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Photos by MJ Klein In Part I, we took a look at the beautiful waters of Wulai, and the downtown tourist and shopping area. History buffs will know that Wulai has it’s own narrow-gauge rail system, known at the Log Cart. Please click on the above photo to open a larger size for reading. Hui-chen and I rode the Log Cart up to the waterfall area. Wulai is known for hot springs and the famous waterfall, but before we actually show you the waterfall itself, we want to show you the ride on the Log Cart. We walked over to the station to catch the little train. In the distance you can see the cars on the track waiting for departure. One pulled up as we were walking to the ticket window. The fare is $NT50 per adult. Hui-chen stepped into the car and waited for me to take a few shots. Our friend Jeff is behind Hui-chen. As you can see, there is room for 2 adults in each seat, and there are 2 seats per car. And, we’re off! It’s a small train and it goes slow, but it’s all relative! It seems fast when you’re riding it, especially because you breeze past buildings and other structures very closely. This shot of the track shows a bend. At this scale it’s almost scary. Do not stick your head (or anything else) out of the car! Through this last little tunnel (and it goes very dark!) we come to a stop at the waterfall area. In our next article we will show you the famous waterfall. But for now, this is what it looks like when you approach from the train.

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Photos by MJ Klein

Hui-chen and I took a little sight-seeing trip to Wulai after our return from China recently.  If you haven’t been there in awhile, you should take a visit and see for yourself, what a lovely place Wulai really is.

Besides the famous waterfall, Wulai is known for these emerald green waters (and wires!).  These photos are un-processed and the colors are just how the Nikon D80 photographed them.

We’ve been to Wulai a couple of times, but the sun wasn’t out on any of those occasions.  Fortunately the colors are so vivid that even when overcast, Wulai sports some great photo opportunities.

Ideally, one would park their car in the main lot and walk up into and through the downtown area.  Like many recently renovated downtown areas in Taiwan small towns, Wulai is dedicated to tourists.  Although I normally do not like this kind of area, for some reason Wulai is able to pull it off with some grace.  If you are a “foreigner” however, you can expect the usual pandering from the vendors, so just take it in stride.  There are plenty to choose from!

Along the route to the downtown you will find various hot springs resorts.  We’ve never stayed in one of these places in the downtown area (nearby though) but from the street they looked pretty good and the prices are competitive.   You just have to deal with the stupid way people hard sell in Asia.

Wulai is known for quaint scenery like this.  You can get a room with a view on the river and relax in a hot spring tub.

Check out the varieties of food available from street vendors:

There are varieties of “mountain pig” pretty much everywhere.  Even mountain goat.  The smells wafting about are great.

Hui-chen went shopping for shoes.  She got a couple pair of really cute ones.   The Indian boss spoke Chinese very well.

This guy is pulling taffy.  He had to move very quickly to keep it off the street.  Once it went into the bucket, they were all over me to try pounding it.  I don’t blend in very well.

Hui-chen is enjoying some kind of taro snack.  The crowds were thick on Sunday.  Next time we’re going back on a weekday.

I snapped this shot of all the fresh meat you can get grilled to order.

As you walk across the bridge you can see people out on the banks.  Sometimes they party out there.  Sounds like a great time to me!

Walking through the throngs of visitors and vendors is well worth the scenic beauty of Wulai.  But there is a lot more to this lovely place and we’ll cover that in Part II!

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Photos by MJ Klein

Lately I’ve been looking to expand my horizons.  I’m getting bored with the same thing, musically speaking.  Since my 1958 Epiphone has been unavailable, all I have been using for the past few years is a Fender Stratocaster that’s been highly modified.  I don’t really like the Strat and I’ve grown tired of it.

I wanted to get a guitar that wasn’t just the same old stuff made pretty.  There are a ton of absolutely gorgeous guitars that are basically all the same as far as capability goes.  They are mostly based on Fender or Gibson designs, and rather limited.  So, the choice was clear for me.  I had to get a Red Special.

I had made arrangements with a guitar shop boss down in Kaohsiung, to take a look at 2 different color.  Even though the sunburst looks great (on the right) I decided to go for the original color.  These are made by Burns London.

What makes this guitar so unique is the pickup choices and the electronics.   The Red Special uses 3 Burns Tri-sonic pickups, wired in series (as opposed to parallel in other guitars).  There are 3 slide switches for turning each pickup on and off, and 3 more switches for each pickup that reverse the phase.  This guitar has more settings than anything I’ve ever seen before.  Plus those great Queen sounds are all there too.  I can go from the searing solo on Bohemian Rhapsody to the heavy chords of We Will Rock You, with just a few switch changes.  The number of sounds and the outright versatility of this guitar are mindblowing.  I’m going to use this guitar on stage at the Taoyuan Stadium gig coming up on April 13. I’ll get some more photos of it soon.

Click here to read about the original Red Special.

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Photos by MJ Klein

It’s bound to happen sometime.  You must always beware and on your guard because when you least expect it:

Fortunately, no one appeared to be hurt.  No one was yelling and screaming either.

I sympathize with these people though….

Right in the middle of the big circle in the Sandou Shopping district in Kaohsiung!

Whoops!

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