Jonathan Biddle – Made in Taiwan

Tag: Holiday

  • Winter in the Fens

    Winter in the Fens

    The Fens, while almost utterly flat, carry a certain beauty that gets under your skin.  It’s something in the expanses stretching to infinity that at once create calm and mild despair.

    There is surely no better time to feel this than when the landscape is covered under a layer of snow, robbing it of any vestiges of life and colour.  So naturally, we strapped boots, wrapped scarves and set off across the fields to the village of Toft, taking in Madingley on the way.

    The Fens are … flat.

    Tracks in the snow.

    Christmas trees

    The XX

    Apexes

    Tin buildings

    Shivering in the cold

    Snowy grove

    Signs of civilisation

    Some rather nice graffiti

    Barbed wire delicately supports the snow.

    And, almost at the pub!

  • D’Hiver de Paris

    D’Hiver de Paris


    “Moi?”

    It’s quite likely that I have been to France in the region of thirty times. I have canoed the Ardeche, the Tarn, the Loire. I have frolicked on the beaches of Normandy, of Bordeaux, and of the Mediterranean. I have carved snow in Corchevel, Meribel, Tignes, Val D’Isere, amongst others. I have taken in vantage points from the Massif Central, the Alps and the Pyrennes. But while I have seen the Eiffel Tower many times drifting by on our extended family car journeys, I have never been to Paris.

    My Dad decided that 2010 was the year to rectify this injustice, celebrating my Mother’s 60th birthday with the whole family, and giving our Baby Ben (‘BB’) his first trip abroad. The idea of arriving at Gard du Nord on Eurostar, likely mildly hammered on cheap Champagne, ticks all the right Eurocrat boxes, but when we discovered Easyjet was exactly half the price of the train we obviously opted to tolerate a ride with the shit-munchers and save the money for opulent feasts in the city’s eateries.

    Mum was delighted! Especially as she actually turns 59 this year.

    Notre Dame

    Our unashamedly ‘touristique’ weekend started with the short walk from our hotel to the religious heart of the capital; Notre Dame.  While disappointed there were no mad people swinging from belfries, it was amazing to see a place in the flesh that you knew so well.  The movies clearly use wide-angle lenses, for while the towers were tall, they lacked any intimidating. doom-laden silhouette I was looking forward to seeing.  But that could have been the icy wind talking; no-one was really motivated to stick around too long, and we made a bee-line for the Louvre.

    “The bells, the bells!”

    Subtle lighting inside was inspiring...

    Sensitive treatment of the roof...

    … and some bloody great big plasma screens.

    Warming up on the way to the Louvre – Hot Chocolate went down a treat.

    Mild bemusement.

    Gazing outside

    You can really see Dave’s chin!

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    Braving the elements again!


    The Louvre

    Local lads flirting with giggling hoards of visiting Japanese girls, armed with overpriced souvenirs.  It must be easy pickings.

    Focus of the first day of visits was really The Louvre.  The promise of warmth and dryness underfoot was balanced with a healthy interest in some of the vast collection of fine art.  And ‘vast’ is the word; we picked Flemish and Dutch masters, and barely managed to scratch the surface of the subject, merely taking in some of the more well-known masters like Rembrandt,Van Icke, Vermeer and then a whole hall full of ‘Rubenses’.  We left the French and Italian masters for the Japanese tourists, and did not have the will-power to attempt a run at the Mona Lisa.  I already know what that one looks like anyway.

    I must say, the scale and range of what was on offer was mesmerising, but I was left a little exhausted.  I am far from being an expert in any of these subjects, and I appreciated it when you were able to see the artists’ sketches or process, or when they grouped different painters together to give a degree of context.  I suppose, I would have just appreciated a little more curation, and less density in the way that the paintings were hung.  I feel like you could spend a fortnight in there; in London you would simply visit a different gallery in a different part of the city to see the range on offer.

    Deeply impressive, but a little intimidating.  Although Benjamin didn’t seem to feel the same pressure!

    Business class travel, down to the basement lobby area.

    Arriving in style!

    Snow gathering on the roof, we were happy to be inside!

    Views through the mini-pyramids

    Waving to a long-lost friend

    Pensive

    Brrr!

    Tracks in the snow

    Benjamin appreciates the Rubens hall.

    Benjamin’s first snowball fight.

    Run away!


    The Eiffel Tower

    No trip to Paris would be complete without a trip to the Eiffel Tower.  A sunny, icy, clear day held promise for being able to see the edges of the city, and we duly queued-up for the elevator to the first level.  Sadly, it slowly dawned on us that they were not going beyond the first level, and this was confirmed when we were told ‘ice on the tracks’ made the ascent too dangerous.  Never mind, it was still a pleasure to see the fabulous structure, and get a feeling for the layout of the city from up-high.  We were even treated to a very memorable display of public art in the grounds of the tower.

    The fantastic subway.

    The approach.

    Greeting other visitors

    The space created under the arches is truly breathtaking.

    Over-engineered?

    Intricate details.

    A very public art show!

    On our way to the restaurant for lunch, the ice really made negotiating some of the walkways difficult!

    A very memorable lunch, taking in scenes of Christmas through the glass of the bar.


    Other Stuff

    If you ask me, it’s the ‘other stuff’ that makes Paris so pleasant; the moseying along the streets, the hanging out in the cafe, the buying the bread. Paris is almost uniform in its prettiness, as opposed to the highs and lows of London; 60s high-rise sat alongside Greek revivalist edifice, opposite the ultra-modern statement.  It almost reminded me of Japan, with its shops, eateries and gorgeous little details popping out now and again.  It’s certainly a place I should return to.

    Sartorialistes Parisiennes!.

    Art Nouveau (very reminiscent of Charles Rennie Mackintosh) up on Montmartre.  Especially love the spider’s web!

    More Art Nouveau on the Metro.

    Art ‘Even More Nouveau’ on the streets … Invader‘s art (as featured in the Banksy movie ‘Exit Through the Gift Shop‘)

    And one more.

    Views out across the city from Montmartre.

    Looking out towards the Pompidou Centre (definitely need to tick that one off the next time I go).

    Touring the streets.

    Some buildings I once saw in the Tour de France.

    Even the road-markings are interesting.

    Baby Ben

    But the star of the show, naturally, was Baby Ben.  He held up very well in the cold weather, and did very well facing delays at the airport in both directions.  I shall miss you, wee man!

    Gazing in wonder

    Looking very pleased with himself.

    Wait for it …

    Peepo!

  • In the Bleak Mid-Winter

    In the Bleak Mid-Winter

    I am lucky enough to be in Europe for the whole month of December, joyfully mixing two weeks of work, with two weeks of time with family and friends.

    The weather is cold. So cold, in fact, that it has delivered several dumps of snow and layered a delightful crust of frost over the fields on the way to the airport. To Paris!

  • A Dirty Weekend in Hong Kong

    2010 was the Chinese Year of the Mountain Bike, starting it in style on two wheels in Hong Kong, taking in some of Taiwan’s best riding, and ending up recently with a new bike to call my own.  After proving the intra-Asian transport options over new year, I cashed-in some air miles that were burning a hole in my pocket and decided to fly to see Sam, plus Michael and Tanja before their wee one arrives on the scene.

    An ambitious two day itinerary was set for the riding; the Taimoshan trail only being pieced back together after seven months of trying to find it again after new year.  The weather held, and we were left with two lovely days of sunshine, eating, drinking and riding.  Intense, but just the thing to kick off a good Autumn of fun and frolics.  I am now in fact considering a week of mountain biking in New Zealand for Chinese New Year 2011.  Just need to book those flights!

    On the way to the ferry terminal – riding in HK is a different beast to Taiwan; no scooters ironically makes it less bike-friendly, and the boisterous buses were not pleasant riding companions.

    On the ferry out to Lantau island … makes for a pleasant change from riding for 35 minutes through Taipei traffic!

    Stopping for a photo at the infamous ‘Refrigerator’ rock – well framed, don’t you agree!

    The weather on the first day got to all of us – it was bloody hot and humid.  This didn’t seem to effect the fellow mountain bikers on the boat back, who scoffed at our meagre efforts; the higher proportion of bankers in the HK expat population definitely equates to more wankers.  Such is the order of things.

    Very happy to make it to 7-11 at the end of the ride … I have never drunk so much Gatorade for such a sustained period of time.

    Some more waiting around for the guys to finish work on Michael’s bike – some mechanicals that needed to be sorted out (and free replacement brakes, no less!).

    So, the end of Day 1 of riding … day 2 saw zero photos; we were too busy riding!  You can however see the photos from earlier in the year if you want to see what Taimoshan looks like.

    Hanging out with the ladies – was amazing to see Tanja, and Tony’s fiancee was in town to sort out wedding docs.

    Sunset over Kowloon.

    Obligatory shot of wires.

    Good luck next month guys!  It was simply wonderful to see you!

  • Stonedeer Trail 2

    Stonedeer Trail 2

    Well here it is folks; day three on our Taiwan mountain biking bender … the Stonedeer Trail (also known as Syakaro or 石鹿古道) .  The last time we rode the trail in 2007, it dished up a bewildering series of large landslides, leaving us ragged and exhausted by the end.  This time, we aimed to hit the trailhead early, and get the opening section of the ride cleared, ready for the tiring and dangerous hike-a-bike across the rock fields (and building up credit for the sublime singletrack descending).

    Logistics are the trickiest aspect of riding Stonedeer; you first need to get deep into the mountains of Hsinchu County, and then work out a way to get from there back to your car, or to Taipei (an option I would like to try next time).  Last time, we rented a van for the day to do the dirty work for us, but this year instead found a local willing to drive Mark’s car to the end of the trail.

    Enough with the car.  Kicking off from the trailhead, we slowly made our way up the long climb to the highest point on the trail, some 4km away.  Naturally, our memories all conveniently deleted the climb, and we huffed and puffed our way to the top – we did it in good time, however, and conditions were close to perfect.

    I don’t remember it being like this!

    Please stop taking photos.

    A sight for sore eyes – the saddle.  In my head this was the peak; but sadly there was a little more work to do yet.

    Breaking through the ‘saddle’ of the climb is always is always a good feeling, but in this case the architects that built this trail really knew what they were doing, drowning a gap in the trees in fabulous light, and signalling the start of the (mostly) downhill.  Time to munch on one more energy bar, strap down our shoes, clean our glasses, and hunker down for some of the finest mountain biking this island has to offer.  Yes, kilometres and kilometres of pristine single-track, divinely laid-out for us by the gods of mountain biking.

    You can even see Mark’s grin at speed.

    Pumpin’

    Yes, one more thumbs-up from Carlos, to the trail!

    But once again, we did not have it all our own way.  Time saved on the climb and opening sections were lost when we met the first of the bridges over one of the multiple streams and rivers.  Untreated wood, humidity, rain and the odd rock-fall meant they were in a sorry state of repair, and in stark contrast to the conditions from last time.  Each crossing took a group of us to pass the bikes from one side to the other, but this is the stuff that teams are made for, eh.

    Less than ideal conditions.

    Team building!

    I am sure there is a thumbs-up somewhere in the background.

    Some then whizzed across the scary suspension bridge…

    … and some walked it.  I don’t blame you , Mark.

    But the guys who rode in 2007 knew what was coming.  Landslides – and lots of them.  The condition of the bridges was not boding well, and really we had time to be making up time if we expected to get people to the airport in the evening.  So, with a hearts pumping from the steep drop to the river below, we started the first climb.  Thankfully, new ladders had been installed, which aided climbing to a large degree.  However, I did not really trust the steps when completely new, and I shudder to think of the consequences should the wood break, but never-the-less we made it to the top, bikes slung over our shoulders and eager to press-on.  Phew.

    Yes – that is the river down below!

    Our fears for the integrity of the rest of the trail were well-founded, but the trail-builders had been working hard in the last few years; despite the heavy rain of recent weeks, reasonably navigable tracks had been cut into the landsides, and bridges had been installed in a couple of places.  This made for a far more pleasant preparation to the final kilometres of singletrack!

    Contrast with the last attempt was stark, and welcome.  Last time saw us disassembling the bikes, descending straight down in two trips to gather wheels and frames, straight up the other side twice more, and reassembling the bikes on the other side.

    The final section of trail was as sublime as ever, and Mark locked-on to my back wheel and pushed me to the limit, the speeds getting ever higher.  His attempts to pass me through the (very attractive – but no time for photos this time!) glades of bamboo were repeatedly met with aggressive lines from yours-truly, but I had met my match that day, and an unforced error saw me sliding along the trail as I hit a helpfully-positioned, diagonally-orientated trunk of bamboo lying across the path.  I was exhausted, and Mark disappeared as my legs went into screen-saver mode.  Tired, sweaty, bloody, muddy and numb from nettles, we arrived at the end of the trail, grins on our faces, and triumphant.

    Bikes – intact.

    Bodies – mostly intact.

    Stonedeer, we salute you!

    Information

    Peace & Ride – Stonedeer Trail

    Forestry Information – Stonedeer Trail

    Stonedeer Map

  • Puli Mountain Biking

    Mark works it.

    Day two on our little adventure was supposed to have started by waking up in a tent, halfway up a mountain.  Sadly, that did not quite happen as planned, and instead we found ourselves in the tourist honeypot of Sun Moon Lake (although 日月潭 is actually a reservoir) staying overnight.  There were plenty of good hills in the local area to keep us entertained, so we asked around and made a bee-line for some trails near Shueli and Puli.

    Our fortune during the trip regarding mechanical issues with the bicycles (or the people for that matter) was not matched by the stamina of Mark’s van.  Frustratingly, we blew a tyre on the way out to the trailhead, and wasted a precious hour or two working out the best way to get it fixed.  All I can say is, at least it didn’t happen on the way back the previous day – the puncture’s vicinity to a tyre repair place and helpful policeman saved the day.

    Strike the standard ‘shit I have a puncture’ pose.

    Finding trails in Taiwan at the best of times is hard work, but vague instructions, poor maps and increasingly scary roads as we gained altitude did not really help proceedings.  No matter, we were happy to arrive at the forestry rangers station, and they pointed us up the hill, which seemed to have been marked with hiking association flags, heading off through the trees.  This was going to be a hike-a-bike climb, but some awesome, technical descending.  Our guess was, this was the first time that bikes had ever been on this trail.

    Don’t worry Mum, we didn’t ride down this section.

    Climbing up through the trees, we couldn’t resist spinning the bikes around every once in a while, and attacking the odd set of corners.  The guys that used to live in Taiwan were in there element here; it was like all the best bits from our regular Graveyard and Helens runs, all wrapped up into one run.  The disappointment of the morning was turning into a mild sense of amazement that we had found these trails – and when we couldn’t easily climb any more, we stuffed some food in our mouths, and started a wicked descent.

    So wicked, in fact, that in a moment of super-human skill, I overcooked it through a set of steep, off-camber rooted turns.  I knew several metres before the trail dropped that I needed to shed some speed, and I elegantly locked-up my wheels, sending me sliding across a field of roots and kindly leaving it to my head to do the final speed retardation.  With a tree.  Cracking sounds turned out to be my helmet splitting; my ego a little bruised, I packed up my Superman suit and kept riding.

    The descending begins…

    Observing progress

    Thumbs-up from Carlos!

    Picking lines through the trees.

    Single-track heaven.

    Emerging at the end – mostly unscathed!

    Considering this was his first time mountain biking, he looks like a natural cross-country racer, don’t you think?!

    Team Giant (and one Specialized) give their approval!

    So, day 2 dished up some surprises, but in some ways was the most memorable day (despite the bashed noggin!).  A 30 minute high-speed on-road descent to the bottom certainly did not hurt our moods one little bit, though our disk brakes were certainly screaming in pain.

    Information

    It’s a bit difficult to give much in the way of information, as we barely knew where we were … but here is a map for your viewing pleasure!

    Puli MTB

  • Nenggao Mountain Biking – 能高越嶺古道

    Nenggao Mountain Biking – 能高越嶺古道

    Riding the ridge of mountains that comprise the spine of Taiwan has long been an ambition of the myself and the riding group.  After some significant effort, Mark put together some days of riding; day 1 of the plan was to attack the infamous Nenggao trail system (能高越嶺古道), which was built by the Japanese in an attempt to control the unruly locals.  Comprising a day of climbing, an overnight camp, and a day of blissful high-speed descending, this was set to be an epic one.  We were joined by Taiwan mountain biking alumni, flying in from Shanghai, Hong Kong and – would you believe it – Mexico.  While several of us had bikes, the majority were going to be renting, or buying new rigs; luckily, we found a place north of Taipei run by Giant that was renting pretty decent machinery, and we were good to go.

    Staying overnight in a hot spring hotel near Renai (仁愛) , we mentally prepared by hanging out way past curfew in the hot tub, and quaffing hand-imported Patron ‘Añejo’ Tequila.  As the first results from the football World Cup beamed in Mr. Patron accompanied us, assisting in the respective celebrations and commiserations.

    Perhaps as a result of said Tequila, the day got off to a somewhat more leisurely start than we initially planned, but we were climbing up to the trail-head proper within no time.  The weeks of precipitation, namely the ‘Plum Rain‘, seemed to have receded in time for the ride, and we were climbing in cool, if humid, weather.

    Crossing the bridge one the way to the up, while the weather was still behaving.

    Negotiating one of the waterfalls – you can see how fragile the earth underneath is.

    One of the landside sections – just before we opted to turn around.

    Weeks of rain had clearly taken their toll, however, and large landslides blocked our path on several occasions.  Our steely resolve to press on to the camp ground was tested, when finally the heavens opened, breaking promises of safe conditions, and we opted to get the hell off the hill, as soon as we saw rivulets of water dragging rocks and debris down the landslide area.  It was not worth the significant risk, and we were all shivering insider our rain jackets, soaked in sweat, rain and humidity.

    So, off the mountain we went, and the six of us made a rapid bee-line for the trail-head, some six kilometres in the other direction.  The hours of climbing compressed into minutes of descending, naturally, but we were energised and warmed-up once more; it’s amazing what a little adrenalin can do.

    Greeting each other after a slightly hairy descent!

    Sweat, rain, relief.  In that order.

    Team photo. Thumbs-up from Carlos!

    Reaching the van, and caked in landslide, Craig found a pipe gushing water, and we took it in turns to wash the bikes and ourselves.  He maintains that the pipe was broken when he found it, but we feared a village was missing its evening shower as a result of our group cleansing activities.  One thing is for sure; we will be back in November, when the park officials have had some time to repair the trail, and the weather will hopefully be in our favour.

    Games with the water pipe …


    Information

    Map

    Enjoy!

  • Kinmen Tales

    After six years, I finally made it to Kinmen (金門)!  Nikki and I decided to break for the border (well, almost) and book a long weekend away from Taipei; our first trip away together.

    Kinmen (pronounced ‘Jin-Men’), is a curious historical anomaly, situated as it is a mere 2100m away from the coast of mainland China.  Indeed, administratively, its official title is ‘Fujian Province, Republic of China’, demonstrating very clearly the attitude of previous administrations towards the islet; they possessed a small portion of the mainland, and one day they were coming back for the rest. (more…)

  • Kenting 2010

    Kenting – summed up in a single photo!

    Though the departure was a little more hectic than I was originally envisioning, it was my pleasure to jump on the HSR down south and join Michael and Tanja for a weekend of summer sun in Kenting – south Taiwan.

    The guys had come through to attend a wedding, and as such were accompanied by a group of 20 German holidaymakers – and all on the same weekend as the largest music festival in Taiwan; Spring Scream.  As a result of poor planning on my part, I was actually supposed to be staying some fifteen kilometers away in Hengchun, but M&T offered me their spare bed in the amazing, but less than charismatically-named, Kenting Youth Activity Center.  I love that place.

    Situated on a peninsular east of the main drag, it is – according to their website – a ‘traditional Fujen(a province in southern China, also called Min) style building with red gate, white wall and red tile roof, and is often reputed as the Museum of Southern Min Style Architecture.’  I wish they gave more of the history, with a bit more explanation of the layout, but no matter; I would probably discover it is made of concrete.

    Square clouds … I could just soak this in all day!

    Detail view.

    Shots of night of the wonderful lanterns, lighting up the courtyard.

    Tiles done properly. Almost.

    Doors.

    The local walk down to the rocky peninsular.

    Cable management.

    Silhouettes.

    Details, bathed in warm morning light.

    Birds of a feather.

    Little Georg makes a run for it.

    Of course, we didn’t have the place entirely to ourselves.  As host weekend of the largest music festival in Taiwan, there were some pretty odd sights, and a funny mixture of people.  Beginning with obligatory trips down to the local nightmarket (copy and pasted from Taipei?), we then began sinking drinks, seeing some of the outlying stages, and finally ending up on the beach for what was a very nice, chilled out session the last time I was here.  Nope – not this time… a huge, thumping sound system, massive crowd and despite signs urging restraint, a barrage of fireworks arcing up into the sky (as well as other places).  I must at this moment apologise to all the people with car alarms that we set off, when some enterprising vendor sold us a box of mortars, at 4:30 in the morning.  Only in Kenting.

    Beer emergency.

    Walking the dog.

    Little Georg checking the icecreams – it was fun playing with them, though I wished my German had not corroded so far!

    Peugeot 106 … waffles.

    It was quite a culture shock to land from Texas, and dive head-first into full intensity Taiwan during ‘Spring Break’, all the while accompanied by German family members!  Absolutely fantastic to see the Helds on top form though.  See you guys again soon!

    Taiwanese cowboys – summing up my cultural transition?

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