The four-hour train ride up the Alishan Forest Railway was entirely in a torrential downpour. It’s a slow, rough, precarious train ride on ancient narrow-guage tracks, originally put in at the turn of the last century by the Japanese. The train is short on amenities, but at least it has a toilet. (The first time … Read more
I love the high speed train, and don’t want anything to sound like a negative, that’s why this is a different post. It’s not really about the high speed rail, but it is related. The High Speed Rail station in Chiayi is ultramodern, efficient and even has both a 7-11 and a MOS Burger. (MOS … Read more
A second rainless morning in a row, but we didn’t have time to enjoy it. We had to catch the 11:18 High Speed Rail train to Chiayi, so we could catch the 1:30 forest railway to Alishan. The trip to Alishan is one we’ve taken several times before, but this is the first time we’ve … Read more
Finally got out for our first pizza in Taipei on this trip. I’ve placed the review over at pizzalocust, and there’s not much call for me to double-post it here. Instead, I’ll just post this picture of myself, enjoying a glass of water at Sabatini in Taipei. Technorati Tags: Blog, Pizza, Taiwan, Travel
It’s taken me three days to upload this stupid video to YouTube. By the time I got it there, the rain has stopped (for now.) Maybe it was the rain? Technorati Tags: Blog, Taiwan, Travel, Video
In the basement of the Taipei 101, like most other shopping complexes in Taiwan is a food court. While they all tend to have similar restaurants, just as food courts in malls back in the States are much he same, there is some slight variation from mall to mall depending on the clientele. The Taipei … Read more
Saturday was the last day for Computex, and the only day they allow general admission. As I didn’t arrange my registration from overseas before we came and I wasn’t sure if the title of CIO would get me into the door (they’re mostly looking for bulk buyers) we waited for general admission day. It was … Read more
Once upon a time I’d have killed for the opportunity to go to Comdex in Las Vegas to see the new technology and ogle the showgirls. Through no planning of our own, Computex, the world’s second largest technology show was in Taipei this week, so I made the effort to visit. Booth after booth after … Read more
The rain has let up some today and, even when raining, is fairly light. We took the kids to the Miramar shopping center, which is quite a long bus ride. On the way back, some teenagers got on the bus. They were all friends and having a good time. Michelle and I were in the … Read more
I really like Taiwan, and I really like my in-laws, but… there are days when the insanity it too much. Taiwan exists in such a weird state, as a de facto country, that I think they are desperately trying to assert themselves as a progressive country just to show they can be like the “gown-up†… Read more