Taking it Easy in Taichung

On 17 October 2015, we found ourselves in a bit of a predicament. Originally, my girlfriend and I had planned to head away for the night to see a famous traditional town in northern Taiwan called Jiufen. However, on the day, we struggled with long lines for buses and trains, and eventually decided not to go. So then, we began trying to book some accommodation very last minute for the night in Taichung. The problem was it was Taichung Bicycle Week (which seems to go for, like, 17 months), and so the masses of foreign bicycle industry companies had descended on Taichung and booked out all the decent accommodation well in advance. It took a bit of scrounging on TripAdvisor and CTrip, among other websites, but we eventually found a place to crash for the night in Taichung Ease Motel.

Kia Ora, it's New Zealand, bro!

America has a bit of a love-hate relationship with its neighbour to the north, Canada. In Australia, we have a similar friendly rivalry with our neighbour to the east. But the reality is, New Zealand and Australia have a lot in common. We have very similar personalities, tastes in food, and our love for sport goes right down to the bone. And while we Aussies do give the Kiwis a bit of flack for their quirky accent, and their supposed extra-marital activities with their woolly ovine friends, I have always thoroughly enjoyed my trips "across the ditch".

My First Little Taste of the United States

Late in 2011, I was on a job in Christchurch, New Zealand (I promise I will blog about the Kiwis later!). After a day of work, my boss called me and asked me if I would be okay to take on a quick trip to the USA. I'd never set foot on American soil, and this would turn out to be first of about 5 trips over the next 12 months, so here is a bit about my first experience over the other side of the Pacific.