JIUFEN – A Mountain Jewel in Taiwan

View of the coast from Jiufen, Taiwan
View of the coast from Jiufen, Taiwan

Last month we spent several days in Taiwan, sightseeing, shopping and taking care of a couple of important errands.

Most of our stay was spent in Taipei, but we did manage a day trip to the historic mining town of Jiufen, now a popular tourist destination in the mountains northeast of Taipei.

With scenic panoramic views, dozens of curious shops and galleries, and more eateries than any two people could sample in a month, the picturesque village provided a fascinating getaway from the urban bustle of Taipei.

Here are some of the colorful sights from our daylong adventure.

click on each thumbnail for more information about the image

In America it’s baseball. In Vietnam, construction?

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DANANG, VIETNAM – One thing we’ve seen again and again as we’ve traveled around Vietnam is a lot of construction. In Hanoi it seemed like there was a new building going up (or an old one coming down) on almost every block.

We saw the same thing on the Mekong Delta and up in the mountainous Sapa region. Even on Cat Ba Island in Lan Ha Bay, there was new construction galore.
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How to find an apartment in Danang

Danang offers apartments for every budget. Read below for the story on this one.
Danang offers houses and apartments for every budget. Read the curious story about this one at the bottom of the page.

DANANG, VIETNAM – After living in Hanoi for seven months, we decided to escape the pollution and chaos and move to Danang, on Vietnam’s central coast.

Don’t get me wrong; we really enjoyed our time in Hanoi. We loved visiting its historic cultural sites and exploring its labyrinth of narrow bustling streets, and it certainly presented an eye-opening introduction to life in Southeast Asia.
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Sidewalks are for walking, right? Not in Hanoi…

Typical busy sidewalk scene in Hanoi
Typical busy sidewalk scene in Hanoi
Car parked on a Hanoi sidewalk
Car parked on a Hanoi sidewalk

HANOI, VIETNAM – Sidewalks in Hanoi serve many different purposes… merchandise display space for shop stalls, seating for sidewalk restaurants, parking lot for motorcycles and bicycles (and sometimes cars), work room, kitchen, grazing space for urban livestock, and occasionally as a place for pedestrians to walk.
Continue reading “Sidewalks are for walking, right? Not in Hanoi…”


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