Once again it's the R.O.C...

When you're young, life decisions are much easier to make than when you have had some experience in life.

Around 15 years ago, I decided to move away from everything I knew. All the things that were Canadian and familiar seemed boring to me. I needed to be distanced from all of it – and so I packed up my things and moved to Taipei, Taiwan.

When friends found out that I was moving to Taiwan they all remarked how lucky I was because Thai food was the best. This happened regularly until I got too tired to correct them. But the truth was even I didn't know what kind of food people ate in Taiwan.

I did some research but I'm a pretty laid-back-go-with-the-flow kind of person, so I bid my family and friends farewell and took a trip that would literally change my life forever.

There was no real plan as to how long I'd go for. But once I landed and got familiar with my surroundings I convinced myself I wouldn't stay more than a year. Well that ended up being around 3 years short of how long I actually lived in Taipei. The reason? The local people were extremely friendly. I had met a good group of friends and life was just so much more exotic and easy than what I knew in Canada. Oh, and I met a girl whom would later become my wife there as well.

Long story short, I am now living and working in Hong Kong. However, recently I went to Taipei for a solo visit and fell in love again (with the city). It's charm, friendly people and easy-going spirit continues to make it one of my favourite cities. This last visit I happily explored Fujin St. and Addiction Aquatic Development. I was proud to see how much Taipei has grown and become a world city. Definitely a place worth visiting if you're ever looking for an easy Asian trip. Just be careful, you may stay longer than you planned.