Tag Friends and family
On Monday morning my dad and my brother went to pick up the van that we rented. We loaded up our stuff then headed north, with a short stop at the city water tower to look at the view. Around lunch we arrived at our cottage at the lake Haggen in southern Dalecarlia county.
The cottage is right on the lake and Yini’s parents seemed to fall in love with the view as we took a tour round the house while my mom prepared some lunch. After lunch the women went grocery shopping while I and Yini’s dad went fishing. … Read the rest
Perhaps I had a little too much fun on Friday night because I wasn’t feeling too good on Saturday morning. So, instead of going out sightseeing again, Yini took her mom shopping in the big shopping center Nordstan while I and her dad relaxed on the sun deck of the hotel.
When Yini and here mom were finished with shopping, we took our bags to the train station and got some lunch before we got going. However, because we had lunch at the station instead of bringing on to the train we missed the one we planned to take and … Read the rest
On Thursday we had already shown Yinis parents most of the places we wanted to show, but we took a short drive to the meadows at the far end of the village, and just strolled around taking in the view and breathing in the fresh air. There is a special kind of enjoyment in these simple pleasures.
After some lunch in the sun, we packed up our stuff and took the train north to my old hometown Göteborg. We found our hotel, an old ship that had been converted into living quarters, then went downtown to meet up my friends … Read the rest
This summer, me and my wife decided we should bring her parents to Sweden to let them see a bit of my country. Unlike my parents they do not speak any English and are not used to independent travel, so me and the wife will spend a lot of time guiding them.
We took off late on Sunday evening, but due to a traffic jam at the airport we were delayed and missed our connecting flight. After a long wait in the transfer hall of Amsterdam airport we finally arrived in Arild on Monday evening, tired but happy.
On Tuesday … Read the rest
Yini had to go back home and work but us five boys continued our exploration of Taiwan’s east coast. Our train arrived in Hualien on Sunday evening, we found a hotel a stone’s throw from the train station, then went out for dinner and bought a few strange snacks to share in the hotel room.
On Monday morning we rented a couple of scooters, then rode out of town to famous tourist destination Taroko Gorge. Axel and I have been there before, but the spectacular lime stone cliffs, rivers and waterfalls make it well worth another visit.
Collecting a map … Read the rest
A couple of friends have come to visit me during the new year. After a very nice new year celebration, we decided to go explore the rest of the country for a bit. The eastern part being generally nicer, we decided to go there.
On Friday morning, me and my friends Anton, Axel, Marcus and Robert took the high speed rail south to Kaohsiung, then crossed to Taidong in the east by normal train. After we found a hotel, we borrowed a couple of bikes and rode around by the seaside.
Setting out 
BAmboo tunnel 
Biking in the woods 
Group
I have been reading a bit about several abandoned amusement parks in Taiwan, and I would dearly like to visit some. The most famous one, katoli world, was taken down some years ago but a place called Encore Gardens was rumored to still exist. Me and Yini managed to find it on the map so we took the car and headed out. We did eventually find the place, but it seemed the owners were planing to do something with it because there were some workers there preventing us from entering. Since we were in the area we decided to check … Read the rest
My brother has been studying in Hong Kong for a few months now and, having some time left by, he came to visit last weekend. Naturally me and Yini wanted to show him around a bit, so we went for a couple of rather long drives, both on Saturday and Sunday. During our little outings we kept stopping here and there to check out some interesting sights. We started with a gigantic Buddha statue by a lake in the Hsinchu mountains. The Buddha is part of the temple complex of a Buddhist organisation called Universal Family. We were shown around … Read the rest
My mom and dad came to visit me this week. Since I’ve spent a fair amount of time driving them around the island to show them different sights, I consider it to be true to the spirit of landtravel. It started the very day they arrived, as me and Yini picked them up at the airport, but instead of taking them straight back, we stopped by at the lantern festival to let them marvel at the myriad lights. The next day we drove down to Lugang in central Taiwan and spent some time walking around in the picturesque old streets. … Read the rest
I have, more less, moved back to Taiwan to look for a job. I didn’t have time to make the move by land so I cheated, but I have been doing a bit of land travel lately, let me tell you about it.
Since I arrived here in time for Chinese new Year, the natural thing was to celebrate it with my girlfriend’s family. So, we drove down to Erlin the day before new years eve and arrived at her parents house, which is full of people at all times since both her parents and older brother with family live … Read the rest