The second destination on my journey was an “Eco-Village” farm near Chitwan National Park. So, from Kathmandu I took a local bus to Bharatapur, and from there had to take another, smaller, more crammed local bus to the park location. Between construction from landslide repair, and traffic, the roads were in terrible condition. The poor…
Like any breakup leaving Taiwan didn’t go as smoothly as planned. The last two weeks were insanely busy. I am going to attempt to summarize since a reflection on three years of time isn’t going to fit into one post, or be of any particular interest to anyone but myself. I started my long goodbye…
The first place I was researching in Taiwan before even buying my plane ticket to move here was Taroko National Park. I was convinced by the pictures I’d seen that Taiwan had to be the most beautiful place on earth, but even the most professional nature photographer isn’t able to do the park justice. The…
Rolling green mountains, tropical beaches, aboriginal villages, Taitung is what I pictured when I bought a one way ticket to Taiwan three years ago. It is the east coast that gives much of Taiwan its sense of spirit, a clear sense of identity that seems to permeate through the culture here much more than anywhere…
Stop number one of our ’round island journey was Alishan, a first and last for both of us. My first year in Taiwan I was certain that Alishan was a place to visit that was an absolute must, but as I started to see more and more remote parts of the island the fervor to…
The Chinese media had two major strikes this week, both, literally made my jaw drop open, shake my head and think “Oh, China” Don’t get me wrong. I am American, a country created on the ideal of equality, yet every inequality and social injustice is still alive and going strong (if you are not a…
A few days away from calling it a wraps on my Chinese New Year vacation in Rochester and heading back to Taiwan. Traditionally, Taiwanese (and Chinese) celebrate the lunar new year by heading to their childhood home and spending time with family and extended family. Either the home they grew up in or their parents…
As autumn finally starts to surface and typhoon season has just about died off, exploration season has finally begun. One of the things I love about Taiwan is that it is so accessible, yet there are parts of it that are still untouched, parts that remain wild, calling to be discovered. All it takes is…
This past weekend was the 10-10 holiday, Double-Ten Day is celebrated in Taiwan to commemorate the start of the Republic of China, the R.O.C was established as a result of the Wuchang Uprising in China, that sparked the civil war. When the R.O.C lost, they relocated to Taiwan where they were given control when the…
Stepping out of the Incheon airport was like time traveling into the future. This weekend I had 4 days in South Korean to visit my old friend and adventure partner. Since four days is a short amount of time I was only able to experience Seoul and Chencheon, but both places felt more futuristic than…
A Conscious Venture 