2 September 2006: Gold Ecological Park

We went to the Jinguashih settlements in Jioufen. Unknown to many, precious metals used to be mined in Taiwan, and these metals include gold, silver, copper, iron and tin. Taiwan's former masters, the Japanese, had established mining settlements in the northern region to exploit the godsend resources. Notice the Japanese-style Crown Prince Residence in the backdrop. However, the local mining industry soon came to a gradual decline, and we can only explore a former mining culture through exhibits and ruins. It's a pity that I can't bag some gold back at present, but I promise to treat everyone I know to fried noodles at hawker centres if I ever strike it big here.

After tours in the exhibition halls and an expensive lunch (notice the irony between gaining and losing money) at a mediocre restaurant, we took off to a taxing climb up the mountains. We chose a mountain of significance, known as Teapot Mountain, and spent hours dodging ahead despite accumulated short breaths and aching muscles. It proved to be very much worth the effort. We were all captivated by the paranoma of the sky above, and I will appreciate it if I can really enjoy that paranoma as a daily setting for part of my life.

Anyway, I spent a great deal of the day interacting with my newfound Japanese friends, Hisashi and Maiko, and have rekindled my interest in the Japanese Language after almost a decade of losing touch with it (I used to study Japanese as a Third Language in MOELC in my secondary school days but fared terribly in it). I had learnt many Japanese phrases and words from them, and hopefully I can communicate with them effectively in Japanese by the end of my SEP. An elusive dream, perhaps?!

We descended at dusk and took a long bus ride back to Taipei, where we had a late dinner at about ten in the evening. Enjoy your weekend, everyone!