Prior to my trip to Taiwan, I had no idea that Hakka is one of Taiwan's largest ethnic minorities. Hakka is the other Chinese dialect I am comfortable with, besides Cantonese. I had thought that Taiwan is out of bounds for me due to my perceived language barrier, as I can't speak Mandarin or its ... continue reading »

My very first meal in Taiwan was at this duck speciality eatery by the name of 斗六門當歸鴨麵線. We landed at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at about 7pm, so by the time we cleared immigration and claimed our luggage, it was dinnertime. Our driver picked us up and drove us to downtown Taoyuan for dinner. There were ... continue reading »

Ringggggg, ringggggggggg. the alarm clock shrilled. Time to wake up and get ready for the morning market! 'Twas only 6am but the market starts from as early as 6.30am, a great time for a traditional Taiwanese breakfast. At the morning market The YongLe Market is just a five-minute stroll from Tainan Fushin Hotel, which makes Fushin a ... continue reading »

On Day 3, our first stop of the day was Shengxing Station, also in Sanyi Township, Miaoli County. In fact, this Taiwan tourist attraction is just 7 minutes' drive to the west from Zhou Ye Cottage. Rail tourism What makes Shengxing so popular is because it was built in 1908, which means it is 111 years old ... continue reading »

We were out the door first thing in the morning, after a scrumptious breakfast at the coffee house of City Suites Taoyuan Gateway, as we looked out from the windows to the fast trains on the Taiwan High Speed Rail that head to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport. It was going to be full day on the ... continue reading »

Introduction You probably have read that I visited Taiwan in mid-January, during wintertime. In a series of posts, I am going to share with you my itinerary and the places that I visited during the trip. The focus of this tour was on the lesser known places of Taiwan; off the beaten track, so to speak. Although ... continue reading »

Of the 6D/5N spent exploring Taiwan, the time allocated to explore Taipei, its capital city, was exceedingly short. However, I was pleased that during my visit, it was the start of the 2019 Taipei Lunar New Year Festival, an annual CNY bazaar that caters to the festive shopping crowd. Dihua Street in Datong District (Dadaocheng) attracts ... continue reading »