Articles from this Category
23 April 2023
Swallow Grotto I had the idea of starting early to go to Taroko Gorge National Park, perhaps taking the second bus out by waking around 0600. But for some reason, I woke at 0515 without the alarm and decided to take the first bus at 0630. My first stop around 0730 was the Swallow Grotto […]
22 April 2023
High Speed Rail to Banqiao I walked to the nearby main street to catch the bus to Taichung HSR station which arrived a little late, after 0900. On the ride, I notice plenty of cottage industries to service traditional Chinese beliefs such as palanquins for deities and giant joss stick urns for temples. There were […]
21 April 2023
Lukang in better light With warmer and brighter weather, I was optimistic that today will give me a better experience of Lukang. I did a pass of the historic area in my full day here, starting towards the north through Lukang Old Street to Matsu Temple. Text continues after this gallery. Late morning, […]
20 April 2023
Above: City God Temple by night. Leaving Manila The alarm went at 0345. I had a surprisingly adequate sleep aided by the anti-histamine tablet that have been legally re-purposed for sleeping. After a quick shower, I walked to the airport getting to the check-in area around 0420. The place was buzzing. I found the check-in […]
4 April 2019
Short outing to Cijin Island This morning, I set off to check-out Cijin Island, a very long island that acts as a natural breakwater for Kaohsiung. It was reached via MRT to the area which I had been to yesterday, followed by a short walk to Hamasen pier. The ride itself on the ferry was […]
3 April 2019
I had my eyes set on fish soup for breakfast yesterday but instead opted for McDonald’s. I made it a point of having it today but the shop was closed! I settled for some local snacks washed down with a lukewarm milk tea. My B&B has a check-out time of 1100 so I continued my […]
2 April 2019
Tainan is historic because it was the first place to be settled by Han Chinese from the mainland, eventually overtaking the native Austronesian population. It is also historic because nearby Anping was where Dutch set up their base and fortification. It seems significant enough for me to check out Anping. While it was only about […]
1 April 2019
I have two full days to spend in Tainan. That’s one day more than what I think is necessary but I allowed a spare day in case I was disrupted coming in from Kinmen due to the airport being closed during fog season. This means that I can do “half-days” instead of the full-day explorations […]
31 March 2019
I had been worried about fog closing Kinmen airport as it is the fog season. But I woke to strong and gusty winds. Worried that the propeller aircraft may not make it in, I checked the forecast and noted that the wind was coming from the north-east. That’s the same direction as the runway orientation, […]
30 March 2019
Cycling around Little Kinmen The weather had been forecasted to be better than yesterday’s. That’s why I had reserved Little Kinmen, off the main island of Kinmen, for today. I walked from my homestay to the ferry terminal about 20 minutes away. The terminal for the boat to Little Kinmen was hard to find, overshadowed […]