Starting a blog about Taiwan

Of the Asian vacation destinations, which countries have you heard of? Japan, Indonesia, China, Singapore, Hong Kong...? Some of you may have heard of Taiwan, or was it "Thailand"? That is how it is for many people who haven't been to Asia and/or don't have any friends from either Thailand or Taiwan. Now that I have been to Taiwan several times I often am asked how my trips to "Thailand" have been and how I enjoy eating "Thai" food while there. I can't really blame those that haven't been there since they probably don't have enough interest to look it up on the map or remember which one is which if they do. After all, I was once one of those getting it confused. I'll insert a map here just so those who are interested in world geography enough to learn where Taiwan is and that it is a very different country from the oft confused Thailand can take a look.

Three things to remember about Taiwan:

1. Taiwan is an island, shaped like a bean as I've heard some locals describe it
2. Chinese is the official language, aka Mandarin
3. Don't get Taiwan confused with Thailand, which has neither of the above. :)

This post is more like a trial, to get the ideas for this blog going. I have a lot of material to write about and pictures to post. First I need to get the thoughts flowing out of the brain and onto this blog though. One of the main reasons I want to write about Taiwan is to share my experiences there. I have seen and read some interesting blogs on Taiwan but there are certainly not saturating the internet. My take on the Taiwanese experience may be more unique than the other blogs besides. Why? For the simple reason that I have never visited Taiwan on my own. Rather I have only ever stayed with native Taiwanese in their homes or riding in their cars or on their scooters as we traveled about the country. My experience is total immersion: eating most meals, going to the night markets, taking day trips or overnight trips together, and joining in the family get togethers. It has always been a great experience only the luckiest have been able to take part in. I hope it will inspire you to visit Taiwan sometime even if you are on your own.