Taipei panorama

Below are two panorama shots I took while hiking to Tianshang Shan in Tucheng a few weeks ago. [more...]

Show me the money

When I first came to Taiwan in 1999 I was paid NT$480 per hour at ELSI (now known as Kojen). Now seven years later, I am getting paid NT$650 per hour, a 35% increase.

It seems ok at first glance. However, when you consider a number of factors it is not very good at all. [more...]

Another hike in Tucheng

I went for another great hike in Tucheng this morning. Earlier in the week I discovered a new trail leading to Danuanjian Shan (大暖尖山) where I saw a monkey. Today I followed the trail all the way to the end. [more...]

This is disgusting

The classified ad shown above appeared in the Taipei Times today. Bad spelling aside, it provides an example of how Taiwanese employers blatantly and unashamedly engage in [more...]

Free holiday in Taiwan

The Taipei Times today reports that the National Youth Commission is offering young travellers a free holiday in Taiwan as part of its efforts to promote tourism. [more...]

English language magazines in Taiwan

The Tapei Times today has an article about English language magazines published in Taiwan. There are several different magazines published such as 24seven, Xpat and Highway 11. What most of these magazines have in common [more...]

A monkey in the mountains

I have been out hiking the trails around Chengtian Chan Temple in Tucheng regularly over the last few weeks. I have been refamiliarising myself with the area and also trying to find some new trails to walk.

This morning I followed a trail [more...]

Taiwan blog feed

Mark of Doubting to shuo has set up a website that aggregrates RSS feeds from Taiwan blogs. The Taiwan Blog Feed

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The art of martial arts

On Saturday afternoon I went to visit the martial arts exhibition at the Taipei Story House. I read about it in the Taipei Times and it sounded interesting.

The exhibition wasn't quite what I expected. Rather than being about martial arts in Taiwan per se, it was about [more...]

Hiking from Tucheng to Zhonghe

A couple of weeks ago I posted about hiking in Tucheng. I noted that from the summit of Tianshang Shan there appeared to be a path leading all the way to Yuantong Chan Temple in Zhonghe (via another path I had earlier hiked).

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Certification for Mandarin teachers in Taiwan

Earlier this year I blogged about a Ministry of Education (MoE) plan to certify Mandarin teachers in Taiwan. Yesterday's Taipei Times carried a report giving more details of the plan.

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Taiwan is no better than China

A report from the US State Department has ranked Taiwan equal with China for its failure to address human trafficking. The Taipei Times carried an article about it yesterday.

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Hiking in Tucheng

Yesterday I went hiking at Chengtian Chan Temple (承天禪寺) in Tucheng. After the windy weather on Monday the air had cleared and there were some great views over Taipei County and City.

The temple is very close to Tucheng and now that the MRT has extended all the way out to Tucheng it is very easy to get there. [more...]

MRT arrives in Banqiao and Tucheng

The Banqiao and Tucheng line of the MRT opened last week. I was impressed with the way it opened on schedule despite the cynicism of many Taiwanese people and foreign residents that it wouldn't open on time. New bus routes appeared overnight and the line seems to be running without a hitch. With the high speed rail (HSR) set to open in October

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Computer based Chinese test

Last year I blogged about Taiwan developing its own Chinese proficiency test. Today's Taipei Times reports that Taiwan is launching a computerised version of the Chinese Proficiency Test (CPT).

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