Keyboard Cow

Keyboard Cow, Taipei, Taiwan.

Been very busy with work and haven’t had any time to update. I’m hoping I can find time this week…

This is the Chinese year of the cow. Outside the grand Hyatt near the Taipei City Hall, in the Xinyi district of Taipei, there are installations of cows all over the place! And this one was very interesting – Its made of keyboards!

Here is a closeup..

Keyboard Cow closeup, Taipei, Taiwan.

Technical Details:
Camera: Canon Powershot G9
Date: Feb 02, 2009

(3 votes, average: 4.33 out of 5)
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February 9, 2009 | Categories: Canon G9, Color | 3 Comments »

Wall Mural at Baoan temple

Wall Mural at Baoan temple, Taipei, Taiwan.

So, second day in Taiwan – the “my feet hurt like crazy day”.

The day began as expected. Got up, ordered a huge breakfast – huge, like breakfast and lunch together huge, kind of breakfast. Then it was off to work, my first day at the Taiwan office. There I was, waiting for shipped equipment to show up so I could get to work. Long story short, the equipment didnt show up, and by early evening, I called it a day and set out to explore the city. I later found out that the equipment would not show up till the end of the week..oh well.

My first stop, after swapping my laptop for my XT and lenses at the hotel, was the Boa-an temple. My previous visit was the lure, and I wanted to spend more time there. I wanted to take photos of the amazing glowing murals from the 15th century, this time without the harsh glare of spotlights on them.

Each mural represents a story or a chinese saying. The photo in this post is the first mural you will see when making a anti-clockwise circum-ambulation of the temple courtyard. The story of this mural is as follows (story as I found on this web forum :

The mural is supposed to depict a historical event, and shows the idiom meaning “humiliation under the legs”, literally… “Han Xin is the crawling figure who endured humiliation for self preservation. This episode was a turning point in his life as he used it as motivation to improve himself, eventually becoming a general in the newly created Han Dynasty.”

A request to all readers: If you know any persons Chinese or otherwise, who can tell me the story behind the rest of the murals in the temple, please ask them the story and let me know.

The Baoan temple is a Daoist temple built in 1805 A.D (10th year Jiaqing rein, Qing dynasty). The deity is Wudao, the God of Sustenance, God of Justice . This deity is also known as Master Wu, who is a master of medicine. More info from the plaque in front of the temple: The temple is a branch of the mother temple in mainland China built by pious devotees from Tongan Prefecture in Fujian province. Dating back to 1805, the temple features an architectural style of much grandeur and embellishment, with a laoyout consisting of three courts – front, main and rear. An extensive renovation project was completed in 1967, fully restoring the grandeur and the opulence os the classical Qing three-courtyard temple. The intensity of the competitive artistic spirit that existed between master craftsmen Chen Yingbin and Guo Ta of Dadaocheng, who carried out earlier renovation in 1917 is clearly manifested in the distinctive woodwork flanking the two wings, preserving unique and original exquisite woodcarvings not seen anywhere else”.

To get to this temple, take the MRT Red Line (Danshui) heading North and off at the Yuanshan station. Walk west for about 10 mins and you will be there.. Very easy to get to. A Google maps link to help.

After photographing and admiring the temple, it was off to hi-tech stuff. So from the temple, back on the MRT, Taipei Main Station, and I went to the Nova Computer mall, looking to buy an mp3 player. I was inundated with electronics both ‘real’ and ‘fake’. I was lamost losing my mind. Luckily, I had my aching, hurting feet to bring me back to reality. I walked around for an hour more, looking for a reflexology place for a foot massage…Alas, that was not to be. I did pick up a user un-friendly ipod nano look-alike 8gb mp3 player. Its controls are hard..gives a good hand workout every time I use it, but, it does do its job like a champ!

Then it was back to the hotel, praying for relief every step of the way..Walking 10hrs plus will do that to your feet, especially when not used to it…I do appreciate my feet a lot now…It was to my comfortable bed, dinner and rest for the night.

So tomorrow, I will be back talking about keyboard cows…yes. Keyboard cows.

Technical Details:
Camera: Canon Powershot G9
Exposure: 1/8sec at f/2.8
Focal Length: 7.4mm
ISO: 80
WB: Daylight
Time: 4.50 PM
Date: Feb 02, 2009

(2 votes, average: 4.50 out of 5)
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February 3, 2009 | Categories: Canon G9, Color | 2 Comments »