The Japanese, thanks
to their appetite for building materials, created Taiwan’s logging industry
almost overnight by constructing six railways around the island. However, by
the mid-eighties, lack of upkeep and restrictions on logging had reduced the
system to one line still in extensive use, the Alishan Railway, which
transported tourists to the national park. I remember seeing tractor trailers hauling
two or three huge trees cut down somewhere in the Central Mountain Range to
lumberyards in Chiayi when I first arrived. However, most of these lumberyards
to the north of the city are shutdown now as a result of the above mentioned prohibitions
on timber. On the flip-side, there has been a marked increase in forested areas
across the island over the last two decades, from government-protected parks
and reserves to privately-owned recreational areas, complete with hotels,
restaurants and special exhibitions areas.
One of the
attractions of Cilan Forest Recreation Area in Yilan County is a bungalow at
which former ROC President Chiang Kai-shek stayed twice, sort of making it his
Camp David. There are pictures of “this
extraordinary person” looking admiringly at his wife’s ink and paper art. Other
enlargements have him holding the hand of his “beloved” as they leave a village home on Kinmen Island. Why there
was a picture of the First Couple hundreds of kilometers away is beyond me, but
the pieces of original furniture in the CKS Villa give the visitor that homey
feeling of a loving couple enjoying a weekend away from the affairs of state,
right down to their separate bedrooms.
Though this trip down
history lane is interesting, Cilan’s main attraction is a two hour trail above
the bungalow that provides spectacular views of a valley at the confluence of three
rivers. The flora includes large red cypress and Japanese cypress trees
providing a canopy under which soft ferns and vines with inch-long needles
thrive. Butterflies flutter, caterpillars crawl and birds fly from branch to
branch, but the best was a small tribe of macaques we came upon seconds after
my son said, “I wish we could see some monkeys.” It sounded like two dozen
simians scurried down the mountainside, but in retrospect, there were probably
no more than six that ran away. Meanwhile, a mother and her baby had hid under
a branch just beyond the trail edge and waited until my wife passed before I
saw it putting some fruit in its mouth. Tina was able to return and get some
photos of the pair. 
And then big daddy
arrived. At one point, he got up on some branches and shook them violently, but
otherwise, he was as calm as I was nervous and excited. He lowered himself onto
the trail and followed us by only a few meters, close enough for us to wonder
how he survived the summertime heat in such thick fur. While I was staring at
him, he would ignore me and look off into the forest, probably keeping an eye
on his little harem of two females and their infants that had not followed the retreating
stampede. However, I always had the feeling that he was watching us out of the
corner of his eye, just making sure we kept going.
In contrast, the Sin
Liao Waterfall Nature Trail is a newer “eco-trail”, one of many paths created
by local governments around the island offering recreational and learning
experiences, ranging from an extensive system of trails in mountainous Chiayi
County to this kilometer-long walk through a lush green valley in Yilan County.
With no betel nut trees in sight, the hills had the feeling of an area
untouched by civilization. These kind of easy trails have proved popular by
granting access to natural beauty unknown in urban Taiwan.
The path ends at a
scenic waterfall that empties into a jade green pool. The cool water flowed
down a boulder-strewn stream, in which several middle-aged couples were wading
up to their knees. I myself splashed some refreshing water on my head, face and
neck to get a break from the noonday sun. When I looked at the waders again, I
noticed that one of them was actually sitting, fully-clothed, in a pool created
behind a pair of large rocks, between which a small meter-high cascade had
formed. I was surprised to see this since we were a kilometer from the parking
lot and the nearby public restroom where she could change. And then she started
lathering up her hair. I hadn't seen any bottle of shampoo, but she was foaming
at the top of her head. After a few minutes, she leaned back into the
mini-niagara between the rocks and rinsed. She then rose out of the pool,
walked past the waders, grabbed a plastic shopping bag and proceeded out of the
stream to some trees on a different path with, I guess, her husband. Five
minutes later, she emerged in a warm-up suit and was combing her wet hair while
her man lugged the bag now filled with her wet clothes.
Two things struck me.
First, the planning involved to bring the hair care products needed for her
all-natural treatment, as well as towels and a change of clothes, was in stark
contrast to the dozens of “eco-tourists” rambling along the Sin Liao Waterfall
Nature Trail in flip-flops or high-heel shoes and mini-skirts. Second, since
the great outdoors of Taiwan are never so isolated that you can’t run into
someone, the sheer audacity of stripping in the great outdoors was so
un-Taiwanese. Again, kudos to her planning because she must have realized that
by meeting her beauty needs at around noon, the path on which she changed
clothes was all but empty.
In the past two and a
half decades, the Taiwanese have become more ecologically responsible. Though they still have a long way to go, it is amazing the lengths some
of them will go to embrace the natural beauty of their country.
No comments:
Post a Comment