A writer named Mark Pearson put together a successful program to create and launch his book EUROPE FROM A BACKPACK.
Inspired by a class at the University of Washington Business School, he assembled stories from 400 people, raised capital, got an endorsement from Rick Steeves and a sponsorship from Orbitz.com, and lined up IPG as distribution.
The book is in a second printing and Pearson is off on a 41-city promotional tour in Nord America and has plans for a series of books, one of which will be titled TAIWAN FROM A BACKPACK.
I wonder if it will be successful, competing with Lonely Planet etc?
I think it will be, if he has the change to sell it. In the Netherlands it’s pretty difficult to get books and guides about Taiwan. I buyed my lonely planet in Londen. Friends ordered the “culture schock” and Discovery guide for me…
But actually, in all these guides I’m missing a lot of information. i don’t think the regular tourist without any friends in Taiwan can find his way here the way it should…
Hendrix, Taiwan is well represented on the web. Most cities and counties have their own website (in English) and the main website by the tourism bureau is great. Also, everywhere you go now there are tourist offices with usually good quality brochures (in English) about the area.
In Taipei it is, indeed. Maybe in the big tourist hotspots it is too. But I live in a small town called Puli (Nan Tou) and I can assure you the only people here speaking english are 4 of my collegues.
Oh, lets not forget the 2 mormons I saw here 1 month ago…
The essentail thing about backpacking is seeing things in area’s where almost no tourists go. meeting new people etc. etc.
If a guide like that can help backpackers get in toutch with new area’s i think it will be a very good development!
I know Puli fairly well. If you head out to the Chung Tai Chan Temple you’ll find a number of English speaking nuns and the few westerners who teach there. In any case, the temple is fabulous and if you have any interest in Buddhism you should go for a tour.
Have you been to the etymological museum in Puli, or the lacquer museum? What about the famous restaurant that serves dishes made with flowers?
You’re also not far at all from Sun Moon Lake, which has some good hikes as well as biking. Also, head down to Shuili for the start of the Jiji Small Rail Line. Good biking and hiking along there. You can hike up to the top of Great Jiji Mountain and camp there. Check out the Distinctive towns thread for more.
Be careful if you do any backpackign this time of year. Afternoon thundershowers are common. they can wash away trails, cause landslides and rivers to rise exceptionally fast. Also more snakes out now than you may be aware of.
You know Puli very well indeed! Thank you for the advise!
But actually I live here for 3 months already, nice collegues they take me everywhere! What I meant to make clear is that it’s difficult for a common, only english speaking, tourist to get around here…
The Buddist temple is very special to see, you’re right about that. The local people though find it a big waste of money, they spend a few million euro in building it Actually I’ve got a very nice view on it from my home (both of them).
About the liquer factory, i think it’s a big dissapointment. The only thing you’ll see there are a lot of stands and some pictures of the factory after the earthquake. I was lucky the curtain was opened a little bit so I could make a picture of the producing process… Thats interesting!
About the flower restaurant, yeah, i’ve been there a few times. I work in the flower industry so I know how these flowers are produced… I’m not a very big fan
Puli is a very beautiful area indeed, but still, when I was a common tourist I don’t think I would ever made it here… there’s just to little information about a place like this in english!
I think that’s with a lot of nice places in Taiwan, they are not in the guide very clearly. The best way to know them is to ask a Taiwanese friend. A “common” tourist doesn’t have Taiwanese friends…
But i’ve got another question for you. What do you think the best island of Taiwan is? I’m going on a trip in July and I want to see some beaches and do some snorkeling… Should I reserve a room already? What about the boat/flight trip?
I don’t know that much about the islands. I suggest you either do a search to see if you can’t get the answer you want or start another thread. I know there are a number of snorkeling enthusiasts on Forumosa who can help you out much more than I can.
I’m curious about the flowers. What do you mean? The food’s no good or the way they produce flowers means you shouldn’t use eat them?
I agree the wine factory is not that interesting. But I was talking about the lacquer museum, not liquor.
The dish you mean is the fried flower. The flower they eat is a special variety of the lilium. Originally it’s also a traditional mainland Chinese dish.
Because there’s a shortage of this particular flower in Taiwan some restaurants use other variety’s of lilium (cheaper). And that’s not always very good for consumption I believe though that the flowers served here in Puli are rather good. The restaurant has a good name and wants to keep that. The flowers are also grown in this district…
I’ll search on google before I’ll open my new topic, but thanks for the advise anyway!
PS: laquer? I thought my english was rather good but i’ve never heard this word before… Can you please explane? :s
Lacquer is a type of tree resin, like sap, that is collected and dried and then carved or applied to a carving. It’s an old craft and there is a private museum in Puli. Some of the family’s pieces have reportedly been sold to the National Palace Museum. The museum also runs classes.\
You don’t need to do a google search, just look through the travel threads on Forumosa.
Lacquer is a type of tree resin, like sap, that is collected and dried and then carved or applied to a carving. It’s an old craft and there is a private museum in Puli. Some of the family’s pieces have reportedly been sold to the National Palace Museum. The museum also runs classes.\
You don’t need to do a google search, just look through the travel threads on Forumosa.[/quote]I’ve been to that museum. It’s not very big but has some nice old furniture and other smaller wooden objects. The lacquer has a really nice smell. There are also various small lacquered things for sale: penholders, bowls etc. You can also pay to decorate a plate or bowl with various colors of lacquer yourself. I think the museum will mail your work to you when it dries.
A hotel website says that the museum is next to Puli Elementary School. I’d forgotten that but it’s a while since I went.
[quote=“Mucha (Muzha) Man”]Huisun forest reserve is close by as is Aowanda. Both have signs in English and numerous trails though you can’t camp: huisun.nchu.edu.tw/[/quote]
Huisun is a great place and not too crowded. There are quite a few walking trails. I did the one down to the Frog Rock, which is next to a river at the bottom of a canyon. It’s steep but the path is fine. I hope to go back there soon.
They grow coffee in that area and you can buy a bag or just drink some in the ‘coffee exhibition center’ not too far from the entrance tollbooth.
There are some wooden cabins of a reasonable size up there and I think there may be a restaurant as well. I’m not sure whether the phone number for the booking office is within the Huisun site MM linked to: I suspect that their link for accomodation refers instead to the nearby Atayal resort.
It’s at least a 2 hour motorbike ride from Taichung, but a very nice ride.
[quote=“lane119”]A writer named Mark Pearson put together a successful program to create and launch his book Europe FROM A BACKPACK.
Inspired by a class at the University of Washington Business School, he assembled stories from 400 people, raised capital, got an endorsement from Rick Steeves and a sponsorship from Orbitz.com, and lined up IPG as distribution.
The book is in a second printing and Pearson is off on a 41-city promotional tour in Nord America and has plans for a series of books, one of which will be titled TAIWAN FROM A BACKPACK.
I wonder if it will be successful, competing with Lonely Planet etc?[/quote]
I hope so. Lonely Planet deserves to die. I ought to know.
regards,
Robert
Actually I’ve got a very nice view on it from my home (both of them).
But I can’t help but wonder if you typed the wrong word…
