Uncategorized – An Englishman in Hanoi

Altitude Sickness in Alishan

January 31, 2022February 7, 2022 TomLeave a comment

*Alishan’s Majestical Sea of Clouds at Erwanping*

Recently, on a whim, I made my way to Alishan National Park.

Having talked to my former roommates about the Alishan Forest Railway, which they recommended, I finally decided to take the ride. Whilst my erstwhile friend Paul took a detour to Tainan to see a friend, I made a rash, last-minute decision – sitting alone in Paul’s hotel downstairs – to go. The idea of the train emerged (as ideas always seem to forge their way into my psyche at such moments) and I did a quick review of the logistics;

High Speed Rail to Chiayi -> Next day take the Alishan Forest Train at 9am – work my way along its scenic route. The rest, at this point, still unknown.

The trip that materialised was a hybrid train – bus trip, which eventually took me to Alishan National Park. Up in Alishan I felt an intense connection to younger years spent Skiing the Alps with my family. The cold air, with the hotels and resort accommodation all huddled together, was great. The key difference was the price. Alishan is affordable for a back-packer budget traveller such as me – only in Vietnam have I ever escaped anything that doesn’t resemble budget travel!

Anyway, the first part of the trip started down at Sea Level; Chiayi. Here you take the Forest Train Line which meanders its way uphill. That is if you can find the fairly inconspicuous ticket office. The ticket office can be found next to the entrance of the station, a small window with a man sitting behind it. It has all the feel of Harry Potter’s Hogwarts Express. One could quite easily walk by and never notice the window, with the little man sitting inside. It really has a Platform 9 and 3 quarters feel about it.

The 70km Train, built by the Japanese, plunges through 48 tunnels and crosses 74 bridges, rising to an incredible altitude of 2451 metres, from just 30.

I took the train up the mountain and as we stopped at each station we climbed higher. I followed our progress on the map I was handed by the ticket office. (This can be seen below).

Chiayi is at 30 metres. The next stop is Zhuqi at 127 metres. And then Jiaoliping Station at 997 metres. Jiaoliping is noted in the guidebook as being a “Village with a nostalgic grocery store”. I was not sure how a grocery store could be nostalgic, but it stated underneath:

Nowadays, only an old grocery shop remains, providing a service for villagers and tourists alike, conveying a sense of nostalgia.
Alishan Forest Railway and Cultural Heritage Office

Provided by the Alishan Forest Railway and Cultural Heritage Office

As I was riding the train, I was under the impression that it would ride all the way up to Alishan at 2216 metres. But after speaking to a Taiwanese girl on the train, I realised it would stop at Fenquihu, at 1403 metres. This was no matter, and enhanced the trip, as Fenquihu was a beautiful village. Highly enjoyable to wander with many culinary delights – including the most delicious doughnuts you will ever try!

The guidebook describes it as thus: “This is the largest intermediate station on the railway used to be a division point where steam locomotives were maintained, prepared and refueled.” This time it even had nostalgic stairways;

Because of the railway, Fenquihu became the center of the area and is renowned for its old streets, railway lunch boxes, and bamboo. The stairways of the old street provide a nostalgic atmosphere. To enjoy the forest, visitors can take a walk on the circular trail around the village.
Alishan Forest Railway and Cultural Heritage Office

From Fenquihu I took a bus to the Alishan National Park. And from there I had an amazing trip; hiking, making friends, taking the sunrise train to Mount Ogasawara – an incredibly beautiful way to start the day – and all around enjoying the crisp mountain air.

Anyway, because I had befriended the lady who worked at the hotel, and she told me she could take me on some special hikes and routes; I decided to come back the next week. I wanted to enjoy the scenery again, and see what adventures and new routes awaited me.

On the 2nd trip, my companion took me on a hike to Lulingshan, which eventually reaches the Jade Mountain Trailhead. Jade Mountain is the tallest mountain in Taiwan, at 3952 metres high.

Arduous and fulfilling, with Mr. Titi, the colourful bird, spending most of his time diving into my bag to look for Peanut Butter.

Right after we had stopped to take photos at the Jade Mountain Trailhead, I grew wide-eyed with wonder at a climber descending who looked like some kind of Nepalese Sherpa.

We started uphill, and suddenly I felt out of breath. My chest seemed to tighten. I stopped, took food and water.

My companion was saying, ‘its not far, just over this hill’. That small distance suddenly felt like Everest.

I kept going, more for her sake than mine.

I became more and more dizzy, and was climbing the steps on my hands and knees.

Thankfully we ran into an elderly taiwanese couple who said they would escort me down to the Jade Mountain Trailhead, and I would meet my companion later.

Thank god for this couple. The man was so alive with the views he saw at every moment. Even though I felt awful, it was still as if I was walking amongst the clouds of heaven.

*This man owned a Green Tea Store. Alishan Green Tea is the best in Taiwan. This was his adorable daughter*

This man was 75 years old, fit as a fiddle, brought me countless pieces of Guava, and really stood for what I see as the quintessential element of the Taiwanese people; Goodness.

In his own small way, and in his pure joy of the Mountains, he had helped an Englishman stumbling about, out of breath. A 75-year old guardian angel.

Altitude Sickness happens a lot out here, but it isn’t nice. It hasn’t happened to me before, but has given me more respect for these mountains.

Will I go again? 100%

*My friend, and her colourful companion*

Trips to Haunted Temples

May 1, 2021May 9, 2021 TomLeave a comment

There is something peculiar that happens to the mind when one is on a stretch of travel by train.

I have been on these trips at times myself, most recently to a job interview. You are in a state of anticipation and hibernation. A state of hibernated anticipation. There are many travel blogs that attest to trains being the superior way of travelling, and I do believe there is something to it. The HSR here in Taiwan truly is revolutionary. I have been on trains in the United Kingdom and Europe my whole life, and with this in mind I was quite attentive to the speed of the landscape rushing before my eyes. There is no doubt about it, it truly is faster.

High-rise concrete apartment blocks flew by followed by looming mountains, wind turbines and then industrial factories and chimneys; steel production is at an all time high in Taiwan.

I only mention the train journey above, to lend creedence to the idea that there is something about the whirl of landscape that goes flooding by your window that allows for the kind of thinking conducive to creativity. It is at these times that artists will declare melodies of unknown origin entered their psyches, or writers suggest new ideas or characters blossomed. This is the case with one of my favourite poems by Philip Larkin The Whitsun Weddings. The blend of impressions and reflections on the given moment, on a train journey from Kingston Upon Hull – where I once lived – to London, whilst several weddings whizzed by, can only truly be captured in poetry.

Recently, I was on what can only be described as the kind of one-day trip provoked by a man deep in the bowels of his dissertation, and anxious about it.

The story is incredible; a haunted temple, built on the northern coast of Taiwan to commemorate the death of 17 drowned sailors, and a dog who followed his masters to their grave.

The Eighteen Kings Temple or 十八王公廟, was once hugely popular – even if its main clientele were of a more unscrupulous nature. It seems to be a temple for ‘the lost souls’; those who professions didn’t enable them to seek solace or fortune from a more conventional temple; ‘underworld’ figures who came to be blessed by the spirit of the dog, who was not picky about your life choices. More can be found out about the temple here.

The 18 Kings reference is to the actual dog becoming actualised as a King; a mythic figure in his own right. The 17 drowned sea merchants and their dog, all saintly and holy figures. Different stories abound as to what exactly happened; sometime in the Qing Dynasty (1644 – 1911) the ill-fated crossing was made from mainland china – the dog either perished along with his masters, or miraculously survived.

After the people of Taiwan built the temple on the cliff overlooking the sea, so the story goes, the dog jumped into the burial chamber and refused to move, his unwavering loyalty to his masters so strong that the people of Taiwan were forced to bury the dog alive.

*The Temple is located right next to a decommissioned nuclear plant which further adds to the Surreal nature of the place*

It was a particularly blustery and rain-soaked day when we made our own venture. First we took the train to Keelung. From there we had the usual uncertainty and logistical problems of locating the correct bus, which always come in a trip of this kind.

We took the bus, which meandered along the northern coast of Taiwan. Something about that wet, overcast scene reminded me of England; specifically Portsmouth, the Isle of Wight and that particular pocket of the South Coast – the jutting rocks slicked grey from the rain, the swell of the sea thrashing against the cliffs, and the grey, grey sky with its brooding overtone. On the precipice of the edge of the world so it seemed. Taiwan, an apt place to be, on the edge of something anyway.

*The scene through the window gives a sense of the weather we had to endure*

We overshot our stop. In desperate need of refreshment and respite from the rain, we ambled along a two-lane coastal highway, with scooters occasionally whizzing by, and found a funky restaurant – cum – hostel.

After a few words with the owner, the exchange dealt with by my erudite friend in his very good Chinese, we settled down with a couple of beers at the tail-end of the diner / bar. This is where the above picture was taken, looking out onto a Sea where the horizon was obscured by cloud.

*The wondering academic – will remove images at his request*

Once we had taken a beer, we correctly navigated the way to the bus stop to work our way back. From here we were finally able to witness the temple in all its glory.

Again, it is worth noting the scene. We had had to stop for umbrellas at the train station, both of us forgetting to bring one, with my Indiana Jones-type friend only wearing a T-shirt! On such a cold and rainy day as this, it could prove to be the difference between a successful or disastrous trip.

Once we had arrived, the rain abated. The air is fresh from the mountains, and the dense foilage you get in Asia. The temple had a few other visitors, mostly clad in rain-gear. The swelling of the Pacific nearby the bridge and the water which ran down to the decommissioned nuclear plant, held firmly in my memories eyes. There was some meagre food and market women selling cheap tat and umbrellas.

*I am pointing to the Nuclear Plant. The water beyond the Dam Wall lead to the Ocean*

Inside the Temple was a very different scene, however.

*This photo from captures the dreary, wet afternoon*

At first it seemed there was nothing remarkable about the inside of the temple. The usual deity statues and incense candles burning. A few people stopping and nodding at the Buddha-like figures and muttering prayers. However, once you descended easily-overlooked stairs you found yourself in a very different room.

The pictures below will give the best description, but there is a painted image of the Dog deity, a burial chamber with a ceramic mound that has dozens of business cards laid across it, and a clay model image, protected by a glass visor, of the 17 merchants and their dog. The image is suggestive of the Raft of Medusa. There is actually one figure who seems to be baring his/her buttocks, whilst another slaps them.

*The Burial Chamber with the image of the Dog*

*The model of the Sea Merchants and Dog*

*Note the various Business Cards. There were Lawyers, K-TV business owners, and call-girls amongst the assemble.*

The end was neigh, and after spending our time perusing the temple, and the Nuclear Plant, we made for the bus. The bus comes thrashing along at what seems 100 mph before stopping very suddenly and allowing its passengers to get on. It took us to a place on the outskirts of Taipei.

As always with my swashbuckling friend, we had very arresting conversations and talked deeply on many topics. His research out here in Taiwan seems to have a very wide scope (taking in trips to haunted temples for example), and makes connections between disparate phenomena and cultural events. I seem to remember this temple was only mentioned briefly in some of his work; perhaps just a paragraph. A paragraph nonetheless which still lead to the decision to visit said temple. In terms of the interesting links his work creates, he created an abstract connection between a fabled rock band in Taiwan (of which the lead singer became a politician) and the rise of the Authoritarian state.

I very much look forward to reading his work in its entirety. And I am sure he will be relieved to have it finished.

Here ends the tale of the haunted dog temple. Hope you enjoyed.

*The kind of trip provoked by a man ‘deep in the bowels of his dissertation, and anxious about it’*

Talks with Students II

May 21, 2020 TomLeave a comment

I was nervous the whole time from when I stepped out of my dorm! I was even worried about whether the Uber driver would let me ride — I remember I had trouble getting an Uber the day before my flight because I was wearing a mask. Two Ubers took one look at me and drove off.
I was more freaked out than the average person because I had a tickling cough that occurred at night so it was really stressful.
– Vanessa, a student at UCL

One aspect of social media that has been personally beneficial to me, in all this, has being able to contact those living abroad. I was fortunate enough to make some brilliant friends in my time in Asia, and through Zoom and Facebook I have been able to check on their welfare, whilst also gaining insights into how respective governments have responded to the pandemic.

Certain countries in East Asia have been praised immensely; focus has centered on their efforts at contact tracing – ‘test, trace, isolate’, and imposing early lockdowns. Viewing the actions of these governments through a western lens, I must admit, I found this aggressive approach a little, well, disturbing. Data was swiftly released online on the whereabouts of an infected Vietnamese woman in Hanoi; where she had dined for lunch, which streets she had visited, all following an hour-by-hour timeline throughout the day.

Taiwan has only had one death from the Coronavirus

The libertarian in me was shrieking at privacy laws being violated, but in all honesty the question is, what privacy laws?

How then, can this approach be navigated by overwhelmed Western countries trying to learn from the East, whilst simultaneously maintaining individual rights of privacy?

To hear a personal story on this, I have been able to contact a student at UCL. Vanessa, a student from Taiwan, came to London to study Arts and Sciences. Just before the U.K. government imposed lockdown, she took off for Taiwan; desperate to get home.

We talk about her experiences of flying, the lockdown and lessons to learn from the Taiwanese government.

Vanessa, Student at University College London

Hello Vanessa. You study at UCL. I heard you decided to leave for Taiwan before the lockdown was imposed. Can I ask what led to this decision?

V: Initially I just wanted to return home for the month-long Easter holiday, so I booked a return flight perhaps a week before UCL announced cancellation of teaching. However once UCL announced the cancellation and the cases began to rise, I became really anxious and decided that Taiwan was the safest place to be, so I was going home for a long while. I moved out of my dorm in the days before my flight; 18th of March.

In the light of the constantly circulating news, it must have been scary to board the plane. Can you tell me what the atmosphere was like at the airport? Was it busy/quiet, and were people being very careful about their proximity to others?

V: I was nervous the whole time from when I stepped out of my dorm! I was even worried about whether the Uber driver would let me ride — I remember I had trouble getting an Uber when I had to move stuff to my cousin’s house the day before my flight because I was wearing a mask. (Two Ubers took one look at me and drove off.)

Gatwick was super quiet, lots of shops were closed and there were no crowds as we walked around the shopping area on the way to the gate. Most people weren’t that cautious about social distancing, except when we got to the gate and it was mainly Taiwanese people. They took it very seriously and were prepped with PPE. I was more freaked out than the average person because I had a tickling cough that occurred at night so it was really stressful.

My family and I got a mass text that we were in the same area as sailors from an infected navy ship

I have read that Taiwan has been praised for its response to the pandemic. Do you feel safer in Taiwan than the UK? And what lessons could have been learnt by countries such as the UK?

For sure! I’ve never been so relieved to go home— at that time Taiwan only had 50 cases while the UK had over 1,000. Before I boarded, my friends sent me a QR code to fill out my health particulars online before I boarded, so that when I landed I would be allowed to bypass the long lines for health checks. I also got tested at the airport along with my friend because we both declared on the form that we had minor cold symptoms and wanted to be on the safe side. The process was surprisingly not intimidating and very efficient, I got out of the airport in a little over 2hrs, and headed home to begin my 14 day quarantine.

Some lessons that can be learnt from Taiwan’s example:

Tracing cases early on and containing them before community transmission gets out of hand. For example, my family and I got a mass text that we were in the same area as sailors from an infected navy. Their locations were posted publicly so people could take measures…

If you don’t have a suitable quarantine place for whatever reason, the gov. will provide a place. It’s pretty decent quality, despite the ruckus from that BBC article.

My parents left me food on a tray outside the door daily

On your arrival into Taiwan from the UK, did you have to go into isolation for a period of time? If you did, can you tell me what that was like?

I definitely felt that I was in safe hands from the way the quarantine was carried out by the Taiwan CDC. I stayed in my own room the whole time, and my parents left me food on a tray outside the door daily. We all wore masks if they needed to speak to me at 1.5m distance. My mum screams if I accidentally get too close!

My phone signal was tracked as well so that I couldn’t leave or I would be fined. I received a packet of masks from the Gov. and special trash bags for my own use to avoid contaminating others.

After my quarantine I was free to leave the house, and I noticed a lot less people on the streets. Everyone wears masks; it’s mandatory to wear them on public transport. Stores check your temperature and spray your hands with alcohol before you can enter.

Taiwan is located only 130km from mainland China. Are you able to comment on the initial atmosphere after arriving home from the UK? Was there a lot of fear and panic ensuing in the country?

The week I arrived home was the most severe since the outbreak. The atmosphere was not panicked; more vigilant and cautious. There wasn’t much panic buying since masks were rationed from the start – right now every 2 weeks we can collect 9 masks; 1 mask costs 5NTD.

On a personal note, your studies have now been disrupted. Do you still plan to continue studying, and do you have plans to return to the UK?

Like all UCL first years, our exams/ assessments are canceled and replaced with one pass/fail capstone assessment. I plan to return for Second year this September, unless the situation is still terribly dangerous.

My phone signal was tracked as well so I couldn’t leave or I would be fined. I received a packet of masks from the Government and special trash bags for my own use to avoid contaminating others.

Finally, I was reading that Australia is supporting Taiwan’s return to the World Health Organisation (WHO). What is your opinion on Taiwan’s status in regards to this?

Taiwan has definitely received a lot of international support for attending the WHO conference, but as of yet the WHO isn’t budging and is unlikely to do so. Taiwan has been benefiting from a boost in global status thanks to mask diplomacy/healthcare, but once the pandemic starts to decline I wonder how quickly other nations will forget Taiwan’s role and what it offers for the global response.

Once the pandemic starts to decline I wonder how quickly other nations will forget Taiwan’s role and what it offers for the global response.

Thank you, Vanessa. Some very insightful answers.

Next time, I hope to talk to a Filmmaker in China.

Until then, ciao.