Finally I find time to write about a couple of books that actually feature Keelung and her environs. These two sizeable tomes are invaluable for the long-term Northern Taiwan resident keen to eschew the tourist traps and the department stores and to actually experience what can be a truly stunning place.
Taiwan is not particularly well-served by the travel literature available in English. Official government publications are well meaning efforts that are usually a straight translation of their Chinese counterparts. This doesn't mean that they automatically become of use to foreigners seeking good day out, Taiwanese and western concepts of what is worth seeing can be described as varying drastically.
The 'usual suspects' of the travel world are here of course. Lonely Planet have offered an English guide to Taiwan since 1987 with Rough Guides joining the fray a little under twenty years later. For the less energetic sightseer Insight and broadcasting and publishing behemoth National Geographic offer a much glossier alternative. Most recently Michelin have produced an edition of their iconic 'Green Guide' providing a slightly different take on tourism again.
These books are all fine in their own way and are aimed squarely at two markets, the intrepid western backpacker wanting to experience something culturally different and the richer, older western tourist wanting exotic oriental experiences without the discomfort of backpacking. Both these activities have their merits and these books have their place too. What they don't cater for is those of us who may be here for more than a week or so and want to see more of the countryside than 99% of locals.
So, into this breech has stepped Richard Saunders with these two splendid volumes (actually fully updated versions of earlier similar books). Both provide a selection of ten one-day trips to tourist spots followed by an excellent selection of routes which stretch the whole gamut of activity from 'walk' to 'hike'.
What sets these works apart from anything else available (and there is very, very little) is the attention to detail. Everything from pet-friendliness to location of bathrooms has been investigated in detail. Saunders is also meticulous in providing the Chinese for anything of importance, something that locally translated materials always forget (they just exchange Chinese for English). He also provides hand drawn sketch maps of the routes and some mouthwatering photos to whet your appetite.
It seems almost churlish to be in any way critical about such a wonderful project which is obviously done out of love for the environment of Northern Taiwan and a desire to share it with others. Richard may possibly live in a fortified Tianmu condominium and spend his time counting the billions he has made from these books, but I think that is somewhat unlikely!
So many thanks for the time and effort put in, but here are a couple of suggestions for future versions. Once you have packed your rucksack with the recommended supplies, these books are actually relatively heavy. A simple, but rather environmentally unfriendly, solution has been to simply photocopy the relevant pages.
How about, given the amount of hardware that people carry around these days, offering both in an e-book format? Being able to carry both books around in your phone or tablet would be incredibly convenient.
Finally, just because I want the world on a stick, I keep looking at these books and thinking how amazing it would be if the maps and text could meld together on the page in the way that Alfred Wainwright did. The old curmudgeon produced fabulous hiking guides to the hills of Cumberland and Westmorland that look like this.
Imagine that for walks around Jiufen and Jinguashi or Fulong, it would be quite spectacular and far nicer than anything available in Chinese. The ultimate accolade I presume would be for a Chinese publisher to produce a translated version. I hope that happens one day.
To purchase these estimable books: In Taiwan, they are on the shelves at Eslite (various branches) and Page One (Taipei 101). Also online from Eslite http://www.eslite.com/product.aspx?pgid=1002123202052489
If you can't find them there, contact the publisher http://www.communitycenter.org.tw/publications
Also highly recommended is Richard's guide to Yangmingshan, but that is, as they say, another story.
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