Travel News
A First-Timer’s Guide to Taiwan’s Highlights and Lowlights
Not on This Trip
Lantern Festival’s Main Event
I had seen images of Lantern celebrations in enclaves of Taipei and Pingxi, where visitors wrote wishes and prayers on big paper lanterns, then lit them aflame and cast them into the sky so that they may reach the gods. I would have rather experienced this understated celebration than the somewhat commercial version I encountered.
Each year, Taiwanese officials bring the most extravagant celebration of the Lantern Festival to a different city, and this year Lukang, in Changhua County, was ground zero for the big event. The schedule included ear-popping performances by local celebrities, performers gallivanting around the stage in Disney costumes in time with “It’s a small world after all”, copious fireworks, congested night markets spilling over with tourists, and, in the neon climax, the unveiling of a 40-ton dragon that spat smoke and spun in circles as performers hysterically declared that “the time for Taiwan is now!” For me, it felt like overkill.
Mangrove Tour
I drove for a long time to reach the site of the Sihcao Green Tunnel mangrove in Taijiang National Park and I was happy for the opportunity to enjoy some of Taiwan’s natural beauty. I got on a boat with 40 others and took a half an hour tour down a narrow canal canopied with mangrove branches, and then it was over. While there were beautiful moments during this short trip, there are undoubtedly many natural wonders in this island nation that deserve to be highlighted more so than the green tunnel.
Promised Land Resort & Lagoon
The Promised Land Resort in Hualien is on lovely grounds near the eastern coast of the country, with serene lagoons, palm trees and beautiful views of surrounding mountains, but, oddly, it is decorated in the Mediterranean style of a Spanish villa, with terra cotta walls, Renaissance sculptures and flamenco performances. While traveling in Europe, one might be happy to stay at such a spot, but when venturing to Asia, visitors want tea houses and temples, not ersatz versions of European style.
