Jaunted - tw

Biblical Weather Over The Weekend In Asia, With Two Typhoons And An Earthquake

JetSetCD — 2009-08-10T09:29:32-05:00

After a punishing weekend of pummeling rain, landslides, flooding, and collapsing houses, Taiwan and The Philippines are licking their wounds and counting the dead resulting from being hit by Typhoon Morakot.

The collapsed six-story Taiwan hotel in the picture above, whose 300 guests were all successfully evacuated, ended up collapsing into the floor waters, and it's no wonder with some southern cities getting dumped on by over 80 inches of rain. Before Morakot—which means "Emerald" in Thai— made landfall on Taiwan, it first killed 21 people in The Philippines. Among the dead were two Belgian tourists and a French tourist.

Shanghai Airlines Snafu Prompts Second Passenger Sit-In This Month

JetSetCD — 2009-06-15T11:05:11-05:00

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

amandak — 2009-03-09T09:41:17-05:00

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

pbb — 2009-01-02T10:00:41-05:00

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

amandak — 2008-12-16T09:00:31-05:00

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.

China Airlines Flight Hits Turbulence, New Low

ced138 — 2008-10-02T12:00:37-05:00

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.

Coming Soon to Taiwan: Bigger Than Disneyland

amandak — 2008-09-03T09:00:21-05:00

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]