Photos from our lovely lazy Sunday

Gongdu, July 2012

Afternoon thunderstorms are common in Northern Taiwan, especially in July. On Sunday it poured more than usual so we spent most of the afternoon inside our apartment reading and watching the tele. When the rain finally let up, we only had a few hours of sunlight left, and we weren't sure what we wanted to do. We settled on a trip to Gongdu-- a sleepy river town with a famous old temple built into the side of the mountain which Lonely Planet proclaimed a "must see"-- because it was close and reachable by metro. Here are some photos we took during our visit:

The entrance to Gongdu Temple, built in 1661. This Taoist temple is the oldest in Taiwan. I didn't take more photos because there was an elaborate ceremony going on inside... picture more of this, with lots of incense and chanting...

Boats parked in the fishermen's dock,  Keelung River. 

More boats 

The wooden boardwalk overlooking the fishermen's dock was crowded with casual cyclists out for an evening ride.

A large, Asian style cruise boat

And... another cool old boat

For some reason, this bridge design is really popular in the little towns outside Taipei City. 

We sat on this bridge for a long time to enjoy the fantastic breeze. The weather was perfect after the rain cooled everything down.

A lot of the bikers had babies on board. Mike said I shouldn't be fooled: Taiwan has a low birth rate.

We didn't have much to do but take photos. There was an adorable dachshund wearing a ridiculous doggie tie that we tried to get a picture of, but he was too quick for us.