Asia is without a doubt my favorite corner of the world. Below is a blog roll of all my posts related to traveling in Asia. You’ll find that Taiwan features the most prominently, as I’ve called it home for over 10 years, but you’ll also find articles about Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia, and more!
Where should you go if only visiting Taiwan for 1-2 weeks? Most say that if you like history and culture, stick to the west coast. If you like scenery and nature, head to the east coast of Taiwan. While this is a simplistic breakdown of Taiwan’s diverse and abundant attractions, but there’s no denying that …
Yingge, Taiwan is the country’s undisputed center of pottery and ceramics, and one of the most interesting day trips from Taipei for anyone interested in ceramics and the arts. Taiwanese ceramics range from perfect renditions of ancient Chinese styles to creative, modern innovations. For a country that is one of the world’s great producers of …
I’m navigating my way though Ximending, a shopping paradise for the young and trendy, to find Light Program Red House. Olivia Wu, an acquaintance of mine and also certified practitioner of knife massage (dao liao or刀療) and I Ching (yi jing or 易經) divination, has invited me to experience an ancient Chinese knife massage in …
Quirky Japanese theme park? Cultural-historical oddity? Full-on tourist trap? Awesomely freaky place to spend the night? It’s hard to sum up the Xitou Monster Village (aka Nantou Monster Village) in just a few words, so you’ll have to read on below to find out exactly what on Earth it is. While difficult to define, and …
Is spring a good time to visit Taiwan? Sure, why not? April is one of the best months of the year in terms of weather, and perhaps that is why it gets the second highest number of tourists of the year. May and June tend to get more rain due the Plum Rainy season, but …
Chiang Mai is one of the top destinations in a country that is one of the most visited in the world. Including domestic tourists, 10 million people visit Chiang Mai every year (pre-2020 figures, of course!) The amazing assortment of temples in Chiang Mai is one of the city’s greatest draws. Chiang Mai was once …
If you’re wondering when the best time to visit Taipei is, I’ve compiled this article to answer exactly that, based on my 10+ years of living in the Taiwanese capital, Taipei. This article is a Taipei-focused version of my when to visit Taiwan guide, which covers the whole country. Below, you’ll find links to individual …
After I wrote an article introducing tea in Taiwan in 2016, I was contacted by representatives from several Taiwanese tea-related companies and organizations. One of these was Sam, one of three permanent residents at Global Tea Hut (國際茶亭)’s headquarters Tea Sage Hut (通聖亭) in Miaoli (苗栗), a small county capital in Central-Western Taiwan. At first …
One of Taiwan’s hidden gems is Taroko Gorge‘s Wenshan Hot Spring (文山溫泉, also sometimes spelled Wunshan Hot Spring or Taroko National Park Hot Springs), located in Xiulin township of visually stunning Hualien County. The awe-inspiring scenery, hidden location within a famous national park, and relative inaccessibility of this Hualien hot spring make it, in my …
It was with great excitement that Lavender (3), Sage (5), my wife Emily, and I packed our bags and hopped into a yellow cab in from our neighborhood in New Taipei City, Taiwan. Our destination: Grand Hyatt Taipei (see on Agoda / Booking / Klook / official site), Taiwan’s original (and largest!) five-star resort, for …
