If you’re flying from Taipei to a major city in China, Japan, or South Korea, Songshan Airport is far closer and more convenient than the main one in Taoyuan. The check-in, security, and immigration processes usually take me less than fifteen minutes thanks to the lower number of flights that go from there and the cheerful and friendly staff.
I’m glad that I managed to get back home from an afternoon excursion to Guandu before a big thunderstorm hit the city. Compared to southern Taiwan, Taipei has got off reasonably lightly during the recent spate of monsoon rains, but the one we had today seems to have tested the limits of the city’s drainage system– though perhaps not quite a severely as the intrepid reporters the TV stations send out into the streets might want us to believe!
After my bus ride home this evening, I can’t help thinking that autonomous vehicles can’t come soon enough! Don’t get me wrong, the public bus service in Taipei is excellent for the most part. I have a choice of three nearby lines that can zip me down Dunhua South Road, up on the elevated highway to Xindian, and down to a stop nearby office in less than half-an-hour at rush hour – all for the princely sum of NT$30 ($1).
Continue reading On the buses: autonomous public transportation isn’t quite here yet
More Taipei-hotel-induced nostalgia last night. This time at the Howard Plaza Hotel, where my wife and I got married over a quarter of a century ago. My memories of the ceremony and accompanying banquet are hazy, though I do recall her looking stunning as she walked through the ballroom in a gorgeous red dress. That was just one of series of dresses that she had to change into during the evening. No wonder she was so exhausted by the end of it!
Continue reading The Chinese Dream: grounded in practical reality
It’s quite a relief that the sweltering Taipei summer heat has final started to dissipate and I can resume my favorite lunchtime ritual of taking a ten-minute walk to Le Home coffee for lunch followed by another short stroll to the Jingmei Human Rights Memorial and Cultural Park just behind our office.
A hot and noisy (熱鬧/rènào) atmosphere in my local neighborhood street markets this morning as people made their last-minute purchases in preparation for this evening’s Chinese New Year Eve feast. Plenty of fresh and succulent meat, fish, vegetables, and fruit to choose from in the busy stalls!
Continue reading Chinese New Year: an uncertain future for Taipei’s street markets
I’ve swapped the stark fenland fields for the grey skies of Taipei. At least it’s a little warmer here.
When I was a student I don’t think I ever even heard the word internship, let alone felt the need to do one during my summer holidays. Whenever I required some cash to supplement my pocket money or grant (yes, I was lucky enough to go to university when they still existed), I would simply go and get a job – picking up lifelong lessons about the world of business along the way while collecting discarded trolleys in a supermarket car park, selling petrol and cigarettes in a gas station, and gutting turkeys in a slaughter house.
Continue reading Summer internships: ensuring a win-win experience for both parties
As one of the most famous and popular temples in Taipei, I decided that the Longshan Temple would be an excellent testing ground for our VPai Clip 720-degree camera platform last weekend. Continue reading VPai Clip 720-degree camera at Longshan Temple
When Eslite (誠品) opened its first store on Dunhua South Road in 1989, I rapidly became a loyal customer not just because of its great selection of books (many of which were unavailable anywhere else on the island) but also its great ambiance. Continue reading Retail past and future at Eslite Spectrum Songyan