24 March 2014
Goose stepping
So, today I didnt climb any big mountain, just a hill.
Tomorrow will probably be a different story.
As a result there are not that many photos today, none the less I walked from 8AM until after 2PM stopping only for lunch.
Hopefully some strength will return to my legs for tomorrow!
In culinary news, I have discovered that I really like barley milk tea, whatever that is, and the red fleshed dragonfruit with the black bits, which you seemingly cant get in Australia.
I also discovered that old people that hang out on the nice hill like their music really loud, and they each have their own designated areas where their gang congregates, and that there may even be warring factions of old folks.
I saw a bunch of old men giving each other the evil eye across a disused badmington court. It was covered in leaves and overgrown weeds.
All the other courts, and there must have been 20, had nice nets, people playing, or people sitting on the court preparing food.
So I have come to the conclusion that this unused court is the DMZ between north and south senior Taiwanese citizens who come to the hill park each day to hang out and listen to music.
Those are the mountains I was up yesterday, I think only the one on the right. So lots more to go.
Heres that hotel again, behind which I aroused the suspicion of security yesterday.
This is the view from the old persons hill top retreat. If you enlarge and look at the hills in the background, about 3/4 of the way along you can see very big buildings on the top of the ridge.
I am intriuged by this.
After coming down from the hill, I came upon this place by accident, right at the changing of the guard.
If you look past the goose stepping guys with pretty yet fake guns, you can see tough guys in black suits.
Presumably these are the Taiwanese secret service, and they look like they mean business.
Some of them are carrying black padded bags, which I presume hold machine guns.
The whole procedure took about 20 minutes. Once 2 new guys were stood to attention on the wooden boxes, someone came along and rearranged them whilst they stood as statues.
Adjusting their gun, pants, belt, helmet, stance etc.
After another hours walk past a navy base in the middle of town that had a small duck pond, I arrived here, and realised I had been there before on my last trip.
No ferris wheel ride today though.
The basement had 20 good places to eat. I choose a simple soup. The beef was good, or whatever meat it was, but the noodles were too thin and too chewy.
I also ordered some different style dumplings, which came about 10 minutes after I had finished my soup.
And now it occurs me I have not even been into whats referred to as the city yet, so thats probably where I will walk to tonight.