TAIWAN
Most associate Taiwan with electrical goods
and computers (Made in Taiwan), some perhaps
as the refuge of Chiang Kai-shek after his
defeat by Mao’s communist forces in
1949. Less well known is that it was colonised
by the Dutch and Spanish before the Japanese
took over in 1895, bringing the island into
the 20th Century, before it achieved independence
with peace in 1945.
Known as Isla Formosa (Beautiful Island),
this is what a group of Portuguese sailors,
said to have been the first Westerners to
lay eyes on the island, uttered upon seeing
Taiwan for the first time.
Taiwan is a beautiful island in Asia featuring
amazing landscapes with oversized sea cliffs
and forested mountains, a large diversity
of museums, rich local culture filled with
colourful Taoist and Buddhist temples and
a wide variety of mouth-watering Taiwanese
and Japanese delicacies.
BEIJING, CHINA
Having visited Beijing many times in the
past, this trip was primarily to explore
the trendy area of Sanlitun, which is a small
scale urban community based around various
shopping, dining, culture and art scenes.
Click on any photo to open a larger image
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