FULONG: SUNSETS AND SUNBURNS

A couple of weekends ago I finally joined Nick and Maxine on their weekly pilgrimage to their beach house in Fulong – a seaside town of increasing popularity (and development) located on the north east coast of Taiwan, in New Taipei City. The golden sandy beach sits at the river mouth of the Shuang River. It really is a beautiful place... even with the stark and bright silhouette of the recently abandonded (never used) state-of-the-art nuclear power plant sitting in the foothills of the luscious green mountains across the bay.

We made our way to Fulong through the mountain roads from Taoyuan County, stopping at a McDonalds en-route for a distinctively non-Taiwanese breakfast of an Egg McMuffin. The hardy plants and trees that grow on the small sand dunes and line the bicycle route and wooden walkways of the Fulong Coast Park look surreal and solid. Rather than brushy grasses and reeds, the ground that lies between the beach and the inhabited surrounding area is covered in the tough, chunky succulent named Scaevola taccada, or sea cabbage, and smattered with seasonal flowering plants.

Butterflies and dragonflies flutter and zip about along the sandy pathways that zigzag through the greenery towards the beach, intersecting with the elevated wooden walkways and pagodas that overlook the vista of the Pacific Ocean.

After taking in a little too much sun (which is very strong here!) and a delicious Taiwanese style BBQ, courtesy of Maxine at the beach house, I watched the post-sunset sky transform to night.

That night we enjoyed a delicious meal with some of Nick and Maxine’s friends at a local family restaurant, which featured seafood including shrimp and sushi, rice, ribs, veggies, and all manner of meats served at a large round table. We shared the meal and drinks, and then took a stroll back to the beach house along the small and winding bicycle path, stopping at another beach house where we sat on the balcony overlooking the night scenery of the bay - the lights of the streetlamps across the water twinkling in the dark. It was beautiful!

The next morning, I woke early after a cold night – despite the heat remaining in my face from the sunburn. I walked to the beach wearing more layers than I expected I needed, and sat in the sun on the beach. I took in the view and made visual notes of the mountain ranges across the bay in the morning light in my sketchbook.

After a brisk hour long walk through the surrounding mountain paths, witnessing the local people observing their annual grave sweeping traditions at mountain shrines, and the flora, including vibrant Azaleas and resounding erie Buddhist chanting from a massive local temple, with giant marble statues encased in glass containers.

We spent the rest of the day relaxing in the shade of the beach house’s shaded patio, while Nick pottered around the garden, which is filled with vegetable and fruit plants, including papaya trees and courgette plants – the shade provided by the palms and larger trees offering shelter for the delicate hibiscus flowers to take bloom, and the temperature around the beach house to rise.

We drove back to Daxi in the afternoon, enjoying the heavy traffic due to the volume of tourists from Taipei city returning to their homes after visiting Fulong and the surrounding scenic areas for the weekend. We passed through Pigxi, the vollage in New Taipei County famed from its annual Chinese New Year Lantern Festival. Although I made it to Taipei Expo Park for their version of this spectacular visual event – it is Pingxi that I would really love to see!

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