The day I arrived in Taipei and stepped on Taiwans soil the first time, my friends and travel mates from an earlier journey, Lucy and Alex, picked me up and showed me around Shilin night market. A very friendly gesture and interesting evening to get introduced in some of Taiwanese culture and daily life. And got to taste some of Taiwanese favorite drinks: Bubble Tea!
My friend Lucy posted some footage of this evening on her YouTube-Channel 🙈https://www.youtube.com/@MamaLucy
When night falls over Seoul, there’s a popular night market to go at the Seoul district of Myeong-Dong.
There was one more chance to meet my friends in Taiwan. Despite the rain we decided to go for a walk in the historical area of Tamsui.
Among other historical buildings there was the massive Hobe Fort, Fort Santo Domingo and the former British Consulate Residency. And of course there was time for a coffee and having lunch together. Always a good time to chat and learn more about the life in Taiwan.
If anyone wants to know more about living in Taiwan should follow my friend Lucy’s YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@MamaLucy. and/or Instagram: instagram.com/mama.lucy1215
Last impressions of the streets of Tainan
Many years back i met a beautiful couple on travel. Somehow we stayed in touch, but i postponed my trip to Taiwan year for year. Meanwhile they got two wonderful kids. After my first days in Taiwan and the great experience of the Lantern Festival in Shifen, my friends invited me for dinner in a ‚hot pot‘-restaurant in Taoyuan. The food was delivered to the table by a robotic trolley and was really delicious. But there was more entertainment by a ‚changing mask‘- dancer, which was great amusement (but not only) for the kids. I’m so thankful for my friends, who gave me this great evening, i would rarely experienced on my own.
The next evening i was just strolling around my neighborhood in Taipei. Surprised of the lively street around it. The famous tower building Taipei 101 was mostly in clouds. That’s why i postponed the viewpoint up there. Just having a walk on the streets was amazingly interesting already.
The celebrations of Chinese New Year held over quite a time in Taiwan. One of the highlight is the famous Lantern festival in the Pingxi area outside of Taipei.
To get there was already an adventure, since the trains were already fully packed all day long. Once there, the crowd is blocking the ways, even the railways, of the tiny village. People are busy everywhere to buy lanterns and write on them their wishes for the New Year of The Dragon, taking pictures with it and let them fly towards the sky. Beside that, food and entertainment are important too. Food stalls along the way making good business today.
The main event takes place a few hundred meters out of the village. A big stage with dancers, singers and performers entertains the crowd. Big screens displays the show to the unlucky ones bogged in the mass outside of this place, means people like me. And then, in waves, dozens of lanterns get released towards sky, floating over the heads of the spectators, dragged away from the wind.
After the first bunch of released lanterns closing to the horizon, dimming their red lights into the dark night, i slowly make my way back too. There’s still much to see and watch while passing happy people bathing in their hope for a good year coming.
Winter in Turkey impressions #12: I left the icy cold highlands and went back to south coast of Turkey for a few days relaxing in a warm weather. It was also the time for some maintenance on my Land Rover #TinaTortuga. Luckily i found a good mechanics back in Antalya.
I played tourist in Riga.
Just strolling trough the old town, looked at historical building, visited churches and parks and learned a bit from its history.
Not going to bore you with many details about Riga, what you could find in a better way online, but post some impressions on my walk trough the city, before i found a quite place for the night just at the bank of the river Daugava.
After a long drive trough the Negev desert along the Jordan border, the road ends in Eilat at the Red Sea.
It appears as holiday destination like so many others on this world. Israeli and tourists all over the world coming here for some relaxing days, parties or a foodie weekend at the sea.
There’s not much more than the beaches in front of big hotels, food courts and bars. The landscape around is stunning tho. If you get on an elevated point you can overlook the Red Sea and its riparian states, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. All within a coastline of approximately 35 km.
Nothing else better than a good coffee for starting a new day. Even better in beautiful or interesting surrounding.
It’s happened i got an overnight stay just in Tsukim, just near the gate to the art village. And it’s just happened i woke up there on a Friday morning, the day when the art village is open for public, as they told me.
The Artists‘ Colony of Tsukim, also know as Zuqim, lies in the Negev desert, far away from a bigger settlement. A perfect place to follow your inspiration and create artsy stuff, as also more handy ones, like roasting coffee.
And coffee i got in the gallery, where beautiful landscape pictures of winterly Turkey were displayed. Ironically i did travel in Turkey just before and was fleeing the cold, while i enjoy the pictures here in the desert now.
Later i roamed trough the little shops, talked with a few artist and admired their art work. Paintings, pottery, fairy puppets, jewelry and wonderful creatures and things made from natural materials. And this coffee roastery, owned by a nice guy and his father. A good reason to stop by for another espresso.
rene bauer photography 