Crusing at night...

At around 9pm, we went cruising. The roads were empty and dark, and the guide rode in front, beaming a powerful flashlight from side to side. We were in search of the Formosan Deer. They say these creatures live in the mountains and come out at night to graze. They have a beautiful brown hide, with white spots, like clouds, that dot their backs. I saw one up close earlier on in the day, what a docile and peaceful being! Shame, that these animals were hunted for their fur and sold abroad, to the point of extiction...

And then we saw it. Two bright beads glowing in the ray of light the guide shown into the bushes. The deer just stood there, as if paralysed. What a gracious, tall creature. It looked at us, and just stood there, not moving at all. The guide said these animals are stunned by the sudden ray of light, so dare not budge when light is shown on them. For dozens of seconds we looked at it, it looked at us. Man and nature met in those brief seconds. A silent gaze, but with such powerful meaning. Where did you come from? Where are you going? We sat on metallic ' horses' on wheels that spit out black smoke and roar in the dark of the night...but the deer gracefully stood on it powerful long legs, naturally grazing in its habitat... We were the invaders, the marauders, the ones that caused the death of so many of its companions then and now. But it held not grudge. It looked at us, with such fear and such anxiety. We looked at it, with such awe and such excitement. A stark, powerful contrast.

We rode on, in the dark of the night. Stars shone and sparkled above us. So sprinklings of light, so many eyes gazing down on us, as if protecting us on this night safari. As we stood still on a high point, a meteor shot silently through the dark night canvas, for many soothing seconds. I quickly made a wish, wishing that such peaceful and carefree times would forever prevail, here and everywhere. Then the trail of light vanished. And the wish was gone.

Sunrise underwater hotspring (朝日海底溫泉) is a unique phenomenon. Only three places in the world have hot springs that bubble from beneath the sea : one in Japan, one in Italy, and the other is here on Green Island. The source of the water comes from crevices in the ocean bed, whereby geothermically heated sea water rushes upwards to waterpools by the beach. Because of this, many creatures also thrive in and around the waterpools. The water is clear, and temperature around 53-93Celcius...perfect for a cold, cloudness night. Depending on the time of the day, the temperature changes with the ebb and flow of the tide. We arrived at around midnight, so the water was like a hot bath. Amid the slightly chilling sea breeze, underneath a sky full of stars, surrounded by rugged cliff faces, we bathed and enjoyed life.