Articles by Doug Nienhuis
I am a Canadian, and I am currently traveling through Asia with a touring bicycle. These are stories and pictures from my trip.
Scooter Mechanics in Taiwan Are Awesome
It’s a cliche, but it’s hard to believe that it is already January of 2012. I seem to have lost all track of time – years and months and even days. I was handed my pay slip by my company the other day, and I had no idea what it was. I didn’t even know it was pay day. I had this idea it was …
Midnight at the Theater
There are lots of ways to ring in the New Year. Most people go to see the New Year’s Eve fireworks in whatever city they happen to be in. It makes sense. I had plans to do that myself. I was going to hop on my bicycle and ride to the area around the Taipei 101 building. The fireworks were not actually the draw for …
Night at the Opera – Bluebeard’s Castle
The opera Bluebeard’s Castle by Hungarian composer Bela Bartok was performed at the National Theater in Taipei on Friday night. I had never been to the National Theater and, on impulse, I picked up a ticket for NT$800. My seat was off to the left in the balcony on the second floor. My experiences at Zhongshan Hall and the National Concert Hall led me to believe …
School Singing Contest in Taiwan
This video was shot two or three years ago, but it gives a pretty good taste of what a singing contest is like at a school here in Taipei. It opens with the teachers of the school doing a pretty impressive dance routine. Then we get various English classes (sometimes in full costume) singing songs in English. I was there as a guest judge and …
Say “I Do” in Year 100 & The Wind Journeys
I don’t have a big story to go along with these few images. It was just a nice Sunday afternoon concert and a movie. The concert took place at Zhongshan Hall here in Taipei. I wrote a bit about that beautiful and historic hall here.
The concert was put on by the Taipei Symphony Orchestra and the Taipei Symphony Orchestra Chorus. The concert was called Say …
Haircut Vending Machine
I was hanging out at an MRT station in Taipei last week waiting for my ride when I saw this little cubicle. I love anything that’s automated, so I wandered over to check it out. It turns out it’s a little barbershop. You purchase a haircut coupon or ticket from a vending machine. I believe it costs NT$100 for a basic cut. You just insert …
Ultimate Beethoven & School Contests
I went to two school events this week for my company (an ESL publishing firm in Taipei, Taiwan). I was sent there to serve as a special judge for school English contests. The first was a drama contest at a junior high school here in Taipei. If I had written about it directly afterward, I’d probably have been inspired to write like a madman. These …
Lin An Tai House
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