The historic seaside town of Tamsui, located northwest of Taipei, has been on my list of places to visit ever since I came to Taiwan. Technically a district of the mega-city of New Taipei, Tamsui (also known as Danshui) is easily reached by metro, being the northern terminal station on the red line. Its long and storied history saw several European nations fight for hegemony in the Taiwan Strait and as a result, Tamsui was occupied various times. First the Spanish arrived in 1628, establishing the town and mission of Santo Domingo to secure their interests in the Philippines against the Dutch, the British and the Portuguese. Fort San Domingo was built by the Spanish in the same year as a military, political, trade and missionary base. In 1642, the Dutch expelled the Spanish, took over ... read more

As J.'s departure draws nearer, we take full advantage of our last weeks together and indulge in food, sights, and all the cultural activities we can absorb. One excursion we do is to the mountain village of Jiufen, a quaint place along the northeast coast, not too far from Taipei. Once a centre of gold mining during the Japanese occupation, Jiufen retains its wealth these days through clever marketing to domestic, Chinese and especially Japanese tourists as a traditional, olde-tyme village untouched by modernisation. And in fact, after we get off the train in Ruifang and hop on the local bus to Jiufen, all we hear is Japanese. Of course, what we find upon arrival is not an isolated village cut off from civilisation for the last 80 years, but a comely little retro town ... read more

Time's running out, commitments are drawing near, so we skip a few destinations in the southern and central regions, and head straight to Tainan. The city was recommended to me by a friend whose judgment can generally be trusted. Tainan is the oldest city in the country, and its fourth largest. Hence, we find a dynamic city steeped in history and traditional culture, just what we're looking for. It's the second day of Chinese New Year, which means that unfortunately, we have to pay a little too much for our faceless, danky hotel room. Also, we find things a tad unpredictable, especially opening hours of restaurants and museums. On our first night, we walk around, trying to get a late-night snack, but can't find anything worth mentioning. No local food stalls, nothing. So we settle for ... read more

After acclimatising in Taipei for a few days, we are very much looking forward to get out of it. Not that we don't like Taipei, but the hustle and bustle and substantial air pollution is something we can tolerate only in relatively small doses. It takes us about four hours on a local train to get to Hualien. A town of roughly 100,000 inhabitants, Hualien is pretty much synonymous with Taroko Gorge, one of Taiwan's must-see tourist sites. As Chinese New Year is drawing closer and closer, we are more than keen on getting Taroko out of the way before the holiday crowds descend, and then moving on to somewhere less conspicuous. Hualien greets us with a torrential downpour that continues into the night. At the tourist information, we meet a Chinese Malaysian couple, who recommend ... read more

The minibus from Pagaralam to Padang takes 18 hours. I'll spare you the finer details of the journey - it's 18 hours on a bus; it's boring, exasperating and atrocious. The poor driver has to stop and ask several times until we finally find the right tiny alley where my hotel is located. In my infinite youthful naïvety, I believe that I might make it on a boat to Mentawai that same day. I should have done my research - the boat leaves twice weekly, which means I'm stuck in Padang for three days. It turns out not to be the worst place to while away a few days. The locals are friendly, smiles and 'Hello, Mister!'s are the norm. The distinctive Padang cuisine can be heavenly, if you find the right place. There's no menu, ... read more