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!
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 …
This article was written by Monique Skidmore, award-winning anthropologist, writer at Tripanthropologist, and Myanmar expert. See her full bio at the end. There are so many beautiful and unusual temples or pagodas in Myanmar (Burma) that choosing which to visit can be quite the challenge. As one of the most devoutly Buddhist places on earth, …
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 …
Are you looking to dig a little deeper into Korean Buddhist culture during your travels in South Korea? If so, doing a Beomeosa temple stay in Busan is an experience you won’t soon forget. Recently I took advantage of insanely cheap flight deals (only $200 return!) from Taipei, where I live, to Busan, South Korea’s …
Lion’s Head Mountain (also known as Shitoushan or 獅頭山) is one of the most underrated attractions in Taiwan. Whether you enjoy hiking, are interested in Taiwan’s Buddhist and folk religious culture, want to spend a night in a temple, or simply want to get off the beaten track in Taiwan, Lion’s Head Mountain should be …
Museums have never really been my thing. I lived in Taipei for five years before I ever stepped foot in the National Palace Museum, one of the most important museums in the Chinese-speaking world. But I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the comparatively small Museum of World Religions Taipei (世界宗教博物館), the only …
