Photos of Taiwan.

I've been looking around online and there are some really great photos of Taiwan out there. If you look in a travel book it's likely they will only show you resorts and things that look like Hawaii, but thats not what most of Taiwan looks like. These Flickr users will help you see Taiwan from their perspective:

Paogao
http://www.flickr.com/photos/poagao/

Paogao's photos are are very artistic, well composed, great subjects, wonderful lighting. Even grimy city streets look beautiful through his lens.

Michael Turton
http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelturton/

Michael Turton is primarily a blogger, and a good one at that, but his photos are fun to see as well. They are more 'what you see is what you get.' He travels all around Taiwan to many different cities, museums, parks, and beaches and is always documenting as he goes.

Alidarbac
http://www.flickr.com/photos/alidarbac/

Another artistic photographer giving his insight on Taiwan. From photos of people to landscapes, all his work is impressive.

There is a lot to see on those three pages, but keep in mind they travel to other countries too so not EVERY photo there is Taiwan. Here are a few others to check out, just regular users taking photos of their daily life:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sandman1/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/frostfox/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lucybabewho/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/83102412@N00/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lupillus/

One last thing! On YouTube, and LiveVideo, check out the Motorcyclin' Mordeth13. He basically drives around Taiwan interviewing himself equiped with his trusty Helmet-Cam. Pretty interesting way to see Taiwan and he has some funny storys to tell as well. Here are his pages:

http://livevideo.com/mordeth13
http://youtube.com/user/13mordeth

I hope that when I get to Taiwan I can get a camera and take my own photos of the island! Okay, so take some time to look through those, leave them comments, and leave me comments too, tell me which ones are your favorites!

The Beginning

Last winter I took a trip with my girlfriend to Taiwan. I knew it was going to be a special thing, maybe a 'once in a lifetime oppurtunity,' but now I think it is going to turn into something more than that.

I stayed with my girlfriend's parents in the south of Taiwan, Ping Dong. It was really an interesting experience, I got to see Taiwan from the point of view of a citizen rather than a tourist. I went on the regular shopping trips, to the local stores, the night markets, and so on. I felt like I got to see the real gritty side of Taiwan that a lot of foreigners might miss on a short visit. I did manage to go to a lake and a couple other places outside the city. I visited 'Love River' in Kaohsiung and hung out in a few cities in central Taiwan over a weekend.



As soon as I got back to the US I felt that I had left something important behind. I had made a few friends, and I just felt like the culture really suited me. I'll go into more detail on that in the future.

Now my girlfriend and I have broken up, luckily it was a smooth transition, we are still great friends, and currently roommates. I just graduated from college with a BA in Graphic Design, and I have only a small part-time job. It looks like its the perfect time for me to follow my dream of living in Taiwan. For the last year I have been reading websites, blogs, and forums in order to get the upper hand on the situation. Forumosa.com and Michael Turton's projects were a great help to me. I think I have the will, the skill sets, and the desire needed to make it in Taiwan and I am planning to chronical my progress here with this blog. I thank you for reading and I hope that I can entertain you with my 'newbie' observations and other personal insights.

-IAN-