REPEAT WARNING: Once again, this is not a sailing related entry (unless you consider our visit to the shipyard in Taiwan that built Che Figata sailing related). This, as well as future entires through April/May 2025, reflect our effort to capture our experiences while we explore Australia, New Zealand and other places (now Southeast Asia) across the world from the country we call home by land with some air travel assists. We are metaphorically putting our memories in a bottle to savor on some future date. If you are not interested in reading an amateur attempt to document travel experiences you may wish to skip these entries. No offense will be taken. You were warned!
As we put the final flourishes on this blog entry we are on Che Figata packing to head home to the USA. We arrived back in Scarborough Marina about a week ago after a fabulous trip to Taiwan which followed our equally wonderful visit to South Korea. We covered our trip to South Korea in our last blog entry so this post will primarily cover our adventures in Taiwan. Interestingly, our trip to Taiwan was a long time in the making — the seed was planted in 2016 — well before a circumnavigation was a part of our plans. At that time we had already decided that, upon our retirements, we would sail our boat down to the Caribbean for the winter (and even, perhaps, across the Atlantic to the Med in the summer) and wanted a sturdy and comfortable bluewater cruiser that could safely deliver us on an ocean passage. After years of research, we settled on the Hylas 56 and entered into a contract to build one in February 2016. That’s when we decided to visit Taiwan. We planned to visit the ship builder, Queen Long Marine, during the build process. The idea was to see the boat when much of the woodwork was roughed in but before things were final so we could visualize the space and make changes if appropriate. That is possible with semi-custom boats like a Hylas. We were excited to visit the shipyard, tour Taiwan and then take the relatively short flight to South Korea to spend time there. (Through a work connection at about the same time, Jill had met with the CEO of Samsung Health and his team to share learnings on chronic disease management and the CEO invited her to visit South Korea to reciprocate her kindness.)
Of course, due to circumstances beyond anyone’s control, we didn’t end up building our Hylas — we bought a very lightly used Hylas 56 instead — so there was really no need to visit the shipyard. And, a few years later, COVID happened and no one was going anywhere. But, by then, we had decided to embark on our circumnavigation and knew that once we arrived in Australia we would take a few “gap” years in that part of the world to explore Australia, New Zealand and SE Asia. When we finally made it to Australia on October 1, 2023 visiting Taiwan was still very much on our mind. It wasn’t a question of “if” but “when.” We thought we would visit in the Winter of 2025 after our sail to and around Indonesia but with those plans put on pause due to Jill’s knee injury we accelerated our visit to September 2024. So, yes, this trip was quite literally years in the making and here we are 8 years later back from a really incredible trip and excited to write about it. Spoiler alert: It was worth the wait.
Taiwan is different that South Korea in that the main attractions you would want to see or things you’d want to experience are less concentrated around the largest city, Taipei, the way things are concentrated around Seoul. With several different locations to visit — which, of course included Kaohsiung, home of Queen Long Marine — we hired a guide and driver to take us from place to place. In all, we spent 12 days in Taiwan. Like our visit to South Korea, we covered too much ground over those 12 days to give you a daily blow-by-blow of our trip. (You are welcome.) Instead, we will just cover the different areas we explored and captured the highlights from those visits that we want to be sure we preserve in what’s really become our personal journal.
We entered Taiwan via Taipei on September 8 but only stayed one night there. Our itinerary had us spending more time in Taipei on the back end of our trip after visiting other locations. Though we only had one night in Taipei that didn’t stop us from getting into trouble. We were on our own that first night and, unlike our experience in Seoul, we found that fewer locals in Taipei spoke English. We needed to find a place for dinner and, based on information shared by our guide, Danniel, we knew there were several casual restaurants on the second floor of the central train station that was conveniently located across the street from our accommodation, the beautiful Palaise de Chine Hotel. These train station cafes are very much local spots for a quick bite before or after a commuter train ride. Definitely not places generally frequented by tourists, and certainly not tourists from the USA. Of course, much of what needs to be communicated does not require the spoken word. Upon arrival at the crowded restaurant we were shown to table and handed a laminated menu with pictures and a magic marker. We were to put a check mark right on the menu next to our item selections. When the wait staff came by to collect our marked menu not more than a minute after it was given to us, and we were still marking it, they made it clear that we needed to speed things up as they huffed off to another table. We got the message and when they stopped by our table again we had marked our selections and they quickly grabbed the menu off our table.
Once ordered, our food arrived very quickly. The first to appear were the dumplings Zack requested. They arrived without dipping sauce so Jill used the universal sign for dipping sauce to ask for some. This entailed picking up the chopsticks and lifting them up and down to mimic dunking food into a bowl. The wait stuff pointed to a refrigerated cabinet where we could see all the fixings for sauce — it was clearly DIY situation. Of course, the small cabinet that contained the ingredients was located in a very tight passageway between the kitchen and the tables. When standing there to prepare your desired dipping sauce concoction your back is to the kitchen and no one else can pass by. As you might imagine, it takes a little time to create your sauce, especially on your first attempt. You need to survey the options, think through the possible combinations and then add the desired items, in the right portions, to your bowl. As Jill was concentrating on preparing the perfect sauce for Zack (and, okay, she may have over thought is slightly 😀 — shocking, we know), she inadvertently created a bottleneck and didn’t realize it until the shouting in Chinese that was coming from behind her back grew louder. Once she turn around to see some very angry faces (and understood that she was thwarting food delivery) she quickly stepped aside — but not without hearing additional muttering as the waitstaff whizzed past her with trays full of food. Between our deliberate food ordering and Jill blocking the main food delivery artery, we made no friends that evening. On a positive note, the food was really quite good and, for ~$22 USD (that included apps, beer and 2 mains), we enjoyed one of the better meals we had in Taiwan. (Overall, particularly after eating our way around Seoul from one amazing meal to another, the Taiwanese cuisine was somewhat lackluster. Mostly Cantonese and, quite honestly, often bland. Not bursting with the flavor we ordinarily associate with Chinese food. (Not at least the Chinese food Jill’s father cooks or we have eaten as some really excellent Chinese restaurants in the States.) Of course, there were several notable exceptions including the meals we had while visiting Queen Long and our splurge meal during our last evening of our trip. We’ll cover those below.)
As we mentioned, we just spent one night in Taipei. The next morning (September 9) our guide and driver, Ling, picked us up early and drove us down the West coast of Taiwan to the Sun Moon Lake area. On the way there, to break up the 3 hour drive, we stopped at the Giant Bicycle Museum. Yes, Giant is a Taiwanese bicycle company. The museum contained a collection of bicycles from the first bicycles developed (circa 1817) that were propelled by the rider’s feet to today’s vast array of purpose specific bicycles (e.g., cruisers, mountain bikes, racers, etc.). It was actually quite interesting to see how bicycles have evolved over the last 200 years. We arrived to Sun Moon Lake by early afternoon and were greeted by this beautiful green alpine lake surrounded by rugged and lush hills and mountains. The lake gets its name from its shape. Lalu Island, in the middle of the lake, separates it into two parts — one shaped like the Chinese character for a round sun and another shaped like the Chinese character for a crescent moon. We spent 2 nights at the beautiful Lalu Hotel. We had an incredible 2 room suite with clean asian lines and furnishings and a large, private, outdoor patio spanning both rooms, overlooking the infinity pool and the lake. (As a funny aside, we were upgraded to a room on a higher floor (better views) because the hostess who personally escorted us to our room and showed us the various amenities noticed that the bathroom faucet had the most minute drip. Though not nearly large enough to make a noise and be disturbing, she considered this unacceptable and our belongs were transferred to another room. Talk about a service culture!)
Having two half days and one full day in the area gave us time to explore the lake by boat, take a cable car up one of the mountains for a commanding and gorgeous view of the lake and the surrounding mountains, stroll along the boardwalk that extends out into portions of the lake and to visit both the local Buddhist and Tao temples. The visit to the Tao temple, Wenwu Temple, was particularly memorable. Like all Tao Temples (as we learned during our Taiwan visit), this temple was adorned with intricate and colorful carvings, many of dragons. These temples vary in size but they are all truly exquisite works of art and we could have spent a part of every day marveling at them. What distinguished the Wenwu Temple though was its massive size. Situated behind a beautiful gate, the temple’s complex of different buildings made it feel like its own small village constructed on a hillside, with several tiers and an amazing views of the lake. We posted pictures of our visit to Sun Moon Lake and the Wenwu Temple, including pictures we took from its hillside purchase, on our @sailingchefigata Instagram account.
After a few days exploring Sun Moon lake it was time to move further south onto Kaohsiung, home of Queen Long Marine. Amazingly, even after the build-up in our minds due to the 8 year wait, the visit far exceeded our expectations. As we mentioned in our Instagram post about the visit, our half day at the shipyard, reinforced everything we had learned about Queen Long when we researched various boat builders to decide what bluewater cruiser to buy for our future sailing plans. There is indeed a family with an abundance of pride in their work, heart and soul — not a big corporate conglomerate back by private equity — behind every boat. The first thing to mention when we summarize our visit is that we arrived at the shipyard at 10:30 AM with an entourage. In addition to ourselves, we were joined by our Korean friends, Miky and Sung, who were very interested in meeting the family behind Queen Long. We had warned Queen Long that Miky and Sung wanted to accompany us on our visit to their shipyard and, without any hesitation, they let us know that Miky and Sung were welcome. Then, a few days before our visit, our tour guide, Danniel, said he was interested in seeing the facilities and asked if he might be able to come along. Jill sent another note to Queen Long and they quickly responded that both our guide and driver were absolutely welcome as well. So here you have a couple of second owners (not original builders), two of their friends and their tour guide and driver — 6 of us — descending upon them. To say that we were warmly embraced is an understatement.
Andy and Peggy, who are part of the third generation (they are the ages of our children), now run the day to day operations of the company. (They are doing a terrific job BTW. We have spent a lot of time with them at boat shows, two separate Hylas rendezvous and before the launch of the Salty Dawg rally in 2021. Of course the awards and accolades the Hylas 57 has earned — launched under their leadership — speaks volumes.) At the shipyard, however, we met with the second generation, Joseph and Jane (both our age), who were our contacts at the shipyard when we were originally building our Hylas, as well as Eunice Tsai, director of sales. Upon our arrival we were shown into the offices where comfortable chairs were already set up in a semi-circle and we were seated for conversation and tea. Following our tea (and a very informal gift exchange), we went on to tour the production facility and we’re able to board a Hylas 57 (our dream boat — we intend to commission one when we win the lottery) that was just about at the stage our Hylas 56 would have been during our originally planned visit. We had great fun walking through the boat at this stage and being “make-believe” owners, talking about where we would place things if this was our H57. We got quite detailed in our specifications. (We hope they were taking note — they might come in handy if we come into a windfall and do build an H57 one day!) We were incredibly impressed with the workmanship of the boat. The roughed in carpentry was impeccable. Of course, this did not surprise us. The beautiful and flawless woodwork on the Hylas 56, including our very own Che Figata, is stunning — one of the many things that kept pulling us towards Hylas.
Following the tour of the shipyard it was time for lunch. We were escorted into Queen Long’s canteen where we were seated at a table with Joseph, Jane, Eunice and our 4 guests. Though we mentioned that, in general, we were not entirely impressed with the food we ate in Taiwan, this meal (and the dinner Jane and Joseph hosted that evening — more on that later) were delicious. We ate a traditional Taiwanese meal with soup and lots of stir fried dishes and noodles. This included fairy grass cold soup, Shan Cho — a delicate, lightly sweet, soup made with tea and jello served at the end of the meal. Every dish had just the right amount of seasoning and, having asked about dietary preferences before we arrived, they made sure to have plenty of delicious vegan options for Jill. We learned that the canteen cook — a lovely woman we met and had a chance to thank personally — has been with the company for 30 years. We also learned that she cooks lunch 5 days a week for all the Queen Long employees. This is not customary in Taiwan. Joseph and Jane (and Joseph’s parents before them) do this because they consider their workers family and you can see that in the way they interact with them. At one point Jill asked whether Eunice was a part of the family — perhaps a niece — because of the genuine warmth between Jane and Eunice we observed. Nope. Eunice was hired by Andy about 5 years ago — still a newbie at Queen Long given the longevity of their employees. You can see why each boat is built with such great care. Employees reward employers who treat them with respect, fairness and kindness. That’s true no matter where you are in the world! We departed the shipyard after lunch with arms full of dessert items, Hylas t-shirts, beautifully crafted and packaged wooden Hylas chopsticks and even some spare boat parts (stainless hinges and a sender unit for one of our water tanks).
If the graciousness extended to us and our group during the day wasn’t enough, Jane and Joseph hosted a dinner for all of us — Danniel and Ling included — at Crab’s House in the evening. The Crab’s House is one of Jane’s and Joseph’s favorite restaurants. It’s another family owned business with employees who stay a long time (our server had been with them for 40 years!). We were seated in a private room on the second floor with a large round table for 9 and a lazy Susan in the middle. Jane and Joseph pre ordered an array of dishes — including many vegan options — and all were fantastic. Zack particularly enjoyed the traditional barbecue pork which he considered some of the best he’s ever eaten. After a delightful evening of amazing food and wonderful company, we said our good-byes with very full hearts. Throughout our day with Joseph, Jane and Eunice we and our guests were treated like their most important customers. It was truly an experience we will never forget. We posted pictures from our visit on time with the Queen Long family on our @sailingchefigata Instagram account.
Aside from visiting Queen Long, we did spend some time touring Kaohsiung. Some highlights of our visit:
- Kaohsiung Harbor with its art filled streets and Cijin island. We took a bridge over to Cijin Island and a very small commuter ferry back. The ferry was filled with scooters — more on that under general observations below;
- The Kaohsiung fish market. It is always interesting to see what people in other countries eat as standard fare. We were not tempted to try most of it; not even the creatures that live in various mollusk shells and are served in the shell to be sucked out during a meal;
- Love River and its beautiful developed waterfront area;
- And, finally, the large Buddhist Temple and Museum. The Buddhist temple had a number of interesting exhibits but we particularly enjoyed the exhibit covering the impact on maritime travel throughout Asia on the spread of Buddhism. We also appreciated learning more about the differences and similarity between Buddhism and Taoism. We had noted many similarities as we toured various temples. Specifically, references to Buddhist texts and Buddhist concepts in Tao temples as well as the shared religious practice of meditation and humility and belief in reincarnation after death. But the two also have stark difference including the Tao worship of multiple deities representing the gods of very specific things (vs. the Buddhist worship of one deity). Though not open to the public, the Buddhist Museum has 48 underground palaces that serve as time capsules. Its contents are artifacts that are either historic, contemporary, or commemorative in nature. The museum plans to open one of these underground palaces every hundred years and to place other current day items inside before sealing it again.
After 2 full days and 3 nights in Kaohsiung we were off to Tainan as we headed back North toward Taipei. This is the area where the Dutch settled during their very brief 40 year colonial rule in the 1600s before they were booted out by Chinese forces. The main attraction in Tainan (aside salt mines and the impressive 6 story tall Qigu Salt mound (pic posted on Instagram) at the now defunct Qigu Salt Field) is the Tainan Confucius temple, built in 1666. Confucianism is considered a philosophy rather than a religion and Confucius is still revered in Taiwan so every year, on his birthday, people come to this temple from all over Taiwan to show their respect by participating in a highly prescribed ritual involving dance, music and food offerings. This does not conflict with Taoism or Buddhism because it is not considered deity worship but rather a way to honor Confucius who is known as the first teacher in China that wanted to democratize education, making it broadly available.
After a few partial days and one evening in Tainan, we continued our trip North to Alishan National Park. Alishan National Park is a gorgeous mountainous area covering ~160 square miles on the west coast of Taiwan known for its old growth forest (including many cypress trees estimated to be 1,000 – 2,000 years old!), cherry trees, waterfalls, low floating clouds, spectacular sunrises and macaque monkeys. When we arrived we immediately hit the hiking trails which wind up and down (and up and down and up and down) over the hills through the forest, often along an elevated boardwalk and over suspension bridges that weave around clusters of ancient red and yellow cypresses. The forest is dense, moist, misty and lush, giving it am almost mystical feel that envelops you in a blanket of natural beauty. We finished our long hike just in time for dinner and an early bed-time — early because one of us (Jill) was getting up at 3:50 AM the next morning to go on a sunrise hike, the activity that the park is most famous for. (Unfortunately, Zack caught a cold from Danniel and we decided that he needed sleep more than he needed to see the sun rise up over the mountains. Jill promised to take pictures!) The hike entailed getting on the 4:20 AM hotel shuttle bus that transports guests to the Forest Railway Line to catch the 4:30 AM train, otherwise known as the “sunrise train.” The train ride alone made the early morning wake up call worthwhile. For 30 minutes, in pitch-black darkness, you ride a narrow-gauge train that travels on tracks laid over one hundred years ago up steep mountains, climbing to an altitude of 2,216 meters above sea level to reach a viewing platform on Zhushan, or Celebration Mountain. As you stand there for about one hour the sky transforms from complete darkness to a gradual early morning light with distinct rays of of sun shooting up from behind the mountain. Slowly, the sun begins to peak out from behind the mountain with what first appears to be a sliver of fire and slowly reveals the circular sun shrouded by low wispy clouds that makes the sun look like it has tentacles. It really was a magical experience. Following the sunrise you have the option of taking the train back or walking back to the hotel. Jill and Danniel, along with a very small handful of the ~100 people on the viewing platform, walked down the mountain back to the hotel, arriving at 7 AM after an hour long walk, just in time for breakfast. (We posted a few pictures of the sunrise on our @sailingchefigata Instagram account.)
After breakfast we were on the move again. Ling drove us to Chiayi to catch the bullet train back to Taipei and the lovely Palais de Chine Hotel where would would spend the next 4 nights. The bullet train, which travels at speeds of 184 mph, allowed us to return to Taipei in just under 90 minutes for what otherwise would have been an over 3 hour car ride. We were amazed by how quiet and smooth the ride was — and how civilized too. The chairs were very comfortable with plenty of room and the food and beverage cart made frequent passes down the aisle to make sure passengers didn’t want for anything.
In our usual style, we kept very busy during our 3 full days in Taipei. We visited the Lungshan temple which, built in 1738, is the oldest temple in western Taipei. While most temples in Taiwan (and throughout the world) are dedicated to one one religion, the Longshan Temple is a wonderful mix of Taoist, Buddhist and Confucian faiths. This beautiful temple was actually damaged multiple times — including damage from earthquakes and severe damage sustained when Allied forces dropped 3,800 bombs on on Taipei which was then part of a Japanese-controlled territory — but it was always lovingly rebuilt by local residents with little support from the government or wealthy donors. This remains a huge source of pride within the community. We also visited the National Palace Museum which houses an incredible treasure trove of well preserved (as in like new) Chinese antiquities, some dating back 5,000 years. We wondered how these Chinese antiquities ended up in Taiwan and learned that they were brought to Taiwan by Chiang Kai-shek to preserve them when he fled mainland China in 1949, after the Chinese Civil War ended with the Communist Party’s victory. Finally, we visited the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial. Though we were somewhat surprised to find this large memorial — more like a complex — devoted to a dictator (upon his retreat to Taiwan he imposed martial law, persecuted critics and “won” five highly suspect elections to six-year terms as President) the memorial has really become more of a museum of political history. There was a very interesting exhibit, Awakening Tide – The Call for Freedom on the Long Road to Democracy, covering modern political history starting with the Japanese Colonial Period through the Cold War and Party-State Authoritarianism (1945–1970), the founding of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in 1986 and present day democracy with free presidential elections and the peaceful transfer of power between political parties. Throughout our time in Taiwan, and certainly highlighted by this exhibit, we were struck by the ambiguity around China’s claim of sovereignty over Taiwan as well as Taiwan’s claim of independence. Particularly after our visit to South Korea where there are clear bright lines marking different periods of independence or foreign rule, they don’t really exist in Taiwan. In fact, China really ceded sovereignty of Taiwan to Japan and its claim to Taiwan stems from Chiang Kai-shek’s retreat there where he established a government and continued (until his death in 1975) to claim legitimacy as the leader of all of China. In short, in some ways, Taiwan’s leader really claimed sovereignty over China and not the other way around.
In addition to visiting places of historical interest, we took in a 360 degree view of Taipei atop the 101 building. (The speed of the elevators was impressive — we climbed up to the 89th floor observatory in 36 seconds and back down in 45!) We also visited the Grand Hotel, a 14 story palace like building nestled against the Yangming Mountain, which was commission by Chiang Kai-shek in 1952 and fully completed in 1973 with different portions opening earlier throughout that period. After establishing his government in Taiwan in 1949, Chiang Kai-shek felt that it was difficult to attract foreign ambassadors to Taiwan without any 5 star hotels so he had one built. And he went BIG if not somewhat over the top. “Grandiose” is a word you often see used to describe the hotel. The hotel is a showpiece of classic Chinese architecture inside and out. With its signature red columns and golden roof, it is reminiscent of the regal and elegant palaces we visited in South Korea (many of which were built during Chinese rule). Opulent best describes the hotel’s interior with its intricately carved marble columns , panels, paintings and thoughtfully placed art objects. Dragon motifs are incorporated into many of the design elements, giving rise to its nickname “The Dragon Palace”. These are particularly notable on the ornate plum blossom-shaped caisson ceiling that graces the hotel lobby where five golden dragons circle a pearl. (We posted a picture of that magnificent ceiling on our @sailingchefigata Instagram account.) Last but not least, we visited some of the oldest streets in Taipei (Monga street and DiHua street), enjoying our stroll in and out of the main drag as well as the side alleys filled with local shops and restuarants, and the Raohe Street Night market where locals go to eat street food after work and on weekends.
On our last day in the area, we ventured just outside the Taipei city limits to the north to visit the Jiufen area. There we visited the site of a former prisoner of war camp run by the Japanese from 1942 through 1945 which is now a memorial to the 4300 prisoners jailed there. Prisoners there were forced to work in cooper mines under very harsh conditions. Ten percent of the prisoners died of starvation, disease and beatings. Most of the prisoners were from the UK but there was a fair number from the USA and Australia.
For our last evening in Taiwan we did something special. Our hotel is the home of Le Palais, a 3 Michelin star Cantonese restaurant. Before even glancing at the menu we were struck by the ambience. The dining room is lavish and dimly lit but inviting with a chic and modern feel. And is is very private. Every table, with its overstuffed couch and chairs, is set in its own special screened off area. Though each alcove is opened to the main “hallway” the waitstaff use to deliver each course, the partitions combined with the spacing between guest tables prevents guests from easily seeing or hearing one another. The beautiful table setting was a wonderful prelude to the meal. We both ordered one of the menu sets which are really multi course tasting menus. The highlights of Jill’s set included morels and bamboo pith soup with Chinese yam, braised white gourd stuffed edible bird’s nest, spicy stir-fried mushrooms and basil and stir-fried lily bulb with wood ear mushrooms and celery while Zack’s highlights included barbecue pork, sir-fried lobster with garlic and chili peppers, braised abalone with pork tendon and shiitake mushrooms and steamed grouper with julienned pork and mushrooms. Naturally, we liked some dishes more than others but, overall, it was a delicious meal with a great assortment of delectable bites. In full disclosure, it was a break the bank meal — no less expensive than what you would pay to enjoy a chef’s tasting menu at a top NYC restaurant. Was it worth the $$$$$ we spent considering the atmosphere and food quality? We are not 100% sure. But given how little we spent for our meals most evenings (rarely spending more than $35 USD) it was worth the splurge for an evening that was a true dining experience and a nice way to celebrate the end of a wonderful trip.
And that, our dear readers, sums up our 12 days in Taiwan. Now for some general observations.
Like South Korea, Taiwan has an aging population. While not quite as acute, due to expenses that are increasing faster than salaries, many young people are marrying later and when they do they are opting for no children or smaller families. When our friends Miky and Sung from South Korea visited Queen Long with us they compared notes with Jane and Joseph and agreed that there were many cultural similarities, particularly as it relates to the younger generation.
There are 7-Elevens everywhere — and we mean everywhere. To put this in perspective, Taiwan is approximately 0.37% the size of the USA — an area slightly bigger than the State of Maryland. Maryland has 404 7-Eleven stores while Taiwan has ~6,700. For a country that is less than 1% the size of the USA it has nearly 75% of the roughly 9,200 7-Elevens in all of the USA. We saw 7-Elevens everywhere we went — even the smallest of towns — sometimes practically across the street from one another. This is not hyperbole. In one small town there was a 7-Eleven on one side of the street and when you crossed over to the other side and walked a half a block there was another one. The reasons for this is simple. In Taiwan, the 7-Eleven is more like a cross between a convenience store, a government agency and a community center. At any 7-Eleven you can buy food, toiletries and other sundry items, pay your taxes, ship or pick up packages, drop off your laundry, check your blood pressure, return library books, send faxes, buy rail and plane tickets, purchase internet access and lottery tickets and renew your driver’s license. There’s a saying in Taiwan that goes like this: “The Taiwanese people could live without their government but they could not live without 7-Eleven.”
There are scooters galore! Scooters are a very popular mode of transportation in Taiwan. This is largely due to the fact that they are low cost alternatives to cars (lower acquisition, gas and maintenance costs) and Taiwan’s climate makes them an all season vehicle. The are ubiquitous and it’s a little unnerving. As you cross the street scooters travel fast around curves, seeming to come out of no where. On the streets they don’t obey traffic laws, darting in an around cars, often with multiple riders. Unlike any of our other trips to date, we had a professional driver throughout our stay in Taiwan. Watching the scooter dynamic we were very glad we did!
Finally, there are a lot of Tao temples — 9,684 to be precise. (Even eclipsing 7-Elevens!) Some are big, some are small. Some are in urban area and some are in remote areas built into the mountainside and nestled in among trees. All are magnificent. As we mentioned earlier, the rich bright colors and intricate carvings are works of art. (We became enamored by these temples — some might say obsessed — and devoted one entire Instragram post to some of our favorite pictures of them.) Interestingly, there are 15,175 religious buildings in Taiwan. Almost 65% of those are Tao temples. Of the remaining 5,491 religious buildings, just over half are Christian Churches and just under half are Buddhist temples. There is one place of worship for every 1,500 residents and one religious building for every square kilometer, one of the highest densities of religious buildings in the world.
We sadly said our good-byes to Danniel and Ling after a spectacular trip on September 20th. A huge shout out to both of them for taking such good care of us throughout our 12 days together and to Edison Tours for organizing the perfect bespoke tour of Taiwan. We cannot recommend them more highly. We arrived back to our boat at Scarborough Marina on September 21. Since our arrival we’ve been busy doing boat chores (they never end), getting ready for our upcoming 6 week visit to the States and mostly tying up loose ends for our daughter’s upcoming wedding. Our 8 days here in Australia has vanished in a New York minute and we are excited to get back to the States where we will see our families (giving our grand-daughters extra big hugs) and friends after 7 months away. We will take a blog hiatus during our visit back home and will post another entry covering our USA exploits when we return to Australia in mid-November. Cheers!
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