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