Located in the heart of Taiwan’s Hengchun Peninsula,and southwest of the East Coast National Scenic Area, this immense botanical forest and garden encompasses over 1,000 acres. It’s no quick buzz-through, as the quirky trail design takes some getting used to, and the numbering system doesn’t follow a logic intelligible to us. We’d recommend a minimum […]
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Scuba diving in the Kending area of southern Taiwan
We here at WoWasis love to scuba dive. And we heard the coral reefs were great here at the southern tip of Taiwan. The bad news is we didn’t go diving, and we’ll tell you why. The good news is there may be a solution. Our adventure began when a couple of nice guides at […]
Read the rest of this entry »Rafting on Taiwan’s Siougulyuan (Xiuguluan) River
Located along the beautiful East Coast National Scenic Area is the Siougulyuan River. Veteran and beginning rafters alike will enjoy the moderately challenging Siougulyuan River, with additionally provides a nice getaway from the heat and humidity. It’s easy to do, once you arrive in the eastern town of Rueisuei, a few km inland from the […]
Read the rest of this entry »Sculptural furniture from Taiwan that’s standing Asia on its ear
Here at WoWasis, we’ve found great art in so many far-flung areas of the globe that seemingly nothing surprises us anymore. Artists and artisans can’t create without that secret sauce called “artistic temperament,” so they live where they want and damn all converntions. Which brings us to Kan Hsin-Yi of Taiwan. He lives in a […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis visits Jioufen: a Taiwanese town with one of the best market walks in Asia
At first glance, it’s easy to disregard Jioufen. Initially appearing to be yet another hillside town of nondescript buildings, the town unveils itself under the cover of a series of narrow alleys lined with shops, selling everything from calligraphy to condoms. Walking through the alleys of Jioufen takes the better part of an afternoon, and […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis visits Wulai: an aboriginal cultural village & hot springs in Taiwan
WoWasis drove to Wulai, only 40 minutes south of Taipei. The trick, once we got there, was finding the Atayal-run Wulai Aboriginal Cultural Village. Wulai is a village noted for its hot springs, and there are plenty there from which to choose. The Atayals, who run the cultural village across the river, are one of […]
Read the rest of this entry »Renting a car and driving in Taiwan: easy if you know how to do it
Taiwan is a gorgeous country where, outside of a few major population areas, relatively few speak English, a difference for the Westerner used to being understood in Southeast Asia or Asia Minor. Unlike Thailand or Turkey, asking directions on the streets in Taiwan generally won’t even get you fractured English We here at WoWasis wanted […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis book review: ‘Dragon Lady’ by Sterling Seagrave
China’s Dowager Empress Tzu Hsi (1835-1908) was truly the stuff of legend, but as veteran Asian historian Sterling Seagrave (along with co-researcher Peggy Seagrave) points out, most of the legend was false. In Dragon Lady: The Life and Legend of the Last Empress of China (1992, ISBN 0-679-40230-6), the author debunks the myths that unfairly […]
Read the rest of this entry »Pa Farang on taxi scams in Bangkok
The Good Manner: Advice on Thailand from WoWasis’ Pa Farang This week’s dilemma: My taxi driver refuses to turn meter on: taxi scams in Bangkok Dear Pa Farang, What gives withBangkok taxis? Half the time the driver refuses to turn the meter on, and quotes me a rediculous price. Am I being taken to the […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis book review: Guidebook for Taiwan by National Geographic
Whenever we’re in a foreign country, we here at WoWasis always travel with a guidebook: they’re easier to use and markup than online guides, and we always end up running across stuff by accident that we wouldn’t have discovered otherwise. Our local bookshop only carried one guidebook for Taiwan, and that’s how we acquired (and […]
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