In Yangshou, I went to an acupuncturist who had these two large snakes prominently displayed in large glass containers in her waiting room. She uses them to make Chinese medicine. However, she told me that the liquid she gave me for my toes was not made of snake venom or any other snake ingredient!
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Taipei 101:
I have never been interested in big modern buildings. I could care less about skyscrapers. But Taipei 101 was well worth the visit. At 508 meters in height and 101 floors, it’s the tallest occupied building in the world. The elevator was the fastest in the world. We climbed 89 floors in 37 seconds. [...]

I thought that by coming to Chinese speaking countries, I would be freed from my role of translator, communicator, and interlocutor in my Tower of Babel. I thought I found a section of the tower where I could rejoice in being lost among the cacophony of Mandarin spoken and yelled around me and not have [...]

Hong Kong – Crowded, smelly, humid. Not for me.

Hong Kong – Crowded, smelly, humid. Not for me.

Exotic Foods at the Night Market in Taipei

Night markets are popular places to spend the night wandering past food stalls selling all sorts of meat, fish, tofu and food that I can not identify. Thousands of people flock to these night markets to spend time with their friends.
I got stuck in crowds that did not [...]

Exotic Foods at the Night Market in Taipei

Night markets are popular places to spend the night wandering past food stalls selling all sorts of meat, fish, tofu and food that I can not identify. Thousands of people flock to these night markets to spend time with their friends.
I got stuck in crowds that did not [...]

National Palace Museum in Taipei
This museum has the world’s largest collection of Chinese art, more than the museums in mainland China. I went into the rare books sections and was amazed. Even though I don’t read Chinese, I was impressed by the quality of the ancient texts.
The jade section was a mind opener as well. [...]