Tag Waterfall
It seems no matter how many waterfalls I see, they still have a powerful draw for me. This one is neither the highest nor the widest I’ve seen in this journey, just two streams of water, tumbling down an irregular cliff face covered in plants, to a pool and a small beach of coarse sand. I stand, ankle deep in the cool water, contemplating the booming noise.… Read the rest
Two rivers, or possible two streams of the same river, flow over the edge and into a large, almost cylindrical hole cutting vertically down through jungle clad cliffs. The left falls tumbles slowly, majestically downwards to the little pool at the bottom. The right one goes bounding over the edge them comes crashing down onto an outcrop of rock where it splits and widens, sending splashes in all directions. The two streams of white water are surrounded by spray thrown into the air as the water hits the rocks. From this distance it looks almost like white smoke billowing around … Read the rest
The fall comes crashing down with an absolutely deafening roar just a few meters to my right, a wide curtain of water obscuring the view of the river valley outside. On my left, the moss clad rock wall curving upwards towards the lip of the fall, forming a sort of semi circular tunnel that goes behind the fall, then continues along the edge of the little pool at the bottom. The spray from the fall hits me like mist but it’s not enough to really make me wet so I can stand here a moment in awe at the forces … Read the rest
I’m sitting on a little two-plank bridge across the stream, dangling my feet in the cool water. The fall in front of me isn’t very tall, only a few meters, but it’s wide, like the large, semi circular brim of a bowl, the water flowing over the edge into the green pool at the bottom. The sunlight shining through a gap in the clouds hits the spray and forms a rainbow that hangs, evanescent and shimmering, in front of the the green clad rock wall.… Read the rest
I’m by the small turquoise pool at the foot of the falls. In front of me the water comes crashing down from a ledge of charcoal grey rock. The booming is so deep and so loud it sounds like someone playing the bass drum right next to me. In the background the gurgling of the water downstream and the shriek of cicadas. Around me the steeply sloping sides of the river valley, covered in verdant green.… Read the rest
The sign says “Dangerous Zone” (song playing in my mind: Danger Zone from Topgun) and I can see why, in front of me, massive amounts of muddy brown Mekong waters go cascading down the cliffs in a series of steps, smaller falls feeding into each other, building up to the big one just in front. The roar is almost deafening, it drowns out the sounds of the other tourists nearby. The sign has been put up because while there is a fence, it looks none too sturdy and the ground is uneven and strewn with rocks. Trip, and you could … Read the rest
I’m lying on a flat rock at the bottom of a big waterfall, gazing at the sky, the canopy of the jungle on two sides, and some fluffy clouds floating leisurely by. I dip my feet in the river, letting the cool water flow over them, and in the background I can hear the swooshing of the fall and the mellow gurgling of the creek among the boulders. Complete peacefulness.… Read the rest
This weekend the wife and I decided to go for a mini vacation in Miaoli. We started right before lunch, took my motorcycle and went south out of the city. Before long we were entering the mountains and drove along a winding road through lush green landscapes. The road was so perfect for a motorbike ride, I just kept going along and soon enough we reached our hotel.
After checking in we went out again to explore the mountains some more, stopping here and there whenever we found something interesting. Here are a couple of pictures taken during our exploration.… Read the rest
It has been what I like to call November weather, that is around ten degrees and rain, for the last week or so here in north Taiwan. So this weekend, Yini and I did like the migrating birds and moved south for the winter. On Friday evening, we said screw you to the cold weather and took the high speed rail to kaohsiung. As we left rather late, we stayed the night in Kaohsiung then left for Taiwan’s premier beach town, Kenting in the morning.
I’ve been to Kenting several times before, and I’ve spent most of those times either … Read the rest
After Chinese new year it felt good to be home and relax a bit but it felt even better to be able to ride my scooter again. So, the day after me and Yini got back to Hsinchu, we got on the scooter and went out for some random ridning in the city.
We started by going back to the closed off new road described here, and exploring the area it connects to.
We made one round at the end of that road and discovered another, almost empty stretch of asphalt. On the way back from there however, I … Read the rest