Blogs from Lugang, Taiwan, Asia

I spent one day / one night in the little town of Lukang. It is actually very nice. It's a lot of small lanes with traditional houses. I would have never guess that the traditional building material here was red brick. It has a home feel to it. Obviously, there is a thousand temples. I have find my favorite Taiwanese temple here! It is Longshan temple. It's located in the middle of rather ugly buildings and it doesn't stand out. But there is something about it, a feel, I don't know. I just loved it all: the old paint, the old people singing, the incense, the square space inside with its lonely tree. I went during the day and then at night. It was great to see it come alive around 5.30/6pm when people come to ... read more

The concept of 'face' plays a significant role in Asian cultures (this is not to be confused with the concept of 'teeth'...which, apparently, isn't nearly as important). In public, always keep your cool, don't raise your voice, and never let them see you angry - because nobody likes you when you're angry. As a result, the Taiwanese are very calm and patient people; they don't exhibit road rage, they rarely honk their horns, and they also refrain from the use of rude gestures. But as we discovered today, sometimes you just gotta let it all out. Originally, we were hoping to make our way further south to Tainan, but the advent of a long weekend spoiled those plans. October 10th is National Day and a bank holiday...so in all their wisdom the government decided to make ... read more