What are the two or three best national parks? Must-see museums/landmarks/heritage sites?
Besides Taipei, which of the smaller cities would you recommend considering?
How big is the language barrier? Obviously I am not going to be anywhere near fluent in Mandarin by November. Can I assume young professionals in Taipei may know some English, but otherwise it is basically nonexistent?
Cultural Dos and Don'ts (other than the obvious avoiding discussion of relations with the PRC).
Probably looking at about 8 days over there, so would you recommend sticking to the northern half, or is it worth heading south for a few days?
Google Translate will be your friend. And your worst enemy.
"The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command." George Orwell, 1984
"One does not simply walk into Mordor. Its Black Gates are guarded by more than just Orcs. There is evil there that does not sleep, and the Great Eye is ever watchful. It is a barren wasteland, riddled with fire and ash and dust, the very air you breathe is a poisonous fume." Boromir
"Good news! We have a delivery." Professor Farnsworth
Mission accomplished.
Northern lights came right outside our hut tonight and danced around. Absolutely incredible. First night all week in Finland with clear skies
And there are a lot of sheep in New Zealand. ...it's on some maps.
"The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command." George Orwell, 1984
"One does not simply walk into Mordor. Its Black Gates are guarded by more than just Orcs. There is evil there that does not sleep, and the Great Eye is ever watchful. It is a barren wasteland, riddled with fire and ash and dust, the very air you breathe is a poisonous fume." Boromir
"Good news! We have a delivery." Professor Farnsworth
Minnesota's Pride On Ice: 1974, 1976, 1979, 2002 & 2003 NCAA National Champions
And the preacher said, you know you always have the Lord by your side
And I was so pleased to be informed of this that I ran
Twenty red lights in his honor
Thank you Jesus, thank you Lord
~Mick Jagger/Keith Richards
We looked at the Edinburgh tattoo, but decided on a week in Norway and Sweden. Wanted to tour the Volvo factory, but the English tour is on Thursday, which happens to be the national holiday the week we're there.
Growing old is mandatory -- growing up is optional!
If you’ve never gotten food poisoning just before a day with 11 hours of plane travel, it’s not really an experience I can recommend (luckily it was on the way home, not on the way there).
Besides that, Norway was great. We were really lucky with the Northern Lights and got good displays both nights (even saw pink). Some beautiful scenery on Flåm Railway and Hurtigruten, even with fog and snow.
My favorite city may have been Trondheim - so cute.
We watched Norwegian playoff hockey on TV during some down time, and Mario Lucia and Greg Mauldin were playing (and Mauldin had the gold helmet as the leading scorer).
One thing we thought was odd - no one asked for ID for our domestic flights. Not once.
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