Street signs all over Hsinchu County point road travelers towards Green World. While a small zoo calls Hsinchu City home, Green World offers more area and smaller critters. Green World in Hsinchu also sort of straddles the definition of zoo. It places greater focus on plants and paths throughout itsContinue Reading
Review in 3 sentences: Take a short hike through bamboo forest deep in the heart of northern Taiwan’s mountains. Listen to the river far below before dropping down to an unabridged crossing. Culminate the hike by dipping your toes in natural Taigang Hot Springs. SAFETY-A note and disclaimer about safety:Continue Reading
Where might a person find Disney imagination fused with 19th Century history? Or where might miniature Starbucks and Apple brand products find their way onto a table in a scene just as old? Not far from the giant Taipei 101, a basement corner beneath a much shorter building houses justContinue Reading
Sometimes, a person just has to sit and let a place seep into the soul. More than just the sight of the full white waterfall held us to the spot. Its thundering crashing sounds reset internal rhythms as well. Meanwhile, the clouds acted like reverse falls. The same three-sided cliffsContinue Reading
Review in 3 sentences: Start the adventure with a nice scenic drive in Miaoli County. Enjoy an assortment of views both near and far throughout the hike. Culminate atop Mount Manapan with a view that demands lingering. SAFETY-A note and disclaimer about safety: Always take responsibility for your own safety.Continue Reading
I have lots of places I recognize when traveling longer distances on the road in Taiwan. Depending on method of travel, a different set of familiar spots pass by one by one. Cars travel on interstates, trains on rails, and scooters on the rough equivalent of U.S. highways. In anyContinue Reading
Review in 3 sentences: Two adjacent trails provide high mountain views, an attractive array of mixed forests, and a waterfall. As weather shifts in early afternoon, cloud seas usually fill in valleys below and float up over ridges all around. Jhenshan & Guanwu Waterfall represent a permit-free cross-section of theContinue Reading
Review in 3 sentences: Take a short hike in Taiwan’s mountains without totally wiping yourself out. Enjoy great views on the drive up if you come before the fog sets in. Step into Tapung Fort and step back in time more than a hundred years. SAFETY-A note and disclaimerContinue Reading
I pull out a stack of receipts with 8-digit numbers printed across the top. At the same time, I pull up the last period’s winning numbers on my computer screen. And then I methodically work through them to see if I’ve won any money this time. I transitioned to leadContinue Reading
During all my practice runs, I had no timer to look at. My wife timed me every so often to give me a sense of my needed pace. On my first driving test, I made myself keep my eyes straight ahead lest the distraction tip my balance. But this time,Continue Reading