Though I’ve been to the Taipei 101 many times, and have gone up to the observatory more times than I could remember, the Taipei 101 is still somewhat of a treat. Though Hong Kong and mainland China have numbed my
Peddocks Island : Boston’s Outlying Islands
The boat tour around the wonderful outlying islands of Boston took me to three islands. I previously wrote about Georges Island and Fort Warren, and then Spectacle Island. The third and final stop was to Peddocks Island. Though it wasn’t
Kinmen Civil Defense Tunnel Exhibition Museum : Jincheng Town
Protecting the civilians in Kinmen from the mainland Chinese invasion are a series of long tunnels built by the civil defense during the 1970. They’re spread all throughout the island, but in Jincheng you can take a walking tour underground
Monkey Mountain : Hong Kong
On the way to see the gorgeous Yuen Yuen Institute and Western Monastery in Tseun Wan, we made a stop along the way to show our visitors a different side of Hong Kong – wild monkeys. Turns out, there’s quite
Yuen Yuen Institute & Western Monastery : Tseun Wan – Hong Kong
A few weeks after returning from a visitor scholar attachment to Florida State University, the professor I was working with reciprocated with a visit to Hong Kong with his daughter. Being the local, I was happy to suggest the good
Bishan & Yangzhaidong – Jinsha Township : Kinmen island
Want to see more Fujianese style houses in the Taiwanese Kinmen Island? You got it. This is from the eastern part of the island near Bishan & Yangzhaidong in Jinsha Township. Really not much available in English on those
Charles Deering Estate at Cutler : Miami
Charles Deering, a successful businessman, discovered Miami as a winter destination long before most of the other Americans did. Back in the 1890s, he already started heading south towards Saint Augustine and Miami, when the winters in Chicago became too
City God Birthday Festival : Jinsha Shaobei – Kinmen Island
Sometimes travel is mostly about luck, and on my recent trip to Kinmen luck was definitely on my side. As I entered Kinmen via a ferry from Xiamen and sat down with the shy guy in the welcoming Tourist Information
Ancient Spanish Monastery : Miami
Though European history in the United States doesn’t go back beyond 15th century, Miami features a surprise – an ancient Spanish Monastery from the 12th century. Well, if you don’t have your own history, why not import it? The St.
Zhongzheng Park & Tai Lake : Kinmen Island
Riding around Kinmen Island on a motorcycle one gloomy afternoon I followed a recommendation to visit a nearby Lake Tai Amusement/Recreation Area. Surrounded by military bases with lots of handsome and pretty soldiers running on the side of the road