Rooted in Taiwan, Connected with the World

I just completed my twenty-first trip under "A Day in Town," my multi-year backpacking plan of spending a day in each of the approximately 350 townships in Taiwan. My destination this time was Keelung City, nicknamed Rainy Port for its frequent rain and maritime role. Facing the East China Sea and surrounded by New Taipei City and Taipei City, Keelung has a population of over 360,000 and administers seven districts. Since I had visited four of the seven districts during my last trip here a year ago, this time I visited the remaining three: Zhongzheng, Xinyi, and Zhongshan, which collectively form the northeastern part of the city.     I spent my first day in Zhongzheng District, the seat of Keelung City that encompasses Heping Island (和平島) and the nearby Keelung Islet, as well as the more distant Pengjia Islet, Mianhua Islet and Huaping Islet. I began by taking a bus to Songshan District of Taipei City, where I transferred to a bus bound for Badouzi, the easternmost of Ke...

I just finished reading Pride and Prejudice , a novel by English author Jane Austen published anonymously in 1813—with "By the author of Sense and Sensibility " appearing on the title page where the author's name might have been. The novel was written  between October 1796 and August 1797  (when Austen  was aged 20–21), following  the character development of Elizabeth Bennet, the protagonist who learns about the repercussions of her hasty judgments, namely prejudice, and comes to appreciate the difference between superficial virtue and genuine moral worth. This was the third of Austen's major works I have read recently, after Persuasion and Sense and Sensibility .  Set in the early 19th-century English countryside, the novel begins with one of the most famous first lines in literature: "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." Revolving around the spirited Elizabeth Bennet and t...

I just completed my twentieth trip under "A Day in Town," my multi-year backpacking plan of spending a day in each of the approximately 350 townships in Taiwan. My destination this time was New Taipei City, the most populous subnational administrative region in Taiwan with a population of over four million. It administers 29 districts, of which I have already visited four during my last trip here a year ago, so this time I visited another four: Pingxi, Gongliao, Shuangxi, and Ruifang, which collectively form the northeastern part of New Taipei City.   I spent my first day in Pingxi. With a population of about 4,000, Pingxi is the least populous district in New Taipei City, but it has been well known nationwide for several things, among them its unique sky lanterns. I began by taking a bus to Shenkeng, a district of New Taipei City that I visited last year. From there, I rode a Youbike to Pingxi. I returned the Youbike in Jingtong Village and started exploring northward on foo...

I just finished studying my eighteenth Shakespeare play, Henry VI, Part 2, the second work of the Henry VI trilogy, which is believed to have been written in 1591. Against the backdrop of King Henry VI’s marriage to Margaret of Anjou, and the impending loss of lands won by England in France during Henry V’s campaign, the play showcases  King Henry VI's inability to quell the bickering of his noblemen, the death of his trusted advisor Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, and the political rise of Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York.  Apart from enjoying its fascinating stories and plot development, I also explored interesting aspects of medieval English history, culture and customs through the play. The first thing I learned was about St Albans, the scene of Act 2, Scene 1 where King Henry VI and his courtiers go hunting. A town about 35 kilometers north of London, St Albans was also the historical site of the First Battle of St Albans that took place on 22 May 1455, marking the beginni...