Geek world heaven
If like us you are a bit geeky sometimes, Taiwan is a great place to be. You can buy all the latest electronic toys as well as bigger gadgets, many of which are not sold elsewhere.
The murder that changed the world
How a murder in Taiwan led to the crackdown by Chinese authorities in Hong Kong
Redefining convenience
When we explained to a Taiwanese friend that small towns in the UK and Europe don’t have 7-11 convenience stores, she was shocked. “How do people eat?”, she asked.
We had an air-raid drill today
Taiwan, for decades a pawn on the geopolitical chessboard, has become something more like a bishop or a knight, a much more strategically important piece in the game.
Swirling, soaking, shuddering and smoking
We feel an earthquake every week or so. Then there’s the typhoons, the volcanoes and the rain.
The sounds of Taiwan
After the church bells of Switzerland, the first sound we noticed in Taiwan was the pleasing and lyrical chime that announces the arrival of the garbage truck each evening.
Banishing a troublesome spirit
To mark the start of The Hungry Ghost Month, a tale about a visit to a temple to banish a troublesome ghost.
Taiwan’s brush with covid – update
The news that Pizza Hut has launched a “cilantro century-egg pig’s blood cake topping” in Taiwan is not the only thing to celebrate.
You won how much for doing what now?
It took us a long time to work out why shop assistants always looked at us like we were crazy.
Taiwan’s unexpected covid spike
For 17 months Taiwan enjoyed a remarkable Covid-19 pandemic with almost no local infections. Then it went a bit wrong.
Microsoft can learn from Taiwan
In Hong Kong and Singapore we found paying tax was pretty much pain free. Austria was a bit more complicated. Switzerland was the worst. Taiwan was best of all.