Set Your Sights On A Little Place Called Taiwan

Okay, that title sort of rhymes... it turns out "Taiwan" is a hard word to rhyme or parody for a blog title! But when I first went to Taiwan in January 2010, I can say that Taiwan was another one of those places that had never really crossed my radar as a place to visit. I don't know if I was even sure of its location. But after around a dozen visits, it has become one of my favourite places to go: a tiny island jam-packed with culture, food and scenery, it should definitely be on your list!

The geography of Taiwan (in a nutshell) is that most of the major cities lie along the western half of the island; to the east, large mountain ranges prevent any large settlement; and to along the eastern coast (I'm told), there are mostly Taiwanese Aboriginal-style villages.

For my work-related visits to Taiwan, all of my time is spent in two of the major cities: Kaohsiung and Taichung. The latter is about halfway up the western coast, while the former is down at the southern tip of the island. The photo above was taken in Kaohsiung, along the major waterway through the city, Love River.

I have quite a collection of photos taken in various places around Taiwan over the years, but I probably can't tell you much about them. In the earlier years, I visited a few places with a representative of our agent company, but his English was a bit sketchy. Nevertheless, I will try to dig up some vague info! This is a Confucius Temple located in Kaohsiung (and that's me, sitting at the base of the steps for a bit of perspective on its size!). I don't really know anything else about it (or about Confucianism, for that matter). But it's pretty impressive, don't you think?! Oh, and speaking of which, here he is!

One of the very cool things about Taiwan is the variety of food. Obviously, they have a background in Chinese culture and food. Local cuisines have developed over time to have subtle differences to mainland Chinese food. But due to its location, you will also find access to and influence from Japanese and Korean food, among many others. What you see here is one of the most common styles of food in Taiwan: the hot pot. A tray of assorted food (depending on what you order) is brought to the table. A pot of flavoured stock is set on the boil and you gradually make your own soup.

Now, when it comes to culture, apart from various religion and historical aspects, every country has its nuances. One of the funniest ones I have found about Taiwan is the lunchtime nap. It doesn't happen everywhere, but it does seem to be relatively common. Lunch is eaten around 11-11:30am, and then a 30 minute nap is taken before returning to work. If you are in the office, they will turn off all the lights and heads go down on the desk. Some people even bring sleeping bags and set up on the floor! I spotted this guy in the middle of the Steel Plant where I was working (1 storey above him). Doesn't matter where you are - when it's nap time, it's nap time!

Well, that was a quick introduction and overview of Taiwan. I will have some more detailed and specific posts coming up in the future. I have spent a lot more time there over the past year, simply because I am dating a local! She got me into the whole blogging thing, and it is great to have her insight on the best places to see and eat around Taiwan (love you babe!). Stay tuned for more on this small-in-size-but-not-in-offerings island!