Taiwan is my old home, so whenever I visit I’m overwhelmed with strong feelings of nostalgia and yearning. I used to visit once or twice a year, but haven’t since the pandemic, and so when Taiwan finally opened up in December 2022, I was one of the first to visit. I spent newyears eve in Taipei and the newyears day in Kaohsiung, and lingered for a while, only to wrap up the Taiwan experience with a roadtrip around the southern Kending National Park. Last time I did that was in 2007, and I thought I remembered something from that trip, but everything I saw was as if it was new. There were no tourists, and very few local students wandering about. Water was pretty cold, relatively, but the views, the beaches, and the park, were gorgeous and almost every stop with the car had spectacular views. And the Taiwanese, well, they’re just wonderful, I missed the friendly and welcoming Taiwanese, and I think they were surprised and somewhat grateful I was back exploring in Taiwan after having been disconnected from the world for 2.5 years.
Here’s a bit from my visions nostalgia visit to Kending National Park in southern Taiwan…
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