Leave your comments here, or underneath the post, or in the Guestbook!


Free shoutbox @ ShoutMix

30 Jan 2007

Nederlanders op bezoek (Nederlands)



Ja, Taiwan is altijd een vakantie waard. En delegatie van onze studiegenoten en vrienden uit het noorden, met name Peking, is op het moment te bezoek in Taiwan.
Naar de harde studie in de hoofdstad van het land nordelijk te Taiwan, hebben de Leidse studenten en vrij lange tijd om het land van Mao te leren kenen. Tobias, Ayleen en Martijn makten van hun kans gebruik om hun reis ten zuiden met een visite hier in Taipei en Taiwan af te ronden.

We hebben hier al indrukwekkende verhalen van urenlange treinreizen en hele mooie plekjes aarde mogen horen. Maar met het wilde leven hier hadden ze blijkbaar geen rekening gehouden. Zo lijken de reizigers uit het verre noorden hier niet meer zo actief en genieten eerder van de velen kansen om zich rond het studentische leven in Taipei en omgeving te vermaken.

Vandaag was ik met Martijn op de 101, 508 meter boven de zee!


Lekker Sushi - Taiwan veel beter dan in Dalu, toch?


Huiswerk en een beetje slapen in een café. Ook voor de "Taiwaners" is het niet altijd makkelijk te feesten én les te volgen.

Rustig aan gaan.

Martijn met zijn Taiwenese vriendin Cecilia, en Mark met Ayleen


Kenny Boy en Boukje! Ja, jongens goed kijken en de "stokjes" vast pakken


De grote kogel boven in Taipei 101. Zonder dat ding, zou die toren niet zo stevig kunnen staan.

Martijn en ik, onderweg met de snelste lift ter wereld


28 Jan 2007

Native tribe of the A-mei 阿美 (English)


Long before the Han Chinese settled on the island of Taiwan there were already people living here. The situation can probably to some extend be compared to the colonization of Northern America, where also long before the Europeans arrived Natives were living.
And also the situation can be compared I guess. The natives have a lot of problems in their daily lives, are the outsiders of the normal society, followed by a lot of alcohol and unemployment problems.

There are some different tribes living through-out the island. The largest of them is the tribe of the A-mei, the smallest is not even consisting of a lot more then 10 people any more.
A special characteristic of the Natives´ society is ( I am actually not sure whether that is true for all the tribes, at least for the A-mei it is) are maternal societies. In contrast to the patriachic society of the Han Chinese.


That results in interesting findings when travelling there: When we were driving there were road constructions, a group of men of women could be seen. But there was one thing striking us immediately: The women were holding the tools and working on the pavement, the men were sitting, chatting and enjoying the day. We asked our driver immediately, who told us that this is due to the society. Men take care of the children and the household, women carry the burden to feed the family. There was nothing weird going on on that road construction, not in A-mei terms.


Another interesting experience was due to the Chinese language. Where you have to terms for saying "to marry". One for the male part, which is 娶 and has the meaning of taking someone else (the woman in one`s household) and the female part 嫁 (which means to leave the elderly household and become part of the husband`s family`s household). In the A-mei society the whole terminology is turned around. So, when I was wandering around on the campus of a school and talked to some of the school kids, on girl asked her friend: "你要不要娶他?" ("Do you want to take him to your household?"), a situation that made me smile and just expressed how much our societies are depending on cultural backgrounds and the way we grow up.


Snake Night Market 華西街夜市 (English)



One speciality of Taipei is the variety in Night Markets. And every market has its own reason to be famous.
The Huaxi Street Night market is known for its snakes. There are some stalls and restaurants offering snakes of all sizes and kinds. Big Anacondas, small Pythons whatever you heart desires. In front of one famous restaurant is a snake show, to attract customers. People get the chance to touch and pet the Anaconda. A really nice experience actually. Snakes feel nice and warm, their skin is the softest I have ever touched.



Yet the reason for the show is less positive. After having been attracted to take a seat you can choose from several snake menus. The top deal is the snake soup with great ingredients, which are supposed to support your health. Though I have been there a few times to have a look and pet the snakes I never tasted any of the food offered yet.
As soon as I do, I will inform you about my impression. But I cannot promise, if I will do so.



Another speciality are turtles, a symbol of long life in China.



Chiang Kai-Shek memorial hall (English)

Here are some impressions of the Chiang Kai-Shek memorial hall in Taipei, Pictures taken on January 7th 2007:

The main hall of the memorial hall, inside is a huge statue of the Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek.




View from the main-hall on the gate of the CKS Memorial Hall


The statue of CKS inside the main hall


The statue is guarded by two soldiers during opening hours and a favourited picture moment for tourists



The sun of the KMT (Kuomintang), the Nationalist Party, is making up the ceiling of the main hall. The sun can be found back in the Flag of Taiwan.


More information on Chiang Kai-Shek and the memorial hall:

Hot spring (English)

Every place on this earth has some specialities that should be enjoyed under certain circumstances. In Taiwan that definitely are (comparable to Japan) the hot springs during winter. There are several types of them and the way how and with who to bath varies bot in privacy and prices.

Taipei one hot spot for hot springs

Taipei is surrounded by some of the most famous hotsprings on Taiwan, which are Beitou (北投), Yangmingshan (陽明山) and Wulai (烏來).
The different springs vary in quality and (positive) characteristics. Some hot springs on Yangmingshan are famous for the high content of sulphur. Which seems to be very good for the human skin, yet whoever had the chance to take a breath in a place full of sulphur would not want to go there again. And this terrible smell also remains noticeable on the skin for quite some time.

From nature to luxurious, bath as you like

The hot spring bathing can be down in one of the many natural springs, outside and under the sky or in the hot spring resorts, with hotel. The best way is then, to book a room, where you have your own access to the hot spring water in your bathtub and the maximum of privacy.

Bathing is great but...

The water of the hot spring is, right, very hot. And you should wait a few minutes before "jumping" into it and get used to the water first. The atmosphere created by the hot water let`s you think of your experiences in a Finnish Sauna. And when you sit deep soaked in the hot water all your worries and the daily stress will be boiled away.
There are some circumstances, which make bathing in a hot spring less advice able, these are for example pregnancy, heart problems and the consumption of alcohol.

Bathing in a hot spring is a great highlight of every trip to Taiwan and should not miss on any highlights list, concerning this island.

More to read about hot springs in Taiwan:


23 Jan 2007

Taiwan Highspeed Rail - HSR (English)

I originally planned to create a short movie about my experiences about the newest train developments in Taiwan. But this takes to much time right now. So, before the already old news become absolutely no news I will share my experiences in the Taiwan High Speed Rail from Banqiao to Tainan with you.

The train at the station in Tainan

First of all I have to mention that the company building the new high-speed track on Taiwan`s west coast has been delaying the official start several times. Therefore you might need to update some travel guides, where it is written that the HSR started its service in 2006.
In fact the opening to the public started in the early weeks of January 2007 and I was one of the first... I don`t know, but definitely million travellers.

The service is running now since a few weeks, I have not been carefully following the news, but I occasionally heard about some minor problems, but nothing severe, at least yet.
The whole track has not yet been finished actually, which means that you cannot depart from Taipei itself yet, but have to get to the suburb Banqiao first. This is actually no big problem, as Banqiao is integrated in the Taipei Metro System, and the new HSR station is part of the Metro station.

Japanese high speed technique

The train is based on the Japanese Shikansen system, with some French technology and adapted to Taiwanese geographical needs. As far as I know the HSR preferred the Japanese offer instead of a German one, due to their experiences with earthquakes in Japan and the geographical similarities with Taiwan. Other reasons might also have been relevant.

The trains are orange and white, also the colours of the HSR company. You enter the track through automated gates, with your ticket, which has a magnetic stripe on it. This system is close to the system used in the Taipei MRT and is probably also used by other similar ways of travelling. It makes the entrance of the platforms very convenient and easy.

Business class - seats are bigger and have a different colour, as well as radio

When I was riding the train, everything went very smooth and without delay. The interior is nothing for a great appreciator of interior design. It is plain plastic in the normal class, and a bit nicer plastic in the business class. There are either three or two seats in a row, with a path in the middle between these rows.
You can turn the seats around, which makes it possible to sit in either groups of four or 6 travellers.
The seats are quite wide and they offer an amazing space for your legs, actually the largest leg space I have ever experienced when travelling.

The enormous leg space, makes the travel very convenient

There is a board integrated in the seat in front of you, which you can use to put your food or drinks on. The windows have sun protection and can be closed as you wish.
As common in Taiwanese public transport there are no trash cans integrated in the seats, but during the trip a service employee will come and collect your garbarge. There are also official vendors walking through the train and there are several vending machines, where you can get refreshing drinks.

Getting a drink at the vending machine! Cheers, but they don`t sell alcohol

High ticket prices, high travel comfort

In every other car you can find toilets. There are three types of toilets, for both sexes, only for men in form of a pissoir and very spacious toilets for the handicapped.
The toilets were very clean during my two trips.

The travel comfort is great, the train is compared to other trains in Taiwan, really quiet and you can hardly notice any abrupt movements, which would interfere with your travelling comfort.

The ticket prices are very high, almost as much as the plane tickets, but travelling time to the south is cut by about half the time. Yet, the newly built HSR train station are not everywhere perfectly integrated in the local public transport system, or maybe the local transport system is not developed enough yet. It takes about 1,5 hours for 300 kilometres from Banqiao to Tainan, and then you step out of the train in the middle of nowhere. Nowhere is today, and in the future there will be science-parks and other high-tech businesses located.
But for tourists this fact means that you have to take a taxi (300 NT Dollar, 7,50€) or a bus (40 NT dollars, 1 €) to down town Tainan. The prices are of course not the problem, but the bus takes about a hour, the taxi 30 minutes. Both times were monitored outside of rush-hour or other reasons for heavy traffic. This mean that you still have to add to your expensive train ticket and the time saved is become less. The normal train arrives at Tainan Main station, down town Tainan.

No recommendation for tourists

Last but not least, the experience in the newly built Taiwan High Speed Rail was very positive and interesting. I think the system is rather built for the manager doing business in the North and the South of the island, with access to his own car or a driver. So that he can independetly reach to the trainstation, get on the train, arrive in Taipei and has his connection there. This way you don`t have to take the plane (which with preperation time must consume more time then the train) or you can avoid the long trip in the car and all the traffic problems.
The high price of the tickets and the inconvenient location of the train stations in the South makes the train less attractive for tourists.

Tainan HSR station, a modern and stylish symbol of self-confident architecture

22 Jan 2007

Chinesepod.com (English)

This is a tip for people who want to practice their listening ability of Chinese. The site is called www.Chinesepod.com and offer a variety of free accessible pod casts on different levels. And a great variety of topics, such as Chinese medicine, comedy, and other common textbook content.

Here an example from the site (advanced level):



高级21 Chinese Medicine


Visit ChinesePod.com

21 Jan 2007

20 Jan 2007

Taipei Zoo (English)

Today I went on my first visit of the zoo in Taipei. The zoo is known as one of the most beautiful and largest of its kind in whole Asia. I have not been to any other zoo`s in Asia, but I must say the price-value relation is amazing. For only 6o NT dollars, (1,50 € or 300 U.S. Dollar ;-) or 30 NT reduced) you get a great variety of animals, plants and great walking paths.

The zoo offers:

· Formosan Animal Area
· Children's Zoo
· Asian Tropical Rainforests Area
· Desert Animal Area
· Australian Animal Area
· African Animal Area
· Temperate Zone Animal Area
· Bird World

as outdoor display areas, as well as

· Insectarium
· Amphibian and Reptile House
· Penguin House
· Koala House
· Nocturnal Animal House

and an

Education Center as indoor display areas.

The great variety and the choices offered make it easy to walk around in the zoo for many hours, letting you loose the sense of time. Every cage or area has clear structured signs explaining the animals name, origin, diet and other interesting information; both in Chinese and English. Another interesting feature are signs with sound, where the voice explains the animals` lifestyle to children, or anyone else interested, also in Chinese or English.
There can be found food courts and vending machines throughout the zoo, and locations to enjoy some pick nick or just to relax in the shade on a bench are numerous.
The zoo is perfectly clean and in a great state.



Taipei 101, the tower can really be seen from everywhere in Taipei



A Formosan Bear, a native Taiwanese animal



What kind of animal is that?
This looks like a monkey to me...

Taipei Zoo II (English)


The old Orang Utang is demanding food from the audience...



Looks like dead, but it was still breathing



The king of the jungle. A majestic Tiger in Taipei Zoo.


One of the silent stars: A cute Koala sitting is his eucalyptus tree. This is a rare picture of the cutie raising its head.

Taipei Zoo III (English)


Oeeeps, looks like I caught the Lama doing it`s business. Sorry!!!!



The Zebra`s holding a conference. They were probably discussing what has to be done next to reach the wilderness.



Family Giraffe. They were licking the rock on the 3rd floor and enjoying fresh grass out of that cage in the back.


Maokong 貓空 (English)


Maokong 貓空 is the name of a place close to Taipei Zoo. It is known for its extra ordinary beautifully and good 24 h tea houses. It is a real pleasure to enjoy your tea in the middle of a wood and eating good food at the same time. Maokong is definitely one of the most beautiful places in Taipei.




The entrance to one of the famous tea houses in Maokong

19 Jan 2007

The Lin Family Mansion and Garden (English)

The Lin Family Mansion and Garden are two relict's of rich family clans during the Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911 ACE). And is located in modern Banqiao (板橋) in Taipei county.
The Lin family moved to Taiwan in 1778 they moved to Taiwan from the opposite shore in Mainland China`s Fujian Province (福建省). The Lin clan was involved in trade between Fujian and Taiwan (by the time there was no question about the Taiwan strait), later they were also active in the salt trade throughout Taiwan.
In 1851 the next generation of the Lin clan built the first house on today`s area. They invited famous scholars to teach their own sons and expanded their buildings further. The joint of three hard working generations of the Lin clan made the family the richest family during the reign of the Qing emperors. My source, the tour guide of the famous garden does not tell me why or whether their family wealth declined or not. So I cannot provide that information...




The "Three Courtyard"

Right beside the Mansion and the Garden is the so-called "The Three-Courtyard". The estate is privately owned today, and the owners do not agree that tourists take pictures inside the buildings. The estate owes its name to the fact that it consists of three separate courtyards, two walkways and "protecting dragons", as well as parallel buildings on each side of the house. The entire complex consists of 52 rooms. The buildings are constructed according to some traditional Chinese sayings.
When still in use, every single room had its own function in the strongly hierarchical society. The two Lin brothers were both living in the complex, one on the left side, one on the right side. This explains, why all the rooms look similar, from lay-out to interior design.


Personal impression

The garden and buildings look very beautiful. When you walk around there and don`t raise your head, you can feel the live how it must have been a few hundred years ago. Only when you look up in the sky, the surrounding housing complexes will remind you of the actual time period you are in right now. The buildings and park express a great deal of power, money and intellectuality which must have been present there, when the Lin family was still in charge.






Special discovery


When we were walking around in the garden, there was a group of arts students shooting a film. It looked really interesting, so I talked to them. They promised me to send me a copy upon completion of their "comedian look on the old times". I am really excited to have a look at it.










15 Jan 2007

Trip review - a preview (English)

I am back in Taipei. The last few days were very successful and I had a lot of fun. It might still take a few days for me to complete the new articles. For now I upload some nice pictures to give you a short impression about what I saw.

The last days were all about...


...the major sights in Taipei, such as the Chiang Kai-Shek memorial hall.

...curiosities, such as this coloured dog found in a temple in the famous Taroko Gorge.


... the new High Speed Rail of Taiwan. Here is a picture of me with the Shinkansen in Tainan.

... natural beauty and peacefulness, as well as wilderness.


... a lot of beautiful Buddhist and Daoist temples.