Taipei Adventure: Cat Village and Mountain Town

While day one and day two were all spent fairly close to our hotel. On our third day we would venture further away from Taipei. While researching our trip, my daughter discovered information on an unusual place she decided we should explore. It was a cat village where cats are allowed to roam freely. The town’s actual name is Houtong. Houtong is located outside Taipei, but one can get there easily by train. We hopped on the usual looking subway…

Taipei Adventures

After spending a few days in Kaohsiung, it was time to go to Taipei. We traveled up by train and arrived in early afternoon. Knowing our hotel was near the main train station, we asked for some directions at the train help desk and then struck out to find our hotel. The streets were crowded so moving around with our suitcases and bags was not easy. It was also windy, and at one point I lost my hat, but a…

Your Money Matters

If you live in the United States or Europe, you are probably rich. While you may not consider yourself rich, your income is likely far above that of many people around the world. We refer to ourselves as part of the first world while those in third world countries struggle. So what happens when a first world visitor visits a third world country? Does it matter how you spend your money? First let it be said that your money definitely…

Is Seeing Enough?

A number of years ago my wife’s niece got married in Paris. It was in May so I was unable to go, but she and my daughter went. They arrived a week ahead of the wedding to have the opportunity to tour Paris, and tour they did. I got reports each night about the churches, museums or other places they had visited and how tired they were after walking all day. They tried to see it all. A few years…

Why Travel? What Value Does Travel Have?

It seems that one of the common expectations of retirees is that they will travel. This expectation was evident when I was reading what my high school classmates from 50 years ago wrote in their current biographies. Traveling both past and future was a common theme. But why? What is the purpose or value of traveling? People travel for many reasons. A common reason is what many people call bucket list travel. These travelers are out to see or experience…