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Exploring the known and unknown
In the Western Countries,Taiwan is not well known as a travel destination for some reason. This a bit strange as Taiwan has a lot to offer. After viewing the documentary "By Any Means" starring Charlie Boorman travelling from London to Sydney and on to Japan by anything that moves other than planes, he ended up having an amazing time in Taiwan. For me a reason to give it a go and have a look for myself plus the fact I that I also have another reason to visit Taiwan as my good friend Michael is living there. I will introduce him later.
Taiwan is an island located in Eastern Asia bordering the East China Sea, South China Sea, and Taiwan Strait, north of the Philippines, off the southeastern coast of China and has about 26 million inhabitants.
I think that most people view Taiwan as an industrialised island full of factories and lots of people. Well, that is true for 50%. So what about the other 50%.
After an exhausting day and a half in Singapore Gert and I boarded our plane for an uncomfortable 4 hours flight which put us on the ground just outside the capital Taipei, at about 5 a.m. Customs and immigration were easy and straightforward and I even heard the customs officer mumble “Welcome to Taiwan”.
After a short wait, Michael arrived. Michael and I have known each other since 2000 when I worked for/with him during my six years stay in Holland. At that time, he operated a small manufacturing plant producing mainly recumbent bicycles. (horizontal bicycles). Later on, this expanded into the wholesale distribution of a variety of imported bikes, ranging from sports bikes to cargo trikes, folding bikes and a range of fun bikes including choppers and later a line which became a mainstay business: electrically assisted bikes.
Around 2005, the manufacturing of frame parts moved to Taiwan after which the operation expanded and now consists of two factories producing complete bikes ready for final assembly in the Netherlands. Besides the two Taiwanese factories Michaels owns a large 7000 m2 assembly plant in Beverwijk in the Netherlands.
The East Coast of Taiwan consists mainly of flat land where the three largest cities of Taipei, Taichung and Kaohsiung are located. These cities are modern, clean, well-designed boast a variety of architecture. After having been in Taiwan for three days I have noticed that although the inhabitants are Chinese in name and heritage, they are per definition not Chinese in character, meaning that the Chinese people on the mainland are different in their behaviour. While the mainland Chinese people are abrupt, loud and indifferent, the Taiwanese are very friendly, soft spoken and behave in a more pleasant manner.
Ok, back to the other 50% (above). Actually, more than 50 % of the island consists of mountains and national parks. What may come as a surprise is that the roads leading over he mountain ranges to the East Coast are higher than the passes across the Alps in Europe. However because of the geographical location (mainly subtropical), the tree line remains constant with sea level which makes for really spectacular scenery all the way to the top of the mountains.
Michael and his partner Amber live in Yuanli which is one of the outer suburbs North-West of the city of Taichung. (About half way down the length of the island.) Their manufacturing plants are nearby. Before arriving at Michael and Amber's home we toured the two plants which I will show you later.
The weather forecast was for unseasonable rain. During a great dinner at night, Michael suggested ditching the idea of scooters, not only because of the expected rain bit also safety reasons as the mountain roads are steep and narrow and use his new BMW X5 car instead. Riding in the rain with small scooters is not much fun and driving in a comfortable car has it merits as at least we could have some interesting and amusing conversations while traveling along. After visiting a large Buddist-Taoist temple complex we headed home with a new plan.
Taiwan is an island located in Eastern Asia bordering the East China Sea, South China Sea, and Taiwan Strait, north of the Philippines, off the southeastern coast of China and has about 26 million inhabitants.
I think that most people view Taiwan as an industrialised island full of factories and lots of people. Well, that is true for 50%. So what about the other 50%.
After an exhausting day and a half in Singapore Gert and I boarded our plane for an uncomfortable 4 hours flight which put us on the ground just outside the capital Taipei, at about 5 a.m. Customs and immigration were easy and straightforward and I even heard the customs officer mumble “Welcome to Taiwan”.
After a short wait, Michael arrived. Michael and I have known each other since 2000 when I worked for/with him during my six years stay in Holland. At that time, he operated a small manufacturing plant producing mainly recumbent bicycles. (horizontal bicycles). Later on, this expanded into the wholesale distribution of a variety of imported bikes, ranging from sports bikes to cargo trikes, folding bikes and a range of fun bikes including choppers and later a line which became a mainstay business: electrically assisted bikes.
Around 2005, the manufacturing of frame parts moved to Taiwan after which the operation expanded and now consists of two factories producing complete bikes ready for final assembly in the Netherlands. Besides the two Taiwanese factories Michaels owns a large 7000 m2 assembly plant in Beverwijk in the Netherlands.
The East Coast of Taiwan consists mainly of flat land where the three largest cities of Taipei, Taichung and Kaohsiung are located. These cities are modern, clean, well-designed boast a variety of architecture. After having been in Taiwan for three days I have noticed that although the inhabitants are Chinese in name and heritage, they are per definition not Chinese in character, meaning that the Chinese people on the mainland are different in their behaviour. While the mainland Chinese people are abrupt, loud and indifferent, the Taiwanese are very friendly, soft spoken and behave in a more pleasant manner.
Ok, back to the other 50% (above). Actually, more than 50 % of the island consists of mountains and national parks. What may come as a surprise is that the roads leading over he mountain ranges to the East Coast are higher than the passes across the Alps in Europe. However because of the geographical location (mainly subtropical), the tree line remains constant with sea level which makes for really spectacular scenery all the way to the top of the mountains.
Michael and his partner Amber live in Yuanli which is one of the outer suburbs North-West of the city of Taichung. (About half way down the length of the island.) Their manufacturing plants are nearby. Before arriving at Michael and Amber's home we toured the two plants which I will show you later.
The weather forecast was for unseasonable rain. During a great dinner at night, Michael suggested ditching the idea of scooters, not only because of the expected rain bit also safety reasons as the mountain roads are steep and narrow and use his new BMW X5 car instead. Riding in the rain with small scooters is not much fun and driving in a comfortable car has it merits as at least we could have some interesting and amusing conversations while traveling along. After visiting a large Buddist-Taoist temple complex we headed home with a new plan.
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Anneke Gelukkig dat jullie elkaar herkenden
Paula Food looks good. Temple looks fascinating!