Out in the World - Kinmen

Kinmen

2005-04-26T07:08:00.000-07:00

This is the visual half of the story of my trip to Kinmen. For the verbal part go to:
http://outintheworld.blogspot.com/2005/04/kinmen.html

As for this page, there will be no more photos. I am turning the archives off and it will remain as is. After debating if I should place photos by theme, I decided instead to put them as closely as I could to the order in which they were taken. I wish that I could be more accurate with the names of villages some of the photos were taken in, but many of them, I never knew the name, and others I was too lazy to stop to write it down.
I hope you enjoy looking at the photos as much as I enjoyed being out there and taking them.

2005-04-26T06:58:00.000-07:00

DAY ONE: A bit of irony, I suppose, that the last picture I post on this page is one of the very first ones that I took. On my first day in Kinmen, after dropping my bags off at my hotel in Shanwai, I walked east and north. I went up the highest mountain, Taiwu, and then down through the countryside until I reached Shamei tired and hungry. From there I took a bus up to the northeast corner of the island. Near sunset I returned to Shamei and took a bus back to Shanwai.

2005-04-26T06:56:00.000-07:00

As I mention a few times on this page, symmetry is a big deal in Chinese architecture, at least as far as I could tell when walking past the traditional homes I encountered in Kinmen.

2005-04-26T06:55:00.000-07:00

I started taking pictures of windows shortly after I started taking pictures of doors.

2005-04-26T06:54:00.000-07:00

A look at what happens when temples are forgotten.

2005-04-26T06:53:00.001-07:00

Another picture from inside the abandoned temple.

2005-04-26T06:53:00.000-07:00

Despite the fact that I rarely saw people in any of the villages, it was not at all uncommon to see clothes hanging out to dry. One of the only ways to know that people still lived in some of the houses.

2005-04-26T06:52:00.000-07:00

This is one of the few pictures on this page that I also posted on Out in the World. As I mention there, this was one of my favorite shots from the trip, though I could not give an exact reason why.

2005-04-26T06:51:00.000-07:00

This was behind the cemetery and at the base of Taiwu mountain. The white of the ground was bright enough to make my eyes hurt, despite the fact that the sun was hidden behind a wall of haze and cloud.

2005-04-26T06:49:00.000-07:00

This was in the temple you see in the previous picture.

2005-04-26T06:48:00.000-07:00

A cemetery honoring those killed during the shell attacks by the PLA in 1958 and other deceased service members.

2005-04-26T06:47:00.000-07:00

This is a close-up of the flowers you can see leaning against the gravestone in the foreground of the previous picture.

2005-04-26T06:43:00.000-07:00

A picture from near the top of Taiwu Mountain, the highest point on Kinmen at about 253M. It is really more of a glorified hill of granite.

2005-04-26T06:41:00.001-07:00

Looking down from about halfway down the backside of Taiwu.

2005-04-26T06:41:00.000-07:00

A picture of the path leading down Taiwu Mountain.

2005-04-26T06:39:00.000-07:00

This is a closer look at the grass fields you can see from above in the previous picture.

2005-04-26T06:38:00.000-07:00

This is out in the country side after coming down the backside of Taiwu. The mountain is in the background.

2005-04-26T06:37:00.000-07:00

A fine example of the symmetry I often noticed in terms of the way houses were designed and decorated.

2005-04-26T06:36:00.000-07:00

This was in one of the villages between Taiwu mountain and Shamei.

2005-04-26T06:35:00.000-07:00

I noticed these as I entered Shamei. I was very thirsty and had not eaten since breakfast (it was almost two by this time), but I had to stop and take a picture of these flowers. I have never seen them before, and they look like a type of Chinese decoration one often sees around shops and houses. Perhaps the inspiration?

2005-04-26T06:34:00.000-07:00

This is looking down Shamei's tidy main street. Not many people about.

2005-04-26T06:33:00.000-07:00

This is inside the dark market that I mention in my post about Kinmen (the story of my trip on Out in the World). It was here that I saw cats and heard rodents and contemplated empty meathooks and the pervasive smell of dead fish and dead animals.

2005-04-26T06:31:00.000-07:00

My love affair with Kinmen's doors and walls began on Saturday. I especially enjoyed Shamei, a town about 10KM north of where I was staying in Shanwai.

2005-04-26T06:29:00.000-07:00

What striking colors, I think.

2005-04-26T06:28:00.000-07:00

Strollers can be used for many things.

2005-04-26T06:27:00.000-07:00

This was one of the last pictures I took in Shamei, a very pleasant stopover after a long afternoon of walking. In Shamei I chatted with a few people, had an iced mango drink, and read for a while. I can think of much worse ways to spend time.

2005-04-26T06:25:00.000-07:00

I think this old mansion was in or near Shamei as well.

2005-04-26T06:23:00.000-07:00

There were basketball hoops all over the island, in squares in the middle of villages, in small parks, in front of schools, etc. This was my favorite, though.

2005-04-26T06:22:00.000-07:00

This was a bench up behind the 18 preserved houses that make up the Jinmen Cultural Folk Village (or so I think it is called - I saw a few different names for it), which is in the northeast part of the island.

2005-04-26T06:20:00.000-07:00

This tree was on the eastern edge of the Folk Culture Village. A stately sight as the day's light began to fade.

2005-04-26T06:19:00.000-07:00

As I was leaving the Culture Village, I saw this man plowing his field the old fashioned way, enjoying a cigarette while he worked.

2005-04-26T06:18:00.000-07:00

The last picture of a wonderful first day in Kinmen. This is looking back at the Folk Culture Village.

2005-04-26T06:14:00.000-07:00

DAY TWO: This is one of my first photos of the day, soon after I arrived in Jincheng after taking a bus over from Shanwai. The day was spent completely in the western half of the island, and I went all the way from north to south, despite a one hour delay for a trip to see the doctor after being bitten by a dog.

2005-04-26T06:12:00.000-07:00

Though this is a rather disgusting image, I knew as soon as I saw it that I must take it.

2005-04-26T06:07:00.000-07:00

It is always good to keep the stove outside. One of my favorite things about Kinmen was the great variety of styles and colors of the doors.

2005-04-26T06:05:00.000-07:00

These men were the only two people at a temple I walked past. When I saw them I suddenly thought of Walter Mattheau and Jack Lemmon.

2005-04-26T06:03:00.000-07:00

A woman busy at work preparing the day's food.

2005-04-26T05:59:00.000-07:00

A bench full of dead-looking plants. Speaking of which, I better go water my girlfriend's plant.

2005-04-26T05:58:00.000-07:00

Some of the temples I walked through had rather strange statues inside.

2005-04-26T05:56:00.001-07:00

Noodles laying out to be dried in the sun.

2005-04-26T05:56:00.000-07:00

A man eating and reading the newspaper on a Sunday morning.

2005-04-26T05:55:00.000-07:00

I found this little arrangement upon a bit of exploration of an abandoned building.

2005-04-26T05:41:00.000-07:00

After I took this picture, the man's friend dragged him out of his chair to pose him next to a small furnace for burning ghost money. I felt bad for the guy as he looked like he was about to fall over at any minute. I felt even worse when I realized this picture was much better! Someone please remind me that I have this man's address and I am meant to send him the pics...

2005-04-26T05:39:00.000-07:00

This man was sitting under an overhang, across from the man you see in the previous picture. As he sat there I had a feeling that I was next to a great philosopher.

2005-04-26T05:37:00.001-07:00

An image from the market. Seeing the box above the chickens, is there any doubt of their fate?

2005-04-26T05:37:00.000-07:00

Not much to say for this but that, as many other times during the weekend, I saw a collection of objects and thought they looked good.

2005-04-26T05:32:00.000-07:00

I had a great sense of peace as I walked through this neighborhood, in part because of the age of the buildings, the way they seemed to absorb the pressures of modern life. Another reason, the colors and the symmetry.

2005-04-26T05:30:00.000-07:00

The last picture I took as I found my way out of the neighborhood of Fujian-style houses in Jincheng. A boy sees a foreigner and can not help but stare.

2005-04-26T05:28:00.000-07:00

The first building I came across as I walked onto Mofan Street.

2005-04-26T05:26:00.000-07:00

A lantern hanging on Mofan Street.

2005-04-26T05:17:00.000-07:00

This guy was all smiles.

2005-04-26T05:16:00.000-07:00

A woman on the main market street (Minzu Rd) wearing traditional Chinese clothes.

2005-04-26T05:15:00.000-07:00

Looking at one of the Japanese-style arched entryways on Mofan street. It was about this time, for no specific reason that I became horribly nostalgic for Prague.

2005-04-26T05:14:00.000-07:00

This was along the road just outside of Jincheng,

2005-04-26T05:02:00.000-07:00

After spending the morning and Jincheng, I wanted to walk down to the south of the island. My first main stop was Shuitou, a town near the coast. Close to Shuitou was the Wentai Pagoda, a pagoda atop a hill which provided nice views of the countryside, or would have had it not been overcast. Then I went towards the Pishan Tunnels near the southern tip of the western part of the island. It was a little before I would have arrived there that I decided to take a small detour and ended up with a dog bite and hurrying to find a bus that could get me back to Jincheng to see a doctor.

2005-04-26T04:59:00.000-07:00

I took this picture maybe a kilometer outside of Jincheng as I began my walk down south.

2005-04-26T04:58:00.000-07:00

I know that I took this picture before I reached Shuitou, in a small empty village of a few scattered houses.

2005-04-26T04:57:00.000-07:00

I just happened to notice this sitting on a bench and thought it made a very nice composition.

2005-04-26T04:56:00.000-07:00

Bushes spilling out of a house and a little pink bike. As I made my way along the coast, I saw an incredibly small amount of people.

2005-04-26T04:54:00.000-07:00

I saw this and thought, now that is a funky house.

2005-04-26T04:53:00.000-07:00

Was this taken in Shuitou, or in another village? I wish I could tell you.

2005-04-26T04:52:00.000-07:00

Another village shot.

2005-04-26T04:51:00.000-07:00

This is the last of a series of pictures I took along the southwestern coast and the villages passed between Jincheng, Shuitou, and the Dishan Tunnel.

2005-04-26T04:49:00.000-07:00

Who could have guessed that shortly after I took this picture I would be hobbling off, having been attacked and bitten by an angry German Shepherd? The attack took place on a path back behind the archway just visible in the background, and behind the Kaoliung distillery that is just visible on the right. I guess it serves me right, wondering around, trying to find my way to the beach to relax with a beer.

2005-04-26T04:47:00.000-07:00

This is the first picture I took after having been bitten by the dog. I took a bus from Jincheng to Beishan, and needless to say I was quite jumpy. Beishan is close to where Chinese PLA soldiers came ashore in 1949 in an attempt to prevent the PRC army from claiming the island. The PRC drove them back and thus Kinmen is now in Taiwan's control. Around Beishan are wetlands, birds, countryside, and some military remembrance sites. It is well worth a visit if you ever find yourself on Kinmen.

2005-04-26T04:44:00.000-07:00

This is outside one of the older houses in Beishan. There is a good chance that the holes you see in the wall are old bullet holes.

2005-04-26T04:42:00.000-07:00

This is looking across a pond (blocked by the flowers and bushes) across to the old Fujian style houses of Beishan.

2005-04-26T04:41:00.000-07:00

Beishan really stood out amongst other villages because of the number of houses that had been recently painted. Also, this was the first village where I saw houses that had been painted black. A stunning effect, I think.

2005-04-26T04:39:00.000-07:00

This is the one of the last pictures I took on day two, of one of the freshly painted houses in the town of Beishan near the northwest coast.

2005-04-26T04:36:00.000-07:00

DAY THREE: The people at my hotel let me take out one of their bikes and I rode around the southeast part of the island. Much of the ride was already mapped out as a bike tour, although I did not know that when I began. SItes the bike path go past: The 8-23 Museum which is next to several other tourist sites, including a park and a Chang Kai-Shek Memorial, the Forest Recreation Park, and Yangming Lake. I left the route several times to visit passing villages as well as to go down to the coast. As I started the day at a military site, I thought it might be appropriate to start with this picture, outside the 8-23 museum.

2005-04-26T04:28:00.000-07:00

I had just departed from the 8-23 museum and then watched the soldiers firing their guns. As I rode along the road I was ever more attuned to the military sites I was passing.

2005-04-26T04:27:00.000-07:00

This didn't turn out quite like I hoped it might, but I still enjoy the picture. Not much to say about it, though.

2005-04-26T04:25:00.000-07:00

This was taken at a village between the 8-23 Museum/Banyan Park/Memorial Forest, etc. and Liaolo.

2005-04-26T04:23:00.000-07:00

This is the beach by the town of Liaolo, and this picture might give you an idea of how wide and long the beach is. The people in the town told me that in summer it gets to about 34 or 35 every day. Perhaps a return trip in June?

2005-04-26T04:21:00.000-07:00

Some boats, some flowers, and a watchtower camouflaged against the trees.

2005-04-26T03:22:00.000-07:00

There was no one on the beach but me and there were two boats bobbing up and down quietly in the water. This anchor was keeping them from floating away.

2005-04-26T03:21:00.000-07:00

A close up of the anchor.

2005-04-26T03:20:00.000-07:00

This is looking against the side of a military building on the beach.

2005-04-26T03:19:00.000-07:00

I noticed this just to the left of what you see in the previous picture, on the side of the abandoned-looking military post.

2005-04-26T03:18:00.000-07:00

One of the abandoned military boats sitting just behind the white sand beach.

2005-04-26T03:16:00.000-07:00

This was in the town of Liaolo. I met many nice people there and they gave me some tea to drink. They also offered to let me stay with them if I can return in June. One of them, an old man, had the equivalent of a store filling the five floors of his house. Paintings, hangings, jewelry, tea pots, other Chinese goods, he had them all. I bought a jade bracelet from him for about $3 US (100NT).

2005-04-26T03:10:00.000-07:00

This window was right next to the one you see in the previous picture.

2005-04-26T03:09:00.000-07:00

I think it was the turqouise that caught my eye and made me take this shot. I saw several windows with rocks sitting on the ledge. I guess it is to keep the wind from blowing things off, but it should be noted that typhoons in Kinmen are rare.

2005-04-26T03:07:00.000-07:00

The last picture I took before leaving Liaolo. Her father insisted on taking a picture of the two of us as well.

2005-04-26T03:06:00.000-07:00

I was taking a this picture when the kids you see in the following picture started badgering me to take a picture of them.

2005-04-26T03:04:00.000-07:00

These are the kids I mention on my post about Kinmen. They must have asked my five times to take their pictures. Please note that even on Kinmen one can not escape the influence of Hello Kitty and the ubiquitous two fingers that every Taiwanese child is taught to hold up when confronted with a camera.

2005-04-26T03:03:00.000-07:00

This boy did not run to the camera as the others did. They called to him to join them, but he stood watching. He reminds me of how I was around cameras when I was a kid.

2005-04-26T03:01:00.000-07:00

As I was riding away on my bike, I decided to take one last picture of these kids, one they would not notice. Notice all the shops with their doors pulled shut.

2005-04-26T03:00:00.000-07:00

I mention this man in my post on Out in the World, one of the few people I saw as I passed by a main street, standing before a large work table working with metal and wood.

2005-04-26T02:58:00.000-07:00

A stately old house, empty.

2005-04-26T02:57:00.000-07:00

I am sorry to say I am not sure which village I was passing through when I took this picture. At a certain point, many of the names run together.

2005-04-26T02:55:00.000-07:00

As I was biking towards the Forest Recreation Area, I saw this field of wildflowers and had to take a picture. While taking out my camera, I stepped on a stick which flipped up and hit me right where the dog bit me on Sunday. Ouch. More blood.

2005-04-26T02:53:00.000-07:00

I had just arrived at the Forest Recreation Area, near the end of my afternoon of biking. There was not much to see, but there were some pretty flowers, as you can see in the next two pictures.

2005-04-26T02:50:00.000-07:00

This was taken in the Forest Recreation Area's floral garden. There actually were not that many flowers yet, but there were a lot of people tending to the gardens and the nurseries trying to get ready for the main tourist season (or that is what I suppose).

2005-04-26T02:46:00.000-07:00

This was taken across the street from the Forest Recreation Area, which is also where the Forest Department is located. The road is behind the second parking lot and does not seem to lead anywhere.

2005-04-26T02:44:00.000-07:00

This was the last picture from the trip, looking out over Yangming Lake and on towards Yangming Mountain.