Welcome to another glorious week of Gadlinks! It looks like the web is full of travel news and stories, so we're not short of interesting links. Here are a few to keep your juices flowing:
Matador and the Dir Journal explore abandoned cities in the world and discover ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
Taiwan
Gadlinks for Monday 6.29.09
Welcome to another glorious week of Gadlinks! It looks like the web is full of travel news and stories, so we're not short of interesting links. Here are a few to keep your juices flowing:
Matador and the Dir Journal explore abandoned cities in the world and discover ...For summer, a banquet of exotic fresh fruits: Bring travel back home
So you're at home this summer. Your vacation budget is bust. Sure, there are backyard barbeques with friends and family stretching out into summer, but that tropical vacation feels long gone.
Or perhaps, you have never been on a tropical vacation. Perhaps a tropical fruit ...Winning an island: Even a 4-year-old can do it
Imagine this. Instead of the grand prize being a trip to Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory, the winner of a national lottery gets an entire island. That's what happened to one four-year-old boy. This small boy landed a small island in small country--Taiwan.
The island in ...Chaos as immigration computers crash at Taiwan airport
A computer crash at Taiwan's Taoyuan International Airport caused a major headache on Monday. The computer system used by the National Immigration Agency (NIA) failed, forcing immigration agents to get back to basics, taking down people's information by hand. Needless to ...Direct flights between China and Taiwan resume
The miles between Taiwan and mainland China are not many. But, in history the distance across the Taiwan Strait has been huge.
When I lived in Taiwan in the late 1990s, travel to cities in mainland China from Taiwan meant heading to another country or through Hong Kong ...In which countries are there 7-Elevens and how many are there?
In his recent Wallet Pop post on 7-Eleven's move to provide more 7-Eleven private-brand products, Geoff Williams mentioned the U.S. and Canada as two 7-Eleven countries. There are more than that. There are so many that it can make your head spin. With so many companies ...Death, hunger strike, and execution reveal mounting tension between Taiwan and China
The father of a family friend of mine recently passed away in Taiwan. He was a well-respected Taiwanese dignitary, and mourning his death will continue until his burial next week. In the meantime, family members leave the front door of their home open and people stop by to ...Hong Kong bird market: The sound of music
I haven't been to the Hong Kong bird market, but I've been to bird markets in Taiwan-- and the bird market in Singapore.
When Taj Reid over at www.wejetset.com sent us a link to this lush post on song bird love in Hong Kong, and the delights to be found at the bird market, ...Taiwan's road signs will make more sense next year
When I lived in Taiwan, I normally didn't have a clue where I was going. The signage was not particularly helpful. I didn't read Chinese, and, outside of Taipei, that's mostly what you saw. Even when there were signs in English, there was an inconsistency with how street ...Photo of the Day (9.19.08)
This shot from arex was taken in Taiwan's Shi-lin night market. Ahh, I can almost smell the garlic-filled sausage sizzling on the grill, and I can almost hear the white noise of a language I'll never understand.
Anyone have a free plane ticket to Asia?
To have your ...Photo of the Day (9.14.08)
A mailbox is not exactly the most fascinating subject for a photo. But somehow, I can't take my eyes off of this particular mailbox, captured by Flickr user arex while in Taiwan China. There's a number of things that caught my eye. It's a flat photo but yet it manages to ...Crazy Asian mother: Stereotype from the kid's perspective
Olympic Games opening, Chinese style: The wow factor
Wow! Wow! Wow! I could go on.
Even though today's news brought the missive of the out of character stabbing of an American tourist in Beijing, the opening ceremony of the Olympics was certainly in character.
It was amazing--and I only saw the last bit. That's one detail ...Taiwan phasing out disposable chopsticks
Well, even Taiwan is now more environmentally progressive than the US. About 10,000 convenience stores in Taiwan will join an environmental push by withholding disposable chopsticks from hordes of customers used to getting them with take-out meals, Reuters reports.
From next ...Direct China-Taiwan travel now possible
Believe it or not, China and Taiwan held their first formal talks in 10 years and, productively enough, decided to allow direct weekend air travel between the two destinations as a result, BBC reports. Previously, direct flights were only allowed during four holiday periods ...Sex and the City: You can catch up with a craze in the modern age
Sex and the City was the hot topic the summer between our two years living in Taiwan and our two years in India. I saw it once at a friend's house when I stopped over in Albuquerque for a few days visit. I liked it, but nothing I couldn't live without. I was jet-lagged ...Gadling TAKE FIVE: Week of May 24--May 30
Although, finding deals are still on our minds (poor Iva in Moscow is having little luck), food and drink has been one topic of interest this week.
Iva, for example, has found some solace in the vodka. She's discovered loads of it, and all brands are not the same.
...Luxury Hotels of The World: The Lalu Hotel (Taiwan)
To fully experience Taiwan's natural beauty, there's one destination that is universally praised: Sun Moon Lake.
It's the largest lake in Taiwan, and is so beautiful that Chang Kai Shek, Taiwan's first president, built a house there to vacation.
In 1997, after an ...Bring mom to flowers for Mother's Day
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Several botanical gardens are having Mother's Day events this Sunday. One of the advantages of going to a botanical garden, I've found, is that they usually have wonderful gift shops that are perfect places for picking up that last minute present.
If you've forgotten to ...Earth Day Kite Flying: 10 suggestions
Every year when the temperature warms and the wind picks up, we buy a cheap kite to fly for a day or two before we get too busy to head to an open field. As an Earth Day Celebration, what could be more environmentally friendly than kite flying? Except, of course, for the gas ...
