Taiwan

So, as part of my Sisyphean task to photograph every Costco in the world, I needed to get to the third Costco in Taipei and the fourth and last remaining Costco for me to photograph in Taiwan. The problem, as explained in my original post, Costco – The Plan, was that none of the Costcos … Read more

Still catching up half-written posts from Taiwan With time running out, we had to make a trip to Sogo department store. Grandma had purchased some Disney clothes for Michelle and James, but Michelle’s size skirt wasn’t in stock and had to be sent it. This was the day we had to pick it up. At … Read more

Since my last visit to Taiwan a sad, sad thing happened… the tore down the under-bridge computer market on Xinsheng Rd. It was such a cool place. Dozens of rabbit-warren like shops selling computer components, MP3 players, cameras, cable bits, videos, books and Japanese pornography. It’s the only place I’ve ever been where you can … Read more

I mentioned we went to Ilan, which is much more country-like than Taipei. Apparently, they grow food there. The green onion used in the Cong You Bing I tend to go on about only comes from Ilan, because it’s special. They also sell other vegetable matter and, whenever we’ve passed through Ilan in the past, … Read more

Get out your map of Taiwan and you’ll see one of the principal hard realities of the island: It’s really rough terrain. We once went to Taipingshan, which is near the city of Ilan. I took a GPS reading and was shocked to discover were were only about 50 miles from “home” in Taipei, and … Read more

Of course, we have no fireworks back home. One firecracker could set the entire state into one huge fireball. This general prohibition cuts both ways. Because of lack of exposure, I neither have much fascination for fireworks but at the same time they are enough of a rarity that it’s somewhat of a treat when … Read more

One of the things thats a bit of a problem when I’m in Taiwan, and I see it in a lot of other people’s flickr photos is the air. So often there’s a white haze in the air that makes all the pictures lifeless. We went to Taipei 101 today, during the day, because when … Read more

There’s apparently a saying in Taiwan – my guess it was said by advertising types and not Confucius – that goes like this, “There are no ugly women, just lazy ones.” To that end, last night the news was reporting that Taiwan’s women spend NT$ 320 yi (I may have the phonetic of that number … Read more

Even better than a pastrami sandwich… at the supermarket in the basement of the Breeze Center I found a Dr. Pepper! Plus a box of Scottish shortbread. This is why I don’t normally wear a hat, but it’s quite practical at this time in Taipei. Technorati Tags: Blog, Food, Taiwan, Travel