Taiwan
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Miaoli: A Final Farewell to Taiwan
Here we are again, at the end of an extraordinary long-term adventure in an Asian country about to begin a new life somewhere else. In a matter of weeks, before we left Taiwan for good, we thought it would be good to get away from it all one last time. We wanted to explore one lesser corner of this fascinating nation, and we chose to do just that in Miaoli. This article may contain affiliate links which I may be compensated for at no extra cost to you dear readers! A Promise To Keep Over a year ago, I told Jess that I would take her on a glamping weekend…
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Sexy Ladies and Traditional Taiwanese Birthdays
The thing with travel is that you’ll find yourself realising that all people are the same. Children from America and China both whine to their mothers for more candy, and young adults are all struggling with the concept of love. Though grandparents very much would behave much like any other, as I learned, Taiwanese grandparents don’t celebrate their birthdays in the most traditional of ways, the same… So, this lone foreigner discovered what makes traditional Taiwanese birthdays so special! This article may contain affiliate links, for which I may be compensated at no extra cost to you, dear readers! An Invitation It was the end of April, and I had…
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Keelung: Ghosts and Good Times
Taiwan is currently in the heart of Ghost Month, a time when locals honour their ancestors. This time around, rather than taking a back seat, I decided to jump right into the festivities. Sure enough, we found a place nearby where we could celebrate the Hungry Ghost Festival first-hand. That place was Keelung, somewhere I was yet to visit. So what better time to explore it than now? Celebrating The Hungry Ghost Festival The entire reason for coming to Keelung in the first place was to see the iconic Hungry Ghost Festival. It was the nearest point to Taipei where we could see a large-scale ceremony. But what is it…
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Hungry Ghost Festival: A Foreigners Perspective
“I’ll see it eventually”. These words have haunted me countless times during my travels. Having lived in Asia for close to 5 years, I repeatedly miss out on things I assumed I would have seen at some point. Whether it was camping on the Great Wall or crossing the border into North Korea, too many opportunities were missed. That regret also extended to local festivals, something that I had never really taken part in. But that was about to change. As I’m likely leaving Taiwan in the near future, this was my last chance, so I had to take full advantage of it. Right now, Taiwan is in the heart…
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Beigan, Matsu Islands: The Asian Mediterranean
After spending 4 days exploring military forts and experiencing the iconic blue tears on the island of Nangang, our eyes were set on our next adventure on another of the Matsu Islands. Thankfully, we wouldn’t need to go too far! Our next stop was within sight and would only take a short ferry ride to get there. The question was, would the island of Beigang hold up to the very high standards set by our previous Matsu experience? Thankfully, we wouldn’t be disappointed! All Aboard! The first task of the day was to head to the Nangang’s port and hop on a ferry! Jess wasn’t too happy with the prospect…
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Nangan, Matsu Islands: Forts and Flashing Fish
Summer is here, and a no better time for a vacation! But where shall we venture this time? If my trips to the islands of Lanyu and Ludao taught me anything, summer in Taiwan should be spent on one of its offshore islands. These islands in particular came with their own risk. As a birthday treat, I was taking young Jess to the Matsu Islands, which happened to be in a VERY precarious spot, only a few miles from the coasts of China. With the current political climate what it was, it was interesting to see what would happen. Arriving on the Islands To get to the islands, we had…
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Hualien and Taroko National Park: The Big Adventure
Taiwan has a myriad of renowned natural landscapes. While Sun Moon Lake is seen as one of the most striking and Alishan one of the more majestic, nothing compares to the awe-inspiring natural beauty of Taroko National Park. The jaw-dropping scenery of this natural wonder is by far Taiwan’s biggest attraction and was the last big site I had to tick off my Taiwanese list. So after 2 long years of living in Taiwan, it was finally time to head to Hualien and experience the best the country had to offer! A New Flavour This trip had a different edge to it as it would be the first time Jess…
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Taichung: An Artistic Touch
With Tomb Sweeping Festival approaching in Taiwan, it was the perfect time to find a decent spot to travel for the next few days. Though I’ve visited every major city from Taipei to Kaohsiung, there was only major stop left behind; Taichung. Though there seemed to be much less of a buzz around the city and, according to Jess, it was the most crime-ridden region of the country, it was time to find out for myself. A few spots around the city had gained a national reputation, and better yet, it had a whole host of instagrammable spots. So it was time to explore Taiwan’s second-largest city as I dove…
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Wulai: Aboriginals and Hot Springs
Karma is a relentless force that I came to know all too well over the last 6 months. While the rest of the world has been in complete turmoil over the last 2 years, I was fortunate enough to live in one of the few countries that avoided the worst of the COVID outbreak. Though despite Taiwan’s near-perfect record, one careless visit to a couple of ropey old prostitutes brought the country momentarily to its knees. And just like that, Taiwan joined the rest of the world with its first real outbreak of the pandemic. As schools were shut and all but essential travel was forbidden, I found myself in…
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Turtle Island: Snakes and Volcanoes
Since the beginning of the COVID outbreak, until recently, travel has been unrestricted within Taiwan! During that time I was fortunate enough to visit most of the country’s iconic sites. My options on new places to explore were starting to get limited. That may sound like a bad thing, yet I see it as an opportunity! As I was planning on being in Taiwan for the long haul, I had plenty of time to start exploring the more obscure places, the spots left off your typical top 10 lists. So, which peculiar site should I visit this time? Why not travel to a turtle-shaped volcanic island that’s filled with poisonous snakes…
