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=0=| This statue really intrigued us as there is an image of another smaller version of the same character coming out of the chest of the main character. We really wished we could read the captions to understand the symbolism! Below is another nice statue with others in the background along with a Chinese man. As in Korea, we saw several Chinese up on the trail doing calisthenics. It seems to be a tradition for them to run up into forested hill side and do their exercises in the beauty of nature. You also don't see many overweight orientals. |
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| The garbage bins were really neat. Some were images of penguins (not shown) and some, like this one, were in the image of a puppy. This one had some mud splashed up on his belly, but was still very cute. While we were in Taiwan, many of the farm worker were wearing hats like the one Barbara is wearing. It has an inner wicker liner that keeps the outer section from actually resting on your head allowing for good ait circulation. The outer liner is made from about twelve leaves. So, it is not only helpful in the rain, but also especially useful in the sun to keep you cool. You will see her wearing that hat most anywhere... Also, most of the workers wore their hats without anything to hold them on, but they kept falling off for us. So we used the kind of pink string that was common in Korea and Taiwan to add a chin strap. The string was extruded nylon (or some other plastic) ribbon about six inches wide (and very thin) that is then twisted into a string or cord. It is really pretty strong and hard to break unless you untwist it and then tear it. That ribbon was used in most every shop whenever you buy anything. They will have sheets of recycled paper about a yard across which they will use to wrap your purchase and then tie the package up with that pick ribbon/string. |
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| We continued on the trail and saw many other statues and then in the distance we saw one very large statue which is shown here beyond Barbara. The base had pools and fountains, but I didn't get them in any pictures. The large statue was probaly three stories tall. There is also a page with pictures that didn't make it into the series, of the zoo and such. |
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| There was also a temple at that end of the trail, but it wasn't very impressive. We then walked back down the trail and took the bus back. |
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| Our next bus trip was still on local bases, but we headed to the national memorial where many national cultural treasures are diusplayed in museums and such. This is the entrance to the memorial. It was a gray and rainy day that day. |
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| As you went through the gate there was a view of some really impressive buildings with the main building straight ahead, but also other buildings on the sides along the way. |
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| As you went further in there were pagodas on each side (shown here). We went into one and below you can see the view of the main gate from there. As you went into the main building there were various gardens and everything was very nicely done with the tile roofs and decorated wood ceilings (in the traditional temple style) as shown below. |
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| Throughout the memorial everything was very nicely finished and maintained to perfection. Here is a carved marble window with etched marble trims. All most impressive. |
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This page was last updated on September 18, 2005.
