I only have love for this country of which I’ve seen so little, but has wowed me immensely. This is for all the new friends we met at Hualien County in Taiwan. I await the day when we can explore more of your lovely, stunning country.
If you want to read more about our adventures in Hualien County, hop over to my blog post over here.
Song: Peach Plum Pear by Jenifer Avila
How Taiwan isn’t rolling off everyone’s tongues when they speak of adventure trips in Asia is a bit baffling. In the brief time I’ve spent overall in this country, I’ve seen stunning landscapes, met inspiring people, and took part in memorable traditions. Hualien County, around 2-3 hours by train from urban Taipei, is one of such little-known places, but one I would urge all my friends to see.
Continue reading “Wow, Hualien!”
I’ve already professed my love for Taipei in my previous posts here, but that’s no reason for me to stop gushing about one of the prettiest festivals I’ve ever been blessed to see. If you’ve hung out this blog for long enough, you know what’s next — yep, it’s the vid! This is for kindred spirits Jan, Ralph and Alex — here’s to a lifetime of our wishes coming true!
Song: Go With It by Tokimonsta
If you want to check out the what-how-where’s of our adventures in Taipei, you can read about them here.
Nothing beats good, lasting friendships, especially when things don’t go as planned…
I impulse-booked my ticket to Taipei based on street food alone; I’ve heard the chow was phenomenal. That being said, I didn’t have much of a plan when I landed in Taipei, aside from the Lantern festivities in Pingxi on the coming Sunday. Happily, Taipei was a fun place to play it by ear.
My adventure started on an early Friday morning. Our plane touched down on the break of dawn, and with the Taipei transport being very easy to figure out, I arrived way ahead of everyone in the hostel, including the receptionist. It was a good thing that the Bangka district was precisely where you’d want to be if you’re killing time in the morn. I strolled through the alleys behind our hostel, where the wet market was slowly coming to life. Colorful meat balls and vegetables decked the tables to tempt you to brew a hotpot. Butchers went about carving out whole carcasses of pork, while live chickens clucked away, perhaps in mourning for their fallen comrades, undressed and hawked on display. Continue reading “Taipei Day 1: A Time to Be Bright, and a Time to Get Steamy”
Along with the thousands of wishing lanterns floating around that day, there was definitely a hint of whimsy in the air. I always knew only good can come out from still watching cartoons — after learning that the floating lanterns scene from Tangled (a movie adaptation of Rapunzel) was inspired from an actual festival in the town of Pingxi in Taiwan, I had my heart set on joining the festivities and having my own wishing lantern soar. Continue reading “Floating Wishes at Pingxi”
.: ishcapades 