It’s so… and it’s huge… I can’t imagine how occupancy rates would ever go above 50%… in fairness though it’s not that bad looking, but that’s not really the point… the ultimate scourge to all things natural and beautiful in Taiwan isn’t the buildings so much as the seething hordes of Taiwanese people that will infest them…
I spent a long weekend in Green Island a few weeks ago and I spent a fair slice of every day there picking up BBQ grids, burnt pink plastic bowls, tea bottles, rusting batteries, used camping candles and all kinds of miscellaneous garbage off the beaches and scenic lookouts not to mention fishing plastic bags, chip packets and cigarette boxes out of the ocean at the prime snorkeling sites… all thoughtlessly and callously dumped by groups of young 20-something Taiwanese usually uttering “好美喔…” as they defiled the very beauty they were commenting on with their filth and laziness… I should point out I’m no green peace Samaritan, there are regularly emptied garbage and recycling bins at the entrance to every beach and scenic spot on green island that I just chucked the collected garbage into, but these neo-peasants just couldn’t be bothered… utter f**king disgrace and one that doesn’t bode well for the future of the once pristine East coast…
I don’t know much about the Hualian-Taidong part of the east coast, but I’ve gone up and down the Su’ao-Hualian bit plenty of times and I think it’s criminally underutilized. Yes, having a shitload of tacky concrete hotels there would be crappy, but it’s not like it’s a pristine site now. The motherf@#ing gravel industry has pretty much torn up every bit of coastline along there. I think it would be great if they could develop some of the beaches around Nan’ao or Heping. Again, nothing tacky, but some more bike paths, better transportation links, a few quirky cafes or restaurants, filling in the huge underwater craters that those gravel digging mofos have dug out, etc.
[quote=“alidarbac”]I’ve gone up and down the Su’ao-Hualian bit plenty of times and I think it’s criminally underutilized. Yes, having a shitload of tacky concrete hotels there would be crappy, but it’s not like it’s a pristine site now. … The motherf@#ing gravel industry has pretty much torn up every bit of coastline along there.[/quote]I wonder if these two concepts are somehow connected?
The Hualien-Taidung stretch is less afflicted with the gravel grabbers. It’s further from the market, so it’s less profitable. Like I said, when the transport on that improves, that will change. The island will eventually eat itself.
Plus, shorelines are so damn fragile. My favourite snorkeling spot up north used to be Aodi – a lovely little golden sand bay, often with nice small surf for splashing around in, bounded by a long rocky promontory with a just-submerged bommie just a few yards offshore. Even in pretty rough weather there was usually pretty fair visibility even with the nearby sand. Then they built the harbour for the power plant. Fucked.
And look at the beach below that yellow hotel on the way into Kending. Used to be a nice beach, considering it was right in town. Fucked.
On second thought, I take that back. There is nothing better than sailing off an empty beach - i mean how many times can you find a place with no one there?
Build the restaurant and bars you just bring the garbage and crowds. Do you really want your favorite beach to turn into Gong Guan?
[quote=“TainanCowboy”]I am continually amazed by the lack of recreational develop along the waterways and coast lines of Taiwan.
Spectacular locations for restaurants/bars/hotels and NOTHING!
These people just don’t know nothin’ about enjoying life.[/quote]
There first has to be a reversal of prespective. Coastal waters were considered and probably still are considered the first line of defense against the mainland. Frolicking at the sea shore was definitely not encouraged.
There used to be military bases all along the coastline. Some are still in existence and the remnants of others are slowly decaying. I tried to camp along a coast in the north some years ago and my campfire drew soldiers who sent me packin’–apparently any light would draw first fire in an attack, or perhaps they thought I was signalling "the enemy.’
Recreational boating along the coastline was similarly discouraged–ironic, because Taiwan produces a great deal of recreational boats and boating supplies.
Good first start up in Bali Twp. in Taipei County. It would be great to see more sailing type marinas and restrictions against jet-skis. I don’t even bother stopping by Nan Wan in Kenting anymore. It’s a shame because that used to be one of the nicest swimming beaches. Last time I decided to go there for a swim the exhaust from the jet skis (on-shore wind time of day) almost made me hurl.
[quote=“plasmatron”]It’s so… and it’s huge… I can’t imagine how occupancy rates would ever go above 50%… in fairness though it’s not that bad looking, but that’s not really the point… the ultimate scourge to all things natural and beautiful in Taiwan isn’t the buildings so much as the seething hordes of Taiwanese people that will infest them…
[/quote]
Yep, it was built to twice the size of the permit (the wings on either side are illegal) and all the crap from the construction was dumped into the sea, damaging the coral and fish and turning the water murky- plus they pay a grand total of NT$60,000 a year for the next fifty years for exclusive use of the best beach on the East Coast.
The guy who had the lease previously used to run quads up and down the beach, and tried to make everybody crowd into the one roped in section directly in front of the pavilion so you could get the full enjoyment of crappy Mandopop blaring from cheap loudspeakers while enjoying the fumes from the jetskis. I expect these new guys will be worse.
My first year in Taidong I lived in a bamboo hut on that beach, and my kids practically grew up there- it’s a crying shame- wonder whose pockets got lined?
There first has to be a reversal of prespective. Coastal waters were considered and probably still are considered the first line of defense against the mainland. Frolicking at the sea shore was definitely not encouraged.
There used to be military bases all along the coastline. Some are still in existence and the remnants of others are slowly decaying. I tried to camp along a coast in the north some years ago and my campfire drew soldiers who sent me packin’–apparently any light would draw first fire in an attack, or perhaps they thought I was signalling "the enemy.’
Recreational boating along the coastline was similarly discouraged–ironic, because Taiwan produces a great deal of recreational boats and boating supplies.
Good first start up in Bali Twp. in Taipei County. It would be great to see more sailing type marinas and restrictions against jet-skis. I don’t even bother stopping by Nan Wan in Kending anymore. It’s a shame because that used to be one of the nicest swimming beaches. Last time I decided to go there for a swim the exhaust from the jet skis (on-shore wind time of day) almost made me hurl.[/quote]
FYI, Bali and Danshui (especially Bali) are the areas where the sewage of Greater Taipei comes out, I personally won’t even get close to it. I’ve driven through the coastal highway to the airport as nice diversion, but that’s it.
About the posts earlier, yes, it’s a shame that Dong’ao and Nan’ao aren’t really developed into resorts and recreational areas (Hualien already has a few coastal resorts), perhaps it’s a good thing as this will minimize pollutions. I’m too amazed at how lazy, impatient, and filthy the new generation is (quite different than how we were brought up in the 70s and 80s) as some mentioned.
