Fort McMurray is seldom viewed as a destination in itself. Originally established as a northern fur trade post and now revolving almost entirely around the oil industry, Fort Mac is the kind of place people move to for work, and that’s mainly it. Or is it? In this article, I hope to show you otherwise, …
Sun Moon Lake is Taiwan’s largest and most famous lake. With 6 million visitors a year, also one of Taiwan’s most popular scenic attractions, along with Alishan and Taroko Gorge. Sun Moon Lake attractions such as Wenwu Temple, Sun Moon Lake Ropeway, cherry blossoms, Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village, and locally grown black tea are the …
On a recent trip to Easter Island and northern Chile, my dad and I finished our time in San Pedro de Atacama with a three-day guided tour across the border to Salar de Uyuni, the world’s largest salt flat, in Bolivia. The trip featured truly surreal scenery, but it also came with some challenges worth …
Of the many appealing hot springs in Taiwan (here are my 20 favorites), Guanziling Hot Spring is one of the most unique. Due to the clay soil in the area, the thermal hot spring water seeps out of the ground with a high concentration of silt, making it muddy in appearance, earning it the name …
San Pedro de Atacama is the main hub for exploring the visually stunning Atacama Desert in northern Chile. On a recent bucket-list trip with my dad, we spent three nights (two full days) here, using the town as our base, before heading on a 3-day return tour to Uyuni in Bolivia. For our two full …
Kaohsiung (高雄 or Gao Xiong), nicknamed Harbor City (港都), is Taiwan’s third largest city by population and home to the country’s largest port. Once an industrial hub, the city has grown infinitely more alluring in recent years. The city has even made one of Lonely Planet’s lists of top 10 cities to visit in the …
Easter Island (Rapa Nui), with its hundreds of mysterious Moai statues, is one of the world’s most remote, evocative, and bucket-list worthy destinations. My father had wanted to go to Easter Island for over five decades, even since he first read about the Moai in Reader’s Digest as a teenager. So after he retired, we …
One of the hardest parts of planning a trip to a huge city like Taipei is choosing a hotel. This is certainly the case when trying to decide where to stay in Taipei! Unlike some other major cities in Asia, Taipei doesn’t really have a backpacker’s street or district. Taipei’s top sights are spread out, …
If you’re planning a trip to Taiwan during Chinese New Year, or you are living in Taiwan and starting to prepare for your upcoming holiday, there are some things you should know to help you have a smoother trip. Some people feel strongly that Lunar New Year is NOT the best time to visit Taiwan. …
When I first moved to Taiwan in 2008, the most recent edition of Lonely Planet Taiwan described Taichung as “hardly a must-see for the short-term visitor.” A lot has changed since then, and in recent years more and more travelers consider Taichung an absolute must in their Taiwan itinerary! Taichung (台中 or Taizhong, literally “Taiwan …
