Unexpected things happen. Unexpected things happen in mountains in Taiwan, and quite frequently. You should know, that in a typhoon, it's not allowed to be in mountains because of the high risk of rock slides, and that happens very frequently, Taiwan all the time is repairing some roads damaged by typhoons. And if you happen to be there - it's already not a joke. But, I am now talking about unexpected things in good weather. Once we were driving in picturesque Alishan Scenic area last weekend, I proudly bypassed extremely hard working fellow on bicycle - he was doing a really hard job - I do not have bicycle, and to backup my own laziness I told myself that moment - well you see - here is how they work hard, don't you feel better now and not so guilty?
And then as usual life gives a lesson.
Nothing much to say. You can see it yourself.
Needless to say, that soon after we all were standing here and admiring the views, bicycles passed over us, and easily lurked in a gap between the mountain and drilling machine.
Here is the lesson to take away: If you are proud, at least do not seek excuses. In Taiwan it comes back, echoing in mountains back to your head.
I guess - correct me if I am wrong, they are making holes to prevent land and rock slides. It took well over the hour...
As a vivid, and I would assume already obsessed reader of all literature that covers sales, marketing, seo... OK, stop, it's Taiwan blog after all, here you are talking about Taiwan.
So, being myself a sales and marketing professional, and recently also consultant, I am always thrilled to see a pure geniuses in this field.
And one is not far away from my home - he is performing (yes, exactly - he is performing, and not selling, or whatever) -Turkish ice cream sales process in nightmarket near Fengchia university.
As usual, when you go to any nightmarket, there will be ugly old world push type marketing (when advertisement are thrown on you as a pile of cold water in face), with lai lai lai (come come come), screaming psychopathic part time job taking students, in front of shoes or glasses store.
In era of google, when paid ads changed the world forever, and terms pull marketing - when customer comes to you, instead of you - trying engage him with him with such "spam" as I mentioned above, this turkish guy, is pure genius.
In same nightmarket more cynic seller are using recorded voice, making a crazy cacophony of sounds, screams and everything else.
For those, who are not in Taiwan, here is an example, of such impersonal, recorded sound-spam:
And, now, the turkish guy, instead of switching one more "lai lai lai" cacophony, performs a show, literally FISHING for new customers, throwing an ice cream into the crowd, and in a moment, when a hand grabs it - and it grabs, believe me - it's virtually impossible to resist an impulse to grab it, if it's lands just over you nose, he pulls it back. And here you are - engaged, little fooled, entertained and suprised. What else is needed for a marketing as just all those 4 actions?
Just watch. It's a textbook example for 101 marketing studies.
I was in Alishan last weekend, we took a trip to the area, it will be later also featured in different posts, as different topics should be covered. What I wanted to tell now, that I took picture of this guy below, in Alishan's shopping street, near train station, where all restaurants and tea shops - Alishan Mountain Tea is very famous in Taiwan, are located. Look carefully, what is missing in this picture? (Remember, this guy sells tea, not artificial intellect chipsets).
I would say, that I-Pod, bluetooth hanged on ear (better on both - common picture in Taiwan, and no matter is the guy driving or no), and GPS. If I missed something, please comment.
It's a bold statement, but this is what I wanted share for those who are interested in topic. If you want to know, what it takes - there is extensive & explanatory and perfect website, made by Michael Turton, about teaching in Taiwan. Here I wish to tell another things. Recently I met a guy from US in Family Mart, and while we chatted a little, he told me about little weird for Taiwan things, what you will definitely meet here. And that is - paper, documents, diplomas and honors first, and your real knowledge - second. He told me about Romania professor in Fengchia university in Taiwan, Taichung where students complained to him, that they do not understand sometimes his english (here I need to say, that it's from a cases like "someone told that bla bla bla - I personally have no idea about this). But anyway, fact is fact about such a situations in Taiwan.
That means - if you are native speaker with talent to teach from god - a guy from Romania with a professor diploma will be the choice, especially if you want to get teach in university. A badge with a Mr. XXXX, p.h.d - is a killing issue here, even, when you open mouth and they "acturally i kud spieak inglish veri wall".
Understand me correct - my English is far away from perfect, I am not native speaker, and I do not think in English at all - and what in my opinion is most important when it comes to teaching the languages - you must THINK in language what you speak, and if you don't - you will not be able to give the student a second soul - learning a second language is like a getting a second soul, isn't it? And just because of this I will never teach English in Taiwan, or in Mali, or Sudan, no matter how less competition thee is - or how people will ask me do so. Sometimes, we got stopped on street, and people ask, can I teach English. No. Because I respect people here, and my "ingrish" with eastern European accent is not what they need.
Unfortunately, I saw here in Taiwan Russians freely teaching English, with an accent that even I can feel (being non native English speaker), and just because that stack of the diplomas,badges and other things are fat as possible.
At the end of last day of Lantern Festival in Taiwan, and when all the dragons had successfully walked through all the yards for bribes collection then, it is a time for probably main event in whole Miaoli, for what this place is known the best - Bombing the Dragon, or Welcoming The Dragon event held in Miaoli. It's a Hakka people tradition, held at Lantern Festival time.
The lighting of firecrackers originated from the Hakka tradition of
“Welcoming the Dragon” on Lantern Festival. Spectators throw
firecrackers towards a dancing dragon to ask for blessings for the New
Year. And when I say firecrackers - then there is a LOT of firecrackers and there is a lot of sound, and there is a lot of people. And a lot of dragons at whom all the sparkling stuff is being thrown at. Well, will show you how it looks like, as I visited this event in February 2009.
You can go with me now.
First of all - what you should remember, and prepare accordingly BEFORE you go to this event:
1. Plan to come earlier, at least not later than 7 at evening, because you will have no space to park, all the freeways at Miaoli outskirts will be stacked with cars, and sometimes it's needed to walk 20 min's. If you have girlfriend on high heals or 2 kids, both you will later need bring on your own neck, if you park wrong;
2. Seek for parking turning everywhere on side streets going in the farm, rather than standing on a freeway, there is hard to move through by car since a lot of people walk, but sooner or later parking place will be - near the farm. Just do not fall down with your car to the farm ground, when park on paved road - it's higher.
3. It's suggested to not take a small kids with you, the smaller they are - bigger the risk and inconvenience for you. Why?
Because once you are up on a hill what's used for spectators place - you will need start elbowing exercise, and if you happen to be a less tall than everyone else here, then you are going to have hard times.
Check this:
Anyway,always there is someone who wants to risk:
If you successfully elbowed your way to left side of this small trail, you are going to see a scene, where everyone is still waiting a dragon, and show woman announces various officials who came up here to see the show.
Besides, there is a usual fireworks to entertain a crowd until a dragon prepares shoes for dancing. Again, even with my not a very small height, I could not see clearly all - imagine a those who are less than 1.70 m though.
And here they come:
Oh yes, cameras. Cameras - mostly mobile phones (I always just amazed to see a crowd of people recording a fireworks in a sky by mobile phone - do they ever watch it?). And most funny is that they watch the fireworks then through the mobile phone - it reminds me a story about a man who can't notice a dolphins right in front of him, because is busy filming them.
If you do not like a sounds, then, well this is not a festival for you. It seems that a motto for this here is - the louder the better, and this is why soon after the a bomb throwing starts, smoke covers all the scene, so, finally you see only shadows moving around between wild splashes of fire. Anyway, impressive.
Now, right behind you there, are a night market - specially hosted for this event, a really interesting and delicious selection of various Hakka and western Taiwan and not only dishes. Let's walk through, and watch what they have.
And now, let's analyze most interesting and useful ones.
Barbecue.. A really juicy one, here just wait's for your hunger.
Eggs. Else are part of the Taiwan foods culture, I already had gathered a collection of egg's seller here in Taiwan so, it will be a separate post on this topic.
Vinegar made from plums. And plums in vinegar..
Red sugar cooked so, that it has also some dry fruit inside. Longan fruit inside:
龍眼 - Longan
Potatoes in sweet sauce.
Nuts and chicken..
Fried vegetables
Bergamot - good for throat when dried
佛手柑
Some cookies
Pao Cai - Chinese pickled vegetables, spicy....
Left one is apricot seeds cooked so, that can eat, sweet gourmet. And the right one is, pumpkin seeds, again sweet prepared.
Sea food - cooked in this way. English name - spray, chinese name - Hua Zhi.
If you happen to be in Taiwan at the time for Lantern Festival at Chinese New Year, then you for sure are going to see a dragons wandering on a streets all over the island. What it means for you is unusual experience and interesting show, however, the tradition is vanishing last years, as young people has no big wish to follow this tradition.
And those who still do, in my opinion mostly does this for money, because here is how it happens and looks like in Miaoli, I followed one dragon to see what will happen. Basic idea is somewhat similar to that, when kids at Christmas time are going to house from house, and singing the songs and expecting back the candies, money or some other gifts. Here those guys with a dragon, are not expecting the candies, apparently.
In the front of this procession there is a small blue track, with a drummer, who makes the rumble, you hear. Notice the leader with a stick with a ball attached, dragon follows the leader.
Now, if you feel, that they has no any passion on what they do, then you are totally right, most of the time they walk, and even do not try to make any dance like movement - and that is because the youth you see in the video are usually related to various non profit religious organizations, where they live away from home (escaped as usual, and without any wish to go to school). Their primary life though, are such events, so it's not a passion or deep love to culture, what asks them bring the dragon.
Now, finally something happens. Dragon notices that someone are at home you see at left side of video, and bumps in there, expecting a gift. In fact, they must earn the tips, which a great dance, showing their ability to steer and dance a dragon various ways. But they don't, at least this one no:
My wife says, that most interesting happens, if 2 such dragon meet each other on street - they must start fight, "dancing against each other" and then the aha-ing crowd should decide the winner who gets then wow's and tips.
I need to say, that this particular dragon met another one, and I grabbed the camera to make a fight recorded. Unfortunately, but I would not say, that it was a surprise - after a little talk of leaders, dragons went 180 degrees from each other. No fight-dance.
No kids also follow the dragon in his way. My wife says, that when she was a small girl, they was excited and were waiting for a dragon to come, to run out from a home, and then follow it on his way over the city. Some dragon's, who were dancing especially, that time where gathering a lot of people to follow them. It was a real event and really came from heart. Anyway, this is one dragon in city - you should not judge the Taiwan because of this - but my blog shows Taiwan from inside - as it is. No photoshop edited glamour brochures type oriented to causual traveler. Life is as it is.
" Among our friends and family I can easily think of a half-dozen similar
cases. Several students at my former university came to me for tearful
discussions of how they had discovered that their father had a second
family across the Strait, complete with half-siblings. And they
themselves had no money, because Dad had "invested" it in his second
wife. The next time someone tells me what great businessmen Taiwanese
are, I'm going to ask him why so many of these "great businessmen" blew
so much money on mistresses and other meaningless displays of wealth,
instead of reinvesting the cash in their businesses, or in the future
of their children. "
And it really hurts when you think about that. Such kind of investments indeed were popular at the times, when Taiwan not only done the huge investments in PRC, but also, when Taiwan managers were popular to be hired as middle and high level executives in mainland China companies. It's no longer a case, mainland China now has a lot of ABC's (American Born Chinese) coming back from hardly recession hit USA, and as I heard from some my partners in China, the venture capitalists are much more easier to unwind the amounts of money to start ups in PRC, if ABC's or at least western specialists are in a management of company. And Shanghai or incredibly fast built Suzhou Industrial park, along with newly developed areas in Chengdu now are full of foreigners.
Recently, when I was in Miaoli, my wife told me, that most of the Taiwan men, especially from smaller cities now are having less and less chances to get married with a local Taiwan women. And so, it happens with her cousins, one of them recently was in PRC fr "wife looking" tour. On my question why is so, the answer was, that Taiwan men is still rude, and now also poor, and no one already want's to bury herself under such a burden of mostly arrogant and unsupportive husband. And they choose to make carriers themselves. Did you notice, that girls and woman are much more to be able answer at least something to you in english than man? Did you notice also that sales representatives for international sales & whatever related to abroad here are now having female face?
If not yet, you will. Who then want's to have a husband from Sinyi county, who will bring the highly educated wife to his parents home, where they will ask her do all housework? It's also a kind of things, what new generation of highly educated woman in Taiwan want's to avoid and prefer to be single.
Call me biased, but as my wife's home town is Miaoli, I am going to feature a posts about this place frequently, as I had found, that typical tourist guides, like praised Lonely Planet typically ignores this place in Western Taiwan.
Miaoli County is located at the
mid-north of Taiwan . Its northern and northeastern border is Hsinchu
County. Its southern and southeastern parts connect with Taichung
County, but in between, separated by Da-an River and the Snow Mountain
Ranges. Topographically, Miaoli is divided into four
landforms: plain, hill, platform and mountain ranges. Apart from
platform, other landforms are regularly arrayed in good order from the
west to the east. Here is again a graphical view:
he name Miaoli was coined using two Hakka words, cat (貓) and raccoon dog (狸), which phonetically approximate Pali (Bari), a community of Taokas people.
Miaoli city is the capital of the county, and is also known as
"Mountain Town", owing to the number of mountains nearby, making it a
great place for hiking.
As it's most popular though, for the dancing dragon races at last day of Chinese New Year Festival Celebration - Lantern Festival, I will devote to this event a separate post.
But for now, let me introduce a great place to eat, which must visit as you are there, and this place will not be listed anywhere in tourist directories. It's a kind of small, but interesting place, like a Cat Mouse Noodles in Changhua City. Located in center of the town, it's not quite easy to spot it, but here is how it looks like from outside:
50 years in business, as they claim, the most they are famous are:
Noodles with pork, and Bao An - another traditional and widely popular food in western part of Taiwan.
Another, very taste in fact, it's a soup - are captured below. Ingredients are bamboo, port, vinegar, noodles and the brown one - it's 木耳 - mu er, or tree mushroom, sometimes called Jew's ear.
中山路 ﹣ zhong shan road - here is what you need find, if you want to find this restaurant. Notice the yellow sign, the round one. This what you need. I did not wrote down the number of building, but if you carefully drive the zhong shan road, you won't miss it. They made it round, and it really stands out from all those typical to Taiwan street sign mess as you can see below. It's a view of Zhong Shan road, to both sides, standing in front to this restaurant.
In Taiwan, and also in China, maybe 30 years ago kids were waiting anxiously the chinese new year, since they would be happy to be involved in dragon making, and then walking in the streets, and all other feelings.
Of course, excuse me locals, if I am wrong, but I found today's child in Taiwan cynic and not accustomed to traditions any more, and the best part for them is a Hom Bao part - the envelopes of money, that adults give them in abundance.
The amount of money contained in the envelope usually ends with an even digit, in accordance with Chinese beliefs;
for instance 88 and 168 are both lucky numbers, as odd-numbered money
gifts are traditionally associated with funerals. But there is a
widespread tradition that money should not be given in fours, or the
number four should not appear in the amount, as the pronunciation of
the word "four" resembles that of the word "death", and it signifies
bad luck for many Chinese. At weddings, the amount offered is usually
intended to cover the cost of the attendees as well as a goodwill to
the newly weds. The red color of the envelope symbolizes good luck and is supposed to ward off evil spirits.
168 would not be a harm for you, if you would visit 1 home where are 1 kid, but what if there is 15 days, each you visit let's say 2 homes, where in general are 3 kids? Do the math.
Now, also, note, that same applies for those who has kids themselves, and here the more kids are better, since everyone will get the hom bao, so, if you have 3 kids, 3 hom bao to your family, and you need give back 1, to the giving family with 1 kid.
168 is the number I never saw in Hom Bao, personaly, so do not believe the traditional tourist guides - everyone here expects more, the cynic kids, in my observation, even classifies aunties and uncles in those who "gave only XX" but this aunty, wow, gave "YY", therefore it's better aunty. I saw kids making a lists, where they like old fashioned accountants with a monocle in eye, writing who gave what. In case you happen to be less rich, you definitely fail in those kids eyes Now, understand me correctly - everyone hear would say you that it is NOT like that, and kids appreciate everyone and so on, but you will observe different. They just will never admit that. Moreover, had seen some more obsessed kids, trying to sneak out, how much hom bao are for other family kids, how much grandfather gave to cousins, and had they got less or more than they. Some parents of course confiscate later the envelopes, but as bigger the kid, harder to confiscate something.
As it should be supposed initially nice and good tradition, somewhere it went ugly. It's what I really do not like at Chinese New Year in Taiwan.
Here is my top 3 of Chinese New Year's eve nights food, you should definitely to seek out on a tables, where you could happen to sit, at the events, where you will be invited for sure, in case you ave maybe only at least 1 friend here in Taiwan.
Incredibly aromatic, tasty, good for health in any meaning (as traditional chinese medicine are inside, see the red one?), chicken cooked in wine sauce. Sauce, can be served as a drink separately, it's somewhat what will give you a power for all next year, so this must be tried when you are there. And, it is really delicious.
And 2 more specially cooked meat & vegetable as below
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