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Articles tagged with: Taipei

North Cross-Island Highway 001

January 31, 2011 – 4:16 pm
My Scooter Loaded Up With Camping Gear

Monday January 31, 2011
Awesome Restaurant in the mountains of Taiwan
3:30 p.m.
Chinese New Year is this Wednesday, and many companies, including mine, also gave us Monday and Tuesday off, so we don’t have to be back at work until the following Tuesday. That gave me a total of 10 days. I’d normally have booked a flight out of Taiwan to the Philippines or someplace sunny like …

Getting Eyeglasses in Taipei

August 17, 2010 – 2:42 pm

Here’s a story about what has been going on lately. Nothing wild and crazy. Just life.
Years ago, almost decades ago, I got glasses while I was living in South Korea. I didn’t really need them to do anything important. I was a little bit nearsighted, I guess, which means that I could see things up close very well. It was only some things in the …

Yehliu Geopark – Taiwan

August 9, 2010 – 2:39 pm
Bridge in Yehliu Geopark

I’ve been in Yehliu a couple of times in the past year or two. Yet, I had never actually gone into the Yehliu Geopark. This is the park that has the Queen’s Head rock formation. I think I never went into the park because I didn’t really know what it was. I didn’t even know where it was. I knew it was around Yehliu. There …

Puli 002 – Scootering in the Mountains

July 25, 2010 – 2:31 pm
Me in a Traffic Mirror in Taichung

July 25, 2010
The next morning, I hopped on my scooter to drive up into the mountains along Highway 14. I knew that Highway 14 eventually linked up with Highway 8 that goes down through Taroko Gorge, but I hadn’t stopped to consider what that would mean for a leisurely Saturday drive in the summer. What it meant, of course, was heavy traffic as only Taiwan …

Lukang 001 – HSR and Bus to Lukang

July 9, 2010 – 2:16 pm
Offerings in a Temple in Lukang

Friday July 9 2010
This time it was a snap decision to go to a small town on the west coast called Lukang. I hadn’t even heard of the place until a couple of days ago. It has a population of 87,000 and on the surface looks exactly like every other town I’ve seen in Taiwan. If someone blindfolded me and moved me to a street …

Rock-Climbing Cliffs at Longdongwan

June 21, 2010 – 2:03 pm
Rock Climbing Cliffs at Longdongwan

June 21, 2010
Longdongwan means Dragon’s Cave Bay and some of the best rock climbing cliffs in the world are located there. Every weekend sees a selection of daring spider-people clinging to the rocks and expertly making their way to the top.
The rock climbing cliffs at Longdongwan are easy to find once you know where to look, and they’re a great place to hang out whether …

Fixing my 150cc Attila Scooter

May 27, 2010 – 2:20 pm

One of the best things about living in Taiwan is owning and driving a scooter. They’re inexpensive. They’re reliable. They are cheap to maintain. And they are a lot of fun to drive, whether you’re navigating crowded city streets or zooming through the mountains.
I bought a 150cc Attila from another foreigner that was leaving the country. It was a legal scooter, and I had the …

Lanyu 004 – Coast Road North of Taitung

April 6, 2010 – 2:00 pm
On a Beach North of Taitung, Taiwan

One of my favorite things to do in Taiwan is to ramble. I get on my scooter and simply drive around the mountains looking for small adventures. It’s surprising how many tiny roads you come across when you start looking for them. It’s even more surprising how many beautiful and interesting places those roads lead to.
On the last day of my Lanyu trip, I went …