Wandering Fel

Showing posts with label Chiayi. Show all posts

I love blue sky so much but my daily 9 to 5 job does not give me much time to enjoy the blue sky. Okay, zero time to be honest with you. #sad

When I took sabbatical from my work two years ago, I enjoyed my non-working days so much studying Mandarin in Taipei (well, I come back with only 20 bucks in my bank account but oh well...). One thing that I enjoy the most when it's summer time in Taiwan is the blue sky. Oh my gawd, the blue sky is simply superb. Here are the list of best spots to view blue sky in Taiwan:

1. Fo Guang Shan Monastery

I am quite surprised that I can see clear blue sky from a monastery. My friend and I visited Fo Guang Shan Monastery in August and this is how the sky looks like from the main square. Fo Guang Shan Monastery is famous for its architecture of the temples and the huge golden statue of Buddha. The destination is also famous amongst the Buddhist who are doing a pilgrimage.

Fo Guang Shan Monastery in Kaohsiung Taiwan

2. Hehuanshan

There is nowhere better to feel closer to the blue sky other than from the mountain, right? If you agree, you should not miss the beauty of the blue sky viewed from the top of Hehuanshan, a high mountain in the central Taiwan. The peak of Hehuanshan is best viewed on the way from Cingjing Farm to Taroko Gorge. It is situated within the Taroko Gorge National Park. The weather can be pretty cold up there so it is recommended to bring jacket whenever you visit Hehuanshan.

Hehuanshan at Taroko Gorge National Park Taiwan

3. Xincuozai

Situated in the laid back area of Chiayi, Xincuozai offers a beautiful blue sky on top of the salt fields. The little town of Xincuozai is used to be defined by its salt. Although nowadays Taiwan has entered into automation era, the local government has preserved the culture of salt harvesting here at Xincuozai. You can still see the salt fields here in Xincuozai.

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4. Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall

This place gave me a surprise actually. I have never expected Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall to be so beautiful under the blue sky. Hahaha. CKS Memorial Hall is a must visit place for everyone who visit Taipei for the first time. You can watch the guard changing ceremony on the level 4 of CKS Memorial Hall. The view from the top is also nice to look upon. During the spring, you can visit the small garden nearby to see sakura trees. They are so lovely!

5. Qingshui Cliff

Qingshui Cliff is best viewed on the way from Taroko Gorge to the city of Hualien. There are stops along the mountain path which allow driver to park their small car (I don't think it's feasible to park bus there). Blue sky, blue sea, I guess I can't ask for more. #ultimatesatisfaction

Everytime I watch summer Japanese anime, there is always a summer activity in the storyline which involves hunting for beetle bugs. Being born in the big city, I totally cannot relate to this activity let alone knowing how's beetle bug looks like (apart from the Japanese anime). Who knows that there is a rhinoceros beetle farm here in Taiwan. To be exact, Taiwan's rhinoceros beetle farm is located in Zhongpu (中埔) in Chiayi county.

The whole area of rhinoceros beetle farm looks like a replica of Green Green Grassland in Cingjing Farm. Other than the rhinoceros beetles, you will be able to see other animals here too. If Green Green Grassland is dominated by sheeps, Rhinoceros Beetle Farm in Chiayi has deeper variety of animals such as goats, ponies, cows, ostriches, rabbits and a hothouse for insects and reptiles. I guess you can call it a mini zoo in Chiayi.

Grassland of Rhinoceros Beetle Farm in Chiayi Taiwan

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I hope you are not grossed out by beetles. The next few pictures will tell more about what you can find out more about rhinoceros beetles in the farm. You can increase your knowledge on how rhinoceros beetles grow. The farm has display for the three stages of rhinoceros beetle's life. For instance, the one displayed on the tube is the pupa stage (the second stage of beetle's life).

There are actually many variety of rhinoceros beetles. Wikipedia mentions that there are over 300 species of rhinoceros beetles in the world. Rhinoceros beetles are also known as Hercules beetles, Unicorn beetles or Horn beetles.

Looking at how it looks when it reach the imago state (adult), I suppose the beetles look pretty strong and they really have horns. Rhinoceros beetles are popular pets in parts of Asia. Some parts even use the male beetles for gambling. Haizz.

By the way, do you know that these rhinoceros beetles can fly? They can fly strongly and they react well to light at night. The big horns apparently do not hinder them from flying at all because the horns are turned out to be lightweight.

How to go to Rhinoceros Beetle Farm:

From Chiayi train station, it is better to take a cab to Rhinoceros Beetle Farm. If you don't know the name of the Rhinoceros Beetle Farm in Chinese, it is 獨角仙農場 (Dú jiǎo xiān nóngchǎng).

"And so...the adventure begins"

I have never thought that we are going to an adventure in Taiwan to a haunted house. I am not a fan of a horror stories or anything related to ghosts. But, of course, one of our daring friends must go to this particular haunted place in Chiayi, Minxiong Ghost House. He assured me (and the rest of the scaredy-cats) that Minxiong Ghost House was so popular to the extent that it has become a tourist place. Oh well, might as well fulfil his wish before he nags and nags for the rest of the trip.

Just like that, we are finally here at the scene of a haunted house in Chiayi, Minxiong Ghost House. Well, I suppose from the outside it just kinda looks like an abandoned house of some rich people.

Haunted place in Chiayi, Minxiong Ghost House

Let's find out the background story of the house. This old European style red brick house is used to known as the Liu Family Mansion. The house was built in 1929 for Liu Rongyu, a businessman with seven children. It was abandoned not long after the Japanese colonial regime. Oh great, there is a headless statue welcoming you at the entrance of the house. The house does look pretty huge though.

The house has been abandoned for so long until it has fused together with the roots big trees. This kinda reminds me of a tree house in Anping. The ruin is actually pretty clean, there are zero traces of the former occupants inside the house. At certain section of the walls, we also could see vandalism. I thought it's a no no to do such disrespect stuff to a haunted place?

Yep, nothing inside. Oh, are you asking why the house was abandoned in the first place? There are no concrete details of why the house was abandoned. A lot of rumours have been going on amongst the locals and in the internet world though. One of the rumours was saying that a group of Japanese soldiers were camping here for a night before they started to be confused by the ghost and ended up killing each other. Hmm, sounds like a setting for Battle Royale with a mystic influence.

Inside Minxiong Ghost House in Chiayi Taiwan

Another rumour said that the maid of the Liu family killed herself by drowning herself into the well (don't tell me she turned into Sadako). The said well is now dry and full of rocks. And okay, I seriously don't know why there is a skull pirate there near the well.

Even without these stories, the existence of the house itself has intrigued me. A European style house in the middle of nowhere in Taiwan? Plainly weird. Hahaha.

Anyway, it's good to visit this place if you have spare time to kill in Chiayi because the place is kinda out of the way which means you either need to rent a scooter, bike or take a cab here. There is no detailed address for Minxion Ghost House but I am sure everyone in the nearby town know about its existence very well, including all the cab drivers.