Taiwan as a country is food mad and you will find all tastes catered for in its big cities. This is in part due to the diverse external influences over the past 500 years, from the Spanish and Dutch colonialists in the 17th century to the Japanese and Americans in the 20th century, and Chinese Continue Reading
Taiwan: Far Eastern Plaza
Hotel Overview Shangri-La’s Far Eastern Plaza Hotel, Taipei opened in December 1994 and was comprehensively renovated in 2015, in keeping with the hotel’s elegant surroundings. Situated on the tree-lined Dunhua South Road, the hotel soars 43 storeys above Taipei’s business district and is five minutes from the Taipei World Trade Convention and Exhibition Center, 15 Continue Reading
Taiwan: Miramar Garden
Miramar Garden Taipei boasts a classic European architectural design. The high-ceilinged lobby, spacious guest rooms, varied cuisine and fitness facilities, including a Vigor Health Club, swimming pool and meeting and conference rooms, go a long way towards satisfying the demands of the holidaymaker and the business traveler. You can enjoy Miramar Garden Taipei’s buffet at Continue Reading
Taiwan: Grand View Resort
Grand View Resort stands at the foot of YangMing mountain in the Beitou hot springs resort and is the only 5-star hotel in the district. C.Y. Lee, the architect of Taipei 101, was responsible for the planning of the buildings, using logs and stones together with titanium plated metal and natural plants and ingeniously integrated Continue Reading
Taiwan: Getting around
Taipei is very easy to get around. One of the easiest, cheapest and most reliable ways is the subway or MRT. Built since the turn of the century, it is world-class, comprehensive, clean and reliable. Announcements, signage and maps in English make it particularly simple. As with almost everywhere in Taiwan, personal safety is simply Continue Reading
Taiwan: Howard Plaza Hotel
Grand View Resort stands at the foot of YangMing mountain in the Beitou hot springs resort and is the only 5-star hotel in the district. C.Y. Lee, the architect of Taipei 101, was responsible for the planning of the buildings, using logs and stones together with titanium plated metal and natural plants and ingeniously integrated Continue Reading
Taiwan: Books
A Pail of Oysters Vern Sneider First published: New York Putnam (1953) Republished: Camphor Press (2016) Historical fiction, White Terror period Vern Sneider’s A Pail of Oysters is the most important English-language novel ever written about Taiwan. Yet despite critical acclaim, this exciting and controversial book was long unavailable to readers. Set against the political Continue Reading
Taiwan: Films
Cape no 7: Wei Te-Sheng 2008 – Ars Film Cape No. 7 portrays the rise of a small-town rock band and the discovery of a cache of undelivered love letters from 1940s Japanese-occupied Taiwan that become the catalyst of another inter-cultural love affair 70 years later. The film begins in 1945 with the extradition of a Continue Reading