2024-04-18 04:00
A huandao (literally “around the island”) is considered a right of passage or step towards enlightenment, by many in Taiwan.It can be undertaken on foot or bicycle, by train or b… Read More
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Taiwan Quest Blog
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A blog about moving to Taiwan.
2024-04-03 14:57
I was woken by today’s M7.2 earthquake. I live on the south-west coast of Taiwan, 190km from the epicenter in the east.(For context, Taiwan is ¼ the size of Te Waipounamu/New Ze… Read More
2024-03-19 14:19
Language Interaction (新語訊) is a magazine published by Taipei Language Institute (TLI), where I’ve been studying Chinese part-time for more than a year.I was asked… Read More
2024-03-07 09:07
I’m 43 years old, but I was born in the summer of 69.That’s because Taiwan uses a different calendar to most of the world: the Republic of China calendar.Taiwan’s official… Read More
2024-02-16 12:47
My first lunar new year in Taiwan was three weeks after I arrived, and only a few days after I moved into my apartment. I was far from lonely, but I was technically alone.Since then, a lot c… Read More
2024-02-06 14:29
Tainan City was founded by the Dutch in 1624. Soon, Taiwan was also home to Chinese, Japanese, and Spanish immigrants, in addition to its indigenous populations.It’s been a bumpy ride:… Read More
2024-01-23 11:44
Rainbow Grandpa made an extraordinary contribution to human happiness.I met him twice: on my first full day in Taiwan in 2018, and again one year later.He inspires me. His art’s on my… Read More
2024-01-18 12:31
Distance
60 km
Ride time (with stops)
2 hours
Number of Fountains of Apollo seen
1
Despite being so near, today was the first time I rode… Read More
2024-01-17 15:53
Distance
130 km
Ride time (with stops)
6 hours
Number of religious experiences
2
On my second-to-last day of huandao, I had two grandpas s… Read More
2024-01-16 14:27
Distance
110 km
Ride time (with stops)
6 hours
Number of ghosts spotted
0
I started my day at an opera house, and ended my day at a haunte… Read More
2024-01-15 12:31
Distance
140 km
Ride time (with stops)
5 hours
Number of actual leopard cats spotted
0
Today, Google Maps led me on an easy route that was… Read More
2024-01-14 15:44
Distance
90 km
Ride time (with stops)
5 hours
Number of parochial baristas met
1
Taipei’s only the fourth-largest city in Taiwan, bu… Read More
2024-01-13 13:28
Distance
90 km
Ride time (with stops)
5 hours
Number of UFO villages visited
1
It was another good-weather day, as I rode into Taipei&mdas&helli…Read More
2024-01-12 15:19
Distance
110 km
Ride time (with stops)
4 hours
Number of giant cranes scaled
1
My day started with starfruit juice and scallion pancakes.Y… Read More
2024-01-11 14:41
Distance
140 km
Ride time (with stops)
5 hours
Number of flying trains spotted
1
After breakfast at an interesting Starbucks (not an oxymo… Read More
2024-01-10 13:04
Distance
170 km
Ride time (with stops)
6 hours
Number of penises seen
10
The weather was mixed again, but it didn’t matter on decent… Read More
2024-01-09 15:43
Distance
160 km
Ride time (with stops)
6 hours
Number of bugs in my eye
1
The day started well, when I opened the curtains and saw it wasn… Read More
2024-01-08 13:40
Distance
240 km
Ride time (with stops)
6 hours
Number of times someone took a photo of me “for church”
1
Five minutes before s… Read More
2024-01-05 15:54
It's supposedly definitive that bubble tea was invented in Taiwan. But the inventor’s identity is unclear: teahouses in Taichung and Tainan each claim the title.In Taichung, the Chun S… Read More
2023-12-31 09:00
Taiwan has a bunch of offshore islands including Kinmen (金門縣), which is just 10km from mainland China.Kinmen’s been at the frontline of tensions between China and… Read More
2023-12-15 12:54
So far this year, there have been over 25,000 dengue fever cases and 56 dengue fever deaths in Taiwan. It’s the worst outbreak since 2015, when 218 people were killed.Currently, the ep… Read More
2023-11-25 13:47
This afternoon, I went to Kaohsiung’s 14th—and my first—Pride event.I met a friend at Aozidi Forest Park (凹仔底森林公園), a 10-he… Read More
2023-11-21 15:00
This morning, I visited my neighborhood hospital for a routine eye test. It was more thorough than my annual check-up in New Zealand, comprising tests at four different machines, plus the ey… Read More
2023-11-07 15:06
Since arriving in January, I’ve used my phone to record dozens sounds around Kaohsiung. Ten months in, these recordings make me realize how ‘normal’ these sounds have becom… Read More
2023-10-14 12:21
Taiwan has a lot of novelty cafes: On my first visit to Taiwan I ate good shit at Modern Toilet Restaurant (and again, one year later); and I have Taipei’s animal shelter, capybara, re… Read More
2023-10-01 08:43
This year in Taiwan, I’ve already enjoyed the Lunar New Year Lantern Festival, and the mid-summer Dragon Boat Festival.Mid-Autumn Festival—also called Moon or Mooncake Festival&m&hell…Read More
2023-09-21 06:48
People in Taiwan are unfailingly helpful. My friends (and some strangers) repeatedly offer to assist with almost anything, and their offers are genuine.But I don’t want to be burdensom… Read More
2023-08-29 16:00
The gates of hell opened on August 16. Since then, I haven’t seen any floaty bois in Taiwan (more on this later), but there have been some changes on the streets.The most conspicuous t… Read More
2023-08-17 07:00
Recently, a friend invited me for a quick trip to Taitung on Taiwan’s south-east coast. In contrast to the densely-populated western side of the island (which has 20 million people in… Read More
2023-08-03 05:43
Last week, immediately before Typhoon Doksuri hit Kaohsiung (a tree snapped in half outside my building, but my neighborhood was otherwise OK), I went downstairs to collect a pre-typhoon gro… Read More
2023-07-26 09:28
Since 1978, Taiwan has held annual air defense drills called Wan’an (literally “mega peace exercise”; 萬安演習). During the drills, civilians must t… Read More
2023-07-14 15:55
Over the past couple of months, converging evidence has suggested that Moose Peanut (迷路麋鹿), a ‘spring roll ice-cream’ shop in Qishan township, sells e… Read More
2023-07-05 14:42
Being technically unemployed—because I’m yet to launch my start-up in Taiwan—I had to wait six months before I could apply for National Health Insurance. I’ve been co… Read More
2023-06-24 10:58
Taiwan’s three-day Dragon Boat Festival kicked off with a public holiday on Thursday 22 June.I missed that first day, but saw plenty of races yesterday, followed by a tug-of-war this m… Read More
2023-06-19 07:26
After a week of rain, we’ve had a couple of beautiful—and very hot—days here in Kaohsiung. To enjoy the good weather, today I took an unnecessarily-long ride across town fo… Read More
2023-06-14 07:46
As Typhoon Mawar approached Taiwan in the last week of May, I stepped up my disaster preparedness. I’d already bought many days’ worth of bottled water, and had a first-aid kit i… Read More
2023-06-10 12:56
A friend from New Zealand has been staying for the past few days. Last night, we took my scooter to Lotus Pond—around half an hour from my apartment—to photograph the famous Drag… Read More
2023-05-27 08:05
I deleted my social accounts back in 2017. Since then, I never missed Facebook. I feel cleaner without it.But I liked Instagram.It helped me find photography locations and meet other hobbyis… Read More
2023-05-24 09:46
1. Full-face helmetI went to the largest helmet shop in Kaohsiung and bought literally the only one that would fit me. It’s labeled “ASIAN FIT XL”. Full-face helmets provid… Read More
2023-05-16 15:14
Act I: The licenseIn Taiwan, you must hold a driver’s license before buying a vehicle. For this reason, many elderly people—who are unlicensed because they didn’t learn to… Read More
2023-05-05 13:00
After failing my driving test last week, I scheduled my second attempt for this morning, planning to beat the heat.Nonetheless it was around 30ºC when I arrived at the Kaohsiung City Mo… Read More
2023-04-25 11:00
After passing my driver’s license medical exam, it was time to make a reservation for my theory and practical tests.Act I: The reservation testReservations for “ordinary heavy-du… Read More
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