Archive for the ‘wulai culture’ Category
Posted on: July 10, 2018
FOR our summer break we got a tour with Travelocity that included our flight, hotel, airport pick-up and two city tours.
One of this was a hop in hop out tour of Taipei
I have done the London, Melbourne and San Diego hop in hop out and so was excited to experience another.
One of the business lines not fully explored in Baguio, my husband and I experience an organized two day tour of Bohol which could be replicated even in our city. Unfortunately, our city is losing its historical sites like the post office, Governor Pack Baden Powell, the Abanao horse trough and other historical spots that speak of our heritage.
Last May 23 we took a taxi to the Taipei main station, and the taxi driver does not know where the pick-up point was and dropped us at the far end of the station. We had to walk far, asking people, showing them the map which was in Chinese character.
When we finally reached the main station, one pointed east so we went east then another pointed west and we went west.
The temperature was above 30 which is beyond my tolerance and I was sweating all over, while my husband was just walking by the building waiting for me to find the right spot. I was ready to give up when I saw a man who, I perceive to be a sweeper of the ground, and I showed him the map, he pointed south and said something in Chinese and pointed southeast, which I interpreted as south for getting in the bus and SE for getting off the bus and so we followed his instruction and there it was, the bus with the tour guide.
The tour has two routes, the red and the blue, and the ticket we got allowed us the red and the blue routes. So took the red route which brought us around the eastern side of Taipei and after completing that we took the Blue bus that took us to the northern part.
We spent nearly two hours at the National Palace Museum. There are four floors and my husband was engrossed and explained to me some of the historical data and physical material. We got our tickets and given a map, some had literature like Gallery 103 the Treasures from the National Palace Museum’s Collection of Qing Dynasty Historical Documents and gallery 104 the Gems and collection of rare and Antiquarian Books, which we visited last.
We first went to the second floor and saw amazing jars, flat vases etc. in under glazed blue Yongle reign of the Ming dynasty. The Kneaded clay ceramics the Song Dynasty and the paintings and calligraphy of the Tang Dynasty.
The third floor housed the gathered treasures including the Jadeite cabbage of the Qing Dynasty. Also materials from the Zhou dynasty (ca 9th century to 771 BCE) Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220) Shang Dynasty (13- 11th century). It really was amazing and these people who would come to visit the Museum to learn more of their ancient history and traditions. Amazing still is the commitment of the government to maintain the museum. They are closed on Sundays and holidays.
After lunch we passed by the Zhishan garden beside the Museum before going to the bus stop. Similar to the London bus, this is a double decker and top floor has a portion which was air conditioned and the other portion of the bus is top down.
The red bus route passes by the Chang Kai Shek memorial park, the Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall, the Taipei 101, Huashan Cultural and Creative Industries Park, Daan Park (biggest park) and several shopping areas.
The blue route passes the fine arts Museum, the Ambassador Hotel, Shilin Official Residence among others. We missed the shopping areas, as we were more interested on the cultural stops which were many and one day tour is not enough to if we have to explore all of them.
They have deities enshrined in most of these buildings and stops and we see tourist and locals bow down and offer incense.
Going over the hop in hop out tours, they highlighted cultural, historical and new additions like the Taipei 101. In 2013, I organized a Spiritual Tour of Baguio City, maybe I can organized that and sell it. We may lack historical sites to highlight should there be an organized city tour of Baguio.
https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/1746242/Baguio/Opinion/Weygan-AllanHop-in-hop-out-Taipei
Wulai of Taiwan
Posted on: July 10, 2018
DURING our trip to Taipei, we added a tour to Wulai. It was one of the tours that were offered which was not very far from the city and it takes about 45 minutes car drive. And it a favorite destination because it is one of the cultural village near Taipei.
Our tour guide picked us from the hotel and she started talking about Taipei and places we were passing by. She uses her phone for immediate translation and directions. There was another fellow from Texas, originally from South Africa who was with us in the tour.
Wulai is a small town in New Taipei, Taiwan and derives its name from kirufo ulai which means hot springs of the native language of the Indigenous peoples, the Atayal tribe. They recently completed some rebuilding some structures as they experience great damage from typhoon in August and September 2015.
They are considered the third largest aboriginal group of Taiwan. Along the way we passed by a lot of beetle nut palm plantations, the clear rivers where fisher folks were fishing.
There are many hotels and resorts where visitors pay to take a bath or soak. Since it was hot summer, this was not a suggested activity. The hot springs produce alkaline carbonic acid water at 50 to 80 degrees Celsius.
As soon as we arrived, Eunice our tour guide told us to take the stairs to the push cart where she got our tickets. It was a long steep walk which gives a picturesque view and some Wulai statue where we took some photos.
When we reached the station, there was a long cue at the ticket booth, but we joined the cue for the ride. The push carts were actually mono rail log carts that carry at least ten or more people into the side of the mountain. After our ride we were picked by the car and rushed to the cultural show. To me and my husband this was the highlight of tour.
First, the garments used were woven and colors were red, white, and yellow, black. Some of the vest could pass as one of our Igorot weave.
However, the skirts were either above the knee or long dress not like our tapis which are below the knee.
The dancing steps were a lot of kicking and jumping and they were continually chanting and singing. Sometimes it seems like a cheer rather than a chant. The dancers were young adults and accordingly there was one Filipina dancer who worked there a few years ago. There was a general dancing, a hunting dance, a harvest dance and also a wedding dance.
The wedding dance was first danced by the dancers then they got us to participate. One male dancer got me and the lady dancers got the male guest.
First they gave us leis, head gear and a vest, then the ritual of a drink, kneeling and holding a wooden log with one hallow part in each end, one for groom and one for bride, imitating a drink.
Then a wooden chair woven together by vines was carried by the groom and the bride rides and is carried around. The women come and dance around, while the men were also dancing.
After that we all formed a circle and did a dancing like “digwe” in our native dance, lifting one foot alternately. This was a great experience that an Indigenous People (IP) will enjoy.
The culture dance was in a theatre which also holds a museum a shop and a good view of the waterfalls. My husband bought a vest which cost around $15 and I bought some small items. Then we went out and had photos with the waterfalls in the background. The Wulai waterfall is 80 meter high and about 10 meters width.
We walked to the Museum before visiting the other shops; I bought a sausage which tasted so good. My husband took photos with the carved hunter – a man carrying a deer and a dog at his feet. We have our cordilleran version of this woodcarving. The tour was a good one afternoon, and I wished it was longer.
If given another chance I would want to go back and spend more time in the Wulai village not as a tourist, but a culture learner.
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