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Friend's blogs
Photos of Amsterdam, Netherlands
One of Europe's most famous capitals
Amsterdam is the cultural and economic center of Netherlands and definitely one of the most famous cities in Europe, perhaps in the world. The city is known for it's numerous canals, coffee shops that attract marijuana smokers from all over the world, a vibrant red-light district and night life and generally a very laid-back approach to life. Amsterdam might be one of the most liberal cities in the world and those who visit, usually combine the city with pleasure.
1. My impression of Amsterdam
For me Amsterdam is a mix of red-bricked houses along the canals, that cause nostalgia and modernistic cubes with glassy facades, that cause wondering. Although Amsterdam is a big and important European city, the life feels very laid-back. That might be due to the relaxed nature of the Dutch people. Bicycles rule the streets, everything's optimized for biking, which is the quintessential Dutch thing. The public transportation is very well developed and walking around the center is as easy as eating a pie. I like Amsterdam in a way, but I don't love it.
2. My photos of Amsterdam
Following are the photos of my stroll around Amsterdam's center. Enjoy:
Sloterdijk station is close to Holiday Inn Express, my favorite hotel.
Only one stop to Amsterdam Central station, it's very convenient.
The covered roof of Amsterdam Centraal.
Inside Amsterdam's main station.
Common problem in some parts of Amsterdam: Littering. This is at the main station.
Central station from outside.
Damrak, one of the main streets in Amsterdam.
Central station as seen from Damrak.
French fries stall.
Royal palace.
One of the biggest squares in the center called Dam.
Horse with carriage at the Dam.
Magna Plaza shopping center.
Magna Plaza's top.
Magna Plaza from atop.
One of the beautiful canals in the center.
Another angle.
Sexy Amsterdam.
No comment.
Traditional Dutch houses.
Oude Kerk church.
Nikolaskerk church.
Oude Kerk again.
Oude Kerk closeup.
The tower.
The front.
Amsterdam skyline.
Amsterdam is beautiful at night.
Hamburgers ready to be taken. You just need to insert a coin to get them.
Amsterdam at night.
Houses near canal at night.
Live copulation show in Amsterdam...
Ladies of the night.
Amsterdam's infamous red light district.
Back to where I came from...
3. Amsterdam in conclusion
Amsterdam is one of those European cities you should not miss, if you come to Europe. It has a very special ambiance that will captivate you. Unfortunately, it's not famous for good food, something I always look for, when I travel, but it has a lot of historic sights and beautiful spots, that will make it up for it.
Thank you for subscribing and reading, whoever you are.
Amsterdam is the cultural and economic center of Netherlands and definitely one of the most famous cities in Europe, perhaps in the world. The city is known for it's numerous canals, coffee shops that attract marijuana smokers from all over the world, a vibrant red-light district and night life and generally a very laid-back approach to life. Amsterdam might be one of the most liberal cities in the world and those who visit, usually combine the city with pleasure.
1. My impression of Amsterdam
For me Amsterdam is a mix of red-bricked houses along the canals, that cause nostalgia and modernistic cubes with glassy facades, that cause wondering. Although Amsterdam is a big and important European city, the life feels very laid-back. That might be due to the relaxed nature of the Dutch people. Bicycles rule the streets, everything's optimized for biking, which is the quintessential Dutch thing. The public transportation is very well developed and walking around the center is as easy as eating a pie. I like Amsterdam in a way, but I don't love it.
2. My photos of Amsterdam
Following are the photos of my stroll around Amsterdam's center. Enjoy:
Sloterdijk station is close to Holiday Inn Express, my favorite hotel.
Only one stop to Amsterdam Central station, it's very convenient.
The covered roof of Amsterdam Centraal.
Inside Amsterdam's main station.
Common problem in some parts of Amsterdam: Littering. This is at the main station.
Central station from outside.
Damrak, one of the main streets in Amsterdam.
Central station as seen from Damrak.
French fries stall.
Royal palace.
One of the biggest squares in the center called Dam.
Horse with carriage at the Dam.
Magna Plaza shopping center.
Magna Plaza's top.
Magna Plaza from atop.
One of the beautiful canals in the center.
Another angle.
Sexy Amsterdam.
No comment.
Traditional Dutch houses.
Oude Kerk church.
Nikolaskerk church.
Oude Kerk again.
Oude Kerk closeup.
The tower.
The front.
Amsterdam skyline.
Amsterdam is beautiful at night.
Hamburgers ready to be taken. You just need to insert a coin to get them.
Amsterdam at night.
Houses near canal at night.
Live copulation show in Amsterdam...
Ladies of the night.
Amsterdam's infamous red light district.
Back to where I came from...
3. Amsterdam in conclusion
Amsterdam is one of those European cities you should not miss, if you come to Europe. It has a very special ambiance that will captivate you. Unfortunately, it's not famous for good food, something I always look for, when I travel, but it has a lot of historic sights and beautiful spots, that will make it up for it.
Thank you for subscribing and reading, whoever you are.
Categories: Friend's blogs
Photos of Zurich, Switzerland
Part of my 2011 European travel adventures
Zurich (German Zürich) is Switzerland's biggest city, but not its capital city. Nevertheless, it feels like a capital. It's the center of the Swiss banking, insurance and financial services as well as biotechnology, life sciences, medical technologies and IT. The metropolitan area around Zurich is one of the economically most developed areas in Europe enjoying one of the highest standards on the continent. Zurich is definitely rich - not only financially, but also in culture and history.
1. My impression of Zurich
Zurich is one of the most pleasant cities I've ever been to. It's relatively small and compact in its core, but it has a lot of suburbs, that are stretching out all over the region. The prettiest part is along the river Limmat, that's neatly dividing the city in two parts before it disappears in the beautiful Lake Zurich. Living near that lake must be like living in paradise, I do not want to even think about how expensive it must be to have a house with such view and so close to Zurich. The medieval center is relatively small in comparison with Vienna's or Munich's, but completely intact. The city is also very clean and has a very good public transportation. Unfortunately, I only spent 3 days here on business and had little time to explore all the hidden gems the city offers. Nevertheless, I was able to take a stroll around the historic part and that's what I'd like to share with you.
2. My photos of Zurich
This is the Kloten airport inside.
The train from Zurich airport to Zurich main station.
Inside the Zurich main station.
Swiss National Museum building right next to the main station.
Walking from main to the center.
The S-Bahn trains are dominating the roads.
Finally reaching the river Limmat.
Zurich's famous skyline.
Houses near the river Limmat.
The Predigerkirche and the nearby Central Library (Zentralbibliothek).
Seagull's standing in line near the river Limmat.
View on the other side of the river.
Two famous landmarks drew my attention.
This is the St. Peter's Church dating back to the 10th century.
What stands out is the huge clock on the tower.
It happens to be the largest clock face in Europe, 8.64m wide.
Nearby you can find the pointy Fraumünster church, part of the nearby abbey.
The abbey dates back to the 9th century.
This is the famous Grossmünster (Great minster) from the 12th century.
The roundly shaped tops of the towers were added in the 18th century.
3. Zurich lake
A view on the Zurich lake from one of my earlier trips.
4. Zurich in conclusion
Zurich definitely won't disappoint you, if you're into history and a laid-back ambiance. Personally, I'm a big Switzerland fan, I'm fascinated by how well this country is organized and developed, despite being so small, diverse and complex. If you ever come to Central Europe, Zurich should definitely be on your list of cities to visit. I've seen it two times so far and I always had a good time. I hope that next time I can see more of Zurich's outskirts, the whole region is very beautiful.
Thank you for subscribing and reading, whoever you are.
Zurich (German Zürich) is Switzerland's biggest city, but not its capital city. Nevertheless, it feels like a capital. It's the center of the Swiss banking, insurance and financial services as well as biotechnology, life sciences, medical technologies and IT. The metropolitan area around Zurich is one of the economically most developed areas in Europe enjoying one of the highest standards on the continent. Zurich is definitely rich - not only financially, but also in culture and history.
1. My impression of Zurich
Zurich is one of the most pleasant cities I've ever been to. It's relatively small and compact in its core, but it has a lot of suburbs, that are stretching out all over the region. The prettiest part is along the river Limmat, that's neatly dividing the city in two parts before it disappears in the beautiful Lake Zurich. Living near that lake must be like living in paradise, I do not want to even think about how expensive it must be to have a house with such view and so close to Zurich. The medieval center is relatively small in comparison with Vienna's or Munich's, but completely intact. The city is also very clean and has a very good public transportation. Unfortunately, I only spent 3 days here on business and had little time to explore all the hidden gems the city offers. Nevertheless, I was able to take a stroll around the historic part and that's what I'd like to share with you.
2. My photos of Zurich
This is the Kloten airport inside.
The train from Zurich airport to Zurich main station.
Inside the Zurich main station.
Swiss National Museum building right next to the main station.
Walking from main to the center.
The S-Bahn trains are dominating the roads.
Finally reaching the river Limmat.
Zurich's famous skyline.
Houses near the river Limmat.
The Predigerkirche and the nearby Central Library (Zentralbibliothek).
Seagull's standing in line near the river Limmat.
View on the other side of the river.
Two famous landmarks drew my attention.
This is the St. Peter's Church dating back to the 10th century.
What stands out is the huge clock on the tower.
It happens to be the largest clock face in Europe, 8.64m wide.
Nearby you can find the pointy Fraumünster church, part of the nearby abbey.
The abbey dates back to the 9th century.
This is the famous Grossmünster (Great minster) from the 12th century.
The roundly shaped tops of the towers were added in the 18th century.
3. Zurich lake
A view on the Zurich lake from one of my earlier trips.
4. Zurich in conclusion
Zurich definitely won't disappoint you, if you're into history and a laid-back ambiance. Personally, I'm a big Switzerland fan, I'm fascinated by how well this country is organized and developed, despite being so small, diverse and complex. If you ever come to Central Europe, Zurich should definitely be on your list of cities to visit. I've seen it two times so far and I always had a good time. I hope that next time I can see more of Zurich's outskirts, the whole region is very beautiful.
Thank you for subscribing and reading, whoever you are.
Categories: Friend's blogs
Photos of Ulm, Germany
Part of my 2011 European travel adventures
Ulm is a small town in southern Germany, located between the big cities Munich and Stuttgart. I happened to have a business meeting in one of the small towns nearby and decided to book my hotel in Ulm. I stayed here for three days and really had a great time exploring this medieval gem. I love the small towns in Germany, because the people are friendlier and warmer and usually the historic parts are left intact. Ulm was so far one of the most beautiful towns I've seen so far in Germany. The town is famous for the tallest church in the world, but if you think that's the only thing that makes a visit worth, you are wrong. Ulm is full of nice little spots waiting to be explored.
1. My impression of Ulm
I booked a hotel within walk from the main railway station. At the same time, it was located within walking distance to the historic center, which was for me perfect. Ulm is great, because you can see most of it in a day and by merely walking around the old town, everything is located next to each other. The 161.5m tall tower of the Ulm Minster is dominating the skyline and it's the landmark of the town. The biggest square is right in front of this gigantic church, but there is an older part of Ulm located south of the Minster, close to the river Danube. That was for me the most charming part of town.
2. My photos of Ulm
Take a walk with me around the old Ulm:
The Bahnhofsstrasse is leading your from main railways station to the Ulm Minster.
A view on the Ulm Minster from the Hirschstrasse.
The Minster again.
One of my best shots of the Ulm Minster.
There were few tourists found in Ulm that day.
Read my post about Ulm Minster here>>
A traditional German house.
A street in the center.
The center's brim.
Heading south to Ulm's oldest part.
This is the interesting facade of the Ulm town hall.
The Marktplatz near the town hall.
The glassy building is the public library, reflecting the town hall nearby.
The Ulm Library.
The oldest part of Ulm is located near two streams.
This is the famous Leaning house (Schiefes Haus), it's a hotel today.
Small bridges are connecting the houses in the area.
This one is surrounded by water.
This stream is flowing towards the Danube.
This type of haus is called Fachwerkhaus in German.
A promenade near the Danube.
I spotted these ducks.
Are these flying seagulls?
This uncle was feeding the birds.
This duck was taking a rest close to me.
The old Ulm skyline with the historic wall.
Metzgerturm or the Butcher's tower is one of the oldest buildings in the area.
3. Ulm in conclusion
Ulm is simply a gem. Not only it's full of beautiful historic remains, I found the people very friendly. If you're not bound to stay in one of the bigger cities in the area such as Munich, Augsburg or Stuttgart, choose Ulm, you'll definitely not regret it.Thank you for subscribing and reading, whoever you are.
Ulm is a small town in southern Germany, located between the big cities Munich and Stuttgart. I happened to have a business meeting in one of the small towns nearby and decided to book my hotel in Ulm. I stayed here for three days and really had a great time exploring this medieval gem. I love the small towns in Germany, because the people are friendlier and warmer and usually the historic parts are left intact. Ulm was so far one of the most beautiful towns I've seen so far in Germany. The town is famous for the tallest church in the world, but if you think that's the only thing that makes a visit worth, you are wrong. Ulm is full of nice little spots waiting to be explored.
1. My impression of Ulm
I booked a hotel within walk from the main railway station. At the same time, it was located within walking distance to the historic center, which was for me perfect. Ulm is great, because you can see most of it in a day and by merely walking around the old town, everything is located next to each other. The 161.5m tall tower of the Ulm Minster is dominating the skyline and it's the landmark of the town. The biggest square is right in front of this gigantic church, but there is an older part of Ulm located south of the Minster, close to the river Danube. That was for me the most charming part of town.
2. My photos of Ulm
Take a walk with me around the old Ulm:
The Bahnhofsstrasse is leading your from main railways station to the Ulm Minster.
A view on the Ulm Minster from the Hirschstrasse.
The Minster again.
One of my best shots of the Ulm Minster.
There were few tourists found in Ulm that day.
Read my post about Ulm Minster here>>
A traditional German house.
A street in the center.
The center's brim.
Heading south to Ulm's oldest part.
This is the interesting facade of the Ulm town hall.
The Marktplatz near the town hall.
The glassy building is the public library, reflecting the town hall nearby.
The Ulm Library.
The oldest part of Ulm is located near two streams.
This is the famous Leaning house (Schiefes Haus), it's a hotel today.
Small bridges are connecting the houses in the area.
This one is surrounded by water.
This stream is flowing towards the Danube.
This type of haus is called Fachwerkhaus in German.
A promenade near the Danube.
I spotted these ducks.
Are these flying seagulls?
This uncle was feeding the birds.
This duck was taking a rest close to me.
The old Ulm skyline with the historic wall.
Metzgerturm or the Butcher's tower is one of the oldest buildings in the area.
3. Ulm in conclusion
Ulm is simply a gem. Not only it's full of beautiful historic remains, I found the people very friendly. If you're not bound to stay in one of the bigger cities in the area such as Munich, Augsburg or Stuttgart, choose Ulm, you'll definitely not regret it.Thank you for subscribing and reading, whoever you are.
Categories: Friend's blogs
Photos of Heidelberg, Germany
Part of my 2011 European travel adventures
Heidelberg is one of Germany's most famous small towns. It's known for a beautiful old town and a famous university. I had a weekend to spend in the region and chose to pay this beautiful medieval gem a visit. This is definitely one of the must-see places for every Germany enthusiast out there.
1. My impression of Heidelberg
Heidelberg is very cozy, it truly has a small town feel to it - I like it a lot. But it's very very long, very stretched along the Neckar river. When you arrive to the main railway station, it takes some time to reach the old town, but their tram system is very convenient and affordable, which makes taking overpriced taxis unnecessary. What is a little disappointing is the fact, that only one long street in the old center is where everything is going on. The side streets are a little neglected, not in the sense of being dirty, to the contrary, but there is not much to see or do. The castle above the medieval core is one of the highlights, same as the river Neckar with a beautiful stone bridge. All in all, Heidelberg is definitely worth a visit, it's very touristy, partly kitchy, but it has a rich history and many treasures to discover.
2. My photos of Heidelberg
Heidelberg main railway station upon my arrival.
Inside the Heidelberg Hauptbahnhof building.
I went to the Ibis hotel near the railway station - great price and awesome hotel!
After taking a brief rest, I decided to explore the city.
The main station and tourist information center.
An S-Bahn train.
This sculpture is called S-Printing Horse.
I decided to walk instead of taking tram, because I had time. This is a suburb of Heidelberg, which I decided to explore first.
Walking around that area, I spotted this beautiful church.
And another one right nearby.
A popular bubble tea shop, it was full of people. Taiwan's soft power on display?
Close to the center and the never-ending Hauptstrasse.
The Hauptstrasse or Main Street is the most crowded part of Heidelberg.
It's 1.6km long street reserved only for pedestrians, one of the longest in Europe.
It's full of domestic and foreign tourists.
This singer garnered a lot of attention.
An empty side street.
Hauptstrasse again.
Korean American youngsters were singing pop songs.
Marktplatz with street performers and the Holy Ghost Church.
Holy Ghost Church or Heiliggeistkirche, located in the heart of the old center.
The beautiful House of the Knight or Haus zum Ritter, today a hotel.
Another part of the Marktplatz.
Lots of Asian tourists on the Marktplatz, it's very vibrant here.
A statue of Mary called Kornmarktmadonna, behind is the majestic castle.
Kronmarktmadonna.
Karlsplatz, a famous old square, where the Heidelberg castle is seen very clearly.
The zoomed in castle. I was too lazy to go up there.
The promenade along the Neckar river is called Am Hackteufel.
The river Neckar.
The old town from the river banks.
The Old bridge or Alte Brücke.
The Gate of the Old bridge or Tor der Alten Brücke, Heidelberg's famous landmark.
3. Heidelberg in conclusion
Heidelberg is unique and has a very special ambiance. It truly feels like you're thrown a few centuries back in history, when you walk around the old town. Compared to some other small towns in Germany, Heidelberg is very touristy and might be a turn off for those of you, who prefer a more peaceful stroll along the historic center. For someone like me, who's living in Taipei, seeing a lot of people was no shocker - I truly enjoyed my exploration of this gorgeous town and recommend visiting it to everyone.
Thank you for subscribing and reading, whoever you are.
Heidelberg is one of Germany's most famous small towns. It's known for a beautiful old town and a famous university. I had a weekend to spend in the region and chose to pay this beautiful medieval gem a visit. This is definitely one of the must-see places for every Germany enthusiast out there.
1. My impression of Heidelberg
Heidelberg is very cozy, it truly has a small town feel to it - I like it a lot. But it's very very long, very stretched along the Neckar river. When you arrive to the main railway station, it takes some time to reach the old town, but their tram system is very convenient and affordable, which makes taking overpriced taxis unnecessary. What is a little disappointing is the fact, that only one long street in the old center is where everything is going on. The side streets are a little neglected, not in the sense of being dirty, to the contrary, but there is not much to see or do. The castle above the medieval core is one of the highlights, same as the river Neckar with a beautiful stone bridge. All in all, Heidelberg is definitely worth a visit, it's very touristy, partly kitchy, but it has a rich history and many treasures to discover.
2. My photos of Heidelberg
Heidelberg main railway station upon my arrival.
Inside the Heidelberg Hauptbahnhof building.
I went to the Ibis hotel near the railway station - great price and awesome hotel!
After taking a brief rest, I decided to explore the city.
The main station and tourist information center.
An S-Bahn train.
This sculpture is called S-Printing Horse.
I decided to walk instead of taking tram, because I had time. This is a suburb of Heidelberg, which I decided to explore first.
Walking around that area, I spotted this beautiful church.
And another one right nearby.
A popular bubble tea shop, it was full of people. Taiwan's soft power on display?
Close to the center and the never-ending Hauptstrasse.
The Hauptstrasse or Main Street is the most crowded part of Heidelberg.
It's 1.6km long street reserved only for pedestrians, one of the longest in Europe.
It's full of domestic and foreign tourists.
This singer garnered a lot of attention.
An empty side street.
Hauptstrasse again.
Korean American youngsters were singing pop songs.
Marktplatz with street performers and the Holy Ghost Church.
Holy Ghost Church or Heiliggeistkirche, located in the heart of the old center.
The beautiful House of the Knight or Haus zum Ritter, today a hotel.
Another part of the Marktplatz.
Lots of Asian tourists on the Marktplatz, it's very vibrant here.
A statue of Mary called Kornmarktmadonna, behind is the majestic castle.
Kronmarktmadonna.
Karlsplatz, a famous old square, where the Heidelberg castle is seen very clearly.
The zoomed in castle. I was too lazy to go up there.
The promenade along the Neckar river is called Am Hackteufel.
The river Neckar.
The old town from the river banks.
The Old bridge or Alte Brücke.
The Gate of the Old bridge or Tor der Alten Brücke, Heidelberg's famous landmark.
3. Heidelberg in conclusion
Heidelberg is unique and has a very special ambiance. It truly feels like you're thrown a few centuries back in history, when you walk around the old town. Compared to some other small towns in Germany, Heidelberg is very touristy and might be a turn off for those of you, who prefer a more peaceful stroll along the historic center. For someone like me, who's living in Taipei, seeing a lot of people was no shocker - I truly enjoyed my exploration of this gorgeous town and recommend visiting it to everyone.
Thank you for subscribing and reading, whoever you are.
Categories: Friend's blogs
Photos of Hannover, Germany
Part of my 2012 travel adventures
Hannover is one of Northern Germany's biggest cities, known for the annual IT exhibition CeBit, the rock band Scorpions and for being one of the nations most most boring cities. I had few hours to kill on a Sunday afternoon in Hannover, before I took the train to Frankfurt. I took a stroll around the city center and took some pics.
1. My impression of Hannover
Hannover wasn't as bad as I imagined to be. There are some pretty interesting buildings found around the center, but two hours was more than enough for me to finish the sightseeing. I was a little tired, though, so I didn't go to too many spots.
2. My images of Hannover
The main station or Hauptbahnhof was under renovation.
This part is called Kröpcke.
Sunday afternoon in Hannover's center: Ghost town. Compare this to Taipei.
Sportsscheck Hannover: A post-WWII generic building inhabiting a department store.
Altes Rathaus or Old Town Hall.
The nearby Marktkirche (Market church) is Hannover's famous landmark.
This part looks medieval.
Kreuzkirche is another famous church in Hannover.
I like the green patina on the top of the tower.
The Marktkirche again. The spire tops at 97m, it's pretty impressive.
The old Hannover: Quite idyllic.
The red bricked gems of Hannover.
Aegidienkirche was partly destroyed during WWII and is kept as a ruin.
The church used to look like this
The new Town Hall from 1913. Looks like a palace.
Norddeutsche Landesbank Hannover, a modernist something.
3. Hannover in conclusion
Hannover is good for a short stroll. If you're taking the train from north to south Germany and you need to take a break, do it here. The center and the most interesting sights are not too far from the main station and can be reached by walk. But don't expect too much from this city, it is what it is - Hannover.Thank you for subscribing and reading, whoever you are.
Hannover is one of Northern Germany's biggest cities, known for the annual IT exhibition CeBit, the rock band Scorpions and for being one of the nations most most boring cities. I had few hours to kill on a Sunday afternoon in Hannover, before I took the train to Frankfurt. I took a stroll around the city center and took some pics.
1. My impression of Hannover
Hannover wasn't as bad as I imagined to be. There are some pretty interesting buildings found around the center, but two hours was more than enough for me to finish the sightseeing. I was a little tired, though, so I didn't go to too many spots.
2. My images of Hannover
The main station or Hauptbahnhof was under renovation.
This part is called Kröpcke.
Sunday afternoon in Hannover's center: Ghost town. Compare this to Taipei.
Sportsscheck Hannover: A post-WWII generic building inhabiting a department store.
Altes Rathaus or Old Town Hall.
The nearby Marktkirche (Market church) is Hannover's famous landmark.
This part looks medieval.
Kreuzkirche is another famous church in Hannover.
I like the green patina on the top of the tower.
The Marktkirche again. The spire tops at 97m, it's pretty impressive.
The old Hannover: Quite idyllic.
The red bricked gems of Hannover.
Aegidienkirche was partly destroyed during WWII and is kept as a ruin.
The church used to look like this
The new Town Hall from 1913. Looks like a palace.
Norddeutsche Landesbank Hannover, a modernist something.
3. Hannover in conclusion
Hannover is good for a short stroll. If you're taking the train from north to south Germany and you need to take a break, do it here. The center and the most interesting sights are not too far from the main station and can be reached by walk. But don't expect too much from this city, it is what it is - Hannover.Thank you for subscribing and reading, whoever you are.
Categories: Friend's blogs
Photos of Cologne, Germany
Part of my 2011 European travel adventures
Cologne, German Köln, is the fourth biggest city in Germany (after Berlin, Hamburg and Munich). It's located in the Northwestern part of the country, between Bonn, the former capital of West Germany and Düsseldorf, the capital of North-Rhine Westphalia, the same Bundesland, where Cologne is home. The city is famous for its annual carnival and one of the tallest and largest cathedrals in the world, commonly known as the Dom. With its two 157.4m tall towers, the Cologne Cathedral overshadows the city and dominates the skyline. Is there more to Cologne than just the Dom? Let me show you some photos from my recent trip and find out.
1. My impression of Cologne
I have to say I had very high expectations before visiting Cologne due to so many stories about the city. The Cologners (or Kölner in German) are famous throughout Germany for their distinct dialect and their straight-forwardness. I only had a Sunday afternoon to explore the city and I didn't have many encounters with the locals. Most of the time I spent in and out the iconic cathedral, I did however make a small tour around he city center. No offence to proud Cologners, but apart from the cathedral, I've not seen anything interesting in the center. Not sure, where all the hidden gems are, but they're certainly hard to find or located outside the central part. All in all, if you don't have a lot of time, just stick to the cathedral, it will amaze you unlike anything else in Cologne.
2. My photos of Cologne
Below are my photos from an afternoon walk in Cologne from January 2012:
The Hauptbahnhof or Main station is located a minute away from the cathedral.
One of the parts on the side - even they are amazingly huge.
The small square in front of the Cologne cathedral.
Lots of people here: The Cologne Dom is Germany's most visited famous building.
The 157.4m tall church is so huge, it's hard to get the whole one on a photo.
The windows.
Towers from the side.
A detail from a tower.
The square in front of the Dom from another angle.
Apostles?
Look at the door handle. Everything goes into tiny detail here - Amazing!
The inside of the church was dark and huge, but somewhat soothing.
Even though I am an atheist, I truly enjoyed sitting in this cathedral. I took a break and reflected on my life - it was really a great experience. Of course I didn't have any religious feelings, it's more the architecture and the history that impressed me so much. All the details, the patterns and the sheer brutal massiveness surrounding you is humbling and intimidating at the same time. You ask yourself why would humans build something so huge? Why is this necessary? Why waste so much money and put so much efforts in building something so huge? It's illogical and conflicting with common sense, yet that's exactly what makes it so unique and so amazing. All I can say is: Go inside and experience it for yourself, words can hardly describe the feelings you will feel.
And then I decided to tour Cologne's city center:
A popular bakery.
A long shopping street followed - nothing special here
Lots of people, tourists and locals.
A small square. There were some interesting street performers in the area.
3. Cologne in conclusion
Cologne is worth a short trip to see the cathedral and since it's located close to the railway station, it's very convenient to make a brief stop when traveling from the Northwest to the south of Germany. Other than that, be very sure what you want to see and do and research the web well. Maybe you can find some hidden gems.
[My TRAVEL WEST page][All photos by MKL, 2012]Thank you for subscribing and reading, whoever you are.
Cologne, German Köln, is the fourth biggest city in Germany (after Berlin, Hamburg and Munich). It's located in the Northwestern part of the country, between Bonn, the former capital of West Germany and Düsseldorf, the capital of North-Rhine Westphalia, the same Bundesland, where Cologne is home. The city is famous for its annual carnival and one of the tallest and largest cathedrals in the world, commonly known as the Dom. With its two 157.4m tall towers, the Cologne Cathedral overshadows the city and dominates the skyline. Is there more to Cologne than just the Dom? Let me show you some photos from my recent trip and find out.
1. My impression of Cologne
I have to say I had very high expectations before visiting Cologne due to so many stories about the city. The Cologners (or Kölner in German) are famous throughout Germany for their distinct dialect and their straight-forwardness. I only had a Sunday afternoon to explore the city and I didn't have many encounters with the locals. Most of the time I spent in and out the iconic cathedral, I did however make a small tour around he city center. No offence to proud Cologners, but apart from the cathedral, I've not seen anything interesting in the center. Not sure, where all the hidden gems are, but they're certainly hard to find or located outside the central part. All in all, if you don't have a lot of time, just stick to the cathedral, it will amaze you unlike anything else in Cologne.
2. My photos of Cologne
Below are my photos from an afternoon walk in Cologne from January 2012:
The Hauptbahnhof or Main station is located a minute away from the cathedral.
One of the parts on the side - even they are amazingly huge.
The small square in front of the Cologne cathedral.
Lots of people here: The Cologne Dom is Germany's most visited famous building.
The 157.4m tall church is so huge, it's hard to get the whole one on a photo.
The windows.
Towers from the side.
A detail from a tower.
The square in front of the Dom from another angle.
Apostles?
Look at the door handle. Everything goes into tiny detail here - Amazing!
The inside of the church was dark and huge, but somewhat soothing.
Even though I am an atheist, I truly enjoyed sitting in this cathedral. I took a break and reflected on my life - it was really a great experience. Of course I didn't have any religious feelings, it's more the architecture and the history that impressed me so much. All the details, the patterns and the sheer brutal massiveness surrounding you is humbling and intimidating at the same time. You ask yourself why would humans build something so huge? Why is this necessary? Why waste so much money and put so much efforts in building something so huge? It's illogical and conflicting with common sense, yet that's exactly what makes it so unique and so amazing. All I can say is: Go inside and experience it for yourself, words can hardly describe the feelings you will feel.
And then I decided to tour Cologne's city center:
A popular bakery.
A long shopping street followed - nothing special here
Lots of people, tourists and locals.
A small square. There were some interesting street performers in the area.
3. Cologne in conclusion
Cologne is worth a short trip to see the cathedral and since it's located close to the railway station, it's very convenient to make a brief stop when traveling from the Northwest to the south of Germany. Other than that, be very sure what you want to see and do and research the web well. Maybe you can find some hidden gems.
[My TRAVEL WEST page][All photos by MKL, 2012]Thank you for subscribing and reading, whoever you are.
Categories: Friend's blogs
Difference between Taiwanese and Chinese tourists
It's not as simple as it seems
Screencap from Chinasmack.
Mainland Chinese Tourists Deface Plants in Taitung, Taiwan was one of the most commented articles on ChinaSmack recently. The article is in a way a continuation of my post from a short while ago named Chinese vs. Taiwanese on Alishan, where I highlighted the issue. It is upsetting to see tourists defacing plants and generally cause damage and distress on famous sights around the country. But is it really ok, to always point the finger at Mainland Chinese? Are we on this side of the Taiwan Strait really that much better? Let's see the issue from multiple sides.
Chinese tourists are polarizing
Commentators on ChinaSmack had lots of interesting comments, here my personal pick:
pervertt
Wednesday, April 25, 2012 at 12:35 pm
Nothing new here. Chinese have been doing it for centuries. Except the earlier Chinese explorers were better behaved and brought their own stone tablets (or stela) and left the local agave alone. “Zheng He wuz here” or something like that.
staylost
Wednesday, April 25, 2012 at 3:59 pm
Give China time. 100 years ago it was the uncouth Americans going to Europe and being inconsiderate. Now the United States is the home of world culture.
I wouldn’t be surprised if China is able to do this more quickly and with fewer wars.
typingfromwork
Wednesday, April 25, 2012 at 11:01 pm
Carving shit onto things in tourist spots is somewhat of a grand tradition all over the world. You should see the number of names written in permanent markers all over statues in Paris. I think it’s fucking antisocial of course, so I don’t condone it anywhere. Writing on some plants though does take the biscuit somewhat for being WTF.
Alt-Z
Thursday, April 26, 2012 at 8:03 pm
While I understand the contempt people have toward such PRC Chinese behavior, I don’t think it should be attributed to traditional Chinese culture. It is mostly the result of over 60 years of being ruled by a peasant regime. Some aspects of that “5000 years of culture” are quite decent.
thekills
Friday, April 27, 2012 at 1:42 am
This is the paradox about living in China. While people live under an oppressive regime that curtails your civil rights, people are free to do whatever they want as long as it doesn’t interfere with the government’s idea of a “harmonious society”. It’s OK to drive against opposing traffic, but it’s not OK to use Facebook.
A stele from Qing Dynasty found near Shinzu temple, Lukang: Some idiot carved 牛头人 in simplified Chinese. I took the photo around Chinese new year 2012.
Two different people, two different views
After reading the article, I asked myself the following question: Were Taiwanese tourists before really much better? I asked my wife to research the web and she found a very interesting article from China Times named 陸客走的路，我們也走過, which was written by Chen Ying-zi 「陳英姿」 on 14. July 2011. The journalist interviewed few experienced travel agency managers about the differences and similarities between Chinese tourists of today and the Taiwanese of few decades ago, when it became the norm to travel abroad. My wife picked the most interesting paragraphs and helped me to compose a rough translation [I added my own comments in the brackets]:
十多年前台灣剛開放人民赴大陸旅遊，當時大陸很窮、台灣錢好用，我們有很多囂張沒水準的行徑。現在台灣人也要有認知，大陸人有些舉動，看在台灣人眼裡覺得沒有水準，但那是他們發展的過度期，他們也逐漸在改變、進步當中。林龍說，十多年前台灣剛開放人民赴大陸旅遊時，我們有些暴發戶去那邊一擲千金，也是有很多囂張沒水準的行徑。當時大陸很窮、台灣錢好用，大陸有些地方吐一口痰要罰五塊錢人民幣，結果就有台灣人故意呸呸呸呸，「給你二十元」。
More than a decade ago, Taiwan was beginning to see the Mainland as a travel destination. When the Mainland was very poor, the Taiwanese tourists spent their money very easily there and showed a lot of arrogance. "Taiwanese should sense that some of the Mainlanders' behavior looks like no manners, but this is their transition period and it will improve gradually", says Lin Long 林龍 [independent senior tour guide]. He adds: "In some provinces there were signs, that said if you spit, you need to pay a fine of 20 rmb. Some Taiwanese deliberately spat [pēi pēi pēi pēi] to provoke the fine [because they felt the fine is so low]."
他說，現在台灣人也要有認知，大陸近年來也出現了不少暴發戶，他們可能在餐廳吃飯時大聲講話，一邊還蹺腳、捲起褲管摸腳毛，吃完飯還會一夥人蹲在餐廳外面抽菸，看在台灣人眼裡覺得沒有水準，但那是他們發展的過度期，他們也逐漸在改變、進步當中。
He said "Taiwanese should sense that Mainlanders are improving gradually. This is their transition time. In recent years some Mainlanders become very rich, but they will still talk loudly in the restaurants, sit with one leg on top of the other with a pulled up sleeve scratching the leg's hair. After dinner or lunch, all of them will squat outside the restaurant and smoke together [something Taiwanese commonly don't do anymore]."
雄獅旅行社副總經理黃信川說，早年台灣剛開放國民出國觀光時，台灣觀光客在國外也是有許多沒水準的行徑、鬧了許多的笑話，我們的阿公阿媽出國去玩，晚上還會穿著內褲到飯店一樓大廳聊天，日本有些五星級飯店就不願接台灣客。但隨著台灣人國際禮儀和國民素質提升，現在全世界都歡迎台灣人，「我們走過幾十年的路，不能要求他們(大陸人)一天兩天就趕上來」。
Lion Travel Agency's 「雄獅旅行社」 vice President Huang Hsin-chuan 「黃信川」 said: "Before, when Taiwanese begun to travel abroad", they a lot of times embarrassed themselves abroad without knowing it. Our elders were sometimes walking in underpants to the hotel lobby, which had the consequence that some of the 5-star hotels in Japan banned Taiwanese tourists from staying [even my pro-Taiwan mother-in-law admitted, that Taiwanese were not much better few decades ago]. When time passed, Taiwanese learned the international travel etiquette and the world started to welcome them. We needed two decades to reach the current standard, you can't ask them [Mainlanders] to reach it in just few days."
黃信川說，大陸現在才剛起步，有些過程必經的東西，我們也都走過，大家要包容，「視野更寬廣的人，心胸應該要更好。」以平常心接待陸客，「他們就是一般觀光客」，把台灣的軟實力和服務精神拿出來。
Huang Xinchuan says: "Mainland just started with tourism and of course there are some problems during the transition time, so we have to be more openminded to welcome them and take them as the normal tourists and give them our high-class service, which is our soft power."
時報旅行社總經理趙政岷說，台灣人面對陸客經常有兩種極端反應，一種是「獻媚」，例如大陸人吃得比較麻辣，有些接待大陸客的餐廳端出來的菜就刻意加重口味，搞得像在大陸吃東西一樣。但大陸人來台灣，其實就是想吃具有台灣特色的菜餚。另一種極端反應是「厭惡」，嫌他們講話大聲、不守規矩、不衛生，蔑稱他們「阿陸仔」。但趙政岷說，其實台灣人出國，也經常被人嫌，例如上洗手間習慣把衛生紙丟垃圾桶，外國人沒這個習慣。
Zhao Min 「趙政岷」 general manager of the Times Travel Agency 「時報旅行社」 says: "There are two kinds of Taiwanese people: One type tries to make Mainlanders feel welcome, for example the restaurant will try to make the food taste more like Mainland food, they will make it oilier, spicier, saltier. But people from the Mainland actually want to eat the local food as it is. The second type is hating them, because they feel they talk loudly, have no manners and are not sanitary. They even call them 「阿陸仔」 or "A-lak-ah", which somewhat translates as "stupid Mainlander" [hard to find a good translation]. He then goes on saying: Actually Taiwanese are also disliked abroad, because they sometimes throw the toilet paper in the trash can, while foreigners throw it in the toilet."
Of perceptions and habits
When my wife visited Japan few years ago, she went with a group of travelers from Taiwan. The travel guide reminded them, that they should not throw the used toilet paper in the trash can, which confirms the above statement by Mr. Zhao. Tourists, no matter where they come from, can be a blessing and a nuisance at the same time. The question is, how much should a guest adapt to the customs of the country he visits? How much should a country adapt to foreign visitors? I believe it should be balanced, as a guest and as a host you play a certain role, which gives you certain rights and certain duties. As a visitor, you would probably not want to make the locals feel unpleasant (or even break laws). And as a local, you would certainly try a little bit harder to be welcoming and warm to the visitors and make their stay as comfortable as possible.
Chinese tourists in Hamburg: Stopping the bus in front of every church is obligatory.
Where Taiwan could improve
It's quite known, that I love traveling in Taiwan. It's a beautiful country with so much to discover, it's a pleasure to promote this travel destination to the world. I usually focus on the good things, I'm the type to see the positive rather than the negative. Nevertheless, there are some things that I saw during my extensive traveling around the island, where I would not mind a little change. Don't see this as criticism, see it as a comment from an European traveler, who has a different background and different expectations. Maybe this can serve as a good reference to those, who need this kind of feedback. Here is a brief overview:
1. Food everywhere: Every old street, popular temple or famous scenic spot will have someone cooking something right there and locals munching their "xiao chi" while walking around the area. I've asked my wife, if there was any spot in Taiwan, where locals don't eat while visiting the historic sights? Cooking and eating brings along smell and trash and the old street, popular temple or famous scenic spot don't seem that enjoyable anymore. [Image above is from Lukang, near the Old street, February 2012.]
2. Tidying up areas: I was surprised to see this scene in central Lukang, which is one of the most famous old towns in Taiwan. The photo above was taken near the center. When a "restaurant" is also a "parking lot" for scooters, it doesn't look too good. I know this is part of Taiwan's lifestyle, but to some foreigners it might not be too appealing. This is generally a tough call, because sometimes such changes can backfire and destroy a certain area, such as in the case of the Chien Cheng Circle in Taipei. It has to be done with care and with locals having a say in it.
3. Noise pollution: There are a lot of popular spots around Taiwan, where stalls and shops use megaphones to attract customers. I'm not sure, how much revenue this method brings in, but to my ears it's purely annoying. The biggest shocker for me was when an uncle blasted into the crowds awaiting the Alishan sunrise at 5am in the morning (see video above). Peacefully enjoying the awakening of the morning on Alishan? 沒辦法! I know a lot of young Taiwanese are not happy with these megaphone-culture as well.
4. Tractors on the beach: As seen on Taiwan's most prominent seaside resort Kenting's Nanwan. Not sure, what was more disturbing: These rusty tractors plowing through the sandy beach or the nuclear power plant nearby. Both not my cup of [bubble] tea.
5. Treatment of monuments: I saw this kid kicking a ball into the Confucious temple in Chiayi. The grandpa was nearby, but didn't feel it's inappropriate to behave this way. The ball was dirty and and I saw some black marks left on the temple. I observed many times, that monuments of historic or religious value were not treated well, touching and climbing is quite common, especially when kids are around.
6. Inconsiderate photographers: Sometimes going too far for a good picture. I can relate to that, as I'm sometimes tempted to be this way myself. Last year I was trying to take a good picture of the Acropolis, I stepped on a forbidden platform and got caught and scolded. I lost face :( Nevertheless, I think we should still be careful about how far we go to get a good photo. [Photo from Taichung, 2011]
7. Inconsiderate youngsters: When in groups, some of them can hardly be controlled - they climb places, throw trash, make noise. I know it's fun and exciting to be outside the boring daily routine, but some boundaries should not be overstepped, as you are not the only one visiting the spot. The photo above was taken in Yehliou last year.
8. Shy of speaking English: A lot of young Taiwanese are shy to speak English with foreigners and sometimes there is awkwardness between locals and visitors, who inquire for directions or order food. I suppose this will change through time, when foreign (means Western) visitors become a more common sight in Taiwan.
In conclusion
This post wants to highlight the challenges, that come along with the recent phenomenon of Chinese tourists, as well as discuss Taiwan's current struggles as a travel destination and travel nation. Taiwan is truly a big step ahead of China, when it comes to travel etiquette and service, however, there is still room for improvement. I believe, that we need to give Chinese tourists some time, they will make mistakes and we need to firmly point them out, but they will also learn and improve through time - some more, some less. I'm interested to hear what you say! Here are some of my questions:
- How do you see Chinese tourists and Taiwanese tourists?
- Where are the differences, where similarities?
- Do you agree with the senior travel agents' opinions?
- Where could Taiwan improve as a travel destination?
[TAIWAN TRAVEL page][All photos by MKL, 2012]Thank you for subscribing and reading, whoever you are.
Screencap from Chinasmack.
Mainland Chinese Tourists Deface Plants in Taitung, Taiwan was one of the most commented articles on ChinaSmack recently. The article is in a way a continuation of my post from a short while ago named Chinese vs. Taiwanese on Alishan, where I highlighted the issue. It is upsetting to see tourists defacing plants and generally cause damage and distress on famous sights around the country. But is it really ok, to always point the finger at Mainland Chinese? Are we on this side of the Taiwan Strait really that much better? Let's see the issue from multiple sides.
Chinese tourists are polarizing
Commentators on ChinaSmack had lots of interesting comments, here my personal pick:
pervertt
Wednesday, April 25, 2012 at 12:35 pm
Nothing new here. Chinese have been doing it for centuries. Except the earlier Chinese explorers were better behaved and brought their own stone tablets (or stela) and left the local agave alone. “Zheng He wuz here” or something like that.
staylost
Wednesday, April 25, 2012 at 3:59 pm
Give China time. 100 years ago it was the uncouth Americans going to Europe and being inconsiderate. Now the United States is the home of world culture.
I wouldn’t be surprised if China is able to do this more quickly and with fewer wars.
typingfromwork
Wednesday, April 25, 2012 at 11:01 pm
Carving shit onto things in tourist spots is somewhat of a grand tradition all over the world. You should see the number of names written in permanent markers all over statues in Paris. I think it’s fucking antisocial of course, so I don’t condone it anywhere. Writing on some plants though does take the biscuit somewhat for being WTF.
Alt-Z
Thursday, April 26, 2012 at 8:03 pm
While I understand the contempt people have toward such PRC Chinese behavior, I don’t think it should be attributed to traditional Chinese culture. It is mostly the result of over 60 years of being ruled by a peasant regime. Some aspects of that “5000 years of culture” are quite decent.
thekills
Friday, April 27, 2012 at 1:42 am
This is the paradox about living in China. While people live under an oppressive regime that curtails your civil rights, people are free to do whatever they want as long as it doesn’t interfere with the government’s idea of a “harmonious society”. It’s OK to drive against opposing traffic, but it’s not OK to use Facebook.
A stele from Qing Dynasty found near Shinzu temple, Lukang: Some idiot carved 牛头人 in simplified Chinese. I took the photo around Chinese new year 2012.
Two different people, two different views
After reading the article, I asked myself the following question: Were Taiwanese tourists before really much better? I asked my wife to research the web and she found a very interesting article from China Times named 陸客走的路，我們也走過, which was written by Chen Ying-zi 「陳英姿」 on 14. July 2011. The journalist interviewed few experienced travel agency managers about the differences and similarities between Chinese tourists of today and the Taiwanese of few decades ago, when it became the norm to travel abroad. My wife picked the most interesting paragraphs and helped me to compose a rough translation [I added my own comments in the brackets]:
十多年前台灣剛開放人民赴大陸旅遊，當時大陸很窮、台灣錢好用，我們有很多囂張沒水準的行徑。現在台灣人也要有認知，大陸人有些舉動，看在台灣人眼裡覺得沒有水準，但那是他們發展的過度期，他們也逐漸在改變、進步當中。林龍說，十多年前台灣剛開放人民赴大陸旅遊時，我們有些暴發戶去那邊一擲千金，也是有很多囂張沒水準的行徑。當時大陸很窮、台灣錢好用，大陸有些地方吐一口痰要罰五塊錢人民幣，結果就有台灣人故意呸呸呸呸，「給你二十元」。
More than a decade ago, Taiwan was beginning to see the Mainland as a travel destination. When the Mainland was very poor, the Taiwanese tourists spent their money very easily there and showed a lot of arrogance. "Taiwanese should sense that some of the Mainlanders' behavior looks like no manners, but this is their transition period and it will improve gradually", says Lin Long 林龍 [independent senior tour guide]. He adds: "In some provinces there were signs, that said if you spit, you need to pay a fine of 20 rmb. Some Taiwanese deliberately spat [pēi pēi pēi pēi] to provoke the fine [because they felt the fine is so low]."
他說，現在台灣人也要有認知，大陸近年來也出現了不少暴發戶，他們可能在餐廳吃飯時大聲講話，一邊還蹺腳、捲起褲管摸腳毛，吃完飯還會一夥人蹲在餐廳外面抽菸，看在台灣人眼裡覺得沒有水準，但那是他們發展的過度期，他們也逐漸在改變、進步當中。
He said "Taiwanese should sense that Mainlanders are improving gradually. This is their transition time. In recent years some Mainlanders become very rich, but they will still talk loudly in the restaurants, sit with one leg on top of the other with a pulled up sleeve scratching the leg's hair. After dinner or lunch, all of them will squat outside the restaurant and smoke together [something Taiwanese commonly don't do anymore]."
雄獅旅行社副總經理黃信川說，早年台灣剛開放國民出國觀光時，台灣觀光客在國外也是有許多沒水準的行徑、鬧了許多的笑話，我們的阿公阿媽出國去玩，晚上還會穿著內褲到飯店一樓大廳聊天，日本有些五星級飯店就不願接台灣客。但隨著台灣人國際禮儀和國民素質提升，現在全世界都歡迎台灣人，「我們走過幾十年的路，不能要求他們(大陸人)一天兩天就趕上來」。
Lion Travel Agency's 「雄獅旅行社」 vice President Huang Hsin-chuan 「黃信川」 said: "Before, when Taiwanese begun to travel abroad", they a lot of times embarrassed themselves abroad without knowing it. Our elders were sometimes walking in underpants to the hotel lobby, which had the consequence that some of the 5-star hotels in Japan banned Taiwanese tourists from staying [even my pro-Taiwan mother-in-law admitted, that Taiwanese were not much better few decades ago]. When time passed, Taiwanese learned the international travel etiquette and the world started to welcome them. We needed two decades to reach the current standard, you can't ask them [Mainlanders] to reach it in just few days."
黃信川說，大陸現在才剛起步，有些過程必經的東西，我們也都走過，大家要包容，「視野更寬廣的人，心胸應該要更好。」以平常心接待陸客，「他們就是一般觀光客」，把台灣的軟實力和服務精神拿出來。
Huang Xinchuan says: "Mainland just started with tourism and of course there are some problems during the transition time, so we have to be more openminded to welcome them and take them as the normal tourists and give them our high-class service, which is our soft power."
時報旅行社總經理趙政岷說，台灣人面對陸客經常有兩種極端反應，一種是「獻媚」，例如大陸人吃得比較麻辣，有些接待大陸客的餐廳端出來的菜就刻意加重口味，搞得像在大陸吃東西一樣。但大陸人來台灣，其實就是想吃具有台灣特色的菜餚。另一種極端反應是「厭惡」，嫌他們講話大聲、不守規矩、不衛生，蔑稱他們「阿陸仔」。但趙政岷說，其實台灣人出國，也經常被人嫌，例如上洗手間習慣把衛生紙丟垃圾桶，外國人沒這個習慣。
Zhao Min 「趙政岷」 general manager of the Times Travel Agency 「時報旅行社」 says: "There are two kinds of Taiwanese people: One type tries to make Mainlanders feel welcome, for example the restaurant will try to make the food taste more like Mainland food, they will make it oilier, spicier, saltier. But people from the Mainland actually want to eat the local food as it is. The second type is hating them, because they feel they talk loudly, have no manners and are not sanitary. They even call them 「阿陸仔」 or "A-lak-ah", which somewhat translates as "stupid Mainlander" [hard to find a good translation]. He then goes on saying: Actually Taiwanese are also disliked abroad, because they sometimes throw the toilet paper in the trash can, while foreigners throw it in the toilet."
Of perceptions and habits
When my wife visited Japan few years ago, she went with a group of travelers from Taiwan. The travel guide reminded them, that they should not throw the used toilet paper in the trash can, which confirms the above statement by Mr. Zhao. Tourists, no matter where they come from, can be a blessing and a nuisance at the same time. The question is, how much should a guest adapt to the customs of the country he visits? How much should a country adapt to foreign visitors? I believe it should be balanced, as a guest and as a host you play a certain role, which gives you certain rights and certain duties. As a visitor, you would probably not want to make the locals feel unpleasant (or even break laws). And as a local, you would certainly try a little bit harder to be welcoming and warm to the visitors and make their stay as comfortable as possible.
Chinese tourists in Hamburg: Stopping the bus in front of every church is obligatory.
Where Taiwan could improve
It's quite known, that I love traveling in Taiwan. It's a beautiful country with so much to discover, it's a pleasure to promote this travel destination to the world. I usually focus on the good things, I'm the type to see the positive rather than the negative. Nevertheless, there are some things that I saw during my extensive traveling around the island, where I would not mind a little change. Don't see this as criticism, see it as a comment from an European traveler, who has a different background and different expectations. Maybe this can serve as a good reference to those, who need this kind of feedback. Here is a brief overview:
1. Food everywhere: Every old street, popular temple or famous scenic spot will have someone cooking something right there and locals munching their "xiao chi" while walking around the area. I've asked my wife, if there was any spot in Taiwan, where locals don't eat while visiting the historic sights? Cooking and eating brings along smell and trash and the old street, popular temple or famous scenic spot don't seem that enjoyable anymore. [Image above is from Lukang, near the Old street, February 2012.]
2. Tidying up areas: I was surprised to see this scene in central Lukang, which is one of the most famous old towns in Taiwan. The photo above was taken near the center. When a "restaurant" is also a "parking lot" for scooters, it doesn't look too good. I know this is part of Taiwan's lifestyle, but to some foreigners it might not be too appealing. This is generally a tough call, because sometimes such changes can backfire and destroy a certain area, such as in the case of the Chien Cheng Circle in Taipei. It has to be done with care and with locals having a say in it.
3. Noise pollution: There are a lot of popular spots around Taiwan, where stalls and shops use megaphones to attract customers. I'm not sure, how much revenue this method brings in, but to my ears it's purely annoying. The biggest shocker for me was when an uncle blasted into the crowds awaiting the Alishan sunrise at 5am in the morning (see video above). Peacefully enjoying the awakening of the morning on Alishan? 沒辦法! I know a lot of young Taiwanese are not happy with these megaphone-culture as well.
4. Tractors on the beach: As seen on Taiwan's most prominent seaside resort Kenting's Nanwan. Not sure, what was more disturbing: These rusty tractors plowing through the sandy beach or the nuclear power plant nearby. Both not my cup of [bubble] tea.
5. Treatment of monuments: I saw this kid kicking a ball into the Confucious temple in Chiayi. The grandpa was nearby, but didn't feel it's inappropriate to behave this way. The ball was dirty and and I saw some black marks left on the temple. I observed many times, that monuments of historic or religious value were not treated well, touching and climbing is quite common, especially when kids are around.
6. Inconsiderate photographers: Sometimes going too far for a good picture. I can relate to that, as I'm sometimes tempted to be this way myself. Last year I was trying to take a good picture of the Acropolis, I stepped on a forbidden platform and got caught and scolded. I lost face :( Nevertheless, I think we should still be careful about how far we go to get a good photo. [Photo from Taichung, 2011]
7. Inconsiderate youngsters: When in groups, some of them can hardly be controlled - they climb places, throw trash, make noise. I know it's fun and exciting to be outside the boring daily routine, but some boundaries should not be overstepped, as you are not the only one visiting the spot. The photo above was taken in Yehliou last year.
8. Shy of speaking English: A lot of young Taiwanese are shy to speak English with foreigners and sometimes there is awkwardness between locals and visitors, who inquire for directions or order food. I suppose this will change through time, when foreign (means Western) visitors become a more common sight in Taiwan.
In conclusion
This post wants to highlight the challenges, that come along with the recent phenomenon of Chinese tourists, as well as discuss Taiwan's current struggles as a travel destination and travel nation. Taiwan is truly a big step ahead of China, when it comes to travel etiquette and service, however, there is still room for improvement. I believe, that we need to give Chinese tourists some time, they will make mistakes and we need to firmly point them out, but they will also learn and improve through time - some more, some less. I'm interested to hear what you say! Here are some of my questions:
- How do you see Chinese tourists and Taiwanese tourists?
- Where are the differences, where similarities?
- Do you agree with the senior travel agents' opinions?
- Where could Taiwan improve as a travel destination?
[TAIWAN TRAVEL page][All photos by MKL, 2012]Thank you for subscribing and reading, whoever you are.
Categories: Friend's blogs
Apple Slowly Phased Out iPad 2 with 32nm Inside
Looking for iPad 2 32GB 64GB? You may find your want slowly diminish — Good news though A5 32nm SoC found in iPad 2 16GB
Did Apple slowly phased out iPad 2 and at the same time selling A5 32nm SoC iPad 2 16GB on a low scale? As of my writing — Apple Store currently listing only iPad 2 16GB WiFi and WiFi+3G version for sales. If you are lucky you may still find 32GB and 64GB in your favorite local store.
iPad 2 16GB 32nm A5 SoCThese iPad 2 are special. According to AnandTech, iPad 2,4 uses the latest 32nm A5 SoC (System on a Chip). Current generation of iPad has 45nm. We will be seeing more of this new technology in Apple future products — perhaps in iPhone 5!? Yay!
From personal experience, the smaller the nm the better the performance. e.g. less heat, longer battery life and everything else runs snappier and faster.
If you’re assembling your own PC — you know these processors with 32nm don’t come cheap. 32nm can be found in Core i3 & i5 in desktop computer and the successor to 32 nm technology is the 22 nm (Ivy Bridge)
iPad 2 Malaysia Price List 2012- iPad 2 16GB WiFi RM1199
- iPad 2 32GB WiFi RM1499
- iPad 2 64GB WiFi RM1799
- iPad 2 16GB WiFi + 3G RM1599
- iPad 2 32GB WiFi + 3G RM1899
- iPad 2 64GB WiFi + 3G RM2199
Unfortunately, you can’t order iPad 2 32GB and 64GB online and wait for it to ship by Apple Store as of this writing.
Where To Buy iPad 2 (or New iPad) in Malaysia?I check with Switch Kuching yesterday — the only available iPad 2 version that were on sales was iPad 2 32GB & 64GB WiFi version. If you really want to get your hand on iPad 2 before it gone — try walk in to local Apple Authorized reseller or Apple Premium Reseller.
Apple Premium Reseller in MalaysiaHere’s my favorite Apple Premium Reseller in Malaysia. I visit them the most.
Check out Apple Website for full Apple Premium Reseller listing.
Apple Authorized Reseller in MalaysiaCheck out Apple Website for full Apple Authorized Reseller listing.
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Categories: Friend's blogs
China compared to Taiwan
China and Taiwan through the eyes of a British girl and my commentary
Today I chanced upon an interesting blog written by a British national, a female globetrotter, who permanently travels around the world. Among other countries, she spent some time in Taiwan and in China and the experience she had in these two could not be more different. While in Taiwan, random people helped her, a girl she knew from online took leave just to bring her to Sun Moon Lake and paid for her food and transportation, while in China she was scammed, pestered by local tourists and spat at. Are you surprised? Check some excerpts from her posts below:
1 Taiwan experience
"I soon discovered that she’d [Lia, a girl she knew from Twitter] actually taken the day off work just so that she could spend the day hanging out with me." [...]
"During our day together Lia showed me all of her favourite shops and places to eat that I definitely wouldn’t have discovered if I’d been walking around alone. We went for lunch and Lia insisted on paying for everything..." [...]
"A while later I discovered that Lia had phoned her boss to book the following day off work too – just so that she could take me to Sun Moon Lake herself."
"...she had also arranged for her Mum to drive us there and spend the day driving us around whilst we explored the area." [...]
"Her Mum insisted on buying me lunch as well as paying for us both to take an amazing cable car ride over the lake and nearby mountains."
"As I said goodbye to Lia and her Mum they handed me a present they’d secretly bought without me noticing – a small keyring with my name on it in Chinese characters."
"Wherever I went in Taiwan, I experienced people approaching me just to say hello and see where I was from. At any time where I was walking around completely lost with a map, people would come up to me to see where I needed to go – and if they couldn’t explain in English how to get there they would take me there themselves. I was invited to my hostel owner’s grandmother’s house one evening to celebrate the Mid-Autumn festival, so that I wouldn’t be alone." [...]• From the post: Taiwan has the friendliest people in the world
2 China experience
A very graphic screen cap from the blog. Is this really true?
"Within the first few days I was scammed [...] after two weeks of pure torture I couldn’t take any more and booked my flight out for the very next day." [...]
"I spent three hours lugging my backpack around in Xi’an on a ridiculously humid day, desperately trying to find my hostel [...], when I was suddenly bombarded by a coach load of camera-wielding Chinese tourists who immediately began squealing manically."
"I was completely surrounded within seconds and couldn’t break free from the crowd." [...]
"I JUST WANT TO FIND MY HOSTEL, THAT IS ALL I WANT!" I shrieked at the woman who was busy arranging approximately 24 children around me in a circle. [...]
"From that moment forward I started to go insane. I bought a huge pair of sunglasses and would walk around hiding my face in a magazine." [...]
"In China it is not considered rude to spit in public, and so they do it everywhere." [...]
"One time, I got back to my hostel to find that somebody had spat in my hair." [...]
"Within days of arriving in China I was struck down by the most horrifically agonising stomach cramps of my entire life. [...] How do they get away with selling out of date food in all their grocery stores?" [...]• From the post: Why I hated my time in China
The worst part that happened to her was falling for the Shanghai Tea Scam [must-read].
3 Conclusion
China vs. Taiwan is a very interesting comparison: Both share common roots, yet the people are so different (or is it like comparing a mountain with a molehill?) I'm not surprised by her experience, but I wonder, if she wasn't a white girl, how the experience would be like. Fact is, being white in this part of the world sparks a lot of interest and emotions among some of the locals: curiosity, contempt, interest, despise, admiration, mistrust and a mix of positive and negative clichés - I'm speaking from my own experience. Interestingly, when the author first time stepped on Asian soil (which happened to be Taiwan), she also seemed to be holding some negative cliches about Asians in general. For example, when a random girl invited her to her apartment to help her with directions, this is what the blogger thought: "As we walked along together I was silently freaking out, as different scenarios played out in my mind. Was she going to drug me and keep me as her sex slave? Maybe she going to sell me on the white slave market? Was I about to become part of a real life human centipede?!" Meanwhile she explained this part in the comments below. It sounds very extreme to me, maybe that's because I already spent over 2 years in Asia, but for her it was the very first time. It's understandable to think this way, if someone is not an openminded and generally positive person, but I don't condone it. The author's posts are definitely polarizing, but I felt them interesting to share, because I would like to see a vibrant discussion on the topic in the comments.
• Do you think what she wrote is generally true or too subjective? Did you find it interesting?
• As a white person in China/Taiwan, do you get positive or negative reactions from locals?
Related: Zhongguoren vs. DalurenThank you for subscribing and reading, whoever you are.
Today I chanced upon an interesting blog written by a British national, a female globetrotter, who permanently travels around the world. Among other countries, she spent some time in Taiwan and in China and the experience she had in these two could not be more different. While in Taiwan, random people helped her, a girl she knew from online took leave just to bring her to Sun Moon Lake and paid for her food and transportation, while in China she was scammed, pestered by local tourists and spat at. Are you surprised? Check some excerpts from her posts below:
1 Taiwan experience
"I soon discovered that she’d [Lia, a girl she knew from Twitter] actually taken the day off work just so that she could spend the day hanging out with me." [...]
"During our day together Lia showed me all of her favourite shops and places to eat that I definitely wouldn’t have discovered if I’d been walking around alone. We went for lunch and Lia insisted on paying for everything..." [...]
"A while later I discovered that Lia had phoned her boss to book the following day off work too – just so that she could take me to Sun Moon Lake herself."
"...she had also arranged for her Mum to drive us there and spend the day driving us around whilst we explored the area." [...]
"Her Mum insisted on buying me lunch as well as paying for us both to take an amazing cable car ride over the lake and nearby mountains."
"As I said goodbye to Lia and her Mum they handed me a present they’d secretly bought without me noticing – a small keyring with my name on it in Chinese characters."
"Wherever I went in Taiwan, I experienced people approaching me just to say hello and see where I was from. At any time where I was walking around completely lost with a map, people would come up to me to see where I needed to go – and if they couldn’t explain in English how to get there they would take me there themselves. I was invited to my hostel owner’s grandmother’s house one evening to celebrate the Mid-Autumn festival, so that I wouldn’t be alone." [...]• From the post: Taiwan has the friendliest people in the world
2 China experience
A very graphic screen cap from the blog. Is this really true?
"Within the first few days I was scammed [...] after two weeks of pure torture I couldn’t take any more and booked my flight out for the very next day." [...]
"I spent three hours lugging my backpack around in Xi’an on a ridiculously humid day, desperately trying to find my hostel [...], when I was suddenly bombarded by a coach load of camera-wielding Chinese tourists who immediately began squealing manically."
"I was completely surrounded within seconds and couldn’t break free from the crowd." [...]
"I JUST WANT TO FIND MY HOSTEL, THAT IS ALL I WANT!" I shrieked at the woman who was busy arranging approximately 24 children around me in a circle. [...]
"From that moment forward I started to go insane. I bought a huge pair of sunglasses and would walk around hiding my face in a magazine." [...]
"In China it is not considered rude to spit in public, and so they do it everywhere." [...]
"One time, I got back to my hostel to find that somebody had spat in my hair." [...]
"Within days of arriving in China I was struck down by the most horrifically agonising stomach cramps of my entire life. [...] How do they get away with selling out of date food in all their grocery stores?" [...]• From the post: Why I hated my time in China
The worst part that happened to her was falling for the Shanghai Tea Scam [must-read].
3 Conclusion
China vs. Taiwan is a very interesting comparison: Both share common roots, yet the people are so different (or is it like comparing a mountain with a molehill?) I'm not surprised by her experience, but I wonder, if she wasn't a white girl, how the experience would be like. Fact is, being white in this part of the world sparks a lot of interest and emotions among some of the locals: curiosity, contempt, interest, despise, admiration, mistrust and a mix of positive and negative clichés - I'm speaking from my own experience. Interestingly, when the author first time stepped on Asian soil (which happened to be Taiwan), she also seemed to be holding some negative cliches about Asians in general. For example, when a random girl invited her to her apartment to help her with directions, this is what the blogger thought: "As we walked along together I was silently freaking out, as different scenarios played out in my mind. Was she going to drug me and keep me as her sex slave? Maybe she going to sell me on the white slave market? Was I about to become part of a real life human centipede?!" Meanwhile she explained this part in the comments below. It sounds very extreme to me, maybe that's because I already spent over 2 years in Asia, but for her it was the very first time. It's understandable to think this way, if someone is not an openminded and generally positive person, but I don't condone it. The author's posts are definitely polarizing, but I felt them interesting to share, because I would like to see a vibrant discussion on the topic in the comments.
• Do you think what she wrote is generally true or too subjective? Did you find it interesting?
• As a white person in China/Taiwan, do you get positive or negative reactions from locals?
Related: Zhongguoren vs. DalurenThank you for subscribing and reading, whoever you are.
Categories: Friend's blogs
instagood #1: Taipei in Grey photos
Dark times are upon us
Taipei 101
Taipei is grey, dark, gloomy. Few exceptionally beautiful buildings stand out from the rest of the generic cube-shaped concrete bungalows plastered with tiles, that are covered by a thick layer of condensed smog. I'm walking between these cubes every day, and when it becomes unbearable, I increase my pace and escape to the complete opposite world: the Taipei Metro. It's not surprising, that the city is cleaner and more pleasant underground instead of the above, because it reflects the Taiwanese soul and all its inner torment.
Scooters and tiles: Convenience instead of aesthetics?
Golf 1: A German soul trapped in Taipei.
The morning motorcade.
The moment when the train hits you.
Morning commuters not feeling any joie de vivre.
Being a tall girl in Taipei must be interesting.
Escalation of motion in another world.
Expectation and nervousness.
Does the 9 year old boy know, what face-off means?
And the escalators at the main station still roll without ever stopping.
[UNIQUELY TAIWAN][All photos by MKL, 2012]Thank you for subscribing and reading, whoever you are.
Taipei 101
Taipei is grey, dark, gloomy. Few exceptionally beautiful buildings stand out from the rest of the generic cube-shaped concrete bungalows plastered with tiles, that are covered by a thick layer of condensed smog. I'm walking between these cubes every day, and when it becomes unbearable, I increase my pace and escape to the complete opposite world: the Taipei Metro. It's not surprising, that the city is cleaner and more pleasant underground instead of the above, because it reflects the Taiwanese soul and all its inner torment.
Scooters and tiles: Convenience instead of aesthetics?
Golf 1: A German soul trapped in Taipei.
The morning motorcade.
The moment when the train hits you.
Morning commuters not feeling any joie de vivre.
Being a tall girl in Taipei must be interesting.
Escalation of motion in another world.
Expectation and nervousness.
Does the 9 year old boy know, what face-off means?
And the escalators at the main station still roll without ever stopping.
[UNIQUELY TAIWAN][All photos by MKL, 2012]Thank you for subscribing and reading, whoever you are.
Categories: Friend's blogs
Unboxing The New iPad White 64GB
The New iPad Makes a Resolutionary Impression
I can not denied the first and the longest impression I had on a tablet was the iPad New screen.
This post cover my opinion on the camera, graphics and a little sharing from my friend you might find it informative.
Unboxing The New iPad White (Switch Kuching)This unit was bought by my friend from Switch Kuching on 20th April morning. The first thing we check out was the resolutionary screen.
Looking at the screen is like looking at a print. Imagine you’re flipping through a colored flyers or magazine — this one only better!
New iPad Quad Core GraphicsThe New iPad magical quad-core graphics (3.1 millions pixel) coming from A5X is truly the first in the market. If you heard of 4K display — New iPad Quad Core is “half” the taste of what’s to come in 4K display.
(Photo Apple.com)
This is beyond full HD and you will see more of this type of display support in the future PC with Ivy Bridge processor. The only concern however was the price of these 4K display monitors.
The New iPad 64GB Wi-Fi White (Photos)Other than the awesome screen there’s no noticeable changes shape and sizes — still feels good to hold and caress.
New iPad 64GB Wi-Fi White IssuesExperience according to my friend
- Photos cannot properly sync (Prone to Corruption)
- Bluetooth no backward compatible.
- No heat problem (not playing games)
- Wi-Fi receptions seem weak but if you’re not complaining — it’s quiet all right.
He is very happy with the color display — tested reaching 94% sRGB gamut almost as good as Apple 27″ LED Monitors.
Although he uses Windows 7 for all the syncing, the photos syncing issues may or may not happen with Mac OS.
New iPad Camera Sample Shot (unedited)I only tested few shots from a high rise building during a sunset (light coming from the right side). I am not please with the result and you can see the flare done so much damage to this photo. I took 8 shots and none is usable without editing.
(Unedited, light coming from right hand side) Photo: Kuching City
The noise level at this point I think still manageable but in comparison to shots taken with iPhone 4 the result from the latter was better.
Also HDR feature is still missing from iOS for New iPad — Bummer!
Please do not take this as good indication that the camera are bad — I notice (commercial ads) always use ground sample shots and since this is my first time taking a shot from a high rise building the result were kind of a shocker to me.
All camera has weaknesses — you just have to learn & know it and adjust the situation and shot the best pix.
Can New iPad 4G LTE works in Malaysia?I think this is the #1 question in everyone mind right now. The simple answer is NO.
Even though there are few telco/celco selling their products under the terms “4G” you need to understand the technology uses is a different one.
Under the total confusion and sadly — your iPad 4G LTE is not compatible with the so call “4G” that were advertise in the market.
Specs Compare — New iPad vs. iPad 2Like the iPhone 4/4S the internal beast powering the device is an upgrade. In iPad New the biggest upgrade would be the 1GB RAM and A5X CPU.
You Will Love The New iPadYou don’t have to be an Apple fans to understand how stunning is this beast. I highly recommend New iPad to new owner. An extra of RM300 (compare to iPad 2) you get the speed bum and graphics awesomeness.
Featured photo Apple.com
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Categories: Friend's blogs
Working for a Taiwanese IT company
Sharing my experience
This is not, how your colleagues will look like | photo source.My first job in Taiwan was quite an experience, something that opened my eyes in many ways, but also brought me to my own limits. I want to share my experience with you in order to give you an insight into a completely new world - Taiwan's working environment in a medium-sized IT company. I will talk about how it was working with Taiwanese colleagues for the first time, how I suffered, how I faced challenges, how I adapted, how I exceeded my own expectations and at last left due to mental and physical exhaustion. It was definitely a 1 year long roller coaster ride for me, I learned a lot, but I would not want to go through something like this again.
How it started
When I came to Taiwan a little over a year ago, I had no idea what I should do here. I knew, that I wanted to be with my wife, but career-wise, I had no plans. As a linguist and polyglot, I saw myself in a local company, that's doing business with Europe, where my language skills could be of good use. Other than that, I was pretty flexible. And so it happened, that a young and growing IT company contacted my wife, who published my Chinese resume on 104.com.tw, Taiwan's most popular employment website. An interview was arranged a week later in an industrial area in Eastern Taipei. The run down exterior of the building didn't promise anything good and since I was so green, no alarm bells were ringing at that time. The interview started with an IQ test, which I finished with all seriousness, despite later realizing, that it served no purpose. The sales manager who interviewed me gave me a tour around the cubicles and in that moment I felt my chances were looking pretty good. I was right - three days later they called my wife and told her they wanted me. I agreed to (what later turned out to be) a modest salary. But my lack of any experience in the field they hired me prevented me from claiming more. At that time I was very eager to work and earn something in order to not depend on my wife's money anymore. And so I landed in IT, I was in charge of business development and account management in several European markets, but with completely no experience - it was scary in a way.
Two divisions
Our company was divided in two business divisions. I was working for the smaller one, where it was much harder to sell the product, because the niche market was very specific and the competitors from Taiwan and Europe were far ahead of us. It was interesting, that our main product was quite famous in certain IT circles around Europe, but our side product was the complete opposite. We were generally known for good quality at a good price, but the product I tried to sell was having quality issues and compared to competition, it was too expensive. Of course it took me a couple of months to realize all this, because I was so new in this field. Nevertheless, I have learned fast. There was no formal training, but since a few new salespeople joined around the same time as me, we organized ourselves and studied the product together. I was lucky to befriend a very experienced colleague, who later became my best friend. Her over 10 years working experience in IT was a treasure and her flawless English was a bridge between me and the rest of the company. Most of my colleagues spoke English, because our key markets were in Europe, USA and Japan. However, the joint meetings were usually in Chinese and my best friend translated the most important things for me. Now I understand a lot of spoken Chinese, but in the beginning it was close to zero.
My observations
Keep in mind, that the things I will be mentioning below are specific for the company I have worked for, some of them might be true for other IT companies and have a general quality, but most of them are very particular for my old company, which was oftentimes seemed as extremely crazy even by Taiwanese standards.
• Working overtime is normal
It's pretty common in Taiwan's IT to work overtime for no pay, it's a cultural thing (it's called 加班 or jiābān). What an European like me understands as an exploitation of workers, breaking common ethics and laws, a lot of local managers see it as a reasonable expectation. By working overtime for free you show that you care for the company, you show engagement and enthusiasm, that will make your manager appreciate you more. "Working long hours" equals "working hard" in the traditional mindset of Taiwan's managers, who are usually of the older generation. Reality is different: A lot of Taiwanese, who stay longer in the office, are pretending to work. They are usually on Facebook or chit-chatting with other colleagues, they are too tired to focus (and who could blame them). The productivity in such companies is very low and because there are so many in Taiwan, who do so, it puts the whole country in that light. There are companies, who demand, that nobody leaves before the manager leaves, as you shall not work "less hard" as someone of higher rank than you. The law acquires 8 hours at work, but you basically stay 9 hours at the office, because 1 hour is meant as a lunch break. Add the common 2 hours overtime and maybe another 1 hour spent commuting and you realize, that on weekdays 12 hours a day are used for your job. After you come home, you are naturally very tired, time for a good quality private life is nearly impossible, unless you posses superhuman powers. Commonly, you will have to appear in your office between 9 and 9.30, you will have the right to leave between 18 and 18.30. A lot of Taiwanese move close to their working place, so that they don't need to waste a lot of time commuting (in our company, if you arrived at 9.31, a full hours pay was deducted from your salary). I used to work overtime a lot at first, because I didn't want to stick out as a foreigner, even though I had nothing to do. Later I usually stayed longer, because I was truly busy and the time difference between Europe and Taiwan affected my working time (for example, when it was time to leave in Taiwan, European partners just started their day and begun to email various requests to me). I was the busiest between 18 and 20h, at a time where I supposed to be home and taking a rest. You can not imagine how crazy I have seen these working hours in the beginning and how normal it has become for me a year after. I was a lot of times among the last ones leaving the office.
• Communication problems
The biggest problem you can face as a foreigner in a Taiwanese IT company is the communication. If you're not fluent in Chinese, you will need a kind colleague to translate for you the most important things. But even, if you're speaking and understanding Chinese well, communication will still be a problem, because Taiwanese communicate in a very different way. I give you an example: I asked my English speaking colleague to ask our Chinese speaking product manager about whether our product could have a certain feature. The answer is supposed to be either "yes" or "no". But to my surprise, they were talking for 10 minutes, before she came back to me and said: "No, we can't do it." Generally, things are discussed for too long without a real point - it's almost talking for the sake of talking. This is quite tiring for me, although I understand, that it's a cultural difference. Every week we had 4 to 5 hours long meetings discussing current issues. It was mostly a complete waste of time, it could be done in less than an hour. Our division boss used to have long incoherent meaningless speeches, full of self praise and unrelated nonsense - he was able to talk for one full hour in one breath. My colleagues and I were sitting there all annoyed and hoping it will end very soon. Few were really listening, most were replying emails or chatting on Skype... And that's how we wasted hours and hours every week, leaving these excruciating meetings exhausted to the bone and usually haven't advanced a bit in regards to solving issues (and there were many). It was generally very tiring for me to observe how much was discussed and how little was made afterwards.
• The cubicle becomes your new home
This is how your working environment most likely will look like | photo source. -
Taiwanese IT companies can be very messy sometimes, because a lot of people are placed in one big room. Usually all kinds of stuff is stored or thrown everywhere, products are constantly tested, disassembled and reassembled. In my case, the salespeople, product managers and engineers all sat very close to each other. Everyone had his own cubicle with a phone and laptop. The sound of running server fans, the constant mouse-clicking and typing is something very typical for such environment. And there's a big difference between the technical people such as engineers and product managers and the business oriented people such as the sales. A good manager needs to be a bridge between these groups, but unfortunately, I wasn't lucky enough to experience that. It's interesting that a lot of management's offices have transparent walls (usually consisting of glass) and their door is usually open (this is different from my country). I'm not sure, whether this is designed with the intent of intimidating the workers, because they see the boss at all times (and believe me, Taiwanese can be scared shitless around the boss) or is it just a "good feng shui" kinda thing? No idea, but I'm sure it serves a good purpose. See some more photos of a typical Taiwanese office.
• Of hierarchy and losing face
Vocabulary
• CEO (title) | 執行長 | Zhíxíngzhǎng
• GM (title) | 總經理 | Zǒng jīnglǐ
• VP (title) | 副總經理 | Fùzǒng jīnglǐ
• HR manager | 人資 | Rénzī
• PM | 產品經理 | Chǎnpǐn jīnglǐ
• Research & Development | 研發 | Yánfā
• Engineer | 工程師 | Gōngchéngshī
• Salesperson | 業務 | Yèwù
• Sales manager | 業務經理 | Yèwù jīnglǐ
• Sales assistant | 業務助理 | Yèwù zhùlǐ
• To go to work | 上班 | Shàngbān
• Office | 辦公室 | Bàngōngshì
• Cubicle | 位置 | WèizhiMy Taiwanese colleagues generally didn't dare to challenge or question our manager, even if almost everybody knew, that he is a incompetent and mean-spirited boss, who got the job only, because he had connections and BS-ed himself into the position. I tried to question some things he was saying in the beginning, because he himself offered us to do so. I thought: "Cool, it's like in Europe, we can discuss openly, argue and clash ideas and find the best solutions!". Unfortunately, I was so wrong and the only one eager to do it - and I was a complete junior. In contrast, all my senior colleagues were quietly nodding. I quickly realized why: Even, if a manager says you can openly discuss or question his ideas, don't do so! He most likely means the opposite, especially if he belongs to the old generation. What he expects is that everybody agrees with what he says. By asking questions, that would make him appear incompetent or wrong, you would cause him to lose face (丟臉 or dioūliěn), something that has to be avoided in Chinese culture at all cost (it's a taboo). I believe, that due to my initial eagerness to discuss and question things, I was quickly marked by him as a potential troublemaker, which resulted in his future taunts, verbal attacks and badmouthing, something that made me eventually leave the company. Meetings in Europe are usually short and concise, openly discussing problems and challenging the boss with good arguments is a lot of times very common. The opposite was true for the company I worked for. Respect for hierarchy, blind subordination and keeping face were the most important aspects of working in that department. It was no wonder, that we had such hard time solving issues, because people fumbled around and never dared to speak out the truth - it was always wrapped in a layer of meaningless verbal cushions meant to soften the message. Taiwanese tend to laugh, when they mention a problem in order to create a less tense atmosphere? No idea, but it always baffles me, when I see it. It was obvious to most of us who's fault it was, that some things were terribly wrong (division manager, product manager, R&D head), but nobody dared to point it out directly, because all of them were the type that would feel they lost face. And so the problems kept piling up and it's getting worse and worse by the month. I'm very happy I have left at this point. There were some colleagues, which were exceptional and found the courage to speak out directly in recent months, but the effect was still very small. They are among those, who might be the next ones leaving.
• Fake harmony and types of colleagues
In our company there was also a tendency to create something I would call "fake harmony" (called 假和諧 or jiǎ héxié). I have to say I had some very good colleagues, who were part of the reason I stayed as long as I did - if it weren't for them, I'd probably leave much faster. They are now my friends and I can trust them blindly. But being the exceptions they are, they only prove, that you better be careful who you trust, if you join a Taiwanese IT company. Rather be overly careful than careless. Everybody is nice at first, but after a while you realize, that they are several types of Taiwanese colleagues, allow me to use animals as an analogy for that: -
• Gossip culture
Compared to where I come from, I've noticed that Taiwanese really love to gossip (it's called 八卦 or bāguà, same as this). Everybody was using Skype during work (which is in Taiwan pronounced "Skypee"), chatting virtually all the time. Most of it was not related to particular issues at work, it was usually a tool for gossiping and bitching. I admit I was slowly dragged into this particular aspect of Taiwan's IT work culture and it became part of my daily routine (I was definitely not like this before). I have seen first hand how quickly gossip spreads across the departments or even out to ex-colleagues, who are now working for competitors. A lot of false rumors are also part of this, which is sometimes very annoying. Interestingly, my ex-colleagues were also very curious about each other's private matters, sometimes a little bit too nosey for my taste (for example: At one time someone suggested we should all share private pics with each other on a big projector in the meeting room. I didn't partake, but they were pushing me for few days. I stood firm and didn't share). Of course there are always a lot of colleagues, who are different and seldom chat online or care about gossip. Those are usually very busy.
• Lunch box culture
It's common in Taiwan's IT companies to order lunch boxes or 便當 (bièndāng, bendon) together. There are services, that will deliver it to the company, if a certain minimum order quantity is reached. A popular website is Din Ben Don. Biendang is also commonly ordered in the evening, so that people don't need to leave office for dinner. Some companies treat the employees with free ones, if they stay at work over a certain time. I will never forget that smell of warm rice at around 6 pm every day, that filled the whole office. That must be a smell common for many companies in Taiwan. It's also common to order drinks together, such as bubble tea, which are then delivered to the office. Another thing I've noticed, is that Taiwanese colleagues like to bring some cookies or pastry and share them among coworkers. It's one of those things that are supposed to make the working environment pleasant.
• Birthdays, weddings, babies and farewell gatherings
There are certain standardized customs in Taiwan's working environment, that you might need to follow. For example: If a colleague was having birthday, the others were ordering a cake. We then went to the meeting room and ate it together and chatted a little. When a female colleague had a baby, we went to visit her in the hospital to see her... and the baby of course. We also bought her a gift. When a colleague was leaving the company, a farewell lunch is organized for them, usually in a Chinese restaurant with round tables, where food is passed around (the one, where wedding banquets are held). If a colleague is senior and well-respected, dinner in a hotpot restaurant or a karaoke party might be organized for him. The trickiest part is the wedding banquet. Weddings are very important in Taiwanese culture, but it's kind of tricky to decide, who of your colleagues you would like to invite to join your banquet. In my case, I only chose the ones I felt the closest with, but I made sure, that others didn't know. I felt my wedding is my private matter and I won't invite whole department including people I don't know and people I don't like. I also didn't tell my boss. Some do tell the boss, even invite them and get a big angpao or red envelope with money. But in exchange it might mean, that the boss is sitting at the main table with them and even having a speech (that would be in my case a big nightmare). But if the boss is treating you well and your colleagues are very nice as well, go and invite them to your banquet. You'll gain face (有面子 or yǒu miènzi) and respect among them.
Of being a white foreigner
Being a white foreigner in a Taiwanese IT company is of course a very different experience from your native Taiwanese colleagues. You will most likely get a better salary (薪水 or xīnshueǐ) for the same position - that's why never discuss the salary you get, never mention any numbers (for Taiwanese it's taboo). In the first few days, maybe even weeks, you will most likely be the gossip of the day and before your Taiwanese colleagues ask you directly where you were coming from, if you were married and where were you living, they will discuss every detail about you on- and offline and spread few false rumors along the way. But don't share too much of yourself in the beginning, it's safer for your long term survival. Once you answer all questions, work will become a routine and you will slowly figure out who is good to be close with and who not. In my ex-company it turned out, that they later on didn't really bother to inform us foreigners about many things - I was lucky to have a network of people, who supplied me with information, so that I was up to date about what's going on. I suggest you to do the same: Be nice to everybody from the beginning, go to joint lunches for a while and find out as much as possible about how the company is ticking. After few months slowly prioritize and create your own network of trustworthy coworkers from various departments.
Promises and reality
The difference between what I was told during the interview and how reality looked like after I joined my old company was pretty big. Therefore I give you a tip: Always research the company you're interested to join with a help of a local and go through various Taiwanese forums, read what ex-employees say. Also research the markets and the foreign media and try to figure out, whether the product is good or lousy. Every company will claim to be in great shape, very organized and treating employees well, but not all of them are. Once you establish contacts in the industry and get insider information, finding a better job will then be much easier - and that will be the topic of my next post.
In conclusion
I hope that I've given you enough information and tips about how it is to work in a medium-sized Taiwanese IT company. Despite having a tough time, I have learned a lot, not only in relation to the product and the market I was in charge of. My Chinese language understanding increased significantly and in addition, I see Taiwanese people from a completely different perspective, I feel like I'm an insider now. There are certain cultural patterns, that are true for most of the people I've worked with, but all in all I have realized, that Taiwanese are very diverse fellows. No doubt, the IT industry is very competitive and challenging, but I would not discourage people from working in Taiwan's IT. You can learn a lot in a very short time, even if at first you sacrifice your private life and sometimes even health. In the end it's up to you to evaluate, if this would be something for you. It is possible to advance and earn more, while manage your working and private life well, but nobody's giving you anything for free - you have to work hard, swallow few bitter pills along the way, and then you have the chance to have a good career. In my case, I hope to gain enough experience in Taiwan's IT to one day return to Europe and get a well-paid job in one of the companies, that's importing products from the Far East. I hope by then I will be fluent in Mandarin and known in certain circles in the industry. But that's still far away, I'll need to waste few more years in the cubicle. Oh well, there are always business trips, that break the routine. And the Computex.
This is office reality in a Chinese company. Not bad, eh? :)
Check also: [Uniquely Taiwan][How to get a job in Taiwan]Thank you for subscribing and reading, whoever you are.
This is not, how your colleagues will look like | photo source.My first job in Taiwan was quite an experience, something that opened my eyes in many ways, but also brought me to my own limits. I want to share my experience with you in order to give you an insight into a completely new world - Taiwan's working environment in a medium-sized IT company. I will talk about how it was working with Taiwanese colleagues for the first time, how I suffered, how I faced challenges, how I adapted, how I exceeded my own expectations and at last left due to mental and physical exhaustion. It was definitely a 1 year long roller coaster ride for me, I learned a lot, but I would not want to go through something like this again.
How it started
When I came to Taiwan a little over a year ago, I had no idea what I should do here. I knew, that I wanted to be with my wife, but career-wise, I had no plans. As a linguist and polyglot, I saw myself in a local company, that's doing business with Europe, where my language skills could be of good use. Other than that, I was pretty flexible. And so it happened, that a young and growing IT company contacted my wife, who published my Chinese resume on 104.com.tw, Taiwan's most popular employment website. An interview was arranged a week later in an industrial area in Eastern Taipei. The run down exterior of the building didn't promise anything good and since I was so green, no alarm bells were ringing at that time. The interview started with an IQ test, which I finished with all seriousness, despite later realizing, that it served no purpose. The sales manager who interviewed me gave me a tour around the cubicles and in that moment I felt my chances were looking pretty good. I was right - three days later they called my wife and told her they wanted me. I agreed to (what later turned out to be) a modest salary. But my lack of any experience in the field they hired me prevented me from claiming more. At that time I was very eager to work and earn something in order to not depend on my wife's money anymore. And so I landed in IT, I was in charge of business development and account management in several European markets, but with completely no experience - it was scary in a way.
Two divisions
Our company was divided in two business divisions. I was working for the smaller one, where it was much harder to sell the product, because the niche market was very specific and the competitors from Taiwan and Europe were far ahead of us. It was interesting, that our main product was quite famous in certain IT circles around Europe, but our side product was the complete opposite. We were generally known for good quality at a good price, but the product I tried to sell was having quality issues and compared to competition, it was too expensive. Of course it took me a couple of months to realize all this, because I was so new in this field. Nevertheless, I have learned fast. There was no formal training, but since a few new salespeople joined around the same time as me, we organized ourselves and studied the product together. I was lucky to befriend a very experienced colleague, who later became my best friend. Her over 10 years working experience in IT was a treasure and her flawless English was a bridge between me and the rest of the company. Most of my colleagues spoke English, because our key markets were in Europe, USA and Japan. However, the joint meetings were usually in Chinese and my best friend translated the most important things for me. Now I understand a lot of spoken Chinese, but in the beginning it was close to zero.
My observations
Keep in mind, that the things I will be mentioning below are specific for the company I have worked for, some of them might be true for other IT companies and have a general quality, but most of them are very particular for my old company, which was oftentimes seemed as extremely crazy even by Taiwanese standards.
• Working overtime is normal
It's pretty common in Taiwan's IT to work overtime for no pay, it's a cultural thing (it's called 加班 or jiābān). What an European like me understands as an exploitation of workers, breaking common ethics and laws, a lot of local managers see it as a reasonable expectation. By working overtime for free you show that you care for the company, you show engagement and enthusiasm, that will make your manager appreciate you more. "Working long hours" equals "working hard" in the traditional mindset of Taiwan's managers, who are usually of the older generation. Reality is different: A lot of Taiwanese, who stay longer in the office, are pretending to work. They are usually on Facebook or chit-chatting with other colleagues, they are too tired to focus (and who could blame them). The productivity in such companies is very low and because there are so many in Taiwan, who do so, it puts the whole country in that light. There are companies, who demand, that nobody leaves before the manager leaves, as you shall not work "less hard" as someone of higher rank than you. The law acquires 8 hours at work, but you basically stay 9 hours at the office, because 1 hour is meant as a lunch break. Add the common 2 hours overtime and maybe another 1 hour spent commuting and you realize, that on weekdays 12 hours a day are used for your job. After you come home, you are naturally very tired, time for a good quality private life is nearly impossible, unless you posses superhuman powers. Commonly, you will have to appear in your office between 9 and 9.30, you will have the right to leave between 18 and 18.30. A lot of Taiwanese move close to their working place, so that they don't need to waste a lot of time commuting (in our company, if you arrived at 9.31, a full hours pay was deducted from your salary). I used to work overtime a lot at first, because I didn't want to stick out as a foreigner, even though I had nothing to do. Later I usually stayed longer, because I was truly busy and the time difference between Europe and Taiwan affected my working time (for example, when it was time to leave in Taiwan, European partners just started their day and begun to email various requests to me). I was the busiest between 18 and 20h, at a time where I supposed to be home and taking a rest. You can not imagine how crazy I have seen these working hours in the beginning and how normal it has become for me a year after. I was a lot of times among the last ones leaving the office.
• Communication problems
The biggest problem you can face as a foreigner in a Taiwanese IT company is the communication. If you're not fluent in Chinese, you will need a kind colleague to translate for you the most important things. But even, if you're speaking and understanding Chinese well, communication will still be a problem, because Taiwanese communicate in a very different way. I give you an example: I asked my English speaking colleague to ask our Chinese speaking product manager about whether our product could have a certain feature. The answer is supposed to be either "yes" or "no". But to my surprise, they were talking for 10 minutes, before she came back to me and said: "No, we can't do it." Generally, things are discussed for too long without a real point - it's almost talking for the sake of talking. This is quite tiring for me, although I understand, that it's a cultural difference. Every week we had 4 to 5 hours long meetings discussing current issues. It was mostly a complete waste of time, it could be done in less than an hour. Our division boss used to have long incoherent meaningless speeches, full of self praise and unrelated nonsense - he was able to talk for one full hour in one breath. My colleagues and I were sitting there all annoyed and hoping it will end very soon. Few were really listening, most were replying emails or chatting on Skype... And that's how we wasted hours and hours every week, leaving these excruciating meetings exhausted to the bone and usually haven't advanced a bit in regards to solving issues (and there were many). It was generally very tiring for me to observe how much was discussed and how little was made afterwards.
• The cubicle becomes your new home
This is how your working environment most likely will look like | photo source. -
Taiwanese IT companies can be very messy sometimes, because a lot of people are placed in one big room. Usually all kinds of stuff is stored or thrown everywhere, products are constantly tested, disassembled and reassembled. In my case, the salespeople, product managers and engineers all sat very close to each other. Everyone had his own cubicle with a phone and laptop. The sound of running server fans, the constant mouse-clicking and typing is something very typical for such environment. And there's a big difference between the technical people such as engineers and product managers and the business oriented people such as the sales. A good manager needs to be a bridge between these groups, but unfortunately, I wasn't lucky enough to experience that. It's interesting that a lot of management's offices have transparent walls (usually consisting of glass) and their door is usually open (this is different from my country). I'm not sure, whether this is designed with the intent of intimidating the workers, because they see the boss at all times (and believe me, Taiwanese can be scared shitless around the boss) or is it just a "good feng shui" kinda thing? No idea, but I'm sure it serves a good purpose. See some more photos of a typical Taiwanese office.
• Of hierarchy and losing face
Vocabulary
• CEO (title) | 執行長 | Zhíxíngzhǎng
• GM (title) | 總經理 | Zǒng jīnglǐ
• VP (title) | 副總經理 | Fùzǒng jīnglǐ
• HR manager | 人資 | Rénzī
• PM | 產品經理 | Chǎnpǐn jīnglǐ
• Research & Development | 研發 | Yánfā
• Engineer | 工程師 | Gōngchéngshī
• Salesperson | 業務 | Yèwù
• Sales manager | 業務經理 | Yèwù jīnglǐ
• Sales assistant | 業務助理 | Yèwù zhùlǐ
• To go to work | 上班 | Shàngbān
• Office | 辦公室 | Bàngōngshì
• Cubicle | 位置 | WèizhiMy Taiwanese colleagues generally didn't dare to challenge or question our manager, even if almost everybody knew, that he is a incompetent and mean-spirited boss, who got the job only, because he had connections and BS-ed himself into the position. I tried to question some things he was saying in the beginning, because he himself offered us to do so. I thought: "Cool, it's like in Europe, we can discuss openly, argue and clash ideas and find the best solutions!". Unfortunately, I was so wrong and the only one eager to do it - and I was a complete junior. In contrast, all my senior colleagues were quietly nodding. I quickly realized why: Even, if a manager says you can openly discuss or question his ideas, don't do so! He most likely means the opposite, especially if he belongs to the old generation. What he expects is that everybody agrees with what he says. By asking questions, that would make him appear incompetent or wrong, you would cause him to lose face (丟臉 or dioūliěn), something that has to be avoided in Chinese culture at all cost (it's a taboo). I believe, that due to my initial eagerness to discuss and question things, I was quickly marked by him as a potential troublemaker, which resulted in his future taunts, verbal attacks and badmouthing, something that made me eventually leave the company. Meetings in Europe are usually short and concise, openly discussing problems and challenging the boss with good arguments is a lot of times very common. The opposite was true for the company I worked for. Respect for hierarchy, blind subordination and keeping face were the most important aspects of working in that department. It was no wonder, that we had such hard time solving issues, because people fumbled around and never dared to speak out the truth - it was always wrapped in a layer of meaningless verbal cushions meant to soften the message. Taiwanese tend to laugh, when they mention a problem in order to create a less tense atmosphere? No idea, but it always baffles me, when I see it. It was obvious to most of us who's fault it was, that some things were terribly wrong (division manager, product manager, R&D head), but nobody dared to point it out directly, because all of them were the type that would feel they lost face. And so the problems kept piling up and it's getting worse and worse by the month. I'm very happy I have left at this point. There were some colleagues, which were exceptional and found the courage to speak out directly in recent months, but the effect was still very small. They are among those, who might be the next ones leaving.
• Fake harmony and types of colleagues
In our company there was also a tendency to create something I would call "fake harmony" (called 假和諧 or jiǎ héxié). I have to say I had some very good colleagues, who were part of the reason I stayed as long as I did - if it weren't for them, I'd probably leave much faster. They are now my friends and I can trust them blindly. But being the exceptions they are, they only prove, that you better be careful who you trust, if you join a Taiwanese IT company. Rather be overly careful than careless. Everybody is nice at first, but after a while you realize, that they are several types of Taiwanese colleagues, allow me to use animals as an analogy for that: -
- The sheep
The sheep is the type of colleague, that is always quiet and avoiding trouble, shying away from taking risks, trying to prevent open arguments. He or she will never complain, never speak out openly, seldom gossip and just let others make big decisions. Sheep are waiting for orders and instructions, have no opinions and like to do routine jobs and follow. Such colleagues will be harmless to you, but most likely not interesting for anything beyond the usual zao an and bye. - - The dog
The dog is the type of colleague, that will always be abused or used by the management or by other colleagues, but not complain, nor fight back. They will be loaded with jobs, working overtime a lot, but not respected. They will never really dare to make a change. I've seen a lot of them in my old company. It was a sad image, because it showed the ugly side of Taiwan's working culture. I usually stay away from these types of people. - - The turkey
The turkey is the type of colleague, that is constantly bitching about how it's so unbearable to work in the company and how they are about to leave. But aside from the never-ending complaints, he or she never does anything and after a while it becomes very tiring to listen to them. Some Taiwanese definitely lack the courage to make a change. It's understandable in many cases, as it's gotten harder and harder to get a decently paid job, nevertheless, it can also be used as an excuse. These types of colleagues are interesting at first, because you can bitch with them, but they can become tiring after a while. - - The rat
The rat is the type of colleague, that will backstab you the moment he can benefit from it. This is the type, that collects information, spreads gossip and tries to be close to the boss, badmouthing you to him and that gives him or her a sense of power. Rats will also do dirty jobs for the boss in order to get credit and appreciation. There are usually very few of such people in every department, everybody knows who they are and what they are doing, but they kinda get away with it. And some people like to be close to the rats, because when they climb up the leather, they can benefit from being their allies. Definitely stay away from such colleagues as far as possible. - - The monkey
The monkey is usually smarter than the boss, but doesn't always show it openly. He or she knows, how to create groups within the department and lead by good example, create trust and teamwork. Monkeys are intelligent, bold, but not confrontational. They work behind the system and solve problems without the management's interference. They don't look for their credit, they find it more rewarding to be respected by colleagues and customers, that's what drives them. But they usually move to other companies very fast, if it becomes unbearable. Be close to these types of colleagues.
• Gossip culture
Compared to where I come from, I've noticed that Taiwanese really love to gossip (it's called 八卦 or bāguà, same as this). Everybody was using Skype during work (which is in Taiwan pronounced "Skypee"), chatting virtually all the time. Most of it was not related to particular issues at work, it was usually a tool for gossiping and bitching. I admit I was slowly dragged into this particular aspect of Taiwan's IT work culture and it became part of my daily routine (I was definitely not like this before). I have seen first hand how quickly gossip spreads across the departments or even out to ex-colleagues, who are now working for competitors. A lot of false rumors are also part of this, which is sometimes very annoying. Interestingly, my ex-colleagues were also very curious about each other's private matters, sometimes a little bit too nosey for my taste (for example: At one time someone suggested we should all share private pics with each other on a big projector in the meeting room. I didn't partake, but they were pushing me for few days. I stood firm and didn't share). Of course there are always a lot of colleagues, who are different and seldom chat online or care about gossip. Those are usually very busy.
• Lunch box culture
It's common in Taiwan's IT companies to order lunch boxes or 便當 (bièndāng, bendon) together. There are services, that will deliver it to the company, if a certain minimum order quantity is reached. A popular website is Din Ben Don. Biendang is also commonly ordered in the evening, so that people don't need to leave office for dinner. Some companies treat the employees with free ones, if they stay at work over a certain time. I will never forget that smell of warm rice at around 6 pm every day, that filled the whole office. That must be a smell common for many companies in Taiwan. It's also common to order drinks together, such as bubble tea, which are then delivered to the office. Another thing I've noticed, is that Taiwanese colleagues like to bring some cookies or pastry and share them among coworkers. It's one of those things that are supposed to make the working environment pleasant.
• Birthdays, weddings, babies and farewell gatherings
There are certain standardized customs in Taiwan's working environment, that you might need to follow. For example: If a colleague was having birthday, the others were ordering a cake. We then went to the meeting room and ate it together and chatted a little. When a female colleague had a baby, we went to visit her in the hospital to see her... and the baby of course. We also bought her a gift. When a colleague was leaving the company, a farewell lunch is organized for them, usually in a Chinese restaurant with round tables, where food is passed around (the one, where wedding banquets are held). If a colleague is senior and well-respected, dinner in a hotpot restaurant or a karaoke party might be organized for him. The trickiest part is the wedding banquet. Weddings are very important in Taiwanese culture, but it's kind of tricky to decide, who of your colleagues you would like to invite to join your banquet. In my case, I only chose the ones I felt the closest with, but I made sure, that others didn't know. I felt my wedding is my private matter and I won't invite whole department including people I don't know and people I don't like. I also didn't tell my boss. Some do tell the boss, even invite them and get a big angpao or red envelope with money. But in exchange it might mean, that the boss is sitting at the main table with them and even having a speech (that would be in my case a big nightmare). But if the boss is treating you well and your colleagues are very nice as well, go and invite them to your banquet. You'll gain face (有面子 or yǒu miènzi) and respect among them.
Of being a white foreigner
Being a white foreigner in a Taiwanese IT company is of course a very different experience from your native Taiwanese colleagues. You will most likely get a better salary (薪水 or xīnshueǐ) for the same position - that's why never discuss the salary you get, never mention any numbers (for Taiwanese it's taboo). In the first few days, maybe even weeks, you will most likely be the gossip of the day and before your Taiwanese colleagues ask you directly where you were coming from, if you were married and where were you living, they will discuss every detail about you on- and offline and spread few false rumors along the way. But don't share too much of yourself in the beginning, it's safer for your long term survival. Once you answer all questions, work will become a routine and you will slowly figure out who is good to be close with and who not. In my ex-company it turned out, that they later on didn't really bother to inform us foreigners about many things - I was lucky to have a network of people, who supplied me with information, so that I was up to date about what's going on. I suggest you to do the same: Be nice to everybody from the beginning, go to joint lunches for a while and find out as much as possible about how the company is ticking. After few months slowly prioritize and create your own network of trustworthy coworkers from various departments.
Promises and reality
The difference between what I was told during the interview and how reality looked like after I joined my old company was pretty big. Therefore I give you a tip: Always research the company you're interested to join with a help of a local and go through various Taiwanese forums, read what ex-employees say. Also research the markets and the foreign media and try to figure out, whether the product is good or lousy. Every company will claim to be in great shape, very organized and treating employees well, but not all of them are. Once you establish contacts in the industry and get insider information, finding a better job will then be much easier - and that will be the topic of my next post.
In conclusion
I hope that I've given you enough information and tips about how it is to work in a medium-sized Taiwanese IT company. Despite having a tough time, I have learned a lot, not only in relation to the product and the market I was in charge of. My Chinese language understanding increased significantly and in addition, I see Taiwanese people from a completely different perspective, I feel like I'm an insider now. There are certain cultural patterns, that are true for most of the people I've worked with, but all in all I have realized, that Taiwanese are very diverse fellows. No doubt, the IT industry is very competitive and challenging, but I would not discourage people from working in Taiwan's IT. You can learn a lot in a very short time, even if at first you sacrifice your private life and sometimes even health. In the end it's up to you to evaluate, if this would be something for you. It is possible to advance and earn more, while manage your working and private life well, but nobody's giving you anything for free - you have to work hard, swallow few bitter pills along the way, and then you have the chance to have a good career. In my case, I hope to gain enough experience in Taiwan's IT to one day return to Europe and get a well-paid job in one of the companies, that's importing products from the Far East. I hope by then I will be fluent in Mandarin and known in certain circles in the industry. But that's still far away, I'll need to waste few more years in the cubicle. Oh well, there are always business trips, that break the routine. And the Computex.
This is office reality in a Chinese company. Not bad, eh? :)
Check also: [Uniquely Taiwan][How to get a job in Taiwan]Thank you for subscribing and reading, whoever you are.
Categories: Friend's blogs
The New iPad Invade Switch Kuching
Kuchingite officially getting The New iPad at 10am today.
People were seen queuing up as early as 8am for The New iPad at Switch Apple Premium Reseller @ tHe Spring Kuching. This is a good sign that The New iPad were a hit in this little town.
The New iPad however has limited stocks in hand – around 400 units or less (mix of iPad 2 and iPad New).
Kuching people — you got to go there now if you want to get your hand on with the resolutionary iPad New! Check The New iPad official price list here.
Queuing up at Switch KuchingPhoto above: Before 10am
Photo below: 11am onward
People Still Queuing at 10pm Switch Kuching The New iPad New Sold OutApril 21 — Those of you still interested should pre-order from Switch Kuching and probably you may have to wait for 1 to 2 weeks.
Related posts:
Categories: Friend's blogs
The New iPad 2012 Official Price For Malaysia
Finally Apple Release The New iPad Price List for Malaysia
The New iPad was first release on March 16, 2012 in the US and 36 days later Malaysia have the privilege to own one of this resolutionary tablet.
Available in White and Black — 16GB, 32Gb and 64GB model. Customers get to choose from Wi-Fi only version or Wi-Fi + 4G.
New iPad Price 2012
- New iPad 16GB WiFi RM1499
- New iPad 32GB WiFi RM1799
- New iPad 64GB WiFi RM2099
- New iPad 16GB WiFi + 4G RM1899
- New iPad 32GB WiFi + 4G RM2199
- New iPad 64GB WiFi + 4G RM2499
Limit to two unit per person — you may now start order online direct from store.apple.com/my
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D-Link DSL-2750U Streamyx Broadband Setup
How-to Setup Streamyx Broadband Account on D-Link DSL-2750U Wireless N ADSL2+
Has been a priority question on my blog lately. I love this modem and I haven’t been disappointed by the awesome signal inside my room and outside my house.
This is how I setup my D-Link Wireless N ADSL2+ Modem Router. I normally do not install any software from the CD that come with the unit.
Streamyx AccountPlease make sure you have your details ready — check your Streamyx application form which you have pre-select during registeration with Telekom.
- Streamyx Account Username (users@streamyx)
- Streamyx Account Password
Please log in to your modem with standard Username & Password.
Open your browser and enter http://192.168.1.1
- Username: admin
- Password: admin
- Validate Code: Enter what you see on screen
Go to the SETUP > Setup Wizard
You will go through 5 simple self-explanatory processes.
D-Link DSL-2750U — Change Modem password Step ThreeType in your current password (admin) and replace it with your desire new password.
D-Link DSL-2750U — Set Time & Date Step FourI let mine automatically retrive and update time & date via dlink.com
D-Link DSL-2750U — Setup Streamyx Connection Step FivePPPoA or PPPoE can be use without problem during my test. I stick to PPPoA because PPPoA in my opinion are much better than PPPoE. I can not say I feel the different the two with my Streamyx — I love to test it in the future.
Select from the drop down menu
- Country
- Internet Service Provider
- Protocol
The rest – You should stick to the default setting.
D-Link DSL-2750U SSID Setup Step SixGive your network a unique name (SSID) and choose a password for your network (WPA2)
D-Link DSL-2750U – Check your Setting and Complete Last StepVerify your setting and hit okay and you’re good to go. Your modem will now automatically reboot and will start connecting to the internet.
Trouble ShootingIf you follow the instructions and your telephone line is in working order, you should have no problem getting your modem to work.
Still having trouble?
- Make sure your Streamyx Account has a correct User ID & Password. Try log in to your Streamyx Account.
- Make sure your Modem DSL light is stable/ On.
- If Your DSL light is stable — light indicator on “Internet” should “blink” to establish internet connection.
- Re-check your setting or reset your modem. Use a pin to reset your modem and repeat the setup above.
- Re-Check your DSL splitter — try swap cable around (phone line and modem line).
- If you have a spare modem (old working modem) try use it to cross check your telephone connection is in proper order.
- Pick up your phone and check the noise level (not Dial Tone). If too high you will have to call Telekom to fix it.
- Most silly mistake — forgot to plug in the telephone cable.
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New iPad Hit Malaysian Shore 20th April 2012 Are We 4G LTE Ready?
iPad New (3rd Generation) Officially on Shelf This Friday in Malaysia.
How much this beast — The New iPad going to cost in Malaysia? Very likely it going for the same as original iPad 2 first released price. Wi-Fi version RM1,499, 1,700 and 2,099 while the Wi-Fi + 4G version from as low RM1,899, 2,199 and 2,499.
Is Malaysia 4G LTE Boleh?Perhaps we should browse the web to look for telltale sign for Malaysia 4G LTE Boleh.
Celcom 4G LTECelcom is investing RM1 Billion for 3G infrastructures for 2012 according to The Edge
Celcom chief financial officer Chari point out Malaysia is 5 years behind Japan – currently 86% Malaysians is enjoying 2G networks nationwide while Japan had phased out their 2G networks.
Maxis 4G LTEAlmost every time you see Maxis CEO Sandip Das made the news front page, he never fail to remind us that Maxis was the first to launch HSDPA or HSPA+ network in Malaysia.
He make a promise to make sure Maxis to do it well (4G LTE) but nothing were mention to be the first to launch 4G LTE.
Digi 4G LTEDigi announced by the end of 2012 – they would be the first fully LTE-equipped networks in Malaysia! Digi made the pledge The Tomorrow Network.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVD5qdohcQ8
Malaysia 4G LTE Boleh La!Looking at the launch of iPad New in Malaysia – we are sure not ready for the 4G LTE.
Maxis & Celcom both are working on the 4G LTE while Digi is currently making it a reality. Our closest dream to 300 Mbit/s download on a smart phone by the end of 2012 perhaps a 4G LTE from Digi?
Worldwide 4G LTE according to WikipediaAdoption of LTE technology as of January 5, 2012. Visit Wiki for more informations
Malaysia is not ready for 4G LTEOfficially Apple mention 4G LTE only work with AT&T in the U.S. and Bell, Rogers, and Telus in Canada. We still have to wait for quite sometime in Malaysia before it fully compatible.
You might be interested with the news about Australia suing Apple over 4G branding and as well reports on Wi-Fi issues on Apple New iPad (Wi-Fi version).
Finally Apple New iPad is here. Happy shopping to all new and potential owner of Apple New iPad this coming Friday!
Apple’s official full press release
New iPad Arrives in South Korea & 11 Additional Countries This WeekCUPERTINO, California―April 16, 2012―Apple® today announced the new iPad®, the third generation of its category defining mobile device, will arrive in South Korea and 11 additional countries on Friday, April 20. The new iPad features a stunning new Retina™ display, Apple’s new A5X chip with quad-core graphics and a 5 megapixel iSight® camera with advanced optics for capturing amazing photos and 1080p HD video. The new iPad still delivers the same all-day 10 hour battery life* while remaining amazingly thin and light.
In addition to South Korea, the new iPad also will be available beginning on Friday, April 20 in Brunei, Croatia, Cyprus, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Malaysia, Panama, St Maarten, Uruguay and Venezuela. Beginning on Friday, April 27, the new iPad will be available in Colombia, Estonia, India, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, South Africa and Thailand.
The new iPad Wi-Fi models will be available in black or white for a suggested retail price of $499 (US) for the 16GB model, $599 (US) for the 32GB model and $699 (US) for the 64GB model. The iPad Wi-Fi + 4G models will be available for a suggested retail price of $629 (US) for the 16GB model, $729 (US) for the 32GB model and $829 (US) for the 64GB model.** The new iPad will be sold through the Apple Online Store (www.apple.com) and select Apple Authorized Resellers. Additionally, iPad 2 is available at a more affordable price starting at just $399.
*Battery life depends on device settings, usage and other factors. Actual results vary.
**4G LTE is supported only on AT&T and Verizon networks in the U.S. and on Bell, Rogers and Telus networks in Canada. Data plans sold separately.
Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad.
Press Contacts:
Simon Pope
Apple
spope@apple.com
(408) 974-0457
Trudy Muller
Apple
tmuller@apple.com
(408) 862-7426
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New blog design for 2012
Entering a new era
Click on the image to see how my blog should look like on your screen.
My blog has recently entered a new era: I've redesigned some parts over the weekend and today is official launch of my blog's new fancy outfit. How do you like it? The design was inspired by Apple.com, I've used the Myriad Pro font on the sidebars and in some pages, such as About me. The content bar stayed the same, no sizes have changed. The background is light grey and I've rounded the edges and added box-shadows. I like the effect, because it softens the previously sharp edges. I always liked simple, light and clear designs more than complicated ones with black background and white font.
I am well aware, that this layout won't look that good on other browsers, especially on old versions on Internet Explorer. Please, if you use those versions, I'm sure a beautiful blog design isn't really one of your priorities. This new design looks best on Safari and Chrome, Modzilla is not bad either, at least on my iMac, but on my wife's old Windows laptop it doesn't look that good anymore. The biggest risk are the box-shadows, if they are not supported, the whole layout looks very weird. But at this point want to offer the best for those who expect the best (for example Mac users) and hope that the rest will upgrade soon. Hope dies last.
Two of my most popular posts in the recent months are related to Taiwanese women.
Given the fact that I'm very busy and update less in recently, my blog is doing surprisingly well. My main blog has around 250 subscribers in Google Reader and between 2500 and 3000 daily page views in recent weeks. Last whole month was 75.000 page views, which is not bad for a Blogger blog. I've also passed the 1 million page views mark this year, currently is over 1.1 already. The comments have become less, because I'm not really engaged in the blogosphere (no time) and a lot of my posts are rather informational than thought-provoking. But that suits me: I'm trying to slowly grow my resource on Taiwan and travel and I have no pressure to do it fast. I will also enhance my pages and unify the way my content can be found. I want a simple and easy to navigate blog with great content and a very broad resource. I think I'm doing quite ok.
Related: [ABOUT MY BLOG][All screen caps by MKL, 2012]Thank you for subscribing and reading, whoever you are.
Click on the image to see how my blog should look like on your screen.
My blog has recently entered a new era: I've redesigned some parts over the weekend and today is official launch of my blog's new fancy outfit. How do you like it? The design was inspired by Apple.com, I've used the Myriad Pro font on the sidebars and in some pages, such as About me. The content bar stayed the same, no sizes have changed. The background is light grey and I've rounded the edges and added box-shadows. I like the effect, because it softens the previously sharp edges. I always liked simple, light and clear designs more than complicated ones with black background and white font.
I am well aware, that this layout won't look that good on other browsers, especially on old versions on Internet Explorer. Please, if you use those versions, I'm sure a beautiful blog design isn't really one of your priorities. This new design looks best on Safari and Chrome, Modzilla is not bad either, at least on my iMac, but on my wife's old Windows laptop it doesn't look that good anymore. The biggest risk are the box-shadows, if they are not supported, the whole layout looks very weird. But at this point want to offer the best for those who expect the best (for example Mac users) and hope that the rest will upgrade soon. Hope dies last.
Two of my most popular posts in the recent months are related to Taiwanese women.
Given the fact that I'm very busy and update less in recently, my blog is doing surprisingly well. My main blog has around 250 subscribers in Google Reader and between 2500 and 3000 daily page views in recent weeks. Last whole month was 75.000 page views, which is not bad for a Blogger blog. I've also passed the 1 million page views mark this year, currently is over 1.1 already. The comments have become less, because I'm not really engaged in the blogosphere (no time) and a lot of my posts are rather informational than thought-provoking. But that suits me: I'm trying to slowly grow my resource on Taiwan and travel and I have no pressure to do it fast. I will also enhance my pages and unify the way my content can be found. I want a simple and easy to navigate blog with great content and a very broad resource. I think I'm doing quite ok.
Related: [ABOUT MY BLOG][All screen caps by MKL, 2012]Thank you for subscribing and reading, whoever you are.
Categories: Friend's blogs
Apple iPad New vs iPad 2 Price Fight
Rumors has it 21st April would see the light of iPad new in Malaysia.
If this is the first time you getting an iPad, The New iPad should be you definite choice. You have no reason to buy iPad 2 unless the price is the concern.
Would you be getting an iPad New? iPad New Price Fight SG vs. MYFollowers of my blog may recall my post iPad 2012 Price in Malaysia which I advise to get iPad New in Singapore if you can’t wait for it.
If the rumors and the price is correct than getting iPad New from Singapore is really expensive. Averagely it cost more than RM150 in comparison.
If you haven’t got it and planning to get it from Singapore — You might want to hold your horses.
iPad New vs. iPad 2 Price FightiPad 2 is seriously still a very good tablet. If you are none techie I would dare say that you won’t even notice the different except for the retina display. (Don’t listen to me — I haven’t even hold the iPad New)
Be realistic who want the old gadget when you have the new release and especially if the price is only by different of RM300?
Ya — I guess not.
Rumors source Malaysianwireless.com
Feature photo belong to Apple.com
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Zhongguoren vs. Daluren
Our silly conversations, part I
Sometimes my wife and I have very silly conversations regarding her Taiwanese identity. I am well aware that I too often push the envelope and she will let me know directly, when I'm overdoing it. I usually stop right away, so that I don't get in trouble. Below is a random conversation we had today. This might be funny to those, who know some basic Chinese. I want to show the conversation as it truly happened, hence the Chinese characters mixed with English. I'm sorry, if you are not able to read the Chinese part. Please don't take our dialogue too seriously.
Me: "Last time, when I met your mother, I talked with her about our Alishan trip in Chinese. I said: 在阿里山有很多的中國人。 And then she corrected me and said 大陸人。 So does that mean, that you are also 中國人? Does she think this way?"
* Her mom is from the South
Wife: "No!"
Me: "But officially you are 中國人, right? What does it say in your official document, what nationality are you?"
Wife: "中華民國。"
Me: "No, not country, I mean nationality. I'm sure it doesn't say 台灣人。"
Wife: "It says 中華民國。"
Me victoriously countering: "Ok, let me put it this way: You are not 日本人, right? You are not 韓國人... So what are you officially? Admit it, you are 中國人!"
Wife bluntly: "Shut up!"
Check more uniquely Taiwanese things here.Thank you for subscribing and reading, whoever you are.
Sometimes my wife and I have very silly conversations regarding her Taiwanese identity. I am well aware that I too often push the envelope and she will let me know directly, when I'm overdoing it. I usually stop right away, so that I don't get in trouble. Below is a random conversation we had today. This might be funny to those, who know some basic Chinese. I want to show the conversation as it truly happened, hence the Chinese characters mixed with English. I'm sorry, if you are not able to read the Chinese part. Please don't take our dialogue too seriously.
Me: "Last time, when I met your mother, I talked with her about our Alishan trip in Chinese. I said: 在阿里山有很多的中國人。 And then she corrected me and said 大陸人。 So does that mean, that you are also 中國人? Does she think this way?"
* Her mom is from the South
Wife: "No!"
Me: "But officially you are 中國人, right? What does it say in your official document, what nationality are you?"
Wife: "中華民國。"
Me: "No, not country, I mean nationality. I'm sure it doesn't say 台灣人。"
Wife: "It says 中華民國。"
Me victoriously countering: "Ok, let me put it this way: You are not 日本人, right? You are not 韓國人... So what are you officially? Admit it, you are 中國人!"
Wife bluntly: "Shut up!"
Check more uniquely Taiwanese things here.Thank you for subscribing and reading, whoever you are.
Categories: Friend's blogs
Cherry blossoms on Alishan, 2012
First day of my Alishan trip
11 degrees Celsius felt very good.
Alishan is famous for cherry trees and a lot of Taiwanese like to go up there every March to enjoy the beautiful cherry blossoms. My wife thought it would be a good idea to go there as well and since I've never visited this famously beautiful mountain, I gladly accepted her invitation. After we made it up there with the bus and found our way through the masses of Chinese visitors, it was about time to start exploring the beautiful nature. After I took a short rest in the hotel, I was ready to go on a walk. My wife and I decided to follow a popular trail and visit few beautiful spots along the way.
This is what we saw:
Taiwanese guys shooting girls from above... sometimes.
Beautiful cherry blossoms (photos taken by my wife).
Pink petals in the wind.
Another batch of them.
White petals.
A small lake near the Alishan village.
An old tree trunk, reminding us of times long passed.
Pavilion amid the lake - solitude in harmony.
The Chushan footpath.
The misty Alishan mountain.
The Alishan railway station.
Local visitors strolling to the cherry blossom garden nearby.
The famous Alishan hotel.
Beautiful woman keeping the hotel's front yard clean.
The office of Taiwan's Forestry Bureau.
The cherry blossom garden.
A crooked cherry (waiting to die?).
Taiwanese photography buffs.
A young couple capturing their precious moment.
Sakura.
More sakura.
The Shoujhen temple.
Shoujhen temple from close.
Leaving the temple.
We decided to go down and deeper inside the old forest.
Crossing a suspension bridge.
View from below.
Path leading deeper down.
Wifey slowly walking down, passing by a huge old tree.
Dead-end rail.
A misty stream.
Wifey curiously inspecting the area.
Small temple on the way back impressed us.
The fresh air above 2400m is truly refreshing and something I am not used to breath in Taipei. It was also colder, which was very pleasant, as I generally hate this humidity, that already covers most of Taiwan's north in spring. When I return to Alishan the next time, I will definitely hike longer - there is so much to explore, most trails are very well maintained and nicely laid out. The sunrise on Alishan is breathtaking, but very quickly passed, what remains are these trails, hiking on Alishan is a real pleasure. I hope you enjoyed viewing my photos as much as I have enjoyed taking them.
Click on picture to enlarge.
Next post: Alishan Sunrise>>
[TAIWAN TRAVEL page][Alishan 2012][All photos by MKL, 2012]Thank you for subscribing and reading, whoever you are.
11 degrees Celsius felt very good.
Alishan is famous for cherry trees and a lot of Taiwanese like to go up there every March to enjoy the beautiful cherry blossoms. My wife thought it would be a good idea to go there as well and since I've never visited this famously beautiful mountain, I gladly accepted her invitation. After we made it up there with the bus and found our way through the masses of Chinese visitors, it was about time to start exploring the beautiful nature. After I took a short rest in the hotel, I was ready to go on a walk. My wife and I decided to follow a popular trail and visit few beautiful spots along the way.
This is what we saw:
Taiwanese guys shooting girls from above... sometimes.
Beautiful cherry blossoms (photos taken by my wife).
Pink petals in the wind.
Another batch of them.
White petals.
A small lake near the Alishan village.
An old tree trunk, reminding us of times long passed.
Pavilion amid the lake - solitude in harmony.
The Chushan footpath.
The misty Alishan mountain.
The Alishan railway station.
Local visitors strolling to the cherry blossom garden nearby.
The famous Alishan hotel.
Beautiful woman keeping the hotel's front yard clean.
The office of Taiwan's Forestry Bureau.
The cherry blossom garden.
A crooked cherry (waiting to die?).
Taiwanese photography buffs.
A young couple capturing their precious moment.
Sakura.
More sakura.
The Shoujhen temple.
Shoujhen temple from close.
Leaving the temple.
We decided to go down and deeper inside the old forest.
Crossing a suspension bridge.
View from below.
Path leading deeper down.
Wifey slowly walking down, passing by a huge old tree.
Dead-end rail.
A misty stream.
Wifey curiously inspecting the area.
Small temple on the way back impressed us.
The fresh air above 2400m is truly refreshing and something I am not used to breath in Taipei. It was also colder, which was very pleasant, as I generally hate this humidity, that already covers most of Taiwan's north in spring. When I return to Alishan the next time, I will definitely hike longer - there is so much to explore, most trails are very well maintained and nicely laid out. The sunrise on Alishan is breathtaking, but very quickly passed, what remains are these trails, hiking on Alishan is a real pleasure. I hope you enjoyed viewing my photos as much as I have enjoyed taking them.
Click on picture to enlarge.
Next post: Alishan Sunrise>>
[TAIWAN TRAVEL page][Alishan 2012][All photos by MKL, 2012]Thank you for subscribing and reading, whoever you are.
Categories: Friend's blogs
