Ruisui Township, Hualien County 花蓮縣瑞穗鄉

Ruisui is north of Yuli.  It's famous for the milk it produces, though the Ruisui Ranch isn't the only dairy operation in the area.  Like Yuli to the south, it's one of my favorite parts of Taiwan. 瑞穗位於玉里的北方 ， 瑞穗的牛奶很有名 。 除了瑞穗牧場，瑞穗還有其他的牧場 。  瑞穗和玉里我都很喜歡。

According the last census, 11,366 people live in Ruisui. 上次的人口統計表示 ， 瑞穗的人口是11,366人 。

As you travel north up Highway 9 from Yuli, one of the first things you'll encounter is Ruisui's tea growing area, located atop a hill in the southern part of the township. 從玉里走台9線往北 ， 最先經過的是位於瑞穗南部山區的產茶區 。 

The Dongsheng Tea Outlet is the farthest store south.  There's a park next to it, but this park was heavily damaged during recent typhoons. 最南邊的茶行是東昇茶行 。  這個茶行旁邊有個小公園 ， 可是部分的公園被颱風破壞了 。

This is the view from inside the park.  That's the Xiouguluan River in the distance, and the Coastal Mountain Range beyond it. 公園裡的風景 。  遠處是秀姑巒溪 ，秀姑巒溪後方是海岸山脈 。

Ruisui Ranch, probably Ruisui's most famous tourist attraction, is a little further up the road.  This place won't blow your mind, but it's a nice place to stop for coffee.  It's MUCH better than Chulu Ranch in Taitung. 瑞穗牧場大概是瑞穗鄉最有名的景點 。 這裡離產茶區很近，  在這裡喝咖啡不錯 ， 它比台東縣的初鹿牧場好很多 。

It was very rainy when we got there.  For those looking to stay longer, there's a nice campground behind Ruisui Ranch.  I assume it's still in operation?   At any rate the signs are still in place. 我們去的時候在下雨 ，  想在這裡停留久一點的旅客可以利用後方的露營區，  我相信它還在營業吧 ? 因為招牌還在 。

Most of the local restaurants are to be found in Central Ruisui, also located off Highway 9.  This is the Ruisui Train Station. 瑞穗大部分的餐廳都在瑞穗市區的台9線上 ， 上面照片中的是瑞穗車站。

If you're driving through here exercise caution.  At several points in our journey Google Maps led us astray.  Many roads in this area are closed and/or under repair, and Google Maps isn't always up to date when it comes to local road conditions. 在這附近開車要小心 !  有幾次Google地圖認錯路了 ；  或是馬路封閉；或在施工 。 Google對當地的路況資料有的還沒更新 。

Central Ruisui is a sleepy little town.  I've never had any especially good food here, but I keep trying. 瑞穗市區不算熱鬧景點，  我還沒在這裡吃過特別好吃的料理 ， 我繼續努力吧 !

I should add that the Ruisui Hot Spring Area is east of here, on the other side of Highway 9.  I'm not including any pictures of that area because it was too crowded during our last visit.  We drove in, looked at a few spots, and then quickly decided that sitting shoulder to shoulder with strangers in a hot spring didn't sound very fun. 瑞穗溫泉區在瑞穗市區東部 ， 台9線的另外一邊 。  我這一次沒有在溫泉區拍照 ， 因為當時人太多了 。  我們開車進去 ， 考慮過幾個溫泉之後，決定人多時泡溫泉不好玩 ， 所以決定改天再來 。

This said, the Ruisui Hot Spring Area is one of my favorite places.  I've visited it many times, and I'm sure I'll visit again on a non-holiday weekend in the future. 話說回來 ， 瑞穗溫泉是我最喜歡的景點的其中一個 。  我去過好幾次 ，未來我會避開大節日再去一次 。

Not far from Central Ruisui is Jizheng Ranch, a bigger, older, less popular, more broken down version of Ruisui Ranch on the Xiougulan River. 離瑞穗市區不遠處是吉蒸牧場 。  靠近秀姑巒溪的吉蒸牧場比瑞穗牧場還大，也舊了點， 旅客也少很多 。

This is the Xiougulan River.  It meets the Fuyuan River not far from here, on the other side of a bridge. 這是秀姑巒溪 。  這條溪在附近的橋下流進富源溪 。

And speaking of "Fuyuan," this is the entrance to the Fuyuan Forest Recreation Area, at the north end of Ruisui.  This place is now closed to the public, along with the Butterfly Valley Resort, which is (probably) closed forever.  Both places sustained extensive damage during the last earthquake, and those responsible have decided that the local ecosystem needs time to recover. 說到富源 ， 這是瑞穗北部的富源國家森林遊樂區入口。  因為大地震的關係 ， 這個景點跟蝴蝶谷一樣被破壞很多 ， 目前已經封閉了 ，  政府決定這裡的大自然需要時間恢復 。

Residents of Taitung may remember the Butterfly Valley Resort from the commercials, which used to play in the local movie theater before every movie.  I'm ashamed to say that it took me this long to visit.  I'm sure it was very beautiful when it was open. 台東的居民應該都記得蝴蝶谷的廣告吧 ? 以前電影院在電影開始前都會播廣告片。  我不知道為什麼我現在才來到這裡 ，我相信它以前開園時的景色應該美不勝收。

To the east, across the valley, is the Fuxing Community Pineapple Park.  The park itself is falling apart, but the scenery around here is good. 在花東縱谷東部是富興社區鳳梨公園 。  公園的現況不太好 ， 可是附近的風景很不錯 。

Southeast of the pineapple park, along County Road 64, is the marker for the East Coast National Scenic Area.  The road east of this marker is not in good condition, and those driving around here should be careful. 鳳梨公園南邊 。 花64線上有東部海岸國家風景區地標 ，  這裡往東的路況不好 ， 駕駛要特別小心 。

Extremely beautiful area though.  The road goes up and up, and almost before you know it you're looking down at the East Rift Valley, from Guangfu all the way down to Yuli. 往東邊的風景好美 ，  這條路慢慢往上延伸 ， 當你來到高點時，往下看可以看見光復到玉里的花東縱谷 。

Along the same road, near Ruisui's eastern border, is the Qimei Rafting Rest Stop.  All that silt beneath the retaining wall is the result of recent typhoons. 在同一條路上往瑞穗鄉東邊的邊界走 ， 會經過奇美泛舟休息站 ，  牆下的淤泥都是因為最近的颱風而沖刷到那邊來的 。

And that's it for Ruisui.  From here on we persisted eastward, down a terrifying stretch of road into Fengbin Township, on the other side of the Coastal Mountain Range. 以上就是瑞穗。我們繼續從奇美往東部 ，走這一條危險的路到海岸山脈另外一邊的豐濱鄉 。

But that trip, perhaps, is a discussion for another day! 那一次的旅途改天再說 .

Related Entries 相關的文章:

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In My Wonder World (or "Wonderworld") 2

Wonder World refers to the textbook series I teach at work, while Wonderworld refers to a Uriah Heep song that probably only I remember.

1. Do you like cola?

Sometimes yes, but I don't drink it nearly as much as I used to.  I like to drink cola when I'm watching a movie in a movie theater.  I also like to drink it if I have a hangover.  I find that sugary drinks help a lot with hangovers.

I do try to limit my intake of high fructose corn syrup, however.  I don't think it's good for people's bodies.  I drink a fair amount of 咖啡廣場 ("Coffee Plaza") as it is, and adding cola to my diet on top of that is like adding fuel to a fire.

2. How many apples do you need?

I don't like apples.  I grew up in Washington State, where our staple fruits are apples, bananas and grapes.  I still like cider but I rarely drink it.  Beer is SO much better.

3. What day is today?

Today is any day from Sunday to Saturday, most likely in the month of June.  We've been through all the major holidays.  According to my phone the next holiday is Armed Forces Day, on September 3.  We'll all have to work that day, so most of us won't even know it's going on.

4. What's your favorite subject?

Back in elementary school my favorite subject was either English or History, I'm not sure which.  In junior high school I don't think I had a favorite subject, I was too busy being a moody, somewhat misanthropic 12-14 year old.  In high school my favorite subject was definitely English, though I studied porn a great deal at home.  In college my favorite subject - and for a while my major - was Medieval History, which I would now have a degree in if I'd taken one extra class.

5. Where are you going?

In an hour I'll be driving from the school where I work to the Taimali Train Station to pick up my wife.  She'll be riding her scooter from her school in Jinfeng Township to the train station to meet me, so that I can drive both of us home in the car.  Before we go home we'll be having dinner at a restaurant in Central Taimali.  After that, and before we go home, there's an outside chance we'll drive into downtown Taitung City to see the Lilo & Stitch movie (her idea), but I doubt the movie schedule will work in our favor.

I'll be glad if it doesn't work in our favor.  I'd rather go directly home after dinner and start drinking the Hobgoblin IPA I have in my fridge.

6. How can we get to the park?

Of which park do you speak?  The nearest park is that little park just before the bridge spanning the Zhiben (Jerben) River.  It's raining, not a good time to go to the park.

7. How much is the dress?

I couldn't say with any certainty.  I'm guessing an amount greater than zero.

8. Whose jacket is it?

There is no jacket in this room.  Are you speaking of a metaphorical jacket?  A straitjacket, perhaps?  Or a life jacket?  I'd have to first know what the metaphor was, and who or what it was being applied to.

Or maybe some type of simile or analogy is involved?  Again, more information is required.

9. Where are you from?

I'm from Seattle, Washington, in the USA.  More specifically I'm from West Seattle, where I was born, though I later moved to the Greenwood/Phinney Ridge area west of Green Lake.  

The house where I spent most of my childhood is on the street which serves as the southern boundary of Greenwood and the northern boundary of Phinney Ridge.  Given that my parents' house was on the south side of this street it's more proper to say that I grew up in Phinney Ridge, though I did attend Greenwood Elementary School for the entirety of my elementary school career.  In addition, most of the people, places and things I cared about growing up were north of us, in Greenwood, though I did attend junior high and high school outside the neighborhood.

Not that any of that matters now.  Several years ago my parents moved to Port Angeles, on the Olympic Peninsula, four hours away from Seattle.  Since their move northwest I don't have much to do with Seattle.  My brother lives in Vancouver, Washington, just across the river from Portland, Oregon, and my sister lives in Las Vegas, so these days the only reason for me to hang out in Seattle is nostalgia.  I'll transit through there to and from the airport, but spending the night there is expensive so I generally try to avoid that.  My family and I strolled around the Seattle Waterfront last summer, but we haven't really visited Seattle since pre-COVID times, when my parents were still living in Phinney Ridge.

You'll still see me wearing a Seahawks T-shirt, but I also have an Olympic National Park T-shirt that I bought in Port Angeles, and a Las Vegas T-shirt that I bought when I was visiting my sister.  Sorry if that's confusing!

10. What's wrong?

Nothing at the moment.  I seem to be fine.  Over the 3-day weekend my stomach was bothering me, the reason probably being too much heavy (Western) food and beer.  I drank a lot of alcohol on the Friday and Saturday nights of that weekend, so my mild stomachache wasn't that surprising.

Oh, and I've had several sunburns recently, but I seem to be fine now.  In Taitung I can only avoid the sun so much.  I've been bicycling up the coast more, and even though I leave early I'm still in the sun a lot on the way back.

Aside from that there are recent field trips.  The Prehistory Museum.  The "mountain school" in Guanshan.  It's hard not to get A LOT of sun in or around such places.

11. What would you like to eat?

I would usually answer this question with "pizza" or "a hamburger," but I'm actually tired of both right now.  I hit up Burger King a couple times last week, and I ate WAY too much pizza during a recent trip to Hualien City.  If you're in Hualien City, by the way, the pizza at Salt Lick is amazing.  Best pizza I've had in a long time.

Given the hot weather I'd probably pick sushi.  There is a higher than average chance that I'll have sushi for dinner today, primarily due to the fact that RT Mart is on our way home, RT Mart has a sushi restaurant, and we also need to buy groceries.

12. What time do you get up?

I usually get up at six.  On Saturdays and Sundays I sometimes get up earlier.

13. What do you like to do in your free time?

I like to drink beer, go cycling, go running, watch movies, take naps with my cats, read books, hang with friends, eat meals in overpriced restaurants and drive my scooter down intriguing roads.

Most recently I was watching a great deal of Vanderpump Rules, which is a Netflix reality show centered around a restaurant in West Hollywood.  I now know much more than I need to know about the doings of Jax, Stassi and the two Toms.

14. What do you want to be?

I want to be at home.  It's hot in the English classroom.  I'd like to be at home with the air conditioning on.

15. Where were you last night?

Last night I was in my apartment.  My older daughter was visiting from Kaohsiung and we were watching La Bamba, a movie about Ritchie Valens from the 1980s.  About midway through the film we walked over to Family Mart, where I bought a microwaveable burger and a Coke.

16. Where was she yesterday?

She?  That kindergarten girl who just puked into the sink outside her classroom?  I assume that she was at home.  I could ask her, but I'm worried she'll make me sick.

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In My Wonder World (or "Wonderworld") 1

Wonder World refers to the textbook series I teach at work, while Wonderworld refers to a Uriah Heep song that probably only I remember.

Anyway, here goes...

1. What's your name?

My first name in English is one of the Bible characters who's not Jesus.  Let's just say that this character is near the beginning?

My middle name in English is one of the apostles.  Google lists 12 apostles, so you have a 1 in 12 chance of guessing what my middle name is.

My last name in English can be traced back to Prussia.  It's one of the many forms (or pet names) of "Matthaus" or "Matthias," of which there are many.  Both Matthaus and Matthias are, in turn, forms of the name Matthew.

My last name in Chinese is a mythological animal.  I chose this part of my Chinese name because I thought it looked and sounded cool in 1999.  From the perspective offered by 2025 it's not a family name I would choose to self-apply now, but at this point in time it's part of my legal Chinese name and I've already passed it on to my daughters.

My first name in Chinese translates into something like "strong mind flying."  When Taiwanese people see it in written form the first thing they usually say is: "Wow, that's difficult to write.  Why didn't you choose an easier name?"

2. Are you hungry?

At the moment no.  I didn't have breakfast today, but I wasn't hungry when I woke up.  The hot weather tends to suppress my appetite, especially with regard to breakfast.

Our school lunch, by the way, is better this semester.  Last semester was a rough four months, but this semester I find myself enjoying the school lunch almost half the time.

The school lunches in my previous school, Hengchun Junior High School, were terrible.  So much squash in everything.  So many days when they added shrimp to something, which immediately made it off-limits to me.  Then again, the plus side to working in Hengchun JHS was that there were plenty of restaurants near the school where I worked.  In my present school it's 7-11, a tiny restaurant with uncertain hours, or nothing.

3. What's this?

This is my cat Mango.  He's sitting and purring on the floor while I'm typing this blog entry.  I think he's purring because he gets to be alone with me in the back room of our apartment.  I'm Mango's favorite hooman because I was the one who rescued him and his sister from the cemetery where we found them.

4. What color is it?

Mango is white and orange.  His sister Milky is black and white.  Mango and Milky like to fight a lot, but in the end they always forget about their quarrels and decide to be friendly.

Mango is named Mango because he's orange, and because many people in Jiadong and surrounding townships grow mangoes.  Milky is named Milky because we were thinking "mango milk" or something like that.  Or maybe it's just that she's mostly white.  I can't remember.

5. Is it a frog?

Mango is certainly not a frog and he's insulted that you would make such an insinuation.

One thing I always remember about our two years living and working between Jiadong and Fangliao townships, the area where we found Mango and Milky, was the empty field across from the house we were renting there.  This field was full of dried, desiccated, seemingly deceased frogs that would magically come to life when it rained enough to flood the field.  During such times our neighborhood would become loud with the croaking of these frogs.

6. Can you dance?

I'm not a dancer, sorry.  When I think of times that I "danced" in college I burn inwardly with shame.  It's amazing what two or three long island iced teas will make people do.

7. Who's he?

I'm at work again.  Do you mean that guy who passes by the doorway every few minutes?  He's one of the two kindergarten teachers.  Besides him there's a lady who teaches/manages most of that kindergarten class.  I don't talk to the kindergarten teachers that much (they're busy), but they're both very nice and they sometimes offer me food.

The kindergarteners across the hall are the older class.  They're super cute.  Many of them like to call out to me while they're washing their hands, cleaning their utensils or headed to the bathroom.  Their favorite thing is the weird sound I make after they give me a high five or a fist bump.  Many of the kids I teach in the elementary grades are their older brothers and sisters.

8. Is he a teacher?

Yes, he is.  I can't remember what his name is at the moment, but I know he's a teacher.

9. How's the weather?

Today it's very cloudy.  It rained a bit this morning, but since then it's gone back to being cloudy and humid.  The weather will probably be like this for a while.

Yesterday, in Kaohsiung, I woke up to a thunderstorm.  I'd originally planned on riding my bike around the city, but with the rain and lightning I was only able to put on my too-hot raincoat and walk down to the local convenience store for a coffee.

Later the same day, as we took the train back to Taitung, the weather seemed to follow us back over the mountains, a dark front of clouds turning a sunny day rainy.  By the time evening fell the rain was coming down hard, and by the time I'd finished walking to a nearby Family Mart my clothes were soaked through.

10. What time is it?

At the present time it's 2:05 in the afternoon.  I took a nap not long ago and I feel very awake now.

11. Is this your pencil?

All of the pencils in that wooden box are, in a sense, my pencils.  Most of the students who left those pencils in the English classroom did so a long time ago, and I'm sure they'd be unable to remember, much less reclaim, their lost pencils now.

12. Where's the eraser?

There's a tiny nub of an eraser at the bottom of the wooden box.  As for any other erasers I cannot say with any certainty.

Or were you referring to the whiteboard erasers?  There are several on the big whiteboard, one on the tray underneath the smaller whiteboard in the corner, and many more inside the plastic jack o' lanterns on the bookshelf near the rear windows.

13. Where are you?

It depends.  I wrote this entry during several different times, so I could be in any number of places.  Near the beginning and end of this entry I was in my school in Beinan Township, Taitung County.  Near the middle of this entry I was in an apartment in Gushan District, Kaohsiung City.  Between my school and the apartment in Kaohsiung I was in my apartment in Taitung City, the Taitung Train Station, two express trains, various restaurants, convenience stores and coffee shops in Taitung City, a beef noodle restaurant in Central Taimali, Highway 9 and then Highway 11 between Taimali and Taitung City, the Carrefour in Taitung City, Baosang Junior High School, the Fengshan Train Station, the RT Mart in Fengshan District, a taxi, the Kaohsiung Hospitality University, downtown Xiaogang, the Xiaogang MRT Station, the Kaohsiung LRT, Dream Mall, the Neiwei Train Station, the "New Taiwan Original Flavor Nostalgia Restaurant," various convenience stores in Kaohsiung, the Good Rolling hamburger restaurant, the FE21 in Kaohsiung, the Kaohsiung Train Station, or the night market on Ssewei Road in Taitung City.

14. What are you doing?

At the moment I'm typing.  Later on I'll be doing something else.

Or did you mean "what am I doing" in a larger sense, as in: what am I doing with my life?  These days I'm teaching English in a public elementary school, hanging with my wife, having beers with friends when it's convenient, and attempting to maintain relationships with friends and family members through texts, phone conversations and moments when we can be together.

How about you?  What are you doing?

15. What do you want for lunch?

If we're talking school lunch then I'd have to say that the pig's feet/pork knuckle is the best.  If we're talking about eating out I'd have to state, a second time, that there's not much around here, and what is around here might not be open right now.  Dinner is a much easier proposition.  There's a restaurant just over the hill, on the other side of the Family Mart, that's pretty good.  I like their minced pork rice.

16. Do you like bears?

Not especially.  They're alright I guess.  Whenever I hear "bears" the first thing that pops into my head is this lyric, from a Lou Reed song on his Transformer album.

"Cause you know what they say about honey bears

"When you shave off all their baby hair

"You have a hairy-minded pink bare bear."

17. Happy Dragon Boat Festival!

Same to you.  Three-day weekend, and then it's June.  I'll be in Hualien for two days, then I'll be back in Taitung.  Here's to another school year almost finished!

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