A typhoon-damaged shrine

Now the 2015 typhoon season is drawing to an end, I thought I'd post this image I took in a mountainous part of Chiayi County back in 2010, of a land-god shrine that was almost totally destroyed by a landslide during Typhoon Morakot, but dug out by nearby villagers, cleaned up and put back into use.  

Free half-day tours for transit passengers at Taoyuan Airport

Like several other airports around the world (Singapore being perhaps the best-known example), Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport now offers transit and transfer passengers with at least seven hours before their next flight the chance to see a little bit of northern Taiwan for free.

Each tour last around five hours. The morning tour, which sets out at 8:00, heads inland to Sanxia in New Taipei City for a look at Zushi Temple before proceeding to nearby Yingge, a town best known for its ceramics industry and museum. The afternoon tour kicks off at 13.30 and goes to the heart of the capital, stopping at Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Taipei 101. 

Not everyone can join these tours. Britons, Americans, Japanese, Singaporeans and others whose passports qualify them for visa-free entry are in the clear. Some other nationalities - among them Indians, Thais and Indonesians - can join the tours if they hold a valid visa for or permanent residency rights in the United States, Canada, Japan, the UK, any Schengen nation, Australia or New Zealand.

Each tour is limited to 18 people. It's not possible to sign up in advance, so it's best to get to the waiting point ahead of time. For more details, go here.

Dodging typhoons on the east coast

We managed to complete our recent East Coast expedition before either of the approaching typhoons made driving unpleasant. Stopping briefly above the gritty harbour town of Suao in Yilan, my wife took this photo of fishing vessels which would normally be at work on the high seas moored out of harm's way. 

Suao is at the northern end of the famously scenic but scary-in-places Suhua Highway; this webpage has several good photos taken along the road about a decade ago. Since then, some of the more dangerous curves and narrower sections have been replaced by tunnels. A major upgrade of the road, due to be completed by the end of 2017, will make getting from Yilan to Hualien significantly quicker and safer. For those who'd rather not drive, there are regular trains; for many years there's been no public bus service along the highway.

On-the-spot sales tax (VAT) refunds for tourists

Foreign citizens visiting Taiwan can take advantage of a sales-tax (VAT) refund system if they spend more than NTD3,000 in a single day at any participating shop no more than 30 days before departing from the ROC. 

They’re required, of course, to take the items with them when they leave. Participating businesses (this official English-language list is likely incomplete, as it shows none in the eastern part of the island) includes almost every department store in Taiwan, some computer shops and several opticians. One recent amendment to the system provides that, if the total VAT refund amount is under NT$1,000 (which would be the case if the tourist has spent no more than NT$20,000) he or she may apply directly to the store for an on-the-spot refund. 

Visitors who want to apply for refunds when leaving the country can do so at either terminal in Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport; at Kaohsiung, Taichung or Hualien airports; or (if they're departing by cruise ship or ferry) in the passenger terminals at Keelung, Hualien or Taichung harbours. At present there's no refund counter in Kinmen County; the Matsu Islands; or Tainan Airport, which has flights to/from Wuhan and Hong Kong in China, plus - starting late October - to/from Osaka in Japan. 

The photo above is public domain, via Wikipedia.

Synapticism: Fascinating blog posts about Taiwan

Synapticism isn't a blog specifically about Taiwan, but the photographer/DJ/digital nomad behind it (who goes by the name Alexander Synaptic) has spent much of the past two and a half years in Taiwan, and has explored the country in exceptional and fascinating depth. Rather than visit and write about popular tourist attractions like the National Palace Museum or Kenting National Park, he prefers to explore abandoned residential and commercial buildings, disused industrial sites and obscure but intriguing elements of urban life, such as the levees and flood-prevention barriers that surround Taipei.

Like me, he's found that few places are as atmospheric or photogenic as semi-collapsed sanheyuan (traditional three-sided courtyard houses). One of his most recent - and most beautifully illustrated - posts concerns a region not far from my home: The 'moonworld' badlands of Tainan and Kaohsiung.

The photo above is from a blog post about Yumei Hall in Changhua County.

Oral history of the Puyuma people

Outside Taitung's Immaculate Conception Church, more than two dozen painted wall panels depict scenes from the legendary and oral history of the Puyuma people, one of 16 indigenous ethnic groups recognized by Taiwan's government. As of June 2015, just under 13,500 Taiwanese were registered members of the Puyuma (sometimes called the Pinuyumayan) tribe.

Most of the pictures lack captions in Chinese let alone English, so working out what they represent is far from easy. The top image presumably shows a Puyuma elder telling a foreign priest about his tribe's traditions. The second picture, I'd guess, depicts part of the Puyuma's creation myth.

Does this show a forest fire that resulted from carelessly roasting a pig? Typhoons and earthquakes are the most common natural disasters to afflict Taiwan, but serious forest fires do occur from time to time.

Here, a Puyuma brave fights a bear. Oddly, the animal doesn't resemble a Formosan black bear (Ursus thibetanus formosanus), Taiwan's only ursine species.

Zhiben Catholic Church

The exterior of the Immaculate Conception Church in Zhiben, Taitung County resembles neither a European church - there's no steeple - nor any of the Catholic houses of worship around the island which incorporate Chinese 'Northern Palace' architecture. Like many buildings that date from the early 1950s, it's a simple concrete box that leaks when there's heavy rain. Yet the grounds are spacious and the interior reflects the heritage of the indigenous Puyuma people who worship here.

  

According to the priest, around 70 people attend Sunday service, and both Mandarin and the Puyuma language are used in the church; click on the photo below to enlarge it, and you'll notice the hymn book has romanized Puyuma as well as Chinese script. Visitors should ask for permission from the priest or caretaker before entering the church, the address of which is 15, Lane 331, Zhiben Road Section 3 (知本路3段331巷15號). There's a map and Chinese-language information here. The wall which surrounds the churchyard has paintings which show scenes from the tribe's oral history.