Blogs from CKS International Airport, Taipei, Taiwan, Asia

Bonne nouvelle ... le 12 heures en avion a passé plus vite qu'anticipé. J'ai somnolé mais pas trop dormi. Rien que 14 ans de travail en rotation ne peut pas surmonter ! J'ai fait le vol avec la compagnie EVA. Si jamais ça vous adonne, je recommande un siège sur le bord de la fenêtre au "upperdeck". Moins de gens et assez confortable. On peut s'étendre les jambes sans problème. J'ai découvert 3 heures avant l'atterrissage que j'avais accès à une manette pour jouer à Tetris et Trivial Pursuit sur la petite télé devant moi. Watch me go à mon retour ... je bats mon score !!! Sinon, l'aéroport de Taipei est vraiment beau. Chaque salle d'attente de terminal a un thème particulier. Je ne me sens pas trop depaysé. C'est super propre; même les poubelles ... read more

It's amazing that such a small island like Taiwan has 23 million residents. The population density must be incredibly high. The Taiwanese people are warm-hearted. Just give them a smile and they will gratefully smile back. It's so easy.... I couldn't resist and I had to take some pictures with Taiwanese children.They are so beautiful. It was impressing to see how important Chiang Kai-shek for the nation is. He is a national hero who saved Taiwan from the Japanese occupation. The memorial hall for Chiang Kai-shek presents accurately his political career and international status. He gave birth to Taiwan's independence. Did u know that the Taiwanese have a God for every purpose? There is a God for getting goof marks or finding the right partner.People go to the temple and make sacrifices to honour the God. ... read more

20 to 21 Dec: Auckland, Sydney, Taipei, Hanoi and finally Luang Prabang (26 hrs) All great extended holidays generally begin a few days before the actual date of departure with the ritualistic packing, repacking, regretting what hasn’t fit in the luggage, deciding to reshuffle and repack and finally resigning yourself to the fact that you have packed too much yet not enough. My trip to Laos and Cambodia began in a similar fashion. Knowing that a rolling suitcase was out of the question for two countries known for their dirt roads and rudimentary public transportation – I decided to go with a large trapping backpack and a small day bag. The day bag was simple: two different cameras (one for better quality photos and the other that would be used on excursions that would possibly end ... read more

你好 (ni hao) from 台湾 (Taiwan)! Another meaning for "tai wan" is 太晚, "too late." That's about right. It's only 9pm here, but it's 7am in Bozeman, and on the 14-hour flight across the Pacific I was only able to get the kind of sleep a 6'4" man can get in an economy class airplane seat, so I'm feeling every minute of that 7am. I leave again for Hong Kong in 10 minutes, and get there at 11:30pm local time, where it will be about an hour before I can actually sleep. Hopefully being this tired now means I'll adjust to the jet lag quickly! Not much else to say - just wanted to leave a note from Taiwan while I had the chance and let you know I've survived the first leg of my voyage. ... read more

So I land in Taipei at around 19:30 delighted to finally be here and to be done with travelling. It's taken about 16 hours to get from London to here which I guess isn't too bad. Can i just make two points about the journey. Both Heathrow T5 and BA have had a bad press over the last year or so but I thought they were great. T5 is an outstanding piece of architecture, so much better than the other hellhole terminals. My bags connected fine at Hong Kong (as did I) and i felt that the £25 charge from BA for being 7 kilos over my limit was pretty fair given what other airlines charge. The semi-upgrade wasn't bad either so I was pretty pleased with the service I received from them. Anyway, that's my ... read more