Jakarta is hot and humid all year round, but I wasn’t prepared for what Kaohsiung had in store in late September and early October. When James and I were walking along its harbor on a sunny day, I kept thinking of how sweltering this part […]
All posts filed under: Taiwan
Marks of An Empire, Kaohsiung
Toward the end of the 19th century, East Asia was a very turbulent place with two main powers – the Empire of Japan and the Qing dynasty of Imperial China – scrambling for influence and control over the lands between them. The Korean Peninsula, in […]
Kaohsiung’s Humble Beginnings
Big cities often have humble beginnings. Manhattan was once a land where the local Lenape people harvested wood for their bows, while Tokyo and Dubai used to be merely fishing villages. Kaohsiung, an economically-important industrial hub whose port is the largest in Taiwan, is no […]
The Inspiring Transformation of Kaohsiung
Back in my high school years, I always studied in my room from 6 to 8:30pm on weeknights because my parents told me to – they were among those stereotypical Asian parents who wanted their children to study hard to get good grades. But after […]
A Second Rendezvous with Taiwan
It was 10 years ago when I visited Taiwan for the first time. While Taipei 101 was impressive with its cool architecture evoking a Chinese pagoda, the gloomy skies and rainy weather of the country’s capital were persistent. Luckily the trip also included a short […]
An Epicurean Adventure of Taiwan
Being an Indonesian, there are some perennial questions that I always get every time I return from a trip. “How was the food?”, “Did you try anything weird?”, “Was the food spicy?” are some of the most frequently asked questions. Sudip, my cousin-in-law, was startled […]
The Uneasy History of the Tao
White canoes embellished with traditional carvings painted in red and black rested on a cove, just shy of the breaking waves. Their pointy tips were decorated with dark feathers, making each canoe unique to one another and from other traditional boats. The Tao have been known […]
Orchid Island: Taiwan’s Tropical Paradise
The 19-seated Dornier 228 was parked on the far side of the apron of Taitung Airport. A huge hose was blowing Oxygen into the cabin when James and I entered the plane. Seated on the first row behind the cockpit, we could clearly see what […]
Taitung: Aspiring to be Inspirational
Our 5-hour train journey ended at Taitung, one of the biggest cities in the eastern coast of Taiwan. I could only understand the size of the city as our taxi driver navigated his way to our hotel, passing through empty streets. A stark contrast with […]
Heading South, Going Indigenous
Sitting on a bench at Taipei Main Train Station, we tucked our luggage between our feet – 2 backpacks of mine, 1 backpack and 1 small suitcase of James’ – while waiting for our train to Taitung, a small town at the eastern coast of […]
Taipei: Thriving Amidst Uncertainties
Rice fields and houses with small vegetable gardens stud both sides of the highway from the airport to the city center of Taipei, giving a glimpse of how agriculture is still an important part of many Taiwanese despite the world-renown high-tech industries of the country. […]
What an Amazing World! 