My goal of this post is not to bash Taiwan, but rather to gather information. Taiwan has been a pleasant host to me and I do enjoy many aspects that this Island has to offer.
However…
When I was in Thailand I was able to taste and be a part of a deep cultural flavor that is so rich there. Taiwan, although hospitable, does not seem to have as much apparent rich culture. My GF (Taiwanese) says that the majority of Taiwanese traditions was brought over from Mainland China, and has died out over the years. She says that there are no longer any real unique traditions or cultural flavors that belong to Taiwan.
Taiwan in contrast with other Asian countries lacks things like traditional clothing, beautiful temples, ruins, shrines, jungles full of wildlife, traditional music, folk stories and tales kept alive through generations, and such.
I have a 2 week break coming up from school and want to get out and explore some more. What countries in Asia would you recommend that have what I am looking for? Is it possible to find these sorts of things in Taiwan?
Come down to the south-east and check out the very alive aboriginal culture.
Also you could try Lanyu, Orchid Island. Like stepping into a time machine. Very beautiful but yet rustic and undeveloped. Been stuck out there a few times due to bad weather and it was a great experience.
I think you can find most of the things you are looking for in Taiwan. It is just that you need to scratch beneath the surface a little bit. Taiwan is not really set up for tourists in the way that a country like Thailand is.
If you really want to find “traditional clothing, beautiful temples, ruins, shrines, jungles full of wildlife, traditional music, folk stories and tales kept alive through generations, and such” then I suggest India as probably the best travel destination. For its extraordinary diversity, long history and vibrant cultural traditions it is hard to beat.
[Edited…this was originally a longer post on the search for authentic and exotic in Asia. I decided it was pointless. I now highly recommend India to Derek. I’m sure he’ll love it, and will grace these boards with a full account of his adventures.]
I find some of your questions really hard to take seriously.
I’d suggest Japan. India is great too, but harder to visit in 2 weeks.
Taiwan has everything you are looking for except the traditional clothes. But you will notice as you travel elsewhere that usually only women wear those traditional clothes. Probably because they are forced to.
The Asia you are looking for exists largely in the western mind. Go out and discover the real one.
Just drove down to Taidong via Hualien and saw lots of the things you are looking for. At the same time Taiwan’s present culture has its roots in the chaos of the end of China’s civil war and the KMT Exodus: few other nations have gone through the political and cultural contotrtions experienced here. That’s why Taiwan doesn’t present the coherent cultural face of places such as Thailand etc IMHO…
[quote]My GF (Taiwanese) says that the majority of Taiwanese traditions was brought over from Mainland China, and has died out over the years. She says that there are no longer any real unique traditions or cultural flavors that belong to Taiwan.
Taiwan in contrast with other Asian countries lacks things like traditional clothing, beautiful temples, ruins, shrines, jungles full of wildlife, traditional music, folk stories and tales kept alive through generations, and such. [/quote]
I’d say you should take what your g/f says with a good-sized pinch of salt – she doesn’t appear to have the faintest idea what she’s talking about.
You’re better off going abroad to find what you’re looking for. You’ll need millions, possibly billions of dollars worth of heavy construction equipment to dig out what you’re looking for here.
) communities world-wide.