A quick visit to Mary's

The other day I had cause to go to Tienmu, an area in northeastern Taipei that was for a long time known as a Western ghetto. Because of the large population of Westerners there, a number of businesses popped up to cater to them.

One is Mary's Hamburgers, a Taipei institution. It opened in 1979, and is still going strong 30 years later. It's on Zhongshan N. Road, just south of the Taipei American School.



I had a cheeseburger and fries.


That's all for now! Been busy lately!

Yellow Butterfly Valley

The Yellow Butterfly Valley, actually a series of valleys near the Hakka city of Meinong in southern Taiwan, is named after the Lemon Emigrant butterfly (Catopsilia pomona) that congregate in large numbers each summer. But they're not the only butterflies to be found: some 100 out of Taiwan's 400 or so species can be found in these lush valleys.

We drove down Saturday, staying overnight in Tainan at my favorite el-cheapo hotel there, Ing Wang, around the corner from Fort Provintia (an old Dutch fort) and a quick walk to most of the famous downtown historical sites. We arrived at about midnight, and decided to take a midnight stroll around the downtown area, passing by the Jade Emperor Temple, the Confucius Temple, and the newly restored Japanese martial arts academy. Tainan is Taiwan's oldest city, and for most of Taiwan's 400-year history since its colonization it served as the capital. It's a must-see for history buffs.

The Jade Emperor Temple at night


The next day we left bright and early for the valley. On the drive there, along the No. 3 Freeway, we saw quite a few Lemon Emigrants fluttering across the road, dodging vehicles.

We passed through Meinong and drove along a country road into the foothills, passing the Butterfly Temple, and finally arriving at a very narrow road. We got out, and found the heat to be oppressive. But as we walked along a dirt road, we saw increasing numbers of butterflies, particularly the Lemon Emigrant.

The Butterfly Temple


I found the Lemon Emigrant hard to photograph. They're flighty creatures, reluctant to land, and easily disturbed by human presence. When they finally do land, they're barely still for long. By the time I've located them in my viewfinder and autofocus has decided to focus on the butterfly, it's gone. I did manage to take a couple photos.

Female Lemon Emigrant


Male Lemon Emigrant feeding on Lantana camara


This Lemon Pansy (Junonia lemonias aenaria) was much more well-behaved. It sat there a good three minutes as I photographed it. I love the eye spots! The spots are a form of mimicry: they evolved to look like the eyes of a predator, frightening away potential predators or drawing their attention away from the body of the insect.

Lemon Pansy


Come noon, with the sun directly overhead, the numbers of butterflies were decreasing significantly. It was time to go.

As we drove out through the country roads, we came across Guangshan Temple. It turns out the temple has a dormitory where visitors can stay for the night. It would be interesting to tour Taiwan sometime staying only in temples and monasteries.

Here's part of the temple complex:


On the temple grounds was an interesting old Japanese-built schoolhouse, which the caretaker showed us:




We decided that we would make a side-trip to Sun Moon Lake, Taiwan's biggest natural lake, on the drive back to Taipei. I had never visited it before despite living in Taiwan for years. It's renowned for its beauty, but with the hazy air and crappy weather that day, it didn't live up to its potential. Still, I'm glad I had a chance to go there, even if it was only for a couple hours.

Sun Moon Lake