Last winter a fellow Canadian friend stumbled upon a pretty little lake in Shijr east of Yangmingshan called Dream Lake. This summer the two of us and another foreigner plus a few Taiwanese including my wife spent several Sunday afternoons swimming and having drinks and snacks at the lake. Of course we always left with what we brought and never made a mess.
The lake has two entrances that are both a five minute walk to it. One is further down the road. We
That’s shitty that he was racist.
If he “owns” this lake, isn’t it his right to dictate what can be done in and around it though? I mean, you wouldn’t jump into someones pool or start cooking on someone’s lawn would you?
perhaps ask your wife to call and check with the authorities to establish if he indeed the owner. i wouldnt be suprised if he wasnt…
Sorry I don’t get this. He owns the lake but allows the public to go in there for free? And then shouts at them? And he didn’t ask you for money? I would doubt that very much indeed. A privately-owned lake in Xizhi open freely to the public? Right.
I think what you have there is a lunatic. I mean a real one. Seriously.
Why not? If it’s open to the public… If you don’t want folks swimming in your lake and BBQing on your lawn…don’t open it to the public… Or at least be more obvious with your signs…
Well, it’s an interesting issue. As bismark says, why doesn’t the supposed owner of the lake block it off?
And on the whole dirty foreigner angle: we all have to take this with a sense of humor. I usually throw my head back and guffaw, which confuses them a bit. One episode stands out, however it’s not for everyone, nor is it for every time 
About 4 years ago, I was camping on the beach at MaoBiTou, and had some local comes up and gives my party (Taiwanese, foreigners, and children of same) a hard time about camping on the beach. He mentioned about how us foreigners were so dirty, etc. After about a minute of my spastic attempts at rebuttal, and the same of our Taiwanese friends, I challenged him to an underwear contest. After some finite negotiation he agreed, and a few shots of whiskey proferred by my ROC mates,tho he had to go behind the bushes, he emerged with a shitful of drawers. I had already had mine off, and in hand, but he was not impressed with my shitstainless ginch (only a few piss stains)… I was really proud of my Taiwanese friends that day, as they blew him off with jeers, catcalls, and some extra venom.
But I guess shithead had the last laugh. He called the cops, and we were forced off pronto… the two cops were the most ill-humored gents I’ve ever seen in Taiwan, and that’s saying something. but they didn’t say a damn word about foreigners, so I did what they say. We all did. But we came back about 2 weeks later, drove on down, and Mr.SHitpants recognized us. I am, the UnderWearMan…KuKuKaChu
Cool story gingerbreadman…
I finished one of my classes the other day, and while I was writing my class report another teachers class came in. One of the little girls kept covering her nose and saying, “Wai guo ren shi chou wei…” Foreigners stink…
I ignored her…
A few days later the same thing happened. I ignored her again. Left the classroom and realised I had left something behind. On return to the classroom the girl in question is playing with the toy. So I say, with a smile on my face, “Gei wo, chou wei xiao jie…” She was shocked I understood her. It never happened again… 
i’d find some toxic shit to dump in his dream lake and make it a nightmare cesspool!
how would this help? taiwan isn’t dirty enough already … we should resort to helping some of the locals mess it up more?
how would this help? taiwan isn’t dirty enough already … we should resort to helping some of the locals mess it up more?[/quote]
Oh, I dunno, some folks think, when in Rome …
denfar,
interesting post. when the old man said FOREIGNERS ARE DIRTY, what did he mean? Foreigners smell, have BO, throw garbage on the ground without thinking, don’t clean their apartments, spit on sidewalks, don’t shave their legs or armpits, what did he mean by DIRTY? What is the Chinese word he used? SMELL BAD or DIRTY GREASY POLLUTING THUGS?
Who knew?
As for the “no swimming” rule, well if the owner were dealing mostly Taiwanese picnicking at his site, that would very rarely be a problem. Because most Taiwanese don’t swim in lakes; most don’t swim at, and if they do, it’s only in the safe confines of a swimming pool. So jumping in the lake for a swim would be something he wouldn’t have expected. A real shock, so out of the ordinary norms he might consider it dirty and rude. “Ahhhh! Your body touched my water! Now it is DIRTY!” You know how some people get upset when the water they’re swimming in gets “polluted” by dogs?
I guess some 'mosans would think, a fist on their eye does not mean here what it means where we come from. Probably there was a fly sitting and the guy just wanted to help.
Foreigners are dirty was … merely the attempt to start an evironmental discussion rather than being a racist remark, right? 
Maybe he became the owner when he found the lake and put a fence and some gates around it … just claim it’s yours and it will be …
[quote=“belgian pie”]Maybe he became the owner when he found the lake and put a fence and some gates around it … just claim it’s yours and it will be …[/quote]That happened to me in a car park in Taipei. A guy just left his phone number on the gate at night, said he’ll open it for a thousand bucks. We said no way, asked the security of the complex and they opened the gate for us for free. They also told us that guy wasn’t the owner, operator or manager of the carpark… Why they let him put his number there is beyond me :loco:
Err… and on topic… yeah, that sucks denfar
We gave a lot of thought to why this person would open up his lake to the public and be such a jerk and we concluded there were two possibilities.
He gets a tax write off by allowing the public the use of the lake. Also a road has been built to the lake and this might be included in the deal as well.
He looks like an old farmer who probably inherited this land. ( Not that I have anything against farmers. One of my grandfathers was a farmer)
I’m sure he was the owner as he seemed to know the cop quite well.
Cheers, denfar
How bout the other two groups were neighbors or had paid and thus his hostility to the “squatters”
[quote=“denfar”]He looks like an old farmer who probably inherited this land. ( Not that I have anything against farmers. One of my grandfathers was a farmer)
I’m sure he was the owner as he seemed to know the cop quite well.[/quote]
This is strange. I’ve filmed many parts of a short movie there without any problems over the past few months. I didn’t get a permit to film and we carried a lot of gear to the lake. If it’s private land and he doesn’t want people on it, just lock it up. Put up a gate.
If it’s not your land then it’s someone else’s, right? Why should the owner have to spend money to keep trespassers out?
If it’s not your land then it’s someone else’s, right? Why should the owner have to spend money to keep trespassers out?[/quote]
His land, his responsibility. Betcha he has to pay property taxes on it, too.