TheNHBushman.com

Photos by MJ Klein

People are normally on edge during a storm such as typhoon Wipha, because anything can happen at any time.  So naturally, when Hui-chen and I heard the sirens from multiple emergency vehicles approach and stop on the next block, we were concerned about what was going on.

Hukou firemen cut a hole in a rolldown security door using an abrasive wheel cutting tool.

I shot this photo using a 300mm lens from our apartment on the next street over, at night.  What I want you to notice is the sparks flying.  The firemen used an abrasive wheel to cut a hole in the rolldown door at one of the Thai places I frequent (not Shao-hui’s).

I few minutes later I walked over in the pouring rain and snapped a couple more photos of the action.  There were quite a number of both male and female fire/rescue personnel on site, as well as local police.  I didn’t dare interrupt them to ask what was going on.

This morning I saw the hole that was cut in the door.

The firemen cut a hole just big enough for one person to fit through so someone could go inside and raise the rollup door for the others.  Notice the bent piece at the top of the door.  The owners of the store couldn’t get the door up because this bent piece stuck out too far.

We talked with the boss lady this morning and asked what happened.  Since the storm was getting worse and her husband’s mother wasn’t feeling well, they closed up their store/restaurant early and went to see her.  Apparently the boss lady had left a pot on a gas burner and forgot to turn the gas off before she left.  The heat was very low so it took several hours to boil off whatever was in the pot and then it began to smolder.  Thanks to the quick actions of their neighbors, an open flame fire never developed and there was no smoke damage.  The only evidence of last night is the cut door and a slight burnt cooking odor.

Ah, but life goes quickly back to normal in Taiwan.  As Hui-chen and I were on the freeway this morning, we saw the Taiwan Air Force doing some practice formations.

Apparently they are getting ready for next month’s activities.

technorati tags:Taiwan, Hukou, Whipa, typhoon, fire, military

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Photos by MJ Klein

Report from Bushman’s Typhoon Blog

Even though not a direct hit, we are getting clobbered by this super typhoon.

Several businesses are closed in the northern areas of Taiwan.  This is a good day for hanging out at the local Thai karaoke, or spending time with your SO in bed!

technorati tags:Taiwan, Hukou, Wipha, Goring, typhoon

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Photos by MJ Klein

This weekend, we were supposed to be consumed with packaging and shipping tasks associated with our business.  But that didn’t happen (I should have known better).  I was bored today.  So, what does a grill designer and outdoor cooking enthusiast do on a boring day?  Make another grill of course.

I went to the store and bought a few items.

My small new portable grill is based on a simple stainless steel bowl.  Here it is with some lump charcoal directly on the bottom for a test run.

Using a hacksaw, I cut slots into the edge to make tabs, which I bent upwards.

Another tab.

The tabs hold the grate in place on the bowl.

I drilled a series of holes in the side near the bottom for increased airflow.  I only put holes in 1/3 of the circumference so I could turn it to manage the wind effects on the fire.

One thing that I really dislike about locally made grills is the flimsy cooking surface.  Once I threw a big T-bone steak on one of those and it nearly collapsed!  But that’s all you need if you are just grilling bread (I don’t get that!) and thin slices of meat.  I want to be able to cook anything on mine, so this heavy duty grill surface is just what I need.  Since it’s basically just a bowl, it’s quite portable.

In this shot (quite overexposed by the D80, btw) I have added the bottom grate to hold the charcoal off the bottom of the bowl.  I did a first test without the grate and while hot enough, the grate significantly improves airflow.  With the grate on the bottom, this thing gets amazingly hot.

I cooked some stuff on it and I declare the test 100% passed.  The most interesting part of this project was the fact that this bowl and the 2 grates were so well suited to this application.  The grates fit so perfectly that it almost seemed as if they were designed with this application in mind.

Bowl:                NT$130
Top Grate:        NT$80
Bottom Grate:    NT$60
Cooking on my homemade rooftop cabana grill: PRICELESS

technorati tags:Taiwan, Hukou, grill, homemade

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Photos by MJ Klein

Sometimes, walking around our neighborhood is confusing. I hear people say “farang” when they see me. I hear Thai and Lao dialects spoken. I smell wonderful Thai cooking. Sometimes I have to stop and think: Am I in Taiwan, or Thailand?

Many of our friends have come over for a dose of Thai food and culture. Certainly we enjoy it, and we do miss our Thai friends! Also, we used some Thai products and we are glad to be able to get them in our neighborhood. So I’m not complaining!

Thai powder products are excellent. I’ve been using a prickly heat formula powder for years with excellent results. I wouldn’t travel without it.

This whole top shelf is dedicated to powder products. Some of the bottles are huge!

Notice the camphor soap to the left. Also noteworthy are Thai dental care products.

I use Protex soap myself and it helps with the aforementioned malady. There are also some great perfumed soaps if you want to go for a night out smelling great.

But today, I must admit, was a first for me. I think it was also a first for our neighborhood too.

It was bound to happen, with the sheer number of Thai workers who are residing in our neighborhood. These two men decided to dress up as Thai ladyboys or Kratoey.

Sporting dresses, lipstick and bras, they were quite a sight walking down the street in this small town. Of course I just had to ask them to pose for me. Exceedingly polite, they were all too happy to have me photograph them.

technorati tags:Taiwan, Hukou, Thai, Kratoey, ladyboy

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Photos by MJ Klein

I decided to take the Nikon to the local night market this past Monday. Unfortunately the restaurant where we eat wasn’t open that night; otherwise the market was business as usual. All shots were taken in ambient light and the colors are just as you would see them with your eye.

This could be the most photos in any post yet! From food, clothing, games of chance and skill, tea, cakes kiddie rides to mobile phones, Taiwan night markets are nice family events and great for people watching.

Huge waterway in downtown Hukou. Walk down the road to the left and you will find the night market.

I always like these stone markers, so I photographed this one on the way to the market.

Finally we reach the entrance, and go inside the market area. This night market resides in a purpose-built area.

Trying to photograph candids is not so easy with a large camera hanging around your neck. This guy spotted me.

Children’s fishing game.

This shot captures the open-air feel of the market. While crowded, the sky is open over your head. By the way, the weather was perfect.

One of the many portable restaurants. In this case, “steak” and I use that term loosely.

Trademark violations? What does that mean?

I’ve seen these big baby bottles all over Taiwan. I don’t get the fascination with them.

Chinese sausage, spiked with liquor.

There is no one tending this stall because they are selling illegally copied DVDs. Notice the little pink receptacle for money. People buy on the “honor system.” The irony appears to be lost on the shoppers.

This is one of a few clothing vendors with an on-site seamstress who will customize your purchase. Sometimes you see people trying on pants in the open, but most times by pulling them up over the ones they are wearing. I don’t know how you can check the fit by doing that.

As you can see, there isn’t much that you can’t get or do at our local night market!

technorati tags:Taiwan, Hukou, night, market, Monday

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Craig Ferguson invited me to be his second featured photographer!  This is truely an honor.  Everyone knows CFI - Craig Ferguson Images’ blog and of course flickr photostream.  So being invited as a feature photographer on his blog makes for some great bragging rights!

It’s time for the second installment in the featured photographer section. This week we have MJ (Michael) Klein, an American photographer who is now living in Taiwan. Michael is the brains behind the popular blog New Hampshire Bushman in Taiwan.

Featured Photographer - MJ Klein | CraigFergusonImages

Be sure and check out the rest of Craig’s blog.  It’s full of interesting and useful information, and of course, tons of wonderful images for which Craig is well known.

Thanks Craig!

technorati tags:Taiwan, photography, CFI, Craig Ferguson Images

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Photos by Hui-chen

We never know what we are going to run into walking around our neighborhood.  Last evening, Hui-chen and I went around looking for something to do and a place to eat.  Eventually we ended up in the general vicinity of Shao-hui’s where a Thai guy had a guitar and was playing some Thai songs.  When he saw me, he handed me his guitar and asked me to play some tunes (everyone in the neighborhood knows that I play).  After a few minutes I went back home and got my Strat and my Roland Micro Cube amplifier so we could play together.

I don’t know this guy’s name but he knows quite a few Thai songs.  I do like Thai pop music and I enjoy listening to Thai songs at Shao-hui’s and other Thai places in our neighborhood.  Standing behind the guitar player is the boss of the place next door to Shao-hui’s.  Shao-hui bought that building and he has to vacate it by the end of this month.

The Thai guitarist was tuned down about 3 half-steps and I had to listen and “play by ear” because looking at the chord structure told me nothing about what he was playing.  No worries, though, it sounded good.

No matter how much weight I lose, I can’t get over the fact that I look like a giant.  I’m not drinking for awhile so the only drinks near me are soda water.

Several other people were either sitting or standing nearby and singing along with us.  It was a good time.  The grill was going in the background (look carefully at the smoke) and there were grilled pork and chicken on the table at all times, along with a piquant Thai dipping sauce.

Since his guitar was tuned low, this guitar player used a lighter and a bunch of rubber bands as a makeshift capo to raise the pitch.

Since this was the only lighter among the people at the table, our jam session was frequently interrupted by others wishing to borrow the guitar to light their cigarettes!  This was just way too funny!

technorati tags:Taiwan, Hukou, Hui-chen, Thai, music, jam, guitar, Shao-hui

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Photos by MJ Klein

There is an area north of Taichung city, in northern Taichung county where the mountains are formed out of loose material.  You can see quite a few examples of them eroding away as you drive down the highway.  The other day, Hui-chen and I took Highway #4 and I shot a series of photos out of the car window at speed while she drove.

Clearly you can see the loosely organized soil and the gravel that make up the topography of this area.

Unfortunately, people have built factories and other structures on top of this mountain, most likely not understanding the nature of it.

Here we see a concrete wall that is close to the edge.

Notice the debris that has slid down the mountain along with the soil.

This photo shows a concrete structure that is exposed.  I am not sure if it was built like this, or whether the edge has eroded away from the structure.

The left bottom edge of the factory foundation wall appears to be hanging in space.  Check the large size photo and see what you think.

Many structures in the above 2 photos appear to be very close to the edge!

technorati tags:Taiwan, Taichung, mountain, erotion

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Photos by MJ Klein

This past weekend, Hui-chen and I went for a drive along the coast, and took in the sights.  It was a wonderful day for photography and I shot almost 500 photographs.  I’d like to share a few with you.

technorati tags:Taiwan, Hsinchu, photography

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Photos by MJ Klein (from 2000)

For many years I worked as a field engineer in the radio broadcast discipline.  When I think back on those times, it seems as if I practically lived in the field (hence the nickname “bushman”).  One really great thing about field work that I enjoyed is that often I would find myself in a region of the country that I otherwise would have no reason to visit.  I traveled throughout New England and a dozen states doing field engineering studies of AM broadcast stations, and coming across some very interesting places and things.  I would like to share some of these with you, and also set up some following stories over the coming week.

One of my favorite artifact types is railway.  I’m not a “train freak” by any means, nor do I posses any special knowledge of trains.  I just find train stuff interesting.

Please bear with these photographs, taken in the year 2000 with my Kodak DC120 digital camera.

This train station in North Brookfield Massachusetts was still standing just as you see it in March 2000.  There is even a carriage on the platform.  The tracks are long gone but if you look hard enough you can see where they used to run (plus, it’s pretty obvious that they used to run beside the platform).

These remnants of wood are all that is left of the rail cross ties.

This is the real thing, and not a reproduction building.

This is an automobile bridge that runs across a river.  At the right end of the bridge is an abandoned rail line that runs parallel to the river.

The build year of the bridge.

At the end of the bridge we can see broken bridge abutments, and also some wooden remains of someone’s attempt at a footbridge.  Old ties are visible underneath.

Directly 180 degrees opposite from the above photo we can see the tips of 2 pieces of iron rail protruding from the Earth.  Given enough time, the Earth eventually recycles all things.

I have forgotten the exact location of this place but it is near Gilbertville, Massachusetts, and may be a part of that town.  This building complex sits on a piece of abandoned but still existent rail.

There is some sort of hatch or cover in front of (what I presume to be) the General Store.  It looks to be part of a scale, used to weigh cargo going by rail.  I am probably completely wrong in this postulation however.

I would be interested to see some shots of this place taken recently.

This shot was taken from the cross road and shows the end of the building opposite the General Store.  There are several abandoned rail cars, including a caboose.  I do have shots of the cars but I chose not to include them in this post.

This “oxcart” is parked on abandoned rail in Gilbertville behind what clearly used to be the station:

This modern restaurant is named “The Whistle Stop” and proudly preserves it’s rail heritage.

Many abandoned lines have had the rails removed, but in some cases such as this, one can still see the ties.  These have since become hiking and bicycle trails in the US.

People go down this road everyday and through these pillars never thinking that at one time they supported a railroad track on a bridge above.  Astute observers will take note of the power and telephone lines and conclude that this bridge dates to a time before those services were available in the area.

The date on the abutment of this abandoned line reads “1920.”

The abandoned line runs past old burned out homes and into a abandoned factory complex by the river.  The original factory used the water to power turbines.  I have no idea what they use to make however.

There isn’t much left of the factory.

There is a tall smoke stack next to the remains of the wall.  You can just see the sluice where once upon a time, the water flowed through and past the turbines.

I went back to the factory complex a few months later and I saw this:

The town had demolished the smoke stack because it had been deemed unsafe.  I’m glad that I got a few photos of it standing while I could.

technorati tags:USA, North Brookfield, MA, Gilbertville, MA, railway, abandoned, factory, bridge

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