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Shanghai Airlines Snafu Prompts Second Passenger Sit-In This Month

June 15, 2009 at 11:05 AM | 0 Comments

Airport sit-ins are the new asking for your money back, apparently, as the second one occurred within the span of days. While two separate, problem-plagued flights were affected by the passenger sit-ins, no doubt the most recent was influenced by the success of the first.

The first, occurring for a few days at the beginning of June, involved a triple-delayed China Eastern Airlines flights on its way from LAX to Shanghai. After the airline flew in a mechanic, the flight was finally able to leave, but not before the stranded folk staged a sit-in at LAX.

This weekend, the second occurred on the other end of the route back in Shanghai, when a Shanghai Airlines plane headed back to Shanghai, delaying the flight for 24 hours. When finally the plane landed in Taipei, Taiwan, the passengers refused to leave the jet until Taiwanese authorities "persuaded" them to do so, but not without the airline ponying up a 400RMB ($58) "we're sorry" bonus.

So it looks like sit-ins are here to stay; a viable option since airlines already have us on involuntary hunger strikes.

Related Stories:
· Shanghai Airlines Passengers Stage Sit-in in Taiwan [Shanghaiist]
· Shanghai-Bound Passengers Stranded For Three Days at LAX [Jaunted]

[Photo: teemus]

Four-Year-Old Boy Wins Taiwanese Island; We're Jealous

March 9, 2009 at 9:41 AM | 0 Comments

We've just heard about an island in the Taiwanese county of Penghu that we want to visit: but it's occupied by a four-year-old boy until September, so we'll have to wait our turn.

In a national lottery, the kid won the exclusive right to visit the island, with up to seven family members, for five months this year. It'll be their very own private tropical island, full of white beaches and clear water, they say, and although it's totally uninhabited it does have running water, electricity and a cabin.

There are 64 islands in Penghu, so there's probably still room for us. They lie off the west coast of Taiwan, towards China, but since Taiwan and China have become friendlier recently we figure it's no cause for concern. And how many worries can you have while chilling out on a white sandy beach, anyway.

Related Stories:
· Boy Wins Rights to Tropical Island in Lottery [Reuters]
· China and Taiwan Now Joined By Air [Jaunted]
· Taiwan Travel Guide [Jaunted]

[Photo: lu-Dan+Cuter]

Taipei One-ups St. Louis By Commissioning Its Own Film

January 2, 2009 at 10:00 AM | 1 Comment

Late in 2008, St. Louis was rejoicing that Jason Reitman and George Clooney would be crawling all over the city to shoot the new flick "Up in the Air." But rather than wait for producers to notice them, officials in Taipei are straight up financing a feature film, which will start shooting this spring.

Reports the Taiwan Journal:

The film follows two sisters who move to Taipei and open a coffee shop, with the metropolis serving as a backdrop to their relationships with customers and friends, as well as their love stories.

The film will take viewers around the city's most famous tourist spots such as the Tong Hua night market, Nan Men traditional market, Taipei Zoo, which will soon be housing two pandas, Maokong--an area on the outskirts of Taipei known for its tea plantations and tea houses--and will also take them for a ride on the Taipei Mass Rapid Transit System, the city's subway.

While it could be an early contender for the best travel movie of 2009--producer Hou Hsiao-hsien is an international film festival veteran--Emily Haile of the travel blog The Telegraph wonders if it will be more "extended commercial" than cinematic success because of the city's intimate involvement.

Related Stories:
· Taipei on Screen: Future Film [The Telegraph]
· Filmmaker Set to Showcase Taipei [Taiwan Journal]
· The Soup Strainer Jets To St. Louis [Jaunted]

[Photo: tylerdurden1]

China and Taiwan Now Joined By Air

December 16, 2008 at 9:00 AM | 0 Comments

We called it, and now it's happening: as of this week, there are regular, direct flights between Taiwan and China.

Yep, instead of having to fly through Hong Kong airspace (and usually change planes), travelers will be able to make the short hop from China to nearby, related-in-a-complicated-way Taiwan. In Taiwan they're expecting a massive wave of Chinese tourists and the Chinese seem to think this is a clever way to get Taiwan politically closer.

Far be it from us to figure out how to say anything diplomatically about the power struggle going on there. We're just pleased we won't need to go to all the trouble of sailing a paper boat across the Taiwan Strait. Even a dodgy China Airlines flight would be better than that.

Related Stories:
· Ban on Travel Between Taiwan and China Ends [Telegraph]
· Gateway to Taiwan: New Agreement Would Allow Direct Flights [Jaunted]
· Great Seas, Small Boats Travel: Crossing the Taiwan Strait [Jaunted]
· China Airlines Flight Hits Turbulence, New Low [Jaunted]

[Photo: alidarbac]

China Airlines Flight Hits Turbulence, New Low

October 2, 2008 at 12:00 PM | 1 Comment

Two weeks ago, this Jaunted writer flew from San Francisco to Phnom Penh, Cambodia on China Airlines. Under the impression that international carriers are generally superior to domestics, she felt duped when her stained, rigid seat and minuscule meal made her feel like she was flying to Cleveland via Delta circa 1997.

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Coming Soon to Taiwan: Bigger Than Disneyland

September 3, 2008 at 9:00 AM | 0 Comments

Ever been to Taiwan? We have, but apparently not enough tourists do get there, so Taipei County has decided to create a "coastal amusement resort" similar to the waterfront of Dubai. There'll be restaurants, gardens, hotels and miscellaneous skyscrapers. Developers plan to spend about T$10 billion (more than $300 million) but take just three years to build.

According to spokesperson Chou Hsi-wei:

It's bigger than Disneyland, a lot bigger. It's a huge, huge place. Only like this can you get international tourists to come.

Um, really? Maybe promoting some interesting local culture or highlighting something unique to Taiwan could work too. Couldn't it?

Related Stories:
· Mammoth Coastal Resort Slated for Taiwan [Reuters]
· Taiwan Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: zilupe]

Name That Tuned Mass Damper

June 22, 2008 at 3:45 PM | 0 Comments

These days, mega-skyscrapers have balls. Huge balls, up in their attic spaces, designed to swing back and forth in the opposite direction of the building's sway. These tuned mass dampers, as they're known, prevent the feeling of seasickness by occupants of the upper floors, but their real benefit comes during times of natural disasters, like tornadoes, typhoons and earthquakes.

Such was the case recently with the world's tallest completed building, Taipei 101, which felt aftershocks from the devastating 7.9 magnitude earthquake that hit China's Sichuan region on May 12 of this year. As it happens, a traveler with a video camera was enjoying a tour of the building and was wandering past the 728-ton stabilizing ball when the aftershocks hit, capturing this amazing video of the damper doing exactly what it was designed to do.

The iconic tower emerged unscathed, and nobody was injured, which both speaks to the amazing advances in architectural technology and the unspeakable devastation that results when builders lack the means--and scruples--to ensure that every building holds up against the forces of nature as well as possible.

Related Stories:
· In Action: A Skyscraper's Amazing 728-Ton Stabilising Ball [Deputy Dog]
· Skyscrapers coverage [Jaunted]

Gateway to Taiwan: New Agreement Would Allow Direct Flights

May 13, 2008 at 1:00 PM | 0 Comments

Taiwan's Ma Ying-jeou won't take office until next Tuesday, but the president-elect has already gotten busy trying to solidify a deal that will allow regular direct flights from the Chinese mainland. Talk of the agreement is creating a buzz on the island nation--er, territory?--as its citizens anticipate a massive influx of new tourists.

Ma has so far only committed to expanding weekend charter flights by this July, but has said he hopes to have regularly scheduled flights by the end of this year.

Taiwan first banned direct flights between China when the mainland came under Communist rule in 1949, largely over sovereignty concerns. Direct charter flights resumed under a 2006 agreement, according to the International Herald Tribune, but have only been allowed during major holidays.

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Amazing Race 12: Sorry, Guys, I'm Not Happy to See You

January 14, 2008 at 8:33 AM | 0 Comments

Chasing Racers is back, with a brand new Amazing Race 12 mashup. This map will update the morning after every new episode. Send along tips, rumors, gossip, locations and spoilers to our map editors, become a member and comment on the stories below and add to the Jaunted-Flickr photo pool to get in on the fray.

Remember to zoom in, out and around on the map--with so much happening in each episode, it's easy to miss a map point.

After another non-elimination round, all bets are off as we head into this week's episode. Last time, TK and Rachel gambled and lost to the airlines, coming in three hours behind the other teams. As a penalty, they'll have to complete a Speed Bump task somewhere along the way--as we find out which set of racers will miss out on the season finale.

Will Nick and Don be able to run a more balanced race, or with Gramps weigh them down? Will Christina and Ron stay harmonious and focused, or will Nate and Jennifer push even harder and move in front? And will TK and Rachel be able to make up that three-hour deficit?

Let's find out!

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Two Twenty Eight in Taiwan

March 2, 2007 at 10:34 AM | 0 Comments


While "2/28" doesn't sound quite as familiar as "9/11," in Taiwan it has just as much meaning, symbolizing a February 28, 1947 massacre of Taiwanese by the then-Republic of China. And that's why Taipei's National 228 Memorial Museum--which opened on February 28 ten years ago--was an extremely popular place to visit this week.

While the historical and political value of the 228 is something we won't (and can't) dispute, what interested us especially was the rules for museum visitors. They include:

Please wear proper attire, i.e., no slippers.
Please do not smoke or bring food into the museum (includes chewing gum and betelnut).
Please do not speak loudly or engage in horseplay inside the museum.
Please keep in mind that handling museum articles can damage them, and unduly influence other visitors.

Exactly how touching a museum article (not that we condone this) can unduly influence another visitor is a bit of a mystery. But what we are clear about is that we should bring along with us a betelnut-chewing horse wearing slippers. Politics, history and etiquette lessons, all in one.

[Photo: davidreid]

Related Stories:
· Taiwan Museum to Represent Change [Post Chronicle]
· Visit to the 228 Museum [David on Formosa]
· 228 Incident [Wikipedia]

Island of Sound: All About Indie Taiwan

February 8, 2007 at 1:06 PM | 1 Comment


Island of Sound is a website run by a former expat English teacher in Taiwan, aimed at documenting the island's rich independent music culture. Webmaster Marty Hodulick left Taiwan in 2005, but his website still stands, still gets the occasional guestbook message, and is certainly still relevant. It's a one-of-a-kind resource in English that covers the venues, festivals, bands and labels of a scene largely unknown outside of Asia. As Marty puts it, Island of Sound aims to deflect attention from "7-11 sellouts" and focus it on the underground.

While browsing through the site, make sure you read up on the history of Nipples, its bassist/singer KK, and her label, White Wabbit Records (and its spin-off store, White Wabbit Orange). KK's a personal girlcrush of ours, and she's done wonders in Taipei and beyond with her efforts. Other articles of note include TRA Music Corporation and Bad Daughter.

In Taiwan, where many parents of today's indie rock stars still consider it bizarre to chase a living playing guitar, rebellion is still real and "the scene" has yet to be completely co-opted. Show some respect and read about it.

[Photo: Petite Mort]

Related Stories:
· Island of Sound [Official Site]
· White Wabbit Records/Orange [Official Site - in Mandarin]

Taiwan's Time Travel Train

January 31, 2007 at 5:41 AM | 0 Comments


Ever needed to get from Taipei to Taiwan's second city, Kaohsiung, in a hurry? Oh, maybe not. Let's try that again. Love bullet trains? Wanna try a new one?? Check out the unsexily named THSR (Taiwan High Speed Rail) which opened earlier this month to a few teething problems. In fact they've been selling tickets for half price all month because of a few glitches--don't worry, mostly with ticketing, and nothing too important like safety.

The THSR wends its way across Taiwan for 345 km, in a rapid 90 minutes--the previous method took four hours. On the way it makes stops in 4 major cities and 77 towns. And the big bonus is that, depending on which press release you read, the THSR apparently also travels through 10 countries in this hour-and-a-half journey. Okay, unfortunately they obviously meant counties, but we are still hanging out for some super transport method that gets us through 7 or 8 nations per hour.

[Photo: a-giau]

Related Stories:
· THSR Snags Persist [Taiwan Journal]
· Taiwan's Lantern Fest Goes Porcine [Jaunted]