Tales of Expat Living, Teaching, and Tramping in Taiwan and Beyond.
Phongsaly Region, Northern Laos About the Photographer Jay Woodson is a writer and wanderer severely addicted to the humorous and ironic sides of global travel. Read his scribblings at Dreadlock Travels. Do you have a photo you’d like to submit for Photo of the Week? Please send it with your name, a one line bio, […]
Jade Emperor, they say it’s your birthday. And by they, I mean the industrial sized fireworks that went off by my building this morning at 7 am. My boyfriend and I (in our half- asleep state) surely thought we were under attack. One would think we would be used to it by now, what […]
To be honest, day six of Chinese New Year is absent of special rituals. We are at the part of the New Year where things have hit a lull. The middle days are a time of quiet (minus the fireworks) when families feast and spend time together, leading to the final day celebration blowouts. Shockingly, […]
Day Three of Chinese New Year is known as the Chìkǒu 赤口, which directly translates to “red mouth”. It is customary to burn more paper offering over trash fires, but I have witnessed none of this in Kaohsiung. I have been told it is still practiced in rural areas. I guess people in big cities […]
According to legend, day two of the Chinese New Year, called the kāinián 开年 “beginning of the year”, is the birthday of all dogs. It is customary to give them special treats, so in preparation for this I bought some dog biscuits to pass out to all the pups. Usually, there are countless dogs running […]
I moved to Taiwan 3 weeks ago, and it just so happens that tomorrow will be Chinese New Year. As a guest in this country, I have decided to take the opportunity to experience the New Year like a local, and have made it a mission to take part in all of the traditional Chinese […]
The first few days in Kaohsiung were daunting.- a lot more so than I expected. However, what will be will be, and my faith that everything will work out the way it should still runs thick. Plus, Dom and I have managed to keep a pretty positive outlook on the whole situation. I guess when I […]
Seven flights and three countries later, after many long layovers and unnecessary circumventions around the world in order to save money on flights (and a cheeky three week vacation in Thailand of course) I have finally made it to my final destination: Taiwan. There was a little complication in the Bangkok airport, where I found […]
This morning, while sipping my hot coffee and surfing the hi-speed internet, I sit waiting for my brunch of homemade yogurt and fresh fruits, accompanied by a three egg omelette. I really could be anywhere in the world right now. Some boutique farm to table spot in a trendy part of NYC or Austin. Maybe […]
Nicaragua was epically beautiful. Considering this, it fazes me why people even bother to visit Little U.S.A….er, I mean, Costa Rica, which is overpriced and stuffed like a turkey with tourists. One particularly epic spot in Nica is Ometepe, an island made of two volcanoes in the middle of a lake so big it appears […]
Nomad Notions 