Visiting Taipei City

On By Rick McIn government, travelLeave a comment

My favourite photo of the big city.

At dusk, many photographers were taking advantage of rain water puddles. I quickly joined them.

Sandra had given me a detailed itinerary for my 2 weeks in Taiwan. My default plan.

Most fly into and out of Taipei city, the capital of Taiwan.

Even at the airport, my feeling was that Taiwan is much more like China than Hong Kong or Singapore.

Recovering from a summer cold I picked up in Singapore, I first headed to the Beitou, the hot-spring area.

The public baths were closed for renovation, so I never got a soak — BUT heritage buildings and history information made it a worthwhile visit. Tourism is very well organized here.

The library is impressive. An eco-friendly green building.

I used the GPSMyCity app for a self-guided walking tour.

Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall is huge and impressive.

Here’s the founder himself.

Chiang Kai-shek looks over massive Liberty Square, flanked by the National Theater and National Concert Hall.

All in all, a very impressive tourist attraction.

Longshan Temple is stunning, as well. Quite welcoming of visitors.

Of course, every visitor rides the high speed elevator to the top of Tapei 101. It dominates the skyline.

Finally, if you LOVE SHOPPING, this is the city for you. It’s one of the most important pastimes of locals. Along with FOOD. 😀

My first visit to Taiwan.

Food in Taiwan

On By Rick McIn food, travel1 Comment

Serious beef in my portion of Taiwanese beef noodle soup. The favourite Taiwanese dish of those tourists I surveyed.

The staple in Taiwan is Braised Rice with Pork. Available everywhere at good value prices. Pork chunks, stewed in soy sauce and spices, then served on rice. Chinese pickles often on the side.

Often you can upgrade to Braised Rice with Pork Belly. Do it!

Taichung is the home of Giant Bicycles and is the birthplace of Bubble Tea. The same chewy tapioca balls are in many other sweet treats. Two most popular varieties are pearl black milk tea and pearl green milk tea (“pearl” for the tapioca balls at the bottom).

I got mine at Chun Shui Tang, the original location. Black milk tea alongside beef noodle soup. Though expensive, I’ve had better soup and bubble tea in Taiwan.

Shaved Ice is a big deal in Taiwan. There are MANY varieties. I don’t know what everything is in my portion ➙ BUT the best ingredient for me was those orange bits on the right. Candied sweet potato.

Locals call this small pastry a red bean cake. But there are many different fillings available, including whip cream.

Kaohsiung, Taiwan, at Night

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Kaohsiung is BEST at night, along the Love river.

A romantic and picturesque destination.

Visitors can enjoy enchanting boat cruises, leisurely strolls along the riverbanks, or a bike ride to see the city lights reflected on the water.

Kaohsiung Music Center features a light show on its exterior at night. 

Does anyone really know what time it is?

Visiting Kaohsiung, Taiwan

On By Rick McIn food, travelLeave a comment

I’d heard good things about Kaohsiung City in southern Taiwan.

All tourists stop at the Formosa Boulevard subway station ➙ “Dome of Light“.

The Esports World Championships 2025 were hosted in this city. I happened upon a local Esport competition hosted in the subway station. It attracted the local cosplay community. I quickly donned my AI Nano Banana cosplay samurai costume. 😀

It’s amazing how young humans can dress up to look like their favourite cartoon characters. I’d never really thought much about cosplay before seeing them here.

I took the short ferry ride over to Cijin Island.

Rented an inexpensive bike. 8.5 km long, average width 400m. A series of tourists attractions.

Lighthouse

Obviously, fish and seafood are important in Taiwan.

On the way back, I toured the Pier-2 Art Center area. Wild and weird instillations.

Walking around Lotus Pond is a treat. Kids love the Tiger + Dragon pagodas as you can walk through the mouth of both.

Buddhism here reminds me more of Hinduism. In these bright, detailed temples, I understand almost nothing of either.

The National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts is impressive. The world’s largest performing art theatre under one roof: Opera House, Concert Hall, Playhouse, and a Recital Hall.

No snow in this city. But one kid was tobogganing down artificial turf on cardboard.

Fast and Loose by Stuart Woods

On By Rick McIn booksLeave a comment

Fast and Loose (2017) is one of the better books in the long Stone Barrington series.

Stone’s yacht collides with something bigger — and sinks.

Dr. Paul Carlsson and his daughter, Marisa, save him

His rescuers are owner-founders of the world-famous Carlsson Clinic, with a reputation akin to the Mayo Clinic.

Inevitably, Stone and Marisa hook up.

In a related story, St. Clair Enterprises has suffered the loss of its CEO and owner, Christian St. Clair, to a bomb blast. 

His successor, Erik Macher, is, surprisingly, given St. Clair Enterprises in the CEO’s will.

Mocher is the bad guy. Jake his henchman.

Stone Barrington finds himself in the middle after an old friend, Ed Rauls, drags hime in.

I’m making it sound too complicated. These books are fast-paced, easy to read.

Cycling ’round Sun Moon Lake, Taiwan

On By Rick McIn cycling, hiking, travelLeave a comment

Sun Moon Lake is a highlight for everyone visiting Taiwan.

748 m (2,454 ft) above sea level, temperatures are more moderate than the coastline.

In 2020, the number of annual tourist visits was 4.65 million people. Yet it didn’t feel crowded to me.

Surrounding the lake are biking and hiking trails for visitors. 

I did both.

Cycling around is about 30 km + side trips. I stopped at most of the side trip attractions. Several temples.

The highlight was seeing indigenous Formosan macaques at play. They are much shyer than the macaques I’d seen in S.E. Asia.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Highly recommended.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Wen Wu Temple, Sun Moon Lake, Taiwan

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There are endless temples and pagodas in Taiwan. BUT this one is special.

Sun Moon Lake Wen Wu Temple (Chinese: 日月潭文武廟; pinyin: Rìyuètán Wénwǔ Miào) was rebuilt again in 1969, increasing its size and constructing it in the Chinese palace style. …

The first hall, located on the second floor of the front hall, is a shrine devoted to the First Ancestor Kaiji and the God of Literature. The central hall is devoted to Lord Guan, the Martial God, and another Martial God, Lord Yue. The rear hall is dedicated to Confucius. 

Blue Buddha.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Visiting Taichung, Taiwan

On By Rick McIn Art and beauty, travelLeave a comment

You’ve never heard of Taichung, but it’s the 2nd largest city in Taiwan (2.86 million+).

Home of Giant Bicycles.

AND Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSMC), the world’s largest semiconductor foundry.

It’s no magnet for tourists.

But I really enjoyed the National Museum of Natural Science. First class.

The National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts is equally well presented, but I’m much less into art.

More interesting than both, for me, is this quirky candy / ice cream shop called Miyahara. A historic building transformed into a luxurious dessert and souvenir store with a Harry Potter-esque interior. 

Though an urban sprawl, here and there are some interesting architectural treats.

Train station, for example.

SOME green space. Not as much as I would like.

There are some interesting attractions outside the city, but I found public transportation not nearly as convenient as in Taipei.

Circle of Days by Ken Follett

On By Rick McIn booksLeave a comment

I’m a huge fan of author Ken Follett‘s historical fiction. Especially his Kingsbridge series, starting with The Pillars of the Earth (1989).

I was excited to see he published a 2025 book set in the Neolithic period when the Stonehenge was created.

Circle of Days is set in prehistory 2500 BCE, where people are divided into tribes, their names in accordance to their roles such as miners, herders, woodlanders, and farmers.

The people meet each season at the wooden Monument for religious rites and festivities, led by priestesses.

The technology behind Stonehenge is fascinating.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Follett is a terrific storyteller. Good v Evil. Characters whom you can cheer and despise.

It’s worth reading, for sure.

BUT I can’t call this book the equal of any of his his Kingsbridge series.

I was somewhat disappointed. There’s no need for him to write a sequel.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.


Leonard Cohen – In Flander’s Fields

On By Rick McIn government, philosophy6 Comments

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders Fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

– John McCrae, 1915

Though thankfully I was never in a war, this is an important day for me. I remember.

Lest we forget – CBC

Remembrance Day (Australia, Canada, Colombia, UK and Ireland), also known as Poppy Day (South Africa and Malta), and Armistice Day (UK, New Zealand and many other Commonwealth countries; and the original name of the holiday internationally) is a day to commemorate the sacrifice of veterans and civilians in World War I and other wars. It is observed on November 11 to recall the end of World War I on that date in 1918.

Remembrance Day – wikipedia