I was riding along on the scooter the other day when I had to stop and do a double take on a nearby building.

‘Hang on, that looks an awful lot like…’ [Read the rest of this entry...]

A few weeks ago I had the good fortune of stumbling across one of Taiwan’s $20 coins. Somewhat of a rarity and wanting to keep it as a lucky coin I tried to clean it up with an old toothbrush but to no avail.

Despite my efforts, it still looked like a dirty beat up old coin… not exactly something you’d carry around for good luck – or put on display with our clean $2000 and $200 banknotes.

In the comments for that particular article, reader Jet suggested I try some Coke on the coin. As luck would have it, I had a 2L bottle of Coke sitting in the fridge that had reached the ‘there’s only a little bit left in here but it’s probably flat so nobody is ever going to drink it’ stage.

Figuring I had nothing to lose I poured it into a mug (about half a cups worth) and let it sit for a week.

Well, at least that was the plan, about one and a half weeks later my girlfriend informed me that my little experiment was ‘growing mold’. Although with the sugar content this should have been a given… but for some reason mold growing on Coke still surprised me.

Anyway, tipping the moldy coke down the sink I retrieved my $20 coin (secretly relieved the Coke hadn’t dissolved it away into nothing… or is that just teeth?) and gave it a look over.

Does Coke clean coins?

Here are the results: [Read the rest of this entry...]

You don’t get too many proper pasta places here in Taiwan so when I saw Cherry Bubble offering all you can eat pasta dishes I figured I had nothing to do lose by giving them a shot.

Situated next to one of our favourite all you can eat hotpot places, ‘Guo da yeh’, even if we walked in and didn’t like the place, we only had to hop next door to grab a decent meal.

That said, we did infact eat at Cherry Bubble… but it wasn’t without its problems! [Read the rest of this entry...]

The Tian Mu Waterpipe trail starts off at the end of Zongshan North Road Section 7 at the foothills of the Yangmingshang National Park.

Starting off with a series of stairs, the Waterpipe trail takes you up into the mountains, levels out for a bit and then dumps you onto a road with a nice view of a nearby mountain:

From here you’ve either got the option of turning around and heading down the way you came, or doing what we did and finding an alternative route down the mountains.

Right next to the view of the mountain at the end of there’s a little path that at first glance appears to be an extension of the Waterpipe trail:

[Read the rest of this entry...]

After the failure of the Kalloy SP-248D seatpost that came with my Surly Long Haul Trucker, I had to set about researching my options for a replacement.

In reality, this vigorous research was nothing more than a trip down to the local bicycle store where they promptly fitted my bike with a Giant “Sports” seatpost:

Not entirely enthusiastic with the black color of the Giant Sports post, I hit the internet for some actual research and finally decided on a Velo Orange Grand Cru seatpost. [Read the rest of this entry...]

Personally I’ve never really understood the concept of watching porn in a group. To me, it just doesn’t make sense.

You sit down, watch for a few minutes, do your thing and then get on with your day right?

Watching porn in a group on the otherhand, what’s the point? I mean it’s not like you’re going to laugh at the jokes together or sit down and discuss the intricate plot afterwards…

Oh and then there’s the fact that you’d pretty much be looking at a 100% male turnout so… unless you’re gay, uncomfortable much?

Well, not according to the Taipei Women’s Rescue Foundation. [Read the rest of this entry...]

Back in November last year news came to light that the Director General of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Kansas, a one Jacqueline Liu (劉姍姍) had been treating her hired help like slaves.

No surprises there of course, but she made the mistake of upholding this fine Taiwanese tradition on US soil, rather than the standard accepted practice of doing so in Taiwan itself.

Standing by their man, er woman, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) at the time kicked up a big stink over the outrageous way Liu had been treated.

Hold someone accountable for keeping slaves? HOW DARE THEY! [Read the rest of this entry...]

I’ve always felt that there was something lacking in my choice of underwear. Something I haven’t ever been able to quite put my finger on. Was it the size? The color? The fabric…? Why on Earth wasn’t I satisfied???

I’ve struggled with this shortcoming for most my adult life, but all that changed when I stumbled across these: [Read the rest of this entry...]

Apart from solving crime and catching criminals, police serve a number of additional functions within the community.

Traffic management, patrols, responding to disturbances, witnessing the signing of documents, escorting high-profile persons and the list goes on and on. Here in Taiwan, aside from the usual tasks performed by the police around the world, they are also available to be used as a deposit box with 24 hour availability.

And apparently they’ll accept anything… even dildos. [Read the rest of this entry...]

The live music scene isn’t all that big in Taiwan but if you hunt around long enough  there are a few places to be found that can indulge you.

One such place is Sappho. Walking into Sappho I kinda felt like I was entering a venue that hadn’t left the 70s… [Read the rest of this entry...]