It’s been raining in Taipei for 6 weeks. Seriously. I usually don’t complain about stuff like this, especially on here, but I’m going completely insane.
A bigger problem is that I also have writers’ block and even squeezing out this self-absorbed rant is difficult. One of the big problems with writing a new blog post is that I have so much stuff from the last year that I haven’t written about, I don’t even know where to start. I think I have 10, half written posts in my “Recent Drafts” folder, none of which I’ll probably ever finish.
So here’s my solution to that: I’m going to throw up all (most) of the photos I want to write and/or talk about in this one post and just clear them out of the way. Then I can get started one new stuff. Chinese New Year is only a week away!
There’s actually A LOT of information here, if you click all the links.
To see larger galleries of images similar to each one below, click on each image… To read more about each location, click on the links under each image.
A summer sunrise at my favorite campground, Shitiping, Taiwan.
The above image was taken at Shitiping Campground, on Taiwan’s beautiful east coast.
The East Coast:
Highway 11, on Taiwan's east coast, stretches along some beautiful coastline.
For more information on the above image, read about The Coastal Route (Highway 11).
Sunset at Sixty Stone Mountain 六十石山 in the Rift Valley, Taiwan. One story I wanted to write about was Stu and my crazy, 18-hour day in the valley... Maybe next year.
Sixty Stone Mountain is located in the Rift Valley along Taiwan’s east coast.
A rice farm sits next to the Pacific Ocean on the east coast of Taiwan.
The Sanxiantai Dragon Bridge near Taitung, Taiwan is a beautiful tourist attraction on the east coast.
Sanxiantai is found just north of Taidong, towards the southern end of Taiwan’s Coastal Route 11.
Found near the entrance to the Mugumuyu Nature Reserve, the Feicui Valley is an option if you don't get one of the limited permits to enter the nature reserve. It's a small, steep river valley with some swimming hole near the tunnel entrance.
The Baiyang Trail leads through a few bat-filled tunnels to a beautiful waterfall in Taroko Gorge. Unfortunately, the last bridge to the waterfall has recently been washed away.
Taroko Gorge is probably Taiwan’s MUST, must-see of all its attractions.
The Northeast Coast:
At Baishawan Beach, north of Taipei, surfboard rentals and lessons are available on weekends. Sunshade huts are also available for rent.
Baishawan Beach is probably the coolest beach to be seen at in northern Taiwan.
The trails at Badouzi wind up and down the seaside cliffs. There are many places to view Keelung Island and much of the Northeast Coast of Taiwan.
The above image was taken at Badouzi, one of the Northeast Coast’s lesser known coastal parks.
A couple walks into the sunset at Fisherman's Wharf 淡水漁人碼頭 and Lover's Bridge in Danshui, Taiwan.
Fisherman’s Wharf, Lover’s Bridge and many other attractions can make a visit to Danshui a very busy day.
Shisanhang Archeology Museum 十三行博物館 in Bali, Taiwan.
The Shisanhang Archeology Museum in Bali is world renowned.
Inside the Xiandong Fairy Cave in Keelung, is a long, narrow corridor that leads to another small shrine. I'm going to write a blog post for this one over Chinese New Year, because I liked it so much.
No links for the Fairy Cave… you’ll have to wait for the next blog post ;)
Taipei:
Three men take a break near the Beitou Public Library in Taipei, Taiwan.
The above image was taken from the Beitou Public Library.
The Lin Family Gardens in Banqiao, Taiwan, are definitely worth a few hours stroll, especially for photographers.
Read more about the Lin Family Gardens, Banqiao.
Central and Southern Taiwan:
I found this giant golden Buddha near Puli, Taiwan. It's technically only open to private members of the sangha, but if you hang out near the gate for a while, they might let you in.
The Dome of Light in Kaohsiung, Taiwan is an MRT (subway) entrance. This is an HDR image (very rare from me).
Thanks for looking! New blog posts will start in a few weeks, after I get some traveling in during Chinese New Year!
Cheers,
-neil
Neil Wade's Photography Blog 
Awesome photos Neil. Absolutely loved that Mugumuyu photo. Also like your HDR photo (because I couldn’t tell if it was HDR)
Extraordinary photography as always! Of all the beautiful photos in this post, for some reason I really like the one you took at Shisanhang Archeology Museum (of the seating area?) – it’s surprisingly stunning and the clouds also look really cool in the shot.
Man, i totally agree, its sublime and draws you like no other. Picked up a wonderfull atmosphere. Taking that shot, i wonder was it good fortune or lucky to be there at that time…top with me
Beautiful photos.
I agree with you. It keeps raining when I was in taiwan in Dec 2011 till Jan 2012. It spoiled my trip because my intention is to take landscape photos. So I ended up taking street photography.
Great batch of photographs Neil! I hope you get some sunshine soon in Taipei! It can get really depressing up there.
Very nice! Really beautiful!
That’s a bridge???? The Sanxiantai Dragon Bridge ?
Wowsers! I can’t figure it out. are those arches suspensions? too cool. thanks for the blog. i know next to nothing about taiwan, and certainly very little about what it looks like
–les
I don’t know much about architecture, but under the arches are steel beams. Not I beams, but shaped like a big square box.
Hey guys i love these pics
Neil! So amazing and refreshing! I was sick of the rain as well here. You had a perfect remedy for yourself, and I hope to do the same! Thanks for the inspiration! Keep shooting it up and making our mouths drip at these wondrous places just in our backyard! (For the Taipei folks, anyway).
Beautiful!!