Alishan in Cherry Blossom Season is THE place to be! High up in Taiwan’s central mountain range, part of Chiayi County, its charm lies in the little red mountain trains that chug upwards and onwards each day before dawn, taking … Continue reading Alishan 阿里山 Cherry Blossom Season 2025! 🌸
Yes, there’s snakes galore! It’s the Year of the Snake, and snakes feature highly in the Lantern Festival events being held all over Taiwan in recent weeks. There are snake lanterns of every shape and size, and of every description, … Continue reading 🏮It’s Lantern Festival Time! 🐍
Chinese New Year (aka Lunar New Year & Spring Festival) has taken over our lives here in Taiwan in the last few weeks, it’s great! We spent most of January in preparation ~ spring cleaning, cooking, shopping and decorating, all … Continue reading 🐍🏮⛩️ Happy Year of the Snake! 🧧🐍🪭🧨
Another week, another typhoon, such was October 2024. Taiwan started the month with Typhoon Krathon – which caused major damage in Taiwan’s extreme north and south but left the rest of the country relatively unscathed – and we’ve now finished … Continue reading Typhoon Kong-Rey 🌀 October 31, 2024
A fairly momentous day. Wednesday April 3, 2024 was the day of Taiwan’s massive 7.2 earthquake. And yes, it was also my birthday! The day started off pretty normally, as birthdays on a Wednesday might do, and by 7:30 am I was just back home from an hour in the swimming pool. Actually, everyone in Taiwan was busy planning their upcoming long weekend – the following 2 days, April 4 and 5 were to be days off for the annual Tomb-Sweeping Festival – so I was busy planning too. The weather reports for the holiday weekend were not too good, … Continue reading Taiwan’s 7.2 Hualien Earthquake: April 3, 2024
Exactly 2 weeks after Chinese (Lunar) New Year comes the Lantern Festival ~ so Saturday February 24 was the day! Every city in Taiwan puts on its own Lantern Festival, but the main Taiwan Lantern Festival is hosted by a … Continue reading Dragons & More Dragons @ The Lantern Festival! 🐉
Family reunions mean food, and lots of it! This year I was invited once again to join the wonderful Tan family, who have kindly invited me for so many delicious meals in the past. They live in the Baishawan area on Taiwan’s … Continue reading Chinese New Year 2024: So Yummy!
Yes, red is the colour as always for Chinese New Year (aka Lunar New Year or Spring Festival) and this year is no exception. And gold too. Oh yes, red and gold are everywhere! The Year of the Dragon is coming, … Continue reading Red is the Colour, it’s Chinese New Year!
This. My annual challenge. 26 km (16 miles) across the Yang-Ming Shan Mountains above Taipei, from east to west, Fengguizui to Qingtian Temple, elevation gain 1,905 m (6,250 ft). Ten mountains, mostly steep, but all great fun! This was Saturday January 13, 2024, … Continue reading 陽明山東西大縱走 Yang-Ming Shan East-West Vertical Traverse 2024!
Catherine Lee 