December 8, 2023 - Hulong Village - Taichung - 74km - DLINN Hotel When something is labelled “Made in Taiwan ,” it is very likely it was made in or around Taichung, the Taiwanese capital of light industry. The city is also the birthplace of Giant bikes and bubble tea. (Coincidentally, our first stop in the city was a Giant bike store where I bought ...
December 6 - Shimen to Hsinchu - 38 kms - H & M Hotel December 7 - Hsinchu to Hudong - 45 kms - Pomelo Homestay Gordon: A sign on the coastal bike trail told us that we were on The Smile Seaside and we were inclined to agree. After six days of cloud and rain we finally saw the sun this morning. And the ...
December 5, 2023 - Taipei to Shimen Reservoir - 50kms - One Plus One Motel As we pulled up to the motel they were proudly advertising their three hour rate . Hummm, could this be a love hotel? This is a luxurious version by contrast to the ones we have seen in Thailand. Unlike the shower curtains to hide your car in Thailand, we ...
Twenty years ago our friend Mel connected us with one of her former Taiwanese students who needed a place to stay in Victoria. Bruce stayed with us for a month, and during that time he was game to join in on whatever we were doing. He even joined us at a protest where we all dressed up in costumes. We parted with the promise that ...
Our hotel is located right in central Taipei near the Taipei Main train station. I’m amazed at how quiet it is here. Like Japan, the cars and scooters are much quieter than their North American cousins. On the small roads and lanes life is relaxed and friendly. We watched with our mouths hanging open as a woman passed taking her large tortoise for a walk. ...
Starting the sketchbook! We leave Victoria on Wednesday and by some time traveling magic we skip Thursday and arrive in Taipei on Friday. That’s not completely true. When we leave Vancouver it will be the wee hours of Thursday morning, but when we arrive it will be Friday. We have seven weeks to explore Taiwan by bike. Grandma Friday and Larry Friday (our folding bikes) ...
We suffered a bit of anxiety around the flight out of Lukla, as the day before we were scheduled to depart a number of flights were cancelled due to cloudy weather. As it turned out, the weather was fine and flights left in as regular a manner as can be expected in Nepal.The takeoff at Lukla airport is a unique experience. As at Ramechhap the pilot ...
We completed the Everest Three Pass trek in 19 days, leaving us with two days before our flight to Kathmandu. We considered various options and finally settled upon an overnight excursion along the trail towards Jiri. This trail is one of the options for those that would prefer to walk to Lukla rather than take a flight. It typically takes six days and is only used ...
We had a relaxed two day walk from Namche to Lukla. As we lost elevation the vegetation became lusher and the human population more dense.Last night we stayed at a small family run guesthouse in Tok Tok, about midway between Namche and Lukla. The owner was a mountaineer in his younger years and had summited Lhotse and another 8000 metre peak in Tibet, as well ...
Today’s walk was like some kind of Himalayan fantasy. We passed through juniper and rhododendron forests, strode along trails cut out of ravine walls hundreds of feet above a river, crossed a bridge above a roaring waterfall, and passed through several traditional villages. The light was magnificent and we could hardly make any progress with all of the photo stops.About halfway to Namche we started ...