Trip To Dongpu: Part I
July 31, 2008
By: thenhbushman
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Category: Taiwan, Travel
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Photos by MJ Klein
Recently Hui-chen and I took a trip to the hot-springs town of Dongpu. I posted all the photos on flickr, but I haven’t had time to blog on the trip yet. We had a great time, driving through mountains shrouded in mist. It was a nice relaxing weekend for us. We began our trek in Nantou….
Here we see the first shot of the Nantou countryside on our way to Dongpu. Please note that these photos are geotagged.
This is a shot of my GPS showing the altitude profile we were driving on the way. Notice the elevation of 355 meters. Before we reached our destination, this would read in excess of 1,000 meters.
We drove through some areas that I can only describe as “quaint” and very Taiwanese. You have to see for yourself to understand what I mean, but so many places here just look cool and interesting.
We drove past banana fields.
We passed by the famous Shueili Snake Kiln but we didn’t stop. That’s another trip and another story.
This is one of those “shots from the car” that can never do justice to the real scene. Just another vast flood plain like we have here in Taiwan. Awesome looking in person.
On our way, it began raining, and in some places, quite heavily.
Nothing like slowing down and becoming a menace to navigation just so you can wave “hi” to your pal!
But, it was worth the long drive, traffic and rain for views like this.
Be sure to check out the Dongpu Photo Set for more photos.
The opening photo was no fluke. We drove mountain roads like this for quite some time.
It’s hard to imagine living in Taiwan, but one way you can try is to click on these photos and view the large version. The ride up to Dongpu was an event in itself!
Be sure to check out the Dongpu Photo Set for more photos that couldn’t be included here.
These small towns always amaze me. The first thing I think of is “how do these people earn a living?” If I could figure that out, maybe I’d move to one of these beautiful locations!
Finally, we crossed a lovely bridge and entered the Dongpu community.
This is a school in the downtown area. Dongpu is very small and one can walk the entire downtown area easily.
The perfect spot to take photographs with a Nikon D80 and jacked up colors!
We saw lots of construction work going on. I hope that Dongpu isn’t developed to death, like so many other nice places in Taiwan.
This is our hotel, and the end of Part I of this series. In the next part, we’ll show you walking-around shots of Dong-pu at night, and of course, some food photos too.
Articles in series Dongpu:
- Trip To Dongpu: Part I
- Trip To Dongpu: Part II
- Trip To Dongpu, Part III
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May 30th, 2008 at 11:20 pm
Great teaser pic! I love the mountains shrouded in mist. You shouldn’t worry about posting though, given your dad’s situation. I think we readers certainly understand!
I hope your dad’s health gets better.
Sandys last blog post..Chicago: Public Enemies Movie Set
thenhbushman
reply on May 31st, 2008 11:39 am:
Sandy » thanks for your kind comments (i took care of that little typo for you). the unfortunate aspect is that my dad’s health is not going to improve.
that’s the inevitability that we’re preparing for.
May 31st, 2008 at 10:46 pm
MJ, I hope your trip as going as well as can be expected. I am thinking of you and Hui-chen in this difficult time. I hope that the time you have left with your father are full of good fond memories of the great man he must have been to raise a son who he must be very proud of.
I go back to the article you wrote about the billy cart or go-cart he built for you. This is a great picture of you both and post. I enjoyed reading it again.
All the best MJ and take care mate.
Brunty
Bruntys last blog post..No Weekend, Teacher’s Seminar in Isaan Thailand.
thenhbushman
reply on June 1st, 2008 7:39 pm:
Brunty » thanks a lot my friend. it was hard seeing him like that, but still better than not seeing him at all.
June 9th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Vern » thanks a lot. clicking on any photo will take you to the photo’s page, and thus to my photostream. take care Vern!
August 1st, 2008 at 8:21 am
Seeing these relatively empty mountain roads makes me want to jump on my bike and ride there. I’m not sure if my legs would like it though.
cfimagess last blog post..Traditional Handmade Noodles
thenhbushman
reply on August 1st, 2008 1:55 pm:
cfimages » it’s a long way there, but once up there it’s worth it. towards the end it got a bit steep in some places. thanks.
August 1st, 2008 at 8:45 am
Great pictures, very atmospheric! I’m looking forward to the rest of the trip report. Like you, I also often wonder how people make a living in those small towns. Don’t worry, you didn’t miss anything by not stopping at the Shueili Snake Kiln – unless you’re really interested in the history of ceramics in Taiwan, it’s an overrated tourist trip.
Kaminoges last blog post..???????
thenhbushman
reply on August 1st, 2008 1:53 pm:
Kaminoge » thanks for the tip on the Snake Kiln. that was a nice weekend for photography, if not for traveling! thanks.
August 1st, 2008 at 2:13 pm
How did I miss this post :-O
that first picture is just great. My sentiments are totally the same as of cfimages. Would love to ride on those roads man.
Ashishs last blog post..Weekend excursion to Hualien Part 1
thenhbushman
reply on August 1st, 2008 2:37 pm:
Ashish » this was one that i was going back to finish, and then the blog had some problems and i got sidetracked with that issue. so, now i’m back to it! i’d love to take a bike up there on a car carrier, but i wouldn’t want to ride it all the way there!
August 2nd, 2008 at 7:49 am
MJ,
Nantou county is beautiful. did yo go the the town famous for its cherry trees?
Glad to see your blog is up again. For awhile I couldn’t read any posts.
owshawngs last blog post..Calling From The Toilet
thenhbushman
reply on August 3rd, 2008 8:30 am:
owshawng » we didn’t go to the cherry place, but we did buy some oolong tea, which Nantou is know for of course. HC loves cherries so i’m going to have to ask her about that one. thanks, it’s good to be back.