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Biblical Weather Over The Weekend In Asia, With Two Typhoons And An Earthquake
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.
Tags: Movie Set Travel / Taiwan Travel / → All Tags
Taipei One-ups St. Louis By Commissioning Its Own Film
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]
Tags: Taiwan Travel / Yehliu Geopark / → All Tags
Yehliu Geopark: Nature's Salvador Dali on Acid
Apparently there is more to Taiwan than cheap plastic toys that have "Made in Taiwan" stamped on them. This weekend's Sydney Morning Herald even reported that it's an island full not of manmade wonders but of natural beauty.
Surprisingly, this tiny country has more than 250 mountains that reach to above 3000 meters (almost 10,000 feet) high. Particularly recommended is the Yehliu Geopark, full of natural rock formations that "look like they were sculpted by Salvador Dali on acid". On the northeastern coast of the island, these limestone features are accessible by bus from Taipei.
Also worth seeing is the Buluowan Trail. It runs through Taroko National Park where you might spot the native monkeys, Formosan macaques, or giant snails. Seems like Taiwan is more than just the industrial mecca where everything was "made in".
Related Stories:
· Gorging on Beauty [SMH]
· Taiwan Airport's New Name [Jaunted]
· Taiwan's Lantern Festival Goes Porcine [Jaunted]
· Taiwan Hotels [HotelChatter]
