Amanda的家庭感恩禮拜 Amanda's family appreciation ceremony

參加Amanda的家庭感恩禮拜, 非常溫馨的聚會. 尤其是Amanda獻花給她高齡的阿媽時, 那其中對阿媽滿滿的感恩與愛, 讓我又羨慕又感動. 憑著Amanda的信仰與對人生的正面態度, 我相信她一定會堅持幸福的. :-)

I was invited to Amanda's family appreciation ceremony. It's a sweet banquet. The moment when Amanda handed her grandmonther a bouquet of flowers was very touching. I could feel the deep appreciation and love from Amanda. Based on her belife and positive attitude toward the lives, I believe that she will keep the happiness around her.

China - Wuxi - Business Trip 中國無錫出差 2009/12/13~2009/12/18

沒啥新鮮事... 住高級飯店無錫凱賓斯基飯店, 便宜的按摩(但沒有遇到特別棒的手技), 吃的從在地蘭州拉麵, 日本料理, 到每天飯店的高級早餐... 沒有去那兒玩... 就是出差. 倒是遇到一些人喜歡跟我聊天, 像是一位司機大哥和一位按摩的妹妹, 聽到很多在地的聲音, 以及小人物的甘苦與夢想.

There is nothing really special, but just a business trip. I stayed at a great hotel Kempinski Hotel Wuxi, went to the office everyday, had massages, and ate various food such as the local noddles, the Japanese food, and the daily breakfast buffet. I didn't have any tourist schedule. However I met few people, who like to chat, such as a driver and a massage girl. I heard lots local voice and stories, including the joys and sorrows, and also the dreams.

啊~ 想到一件事. 每天飯店清潔人員都會在我的床上放一些東西, 其中包含一個寫著孔夫子名言的書籤, 一面中文, 一面英文翻譯. 由於翻得非常無厘頭看不太懂, 還蠻有娛樂效果的.比如說 "學而時習之, 不亦悅乎? 有朋自遠方來, 不亦樂乎? 人不知而不慍, 不亦君子乎?" 翻成 "To learn and to practice what is learned time and again is pleasure, is it not? To have friends from afar is happiness, is it not? To be unperturbed when not appreciated by others is gentlemanly, is it no?" "學而不思則罔, 思而不學則殆" 則翻成 "He who learns but does not think, is lost. He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger."

oh.. I remembered one interesting thing. Everyday the cleaning lady would put something nicely on my bed, including a bookmark. On each bookmark, a Confucius' proverbial saying was printed, both in Chinese and English. I found that the translation is not understandable but amusing.

此外, 大陸的計程車司機都會用鐵條把自己圍起來防搶. 有的只圍司機的座位, 有的前後隔離, 這次有機會就照了張相片. 有位司機跟我說他已經想好遇到搶劫要怎麼辦, 他的座位下有一把刀子, 遇到就拼了, 命一條. 當我們被教導說沒有什麼比生命重要時, 有些人卻在為一家人的生計煩惱, 沒有什麼比錢重要. 突然覺得很沉重, 想起馬斯洛的需求層次理論.

In China, every taxi driver is blocked by iron sticks to prevent from robberies. One driver used to tell me that he already knew what to do if he encountered any robbery. He had a knife under his seat and he for sure will fight for it. When we were taught that nothing is more important than our lives, some people struggling with earning money for their families insisted that money is the thing to keep their lives and there is no way to take it away. Suddenly I felt heavy, and thought of Maslow's hierarchy of human needs.

Restaurants at Taoyua 桃園餐廳 - 風車的故鄉, 尼尼義大利餐廳 and 鐵木真麻辣鴛鴦火鍋店

- 風車的故鄉 -

03-2123233
桃園縣蘆竹鄉中正北路326號

Note. 空間很棒的一間餐廳, 坐在沙發式的椅子上抱著抱枕和朋友聊天非常舒適. 價位稍高, 但有特色還算值得.


- 尼尼香辣餐廳 Nini Spicy -

03-2221370

桃園南崁台茂Shopping Mall

Note. 這是逛台茂時隨興吃到一家好餐廳. 我和姊帶著兩個小外甥去, 服務人員非常貼心地安排適當的座位, 不論義大利麵或披薩都很好吃, 價格也平易近人.

- 尼尼義大利庭園餐廳 Nini Garden -
03-3138498
桃園縣蘆竹鄉南竹路二段313-1號

Note. 基於上次在台茂Nini愉快的用餐經驗, 我和姊這次決定去試這家Nini新開的店, 我也剛好幫老姊慶生. 和台茂的Nini比起來, 這間Nini場地較優, 後面還有一片草地, 夏天在外面曬太陽應該很舒服; 食物品質大同小異; 可惜大概是因為當天生意太好, 服務人員有點忙不過來, 貼心度就略遜一籌了.

- 桃園鐵木真麻辣鴛鴦火鍋店 -

03-3555288

桃園市中正路849號1樓　

Note. 湯頭很棒, 免費加的湯底料很闊氣也很實在, 食材新鮮, 有些菜還是老闆自己種的. 我個人最喜歡的就是那用竹杓盛的魚漿嚕~

Early Christmas Parties

It's a Christmas party arranged at Whye-choy's home. We prepared and exchanged gifts. At the beginning I drew a 8G USB memory card, but exchanged with Simon to a cup on which a beautiful picture would show when hot water is filled.

到Whye-choy家提早過聖誕~ 當然包含交換禮物嚕~ 我抽到USB 8G記憶卡, 但後來和Simon換成蔡國強的杯子, 注入熱水杯子表面就會浮出一幅很美的畫喔~ :-)

Since not all the colleagues could join the party at Whye-choy's place, we arranged another gathering at a restaurant Hugo at Linkou. We found this restaurant via the comments on the Internet, and the food didn't disappoint us! :-)

因為很多同事無法參加Whye-choy家的party, 我們另外安排了在林口的聚會. 雨果西餐是在網路上看到評價頗高的餐廳, 沒讓我們失望, 好吃!


Hugo 雨果西餐
桃園縣龜山鄉文化村復興北路23號
(03)3288059

草嶺古道 Caoling Historic Trail

今天和壽星麗紋到草領古道一遊, 一早先從台北坐火車到福隆火車站, 然後搭接駁車到草領古道入口, 芒草, 我們來啦~

I went to the Caoling Historic Trail with Li-wen, the birthday girl today. We took the train from Taipei to Fulong, and took the bus to the entrance of the histoic trail.



一路上的風景相當美, 雖然已經到的芒草季的尾端, 啞口滿山滿谷的芒草還是很壯觀, 一路上各段又都有不同的景觀, 我特別喜歡在小溪聽水聲休息的時刻.

"The Story of Silver Grass and the Historic Trail" is a very famous annual autumn event of the Northeast Coast in Taiwan. The silver grass covers the mountains along the trail in autumn. The views change along the trail. I like the momnet we took a rest next to the stream, hearing the voice of the natural.


巧遇一群不知做啥法事的宗教活動, 我並沒有特別詢問, 倒是覺得令旗配國旗的畫面別有一番風味. 今天也遇到一些有趣的人, 從國光號的司機到客棧遺址的店小二都超級熱情可愛, 幫這趟旅程增添不少樂趣. 最後還在大里天公廟遇到RSM的學長, 太巧了.

當然啦~ 福隆便當怎麼能錯過?! 看那豐富的菜色, 划算又好吃~ :-)

We saw a local religious activity. I didn't ask the detail, but thought that the combination of the religious flag and national falg is interesting on the photo. On the way we met some enthusiastic and lovely people, such as the bus driver and the tea steward in the simulated old-style tea house, making the trip even more fun. At the end of the trip, I even met a RSM alumnus. How a coincidence!

The meal box at Fulong is very famous. How can we miss it?! We bought them when the train stopped by the train station and enjoyed them on the way back home. They are really delicious~ :-)

恭禧姿樺&鈞元結婚嚕~ Wedding banquets of Tzu-hua and Jun-yuan

- 2009/11/21 台南結婚 Wedding banquet at Tainan -


一大早從八九點眾伴娘們陸續抵達新娘家梳妝打扮, 一路忙忙忙... 最後回到家時已經是晚上十點多了, 天啊~ 我才知道原來結婚是朋友比家人還忙... 我弟結婚時好像也是他的眾多朋友們最忙... 感恩ㄋㄟ... :-)

今天我們的主要任務就是陪新娘, 設計新郎來迎娶時的闖關, 幫忙宴會各項事宜等等. 難得我們姊妹這樣一整天在一起, 盡情聊天, 歡笑不斷, 六個人明明穿得漂漂亮亮卻總要照幾張鬼臉照片, 兩位攝影師也樂此不疲, 哈哈, 相信鈞元和姿樺會很幸福地過一輩子的!

Tzu-hua and Jun-yuan got married today! Besides our congratulations, we six bridesmaids accompanied the bride whole day. I arrived Tzu-hua's home at 9:00AM. When I went back home, it was 22:00PM already. After the graduation from the high school, it's the first time that six of us were all together for the whole day. Therefore although we were exhausted, we appreciated the time being together very much. :-)

Our main tasks were to accompany the bride, to design and execut the little games to challenge the groom, and to help in the banquet. Not only the nice photos but also the funny photos with the wry faces were taken. It's a day with lots of laugh. Hope Tzu-hua and Jun-yuan would have happiness together and forever!

- 2009/11/24 林口補請 Wedding banquet at Linkou -


今天姿樺在林口補請, 我第一次當主持人呢~ 自己覺得口條還有待加強, 但能順利完成任務已經相當欣慰~ 姿樺一家人一直感謝我讓我很不好意思, 但也很窩心~ 有機會能幫到好友的忙非常開心呢~

Since Tzu-hua has lots colleagues and friends at Linkou, she arranged another banquet at Linkou. I was the host and it was my first time of being a host on the stage. I was gratified by the completion of the mission, and was happy that I can help my good friend. :-)

Restaurant at Tainan 台南餐廳 - 醉月樓 Shanghai Pavilion

趁著回台南的機會幫媽咪慶生. 我列了幾間餐廳給老媽選, 結果台南遠東飯店38樓的醉月樓獲得壽星的青睞. 用餐後的心得是景色, 菜色以及服務都很好, 下次可以再來, 不論是看夜景或帶小外甥來坐電梯應該都蠻好玩的. :-)

Taking the chance of going back to Tainan, I celebrated my mom's birthday with my parents in the tallest restaurant in Tainan. The overall quality of the food and the service is good. I would like to go there again next time, maybe for the view at night or to take my little nephews for the cool elevators.

- 醉月樓 Shanghai Pavilion -

台南市大學路西段89號 (遠東大飯店香格里拉)38F
(06) 7028878

Restaurants at Linkou 林口餐廳 - 聖馬汀咖啡工坊 and 丹提咖啡

帶本書, 悠閒地享用早餐, 幸福的早晨~ :-)

It's always nice to enjoy the morning with a great breakfast and a book. :-)

聖馬汀咖啡工坊

03-3979260
桃園縣龜山鄉文化三路146-1號

Note. 一份早餐100元, 一杯拿鐵130元, 總共230元.



丹提咖啡 Dante Coffee

02-2602-4502
台北縣林口鄉仁愛路二段29號

Note. 一份美式早餐含拿鐵115元.

新竹出差 Business trip to Hsinchu 2009/10/19 ~ 2009/10/23

這個禮拜到新竹出差, 入住煙波大飯店都會一館, 雖然沒有湖畔主館的景色, 但有離市區較近的地利之變. 這次一起來的還有香港和荷蘭的同事.

I went for a business at Hsinchu for one week, staying at the Lakeshore Hotel. Three colleagues from Hongkong and the Netherlands also participated in this trip.

星期一 Monday

新竹同事帶我們去吃活蝦, 也帶老外去嘗試鮮芋鮮.

The colleagues in the Hsinchu office took us to the restaurant with all kinds of shrimp dishes, and later to a store for local desserts.

- 易鼎活蝦餐廳 -
03-656-5223
新竹縣竹北市光明六路91號

星期二 Tuesday

今天安排和我的好友也是我的大學室友佩真見面, 只是因為有外國同事在我們沒有真的好好聊聊, 只好之後網路補聊嚕~ 那天我指定去民歌西餐廳, 之所以想去民歌西餐廳只是因為有一天突然想到n年前去聽歌的感覺, 於是上網查到火車站前的這間餐廳. 我們聽了兩個歌手, 還不賴, 食物也不錯.

荷蘭同事指名要吃Cold Stone的冰淇淋, 我超愛冰淇淋的, 當然一定要排到行程裡啦~ :-P

I scheduled the dinner with Fareh, my good friend and roommate at the university, at a restaurant with live folk songs. My colleagues also joined us. Upon one of the colleagues' request, we went to Cold Stone for ice cream. (Since I also love ice cream, of course we needed to put it in our schedule. :-P)

- 吉普塞民歌西餐廳 -
03-5257115
新竹市信義街30號2樓

- Cold Stone -
03-5241685
新竹市北區民族路14號1樓

星期三 Wednesday

任維廉教授是我的恩師之一, 在交大時就跟著老師做國科會的案子, 不只在專業知識上, 老師的身教和言教也都讓我受益良多. 畢業後只有一次和老師見面, 之後幾次到新竹都很匆忙, 這次終於又能和老師聚聚實在很開心. 當然, 還有特別從台北下來的靖媛和俊廷, 以及在新竹開戰鬥機的曉榮, 大家好像都變了, 也好像都沒有變. :-)

Professor Jen has been one of my highly respected teachers. In the university he guided me for some National Science Council's projects. I also learned from the way he behaved and talked. Therefore it's always nice to be able to meet him. To join this dinner, Lucy and Jun-ting took the high speed train from Taipei. Leo is an aviator of battleplanes at Hsinchu, so he also joined the gathering. It seems that everyone has changed, but sometimes it seems that everyone hasn't changed. :-)

- 川流日本料理 KAWANAGALE -
03-5589-393
新竹縣竹北市文田街15號
note. 算是價格品質蠻實惠的日本料理~

星期四 Thursday

高中好友玫玲結婚時我在荷蘭錯過了, 現在寶寶剛出來幾個月, 趕快去抱抱~ 本來就很溫柔的玫玲現在更多了母愛的圍繞喔~

今天還有第二ㄊㄨㄚ. 雖然隔天就要去老姊家住, 但兩個小外甥還是吵著要來找阿姨, 當阿姨的當然是很高興啦~ 每次和他們玩完都睡得超好~ 小朋友的體力真的很好ㄟ... :-P

I missed Mei-lin's wedding because I was in the Netherlands. Now she just got the first baby born, so of course I wanted to visit her. After the gathering at Mei-lin's apartment, my nephews asked my sister to take them to my hotel, although I will see them the next day. I always have extremely great sleep after playing with them, the super energetic little guys. :-P

和媽媽一起渡過的900天旅行 A 900-days trip with Mom

It's one of the books I read in these days. A 74-years-old man ride a tricycle with her 99-years-old mom in the back from the north, to the south, and back to the north of China. It took them about 900 days. The reason of this trip was just that traveling was his mom's wish. There is no doubt that their souls and smiles are incredible and beautiful.

I am not going to write further in English because it might take forever and I still couldn't exactly express how I feel. :-P

"和媽媽一起渡過的900天旅行" 這本書無庸置疑地描述了一個令人印象深刻的感人故事, 一個難以致信的孝道實踐. 然而, 就像作者說的, 他只是一個平凡人, 是我們把他的行為看得太偉大, 其實我們都可以做到.

一個74歲的老先生騎著一輛三輪車載著99歲的媽媽出去看世界, 歷時900天, 從中國東北端的塔河, 往南走至海南島, 再返回青島. 出發, 只因為旅行是媽媽的願望.

三輪車含母親重約200多公斤, 遇到騎不動的山坡或天候時, 他就用麻繩拉, 拉斷了再換一條. 三輪車後面的空間只夠媽媽用, 所以遇到冰刨時躲在車下, 夜晚若是騎在前不著村後不著店的地方就睡在外面, 早上為媽媽做完早餐後開始騎車身子就熱了... 這是體力上的考驗. 長期的旅行母子兩總會累, 總會有些衝突, 母親也難免返老還童... 這是心靈強度的考驗. 然而, 哪個快樂不是在矛盾中獲得? 生活總在高高低低中來來去去, 只是我們都要學會不僅享受快樂的時光, 也要享受低潮的時刻, 因為, 低潮總是朝向下一個快樂時光的出發點~

看著他們的笑容, 充滿著大富大貴都買不到的滿足與快樂, 多麼美麗的人生啊~ "白色巨塔"的書中主角曾無奈地陳述說"每個人都為了一些理由活著, 不管你自己喜不喜歡." 但我覺得那個理由可以大, 也可以小; 可以為自己, 也可以為他人; 可以心不甘情不願地面對, 也可以歡天喜地地實踐; 最終, 都是自己的選擇, 最動人的, 則總是簡單的純粹.

忘了書中哪一段老先生有提到飛鴻雪泥, 那是我高中時相當喜愛的一首詩"人生到處知何似, 恰似飛鴻踏雪泥; 泥上偶爾留指爪, 鴻飛那復計東西", 時間過去了, 詩的意境依舊~ 老先生在母親生前讓母親圓夢, 不留下遺憾~ 佩服!

Restaurants at Taipei 台北餐廳 - 鹹花生咖啡館, 京星港式飲茶, and 草山餐廳

Sault Peanuts 鹹花生咖啡館/展廠

02-23681019
台北市泰順街60巷23號
Note. 10/11和麗紋一起光顧師大附近的這間咖啡館, 嘗試了全天候供應的土耳其早餐, 實在的價格讓人很難不懷念學生商圈的多樣化.

Citystar 京星港式飲茶
02-27771717
台北市忠孝東路四段166號2樓
Note. 10/15和Wendy, Mel, Peter Paul, Martin, and Mark一起去, 生意超好, 蠻好吃的~

草山餐廳
02-28611501
台北市陽明山湖山路一段14號
Note. 10/17去台北幫外公慶生, 中午在陽明山六窟溫泉大飯店集合吃中餐, 下午到草山行館和陽明山公園走走, 傍晚泡完溫泉後在草山餐廳用餐. 這間草山餐廳小小的, 但是菜比較不油, 和中午的餐廳比起來這間可就比較合我們家的口味了.

飆未來 Futurism

和麗紋一起去看最後一天的"飆未來: 未來主義百年大展"展覽, 大概因為無法認同未來派藝術的宣言 , 我並沒有對這些畫作產生太大的共鳴或感動. 然而, 他們的堅持與創意還是值得讚許, 畢竟嘗試將速度, 時間, 甚至聲音等元素帶入畫作中算是很突破性的嘗試.

1910年發表的"未來主義繪畫宣言" 表示: "我們將竭盡全力的和那些過時的、盲信的、被罪惡的博物館所鼓舞著的舊信仰做鬥爭。我們要反抗陳腐過時的傳統繪畫、雕塑和古董，反抗一切在時光流逝中骯髒和腐朽的事物。我們要有勇於反抗一切的精神。這種精神是年輕的、嶄新的，伴隨著對不公的甚至罪惡的舊生活的毀滅。" 未來主義者甚至大肆揚頌戰爭, 認為戰爭是藝術最終極的形式.

未來主義試圖將當時剛起步的現代化機械之美容入藝術, 其實是一種活在當下的正面精神, 可惜那負面信仰難免讓人感覺失去了美的純粹, 我還是相信懂得欣賞別人的智慧才是王道; 包容讓人的視野更寬闖, 更寬廣的心靈才會創造出真正美好的事物.

很高興去看了這個和自己認知不一樣的展覽, 就像聽聽不同的想法, 看看不同的世界, 見見不同的人, 也蠻有趣的. :-)

I went to an Futurism exhibition with my friend Li-wen. At the end I was not really touched by those works of art, although I admired their courage to break the normal way of thinking and try to involve the elements such as speed, time, and even sound into the paintings.

I can't echo the statement which the Futurists made for the Futurism. Futurism rejected any love or consideration for past arts, and even promoted wars. While it's good to live at the current moment and try new subjects or techniques, the negative statement unfortunately missed the pureness of beauty. I believe that a wise man must admire others. Toleration can expand our view about the world. A fine work of art must be from a broad and beautiful heart.

However it's still nice to go for the exhibition to get to konw the particular style of art. Listening diverse opinions, seeing different worlds, and knowing various kinds of people are always fun.

展場在中正紀念堂, 好久沒去了, 來兩張用手機照的照片.

The exhibition was held at National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. I took few photos by my cell phone.

倒是我很喜歡這張在捷運中正紀念堂站照的照片, 我覺得蠻符合今天的主題 - "未來"!

My favorite photo of the day is the one which I took at the metro station. I like the feeling of seeing through the wall and it's quite fit today's topic "future", isn't it? :-)

BBQ's

九月19日才到Whye-choy家烤肉, 今天公司又舉辦中秋節烤肉活動. 中秋節即將到來, 不管是家人, 朋友, 同事, 大家來團圓嚕~ :-)

雖然這兩個活動都沒有照片, 讓我放一些平常可愛同事的照片好了. 每次有人生日我們就會有慶生下午茶, 這些照片只是一部分. 最後一張是某一天有個同事突然照我們的中餐, 就也放一下好了~ :-p

On Sep 19th we had a BBQ party at Whye-choy's home. Today my company held a BBQ for the Moon Festival after working hours. Although traditionally the moon festival is for the reunion of the members of a family, let's have it extended to friends and colleagues. :-)

Although we didn't take any photos in these two events, I would like to put some photos of my lovely colleagues, which were taken during the birthday celebrations. The last photo, taken by one of my colleagues, is just a lunch plate in our cafeteria.

UPS SCS Gathering 聚會

五年前離職去唸書後, 很多UPS Supply Chain Solutions的同事就沒再見面. 這一次機會難得, 我們20個老骨頭在林口盧卡咖啡相聚, 大家依舊元氣充沛, 讓人想起很多第一份工作時的回憶, 那時很忙碌, 但大家卻玩得很開心.

此外, Sam用手機紀錄了由Maggie和Michael 的寶貝女兒熱情上演的 爸爸不見了 篇. 哎呀~ 人家小孩哭成這樣我們這些大人怎麼這麼樂... 不過連媽媽都這麼開心我們就不用太愧疚了吧~ :-p

I hadn't met most of the colleagues at UPS Supply Chain Solutions since I left for my study 5 years ago. It's really great that 20 of us can get together and catch up at Linkou. Everyone is still so energetic, reminding me the days in UPS SCS as my first full-time job. We were very busy, but also had fun.

Most of the photos were taken by Carrie

Restaurant at Kaohsiung 高雄餐廳 - 義式屋古拉爵

Cafe Grazie 義式屋古拉爵
07-5361390
高雄市三多四路21號12樓 (大遠百12樓)
Note. 之前和朋友光顧過內湖店, 這次則是回台南時和爸媽一起去這家位於高雄的分店. 由於view太好了, 要坐靠窗位的話要11點多店還沒開門時就來排隊喔~

台灣金門 Kinmen, Taiwan - 2009/09/01

拜兩岸小三通之賜, 我終於到金門走了一遭, 雖因錯過廈門回金門的最後一班船而沒能在金門住一晚, 我隔天一早搭了第一班船來到金門, 騎摩托車啪啪走. 天氣很熱, 連黃牛都躲在樹陰下懶懶地看著我來來去去. 喝了杯服務員說幾乎沒酒精感覺的毛澤東奶茶(奶茶+金門高梁), 結果喝酒肉腳我還是暈了一陣子, 還好陽光下酒精蒸發的快, 就當慶祝回台灣吧~ :-)

金門為台灣前哨戰的痕跡到處可見, 貫穿地底的通道當初救人無數, 直至今日很多軍事設施或建設整理後被保留下來, 但有些區域的地雷都還沒有清乾淨, 實在很難想像六十年前戰況的慘烈.

On the way back to Taiwan, I stopped by Kinmen, an off-shore island of Taiwan, for one day. It was hot. The cow was lazy lying in the shadow of the tree and staring at me riding the motocycle back and forth. I tried a special drink, milk tea plus the local sorghum liquor, which the waitress said that I would hardly feel any alcohol in. As usual, I am not good at alcohol, but luckily the sun took the dizzy feeling away quicky.

Kinmen has been the battleground for defense of Taiwan's coast. Since it's very close to China, during the war time the battles have left many marks on the island. The tunnels underground saved many lives from the bombs. There are many military facilities preserved. Even till today, certain area is still prohibited from walking through because landmines have not been totally removed.

金門 Kinmen

古寧頭戰史館 Guningtou Battle Museum --> 慈湖 Lake Ci‧慈堤 Ci Causeway --> 翟山坑道Zhaishan Tunnel --> 馬山觀測所 Mashan Broadcasting and Observation Station

更多照片在這裡.

More photos are available here.

中國福建土樓 Fujian Tulou, China 2009/08/30 ~ 2009/09/31

Day 1

• 廈門 Xiamen --> 田螺坑土樓 Tianluokeng Tulou Cluster --> 和貴樓 Hegui Lou --> 雲水謠 Yun Shui Yao --> 懷遠樓 Huiyuan Lou --> 田螺坑土樓民宿 B&B at Tianluokeng Tulou Cluster

Day 2

• 裕昌樓 Yuchang Lou --> 翻身樓 Fanshen Lou --> 塔下村 Taxia Village --> 河坑土樓 Hongkeng Tulou Cluster --> 廈門都市精品酒店 City Exquisite Hotel

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

一早吃完早餐後和今天要反回台灣的家人說再見, 撘上計程車前往客運站, 獨自展開我的世界文化遺址福建土樓背包之旅.

從廈門到田螺坑土樓土樓約四個小時, 車 子比想像中新, 每台車都有車掌小姐, 乘客都可以用手機跟車掌小姐連絡, 隨時告知車子所在位置, 並可約大約幾點在哪兒上車之類的. 我的在地導遊小李也是這樣和車掌小姐聯絡確定我是否上車以及何時到站. 這種很沒管理模式的經營方式還蠻有人情味的吧?! :-)

小李是個家住田螺坑且高中畢業不久的在地小伙子, 我是在背包客棧上找到他當導遊並安排在田螺坑住一晚. 我們的交通工具就是他的摩托車啦~

Saying goodbye to my family, who will go back to Taiwan today, I left for my backpack trip to one of the World Heritage Sites, Fujian Tulou.

It took about 4 hours by bus from Xiamen to Tianluokeng Tulou Cluster. Besides the driver, there was a female server in the bus to check tickets and to communicate with the passengers. The local people and passengers could call the server to ask where the bus is and when they could get on the bus at certain stop. My local guide Lee called the server to ensure that I caught the bus and asked when he could pick me up as well. It's such a customized service, isn't it? :-)

Lee lives in Tianluokeng Tulou Cluster and graduated from the senior high school not long time ago. I found his B&B and service from a backpacker website. All the way we took his motorcycle.


土 樓特殊的建造方式主要是為了防土匪, 外牆由非常厚重而結實的生土建構而成, 形狀上多為圓形和矩形; 各個土樓又各有奧妙, 有的中間是多層的設計, 有的歪歪斜斜卻屹立不搖, 有的大門上有設計倒水消防功能預防土匪燒門, 有的戶戶有井水等等. 其中田螺坑土樓群是由五個土樓所組成, 中間一個方的土樓被三個圓形土樓和一個橢圓形土樓所包圍, 所以俗稱"四菜一湯".

每座土樓裡每戶的一樓是都餐廳, 二樓是倉庫, 三樓以上是臥房, 因此每一戶其實也是從下到上一棟, 只是樓梯不在自家而在外面共用, 每層樓又以公共走廊相通, 以利防禦. 最大的土樓規模有到七十幾戶人家, 同住一個土樓群的通常都是同姓氏的親戚, 彼此非常親近, 這是在現代社會幾乎已經不存在的群居模式.

Tulous were built as defense because of the bandits. They are enclosed buildings with very thick earth walls, mostly rectangular or circular in shap. Each tulou has its own speciality. For example, Tianluokeng Tulou Cluster consists of five tulous, which are a square tulou at the center and three rotunda ones and an oval one surrounded. Therefore it's known as "four dishes and a soup".

Each family in a tulou has a dining room on the first floor, a warehouse on the second floor, and bathrooms above the third floor. However instead of having the stairs inside the house, they share stairs and have corridors on each floor. It's good for defense as well. The biggest tulou can accommodate up to more than 70 families. Most people live in the same cluster have the same surname, and are relatives. They are extremely close to each other, which is not popular in the modern society anymore.

田螺坑土樓群晚上有打燈 (那天其中一個沒有打). 我住的是綠色的振昌樓, 房間還算乾淨整潔, 只是這個綠打在古老的建築上有點詭異ㄟ... 還好人氣旺盛, 氣氛不至於令我害怕, 晚上也睡得不錯. :-)

At night, the tulous were lighted up. The B&B I I stayed at was in green. Personally I thout that it was a weird color, especially for this kind of old buildings. However there were people so I was not really scared. I had a good sleep. :-)


土樓的生活很原始也很簡單.

一場雨下下來大家就在門口聚集聊天等, 沒有咖啡店, 沒有觀景喝茶的地方, 所有的就是在地生活. 小李說, 晚上不知道會不會停電, 我一開始還沒辦法把下雨和停電連在一起, 原來只要打雷當晚就很有可能停電, 說不定要點蠟燭嚕~ (後來並沒有發生)

除了賣觀光客的小販, 當地看到什麼招牌, 但在地人就是知道誰家買肉, 誰家賣菜, 誰會剪頭髮等等, 晚上因為隔壁親戚做了道好菜而跑過去夾著吃也再正常不過. 除了睡覺, 一切都是公開的事, 沒什麼私人空間, 實在是非常奇特的大家庭生活.

關於廁所, 這更要說說...

大陸的廁所沒門, 這個以前去過也體驗過, 所以沒什麼好訝異的. 這次的新體驗是每座土樓裡都沒有廁所或浴室, 所以要洗澡或上廁所都要到土樓外面的公廁. 也因此, 土樓裡為了因應人類的自然需求, 在房間或走廊上會看到各式各樣裝穢物的桶子, 大家就地解決. 這個嘛... 我還真的沒辦法一下子習慣, 雖然我房間裡的已經是個又新又有蓋子的水桶... 我還是決定當天晚上不喝水...

The life in tulou is original and simple.

There is no cafe in the villages and no tea house on the observatories. Everything is local. When it rained, everyone gathered at the hallway in front of the only entrance to wait, to chat, to do something, or to do nothing. If there is a thunder, the chance of having no electricity at night is high.

Except of the shops for tourist, I rarely saw signboards. However the local people know which family sell beef, which family sell vegetables, where the barber is, and etc. During dinner, it is not even odd if someone go to the next door to take a dish which he or she likes. Almost everything in the daily life is shown in public, except of sleeping. It's a very special big-family life model.

Next I would llike to talk about the toilet...

Sine I visited China before, I was not surprised at the toilets which had no doors. This time the new experience was that there was no toilet in each tulou! Therefore in fact the residents all need to go out of tulous for public toilets and baths. To take care of the human natural, there are all kinds of containers on corridors or in rooms for people to "use" right away. Well, it was the thing which I couldn't adapt to right away, although the bucket in my room was quite new and with a cover... I decided not to drink any water after the evening...

好客的居民是當地一大特色, 在地居民似乎不介意觀光客在家門口走來走去. 當我在各個土樓裡到處逛時, 小李總是走到哪坐到哪, 家家戶戶好像隨時都在泡茶, 隨時坐下來就喝茶聊天.

第二天我對要收費的土樓感到有點厭煩了, 小李就帶我到一個還沒有維修而且一般觀光客不會去的私房景點, 結果讓我眼睛為之一亮! 感覺古味更濃厚, 荒煙漫草間多了點時空錯亂的感覺, 那裡還有個可愛的爺爺, 不管我聽得懂聽不懂, 反正就一股腦地把我當稀客般一直對我說話, 而他背後的牆上寫滿了文革時期留下來的字句.

河坑土樓我也是以"親戚朋友"的身分免費進去的, 因為路上遇到一對可愛的祖孫, 小朋友更熱心充當導遊一路跟我介紹土樓和植物. 他問: "你從哪兒來?" 我說: "台灣" 他說: "台灣好, 台灣的籃球不會漏氣." 多麼單純又熱誠的孩子.

The residents were very hospitable. They didn't mind the tourists walking around in front of their houses. When I visited a tulou, Lee always sat down and drank tea with the residents, no matter which tulou we were in, and then I would join to get a cup a tea later.

On the second day, I was a bit tired of those tulous where entrance fee were required. Lee took me to a private spot where the tulous have not been repaired and no tourists would go. That's what I like! The atmosphere was even more original. A old man kept talking to me like welcoming a expected guest, no matter whether I understood him or not. On the wall behind him, there were characters left from the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution.

Further, I visited a tulou cluster for free as a "relative/friend" because I met an interressting grandfather and grandson. We stopped by their home to chat and drink tea. The little boy enthusiastically showed me the buildings in the village and plants on the way. He asked me "where are you come from?" I said "Taiwan." He said "Taiwan is great. The basketballs from Taiwan don't leak." He was cute.


更多土樓之旅的照片在這裡.

There are more photos here.

大陸尋根之旅 A Root-finding Trip to China - 2009/09/27 ~ 2009/09/29

這是一趟絕對難得的家庭尋根之旅, 不僅八十幾歲的叔公一起走, 老爹的兄弟姊妹全到, 我們家五人也是第一次全員到齊一起出國. 去的是我們從沒去過的爺爺奶奶的家鄉-大陸可慕村, 見的是我們從沒聽過或見過的眾多親戚.

雖然從沒接觸過應該會感覺很遙遠, 卻因為知道爺爺奶奶曾在那生活過而覺得很好奇也點親近; 那是一種有點衝突又有點奇妙的感覺,

It's an extraordinary family trip. Not only my granduncle and all my father's brothers and sisters joined, it's the first time that my dad, my mom, my sister, my brother and myself went somewhere abroad all together. The village we visited in China was where my grandparents were came from. The people we met were the relatives we had never known or met before.

Although I should feel distant because I had no contact with that part of the world before, I actually felt curious and a bit close to there because I knew that my grandparents used to live there. The feeling was a bit conflict and intrigued.

Day 1

• 台北松山機場 Taipei SonShan Airport, Taiwan --> 金門 Kinmen, Taiwan --> 中國廈門 Xiamen, China --> 鼓浪嶼 Gulangyu --> 夜宿廈門磐基皇冠假日酒店 Browne Plaza Hotel PARAGON XIAMEN

Day 2

• Hotel --> 安海華達大飯店 Huada Hotel --> 福建省泉州市晉江市安海镇可慕村 Kemu village, Anhai, Jinjiang, Quanzhou, Fujian --> 夜宿安海華達大飯店 Huada Hotel

來到爺爺奶奶的家鄉 可慕村
他們在這裡成長 相識 結婚
他們也從這裡 離開他們的根 前往台灣

爺爺是在日本歸還台灣後大約民國34年被派來台灣的
第一次搭船到台灣很坎坷
不能帶奶奶
又不幸遭遇船難
被救醒時是在大陸某個海岸
造成爺爺以後都不喜歡水
輾轉回家後再出發
第二次安全抵達
直到第三次
才順利接奶奶一起到台灣

當時的他們一直以為
很快 就可以 回家
因為以為很快就可以回家
政府要給的地沒有拿
因為以為很快就可以回家
當兩岸突然不能通信交流
當爺爺奶奶無法再與父母兄弟姊妹聯繫
那種痛應該是我們無法想像的
持續五六十年一輩子的遺憾

十幾年前兩岸開放探親
爺爺奶奶第一次回去
也是他們唯一的一次
離開時是年輕的小伙子小姑娘
回去時卻已是白髮斑斑的老年人
父母都已不在 獨留墓碑參拜

今天
站在曾祖父母和曾曾祖父母的墓前
流下的淚
是因為心疼那一代必須經歷的大時代的無奈
更是因為不捨爺爺奶奶當時在此的心情
年邁的他們
想必在父母的墓前 百感焦急

爺爺奶奶的意外人生
為我們鋪下幸福的種子
我想
對爺爺奶奶而言
台灣應該是家
中國應該是根
對我們而言
台灣是家 也是根
中國則彷彿是根的延伸故事
生在台灣的我們
不僅理所當然地享受家人的愛
更享受自由民主
幸福的背後
有太多動人的故事
有太多感恩

更多關於大陸探親的照片的照片在這裡,

We arrived the village where my grandparents grew up, met, and got married, and where they left for Taiwan.

My grandfather came to Taiwan because Japan lost the war and returned Taiwan back to the Chinese government. The first time he was not allowed to take my grandmother, and the boat was sunk on the way accidentally. When he woke up, he was rescued at a coast of mailand China. He had been not like water since then. The second time he arrived Taiwan successfully. When things are more settled, he went back to take my grandmother.

When they came to Taiwan, they thought that they would go back home soon. Therefore, they didn't take any land the government would like to offer. When the communication between Taiwan and China was forbidden suddenly and when they couldn't contact their family on the other side of the strait anymore, how hopeless and helpless were they?

The next time and the only time they went back home in their lives was already around 50 years later. When they left home, they were youths. When they went back home, they were elders. They didn't see their parents again, but only the tombstones.

Today, standing in front of the tombstones of the ancestors, I had tears in my eyes because I thought of the heartbreaking feeling of my grandparents when they stood here 10 years ago.

An accident in my grandparent's lives lead to the happiness lives of our generation in Taiwan. I think for my grandparents, Taiwan, where they spent most of their life time, should be the home , but China, where they grew up, should be the root. For us, Taiwan is the home and the root, while China is the extended story about the root. Luckily we have all our family around, and we enjoy the democracy and freedom. Behind the happiness, there are lots touching stories, and appreciations.


More photos about the trip to my grandparents' village are available here.


Day 3

• Hotel --> 開元寺 KaiYuan Temple --> 閩台緣博物館 Museum for Fujian-Taiwan Kinship --> 環島路 Huandao Rd. --> 夜宿廈門磐基皇冠假日酒店 Browne Plaza Hotel PARAGON XIAMEN

更多關於廈門和泉州的的照片在這裡.

More photos at Quanzhou and Xiamen are available here.


ps. 紀錄一下一間超讚的按摩中醫堂, 以及很新的酒店.

ps. Below links are one great Chinese massage place and a nice hotel.

- 泉舜中醫堂 -
福建省厦门市湖里区嘉禾路488号怡鹭大厦
0592-5503030
Note. 特別推薦泉舜中醫堂的按摩(RMB 70), 刮沙(RMB 30)和拔罐(RMB 30), 我們全家都給超高評價! 下次去廈門我一定要再去! (至於廈門有一間按摩連鎖店X桶水... 個人覺得不要去浪費錢...)

- 磐基皇冠假日酒店 Browne Plaza Hotel PARAGON XIAMEN -
厦门思明区嘉禾路199号
Note. 很新的旅館!

學新東西 Learning new things

今年在社大每學期選不同的課, 繼"經絡拳"後, 我還上了"當馬賽克遇上蝶古巴特-拼貼的藝術"和"有氧舞蹈", 這學期則嘗試"瑜珈", 我要先把所有好奇但還沒學過的都去看一看, 試一試, 學一學. :-)

下面是我拼貼的兩個作品, 一個是用小瓷磚拼出來的杯墊, 一個是用鞋盒做成的百寶箱. 我鞋盒的主題是旅行, 上面的圖案可都是利用各種舊雜誌, 廣告單等自己剪貼拼奏出來的, 我覺得最難的就是找到喜歡或可以利用的圖案了~ 至於做出來的效果, 真是超乎我的期望喔~ :-P

This year I have learned few new things, such as the accupunch, the collages of mosaic and decoupage, the aerobics, and the yoga in different periods. I planned to check, try, and learn what I was curious about but hadn't experienced before.

Below are the two works in the collage course. One is a cup mat decorated with small tiles. The other is a treasure box made from a shoes box. The pictures on the boxes were found and cut from old magazines, DM, and etc. I made this for my traveling documents. I think the most difficult task is to find the proper and nice pictures. In fact, the quality is much better than what I expected~ :-P

Restaurants at Linkou 林口餐廳 - Skiff小艇地中海主題餐廳 and La Mia

很多朋友家人的聚會或活動都來不及一一紀錄, Nicole, RSM同學, 姊姊全家, Charlene, Craig, ASML同事等等... 至少先紀錄一下還不錯的餐廳吧~

Although it's impossible to record all the activities with my friends and families in these days, at least I would like to note three nice restaurants. :-)

- Skiff小艇地中海主題餐廳 -
台北縣八里鄉觀海大道93號
Note. 這家是位於八里的地中海風格餐廳

- La Mia -
桃園縣龜山鄉文化三路640號
Note. 這家是位於華亞科學園區旁的義式餐廳. 我個人比較喜歡他們的pizza和甜點~ :-)

父親節, 台灣不快樂 Unpleasant Father's Day in Taiwan

八月八日是父親節, 但很多人失去了他們的父親以及家人. 電視新聞一幕幕都是讓人心痛的畫面, 無法前去災區的我們, 只能努力捐款希望災民們可以走過傷痛重新恢復正常生活. (台灣世界展望會, 紅十字會和慈濟都算直得信賴的組織, 讓我們一起幫災民站起來!)

Aug 8 is the Father's Day, but many people lost their fathers and family in Taiwan. We have seen lots of heart breaking news on TV every day. Although we can't go to the disaster area to help in person, we can donate as much as possible, hoping the victims of the natural disaster can go through the painful experience and back to the normal lives soon. (To help these people, you may donate via World Vision or Redcross for this disaster.)

莫拉克颱風挾帶驚人的龐大雨量侵襲南台灣, 導致嚴重的水災與土石流. 某些地方一天降雨量高達1400毫米, 兩天就累積超過一年可能的降雨量2000毫米. 所有的災情中, 被土石流瞬間掩埋的小林村算是災情最慘重的, 估計全村約400人死亡. 網路上有災前和災後小林村的照片, 難以相信這樣一個美麗的小村莊就這樣消失了, 當時, 他們在慶祝父親節嗎?...

Typhoon Morakot brought extraordinary level of rainfall to the southern part of Taiwan, leading to serious floods and mudslides. Some area got 1400mm rainfall within one day, and over 2000mm within two days, which might be an annual rainfall in some region. Shiao Lin village is the one having suffered the most because the whole village was buried in the mudslide. Around 400 people in this village might have died. Below are the photos showing the landscapes of this village before and after the typhoon. It's hard to believe that the beautiful village just disappeared. Were they celebrating the Father's Day when the mudslides arrived?...

(Shiao Lin village before and after Typhoon Morakot. The photos were copied from Internet.)

台灣人的可愛與善良總是令人驕傲. 善款不斷湧入, 義工也進入災區幫助災民清理家園. 有個住在鐵皮屋裡的老先生每天拾荒賺不到100元, 卻捐出存款50萬. 是怎養的無私可以做到這樣? 想起那句話"如果你無法愛你看到的, 又怎能愛你看不到的?" 如果一個人無法愛身邊的人, 怎麼可能為陌生人付出? 如果我們看到別人受苦都不伸出援手, 又怎會有愛心幫助世界上某個看不見的角落需要幫助的人?

I am always proud of the kindness and charity of the Taiwanese. Many volunteers have gone into the disaster areas to help the victims to clean their homelands. People have donated materials and money as much as they can. An old man, living in an extremely old house and earning less than 100 NT dollars per day by picking trash, donated his saving 500,000 NT dollars. How selfless can make this possible? One used to say "If you can't love what you have seen, how can you love what you can't see?" If we can't love the people around us, how can we do good things to strangers? If we don't give a hand when we see others suffering, how could we help people in need in an invisible corner of the world?

同時, 台灣也很感謝來自世界各地的援助. 其中所羅門群島一個部落的捐款最讓人感動. 他們的收入很低, 但卻由200個家庭共同捐出大約4,000台幣的善款, 並由族長乘超過5小時的船親自交到台灣技術團手上, 他們說"以前台灣來幫助我們, 現在輪到我們來幫助他們." 金額不大, 但心意卻很重!

Meanwhile, the support from the other countries is appreciated. Among them, Taiwan has been deeply touched by a 120 US dollars donation from a tribe in Solomon Islands. The income there is extremely low, but 200 families in the tribe donated around 120 US dollars in total. The head of the tribe rode a boat for more than five hours to deliver the money in person to the Taiwanese mission. They said "'Taiwan used to help us. Now it's our turn to help them." The amount is not huge, but the invaluable regard is far away beyond the amount.

台灣加油!

Taiwan, go! Go! Go!

Party at Paula's home

Paula invited us for the party at her and Ted's home in Taiwan. She prepared some delicious American food. Besides, we finally saw the rolling machines they took all the way from US and NL to Taiwan. Rolling definitely requires significant strength.

Paula準備了一些美國食物並邀請我們去她和Ted在台灣的家, 我們也終於見識到和他們一起從美國到荷蘭再到台灣的rolling machines (我不知道中文翻譯是什麼, 但就是一種用來練習划船的健身器材), 感覺rolling真的需要很大的力氣ㄟ.

觀音山 GuanYin Mountain

搬到林口很久了, 今天才終於和Justin, Lucas和Simon爬上傳說中的觀音山硬漢嶺. 俯瞰台北市的風景果真沒讓人失望, 只可惜不能留久一點看夜景.

GuanYin Mountain is a famous mountain in Linkou. Today Justin, Robin, Simon, and I finally climbed up to overlook Taipei city. The views all the way up to the top are great, but it's a pity that we couldn't stay longer for the night scenes.

(The photos were taken by Simon Liu)

弟媳婦文君歸寧 Wedding party of Jasmine's family

今天文君歸寧, 所以我們連續第二個禮拜回台南. 不過因為不是主場所以基本上只要出席就好, 唯一附加價值就是偶爾幫忙搞定一下我的兩個寶貝小外甥嚕~

我的第一個英文老師 (很小的時候去玩的那種不算) 也是媽媽的好友曾老師也來了, 以前我雖然比較調皮但也還算個好學生~(這個是自己說了算吧~ :-p) 至少老師一來就有要找我~ 老師可是個自助旅行高手呢~ 此外, 即將步入紅毯的姿樺和鈞元也來見習~ 幾個月後我又有另一場婚禮要幫忙嚕~

Traditionally two parties would be held for a wedding. One is mainly for the groom's family and friends, and the other is for the bride's. Therefore we had the Jasmine's party today. I don't have specific task assigned for this party, but just help to take care of my two lovely newphews sometimes.

My first English teacher Ms. Zeng, my mom's good freind, came to the party as well. Since she hadn't seen me for a long time, she was looking for me when she just arrived. It's fun to talk to her again. She has still traveled a lot. Besides, Tzu-hua and Leo came to "practice" for their coming wedding, so I will need to help on another wedding few months later. :-)

社大同學聚餐 Gathering with the classmates

一學期結束了, 同學們到家裡聚會, 說好一人帶一到菜, 結果每個人都多帶, 看著滿桌子菜感覺好像過年一樣, 超級豐盛的菜色好幸福喔~ 已經在期待下次的聚會了.

It's the end of the Spring semester, so we arranged the gathering at my place. The idea was that each of us should prepare a dish. On that day everyone brought more than one dish plus drinks, cakes, and etc. Having all the dishes on the table, we felt like celebrating the Chinese New Year~ We were expacting next gathering already.

庭瑋和文君結婚嚕! Shelby and Jasmine are married!

庭瑋和文君今天結婚嚕! 一早大家起床準備, 親戚朋友陸續抵達, 人緣好的老弟有一堆朋友都來組織性的幫忙, 八點多出發前往新娘家迎娶. 歡迎文君成為我們家的一份子! :-)

Today my brother Shelby and my sister in law Jasmine are getting married! It's a huge event in our family of course. In the morning we woke up early to prepare, and the bride and groom's friends arrived to help. Some of us went to the bride's home with Shelby to escort Jasmine to our home. Jasmine, welcome to our family! :-)

宴客請在中午, 地點在台糖長榮酒店. 親朋好友從各地趕來分享這對新人的喜悅, 三姨和三舅特地遠從澳洲回來, 庭瑋的學姊暫時放下印度的工作趕回來, 很多人也從北部坐車下來, 我最高興的是看到奶奶生前最好的朋友陳奶奶, 她永遠都是那麼高雅搭配親切的笑容. 奶奶如果還在的話今天她一定是最開心的那一個人. 我想庭瑋和文君一定很感謝大家的熱情參與, 讓這場婚禮格外有意義.

The wedding banquet was held at noon, and people came from everywhere to send their congratulations and share the happiness. My aunt and uncle came from Australia, Joyce came from India, some relatives came from Hualian, and lots of the guests from Taipei. I was so glad to see my grandmother's best friend, Mrs. Chen. As usual, she is always very elegant with beautiful and kind smiles. If my grandmother were still alive, she would be the happiest person. I believe that Shelby and Jasmine must be very happy with so many grateful greetings making their wedding even more meaningful.

我和老姊念的高中都剛好是老媽任教的學校, 所以很多學校老師都認識我們或曾經是我們的老師. 今天很高興又和看到這些有趣的叔叔阿姨們, 回想起那段青澀的歲月. :-)

Since I used to study in the senior high school where my mom taught, lots of my mom's colleagues/friends knew me or were my teachers. I liked seeing and chatting with these interesting people again, reminding me of those old days. :-)


下面是他們美美的婚紗照~

There are some of their nice wedding pictures.