Articles tagged with: NT
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 …
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 …
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 …
Seeing a Movie at the Breeze Center
Another thing I like is going to see a movie at the Breeze Center here in Taipei. The Breeze Center is a somewhat high-end shopping mall on Fuxing Road. There is really nothing in the mall itself that I would ever want to buy. Most malls in Taipei are like that. If you gave me ten thousand US dollars and sent me into one of …
Moon Festival Trip 002 – Nanfangao and the Taroko Gorge
As I suspected, I ended up in a small fishing port on the east coast. It’s a small but bustling place called Nanfangao. I don’t know that it is unique, but it is certainly a type of town that isn’t very common anymore. It feels quite traditional and the people make their living from fishing still.
Keelung Boat Trip
Saturday June 18, 2011
I went for a quick 2-day, 1-night scooter jaunt to Keelung. I took County Road 106 to get to Keelung. This is a beautiful mountain road that passes through the old mining towns of Jingtong, Pingxi, and Shifenliao on the way to Ruifang and the coast. It takes about 2 hours to get from Taipei to Keelung on 106. It would probably …
North Cross-Island Highway 004 – Foggy Paradise
Thursday February 3, 2011
7:20 a.m. Cottage in the Mountains
Where to begin this latest adventure? I’m writing inside a beautiful wooden cottage high up in the mountains. I don’t really have any idea where I am because I came up here in a fog as thick as soup. It’s cold up here, and without any kind of heating, the thermometer reads 7 degrees Celsius inside the …
North Cross-Island Highway 003 – Scootering
Wednesday February 2, 2011
11:45 a.m. Roadside Coffee Shop (sort of)
I haven’t covered much distance so far today. I keep heading off down mountain roads to the left and the right and seeing where they lead. There is so much to see right around here, that there isn’t much point racing off to points south for hours and hours.
My first side trip was off to the …