Featured Photograph: The Hostel Boy (Enlarge)

I've had the opportunity to visit Central Taiwan's beautiful Taroko National Park on a few occasions. Within the park, there are only a few options for paid accommodation. On a recent bike trip through the Park, I stayed at the TienHsiang Catholic Hostel. The rooms offer bare bones luxury, with a bed and a fan filling up the small cube almost to capacity. A fairly efficient screen kept most of the bugs out. Tired after a day of biking, I really didn't need much more.

More interesting than the rooms or the hostel itself was the young boy who seemed to be guarding the entrance. Probably between 18 and 24 months old, this boy would certainly acknowledged my presence, but was not willing to speak. His interest instead was in sitting. His small, round body was dominated by his sizeable diapered bottom, and he seemed most comfortable sitting. The only problem was he couldn't decide where to sit. He shifted between the doorway (pictured) and various places in the courtyard where he enjoyed executing ants from the seated position.

Sunny and clear high above the treeline in the early morning, but late afternoon the day had clouded over. The overcast skies offered pleasing, even lighting for this photo. Had the sun still been shining, the contrast of this scene would likely have been too much for the VS slide film to handle.

If you are interested in seeing more photos from this bike trip through the Taroko National Park, you can view a slide show that I've put together on another of my projects, the Formosan Fat Tire Association website.