Life can’t be easy for Hello Kitty. Worshipped by millions of helium-voiced pint-sized squealing Asian girls around the world, for some unexplained reason the cat-like cartoon figure has obtained unmatched cult-like status. From pre-pubescent girls who don’t know any better to disillusioned teenagers struggling to find meaning in their life to young women desperate to [...]
Trains in Taiwan are usually pretty clean. There’s garbage collectors who run through the trains every hour or so and I’ve yet to walk into a carriage and find my seat dirty or damaged. That said, be warned the next time you board a Taiwan Rail Administration (TRA) train that you might be sitting in [...]
I was walking down the Lover’s Path near Wulai Township when out of the blue I happened across the following sign: Love the environment. Treasure resources. Be grateful for water. Preserve water source. Awwwwwwww! Wow, what a change – for once the appearance that somebody in Taiwan actually gives a damn about the environment!
Why, at Wanko of course! On a related note, apart from the immature giggling seeing this Wankos store in Banciao brought on, it made me realise that I’ve nary heard the term ‘wanker’ used since I left Australia. I’ve heard plenty of douchebag, idiot, moron, stupid, twat etc. type insults thrown around – but it seems [...]
The Kalloy SP-248D seatpost looks pretty good in silver and compliments the Surly Long Haul Trucker aesthetically quite well. I believe the company has been using the Kalloy seatpost for a few years now. Unfortunately the SP-248D seatpost has a one bolt design to hold the saddle it’s attached to in place. When you ride a Brooks [...]
It was a beautiful sunny day and we’d just ridden the better part of 15kms out from Taipei into Wulai Township. Finding a place to lock the bicycles up, it was lunchtime and the aromas of Wulai’s Old Street were assaulting our nostrils relentlessly. Resistance was futile so we set about looking for something to [...]
The other night we were about to head out to dinner in downtown Taipei when I did my usual ‘phone/keys/wallet’ check. I was missing my phone so went looking for it, I only ever leave it in a select few locations around the house so it’s never too difficult to locate. Sitting on the ironing [...]
Late last year when my girlfriend came home with a box and Hank the budgie popped out, I was more than a little nervous. Small things that flap around and move erratically irk me but after getting used to him and his antics, Hank became a welcome addition to my daily writing routine. Perched on [...]
Walking along the Lover’s Path in Wulai that runs along the Nanshi River, amidst the gorgeous backdrop of soaring mountains and the blue-green river itself, sticking out like a sore thumb is a large white hydroelectric power station. Owned and operatee by Taiwan Power Company (TaiPower), I’m not entirely sure when the Wulai hydroelectric power station [...]
It was a Saturday night and we were en route to a high-school reunion. My girlfriend hadn’t seen her classmates in a while and was excited… and although I didn’t know anyone, I tagged along because I’d never eaten at Taoban before. Here’s what dinner at Taoban House (陶板屋), in the southern area of Taipei City [...]
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