A Naruwan holiday in a country that doesn't exist

Asia » Taiwan
July 8th 2006

Published: September 3rd 2006

Sweat stings my eyes; it's dark, polluted, hot and hectic. "How many blocks now?" I plead with Jennifer, who has the 'book'. "Five - six maybe?" she shrugs trying to peer at the map as we attempt to sneak a way through the traffic. Flustered, I wave frantically at an oncoming cab "Let's get this, or we'll never make it!" We've been in Taiwan for all of an hour now, and here we are dashing manica... Read Full Entry

Photos are below

Photos: 36, Displayed: 21

5th September 2006

Kate Hildebrand
Kate Hildebrand

Sounds good!
How's the food?

5th September 2006

tom
non-member comment

wow!
your gf certainly wears skimpy shorts! are you guys american tourists?

21st September 2006

aspiringnomad
Jason

sorry Kate...
I have been very busy (some might say lazy). And the truth is, your question is very complex. Actual Taiwanese food is a mixture of aboriginal food with vestiges of Taiwans colonial past. Add to that the rich variety of mainland Chinese food and many say you have the best food in North East Asia. In short, it is magnificently varied, but the long answer would probably require a much longer stay and several PhDs;-)

5th October 2006

NK
non-member comment

Your questions about the photos
Hi, Jason: You happen to have the exactly same name (also the last name is Brown) as my friend JB. I was wondering on TravelBlog site on WMDR (World Most Dangerous Road) and wonder...what to foreigners think about my country - Taiwan. After moving to North America since 1994, Taiwan seems to be more distant. I brought may friends (Americans) to Taiwan, they are more lucky than you are, they can speak fairly good Mandarin. They stayed with me at home for a month. The central-cross-island was built by the veterans (retreat from Mainland after the civil war), not built by Japaneses. I am surprised to see that, where do you quote from then? (no worry, just to verify). I took my friends to Hualien, and they all agree that eastern Taiwan is worth visiting. One of my friend told me, "wow, the whole mountain is marble! Your country is really rich!", I said, "we never felt that we are rich because of this!". Taiwanese are truly more friendly than Koreans. Sometimes I even think we should be more careful because a lot of foreigners are doing smuggling, making fake Passports, dealing with drugs (you can see articles in Lonely Planet) because we are the way too friendly. After September 11th and Iraqi war, Americans have less places to go and more Americans come to Taiwan. Taiwan is perfectly safe for foreigners to stay and travel, and I am surprised to know that you did not meet too many people who can speak English well. All of my American friends are surprised to know that almost everybody knows a little bit of English so they never got lost. Taiwan has the highest density of Ph.Ds in the world. So a monk having a MBA is nothing. According to the statistics, 80% of the college graduates are planning to go to graduate school in order to be more "competitive" (although I don't agree on that). Taiwan is a country which does not exist. R.O.C. is a joke and the new generation does not recognize themselves as Chinese at all. I want to explain the three pictures you took in your photo album. You probably took those pictures in the temple. I am surprised to know that they allowed you to use camera (yes, because we are very friendly)! The "clerk"( usually the mid-age lady) took the incense to expel the fear of the acceptor (or patients) in the temple. This is a very acceptable (or usualy) scene. I had that experience many times when I was a kid. This expels the fear or the ghost (spirit). It is called "Sho-jing" (take your fear away). It works both psychologically and spiritually. Sorry to type so many words. I just wish you have a better experience travelling in Taiwan next time.

22nd October 2006

Leigh
non-member comment

Question?
After starting on your blog when you were in Burma and working my way to the beginning of your trip and now back to the last installment, I have a question. How did you go about securing teaching work in Asia and do you have any advice? In the New Year I am considering teaching english and have loose plans on Laos. Any tips are much appreciated, and if you missed my other comments, want to say you do a mighty fine blog. Hope you are still travelling and have more entries coming...

1st November 2006

Marco
non-member comment

Language teaching
Hi Jason, Always a pleasure to read your entries on Travelblog: well written and full of interesting first (and second) hand news. Besides, you just blog once in a while which makes it possible for an absent-minded italian like myself to keep up with your journals without excessive effort. I've been myself travelling Asia long time but I've never been in Korea and I was wondering how is the foreign language teaching panorama when it comes to other languages (such as italian or spanish, f.i.). Much appreciated would be useful news about it. Thanx in advance or, anyway, for keepin me on the road without moving from home. Ciao Marco

8th November 2006

Adam
non-member comment

Taiwan
Hi there-- was just enjoying your photos from Taiwan and in case nobody has chimed in, the puzzling ceremony in which the girl breathes in incense and then gets slapped on the ass is a ritual which is supposed to force the evil spirits outside of your body (specifially they are supposed to come out from the area above your forehead.) Breathing in the good smelling incense is the first step in the exorcism and then the slaps are the jolts to force it out.

11th November 2006

aspiringnomad
Jason

Teaching English...
Thanks for the kind words... Firstly teaching English Asia jobs can be viewed at http://www.daveseslcafe.com/ This is where I found my job in Korea. They have a forum and a whole load of info on the sight, and also list jobs from other parts of the world. As for teaching Italian and Spanish Marco, to be honest I have no idea. I once met a guy who taught German in Korea, so I am sure there is a demand for other languages (obviously Spanish more than Italian). Jobs in Indochina may be easier to find on the ground Leigh. I saw many jobs advertised in hostels in some of the major cities en route. And of course searching for a job this way enables you to check out the school and conditions before signing any contract. A useful website specifically for jobs in Korea which is useful is www.worknplay.co.kr . Hope you both have luck finding something;-) I may even head back over to Korea this winter for a short stint! P.S. Thanks for the info NK and Adam. And you are right 'NK' The central-cross-island was built by the veterans, the trail it replaced was built by the Japanese.

23rd February 2009

Joanna
non-member comment

Another comment regarding the cross-island-highway
Hi, Jason, I was very impressed by your comments. I got the feeling you DID enjoy Taiwan very much and I'm very glad. I was born in Taiwan but emigrated to the US with my family at 8 years of age, have been here for over 35 years! so you can say I am American. However, we return to Taiwan on a regular basis and my husband and I just adopted a little boy from Taiwan in November, 2008. Just to add a slight detail to who actually built the cross-island-highway. Yes. the trail was initiated by the Japanese, and yes, the paved highway was built during the reign of the KMT (Nationalist Chinese). But it was the Taiwanese who actually BUILT it. Many Taiwanese died building that road (twice). Happy traveling and hope you will return to Taiwan for a longer visit! Blessings, Joanna

26th January 2010

sheila
non-member comment

i love the beach so much!!!!!!!

30th June 2010