Okay so it's your first time backpacking, but having a lovely sleep over at the airport is like being Tom Cruise in mission impossible. How are you going to secure your luggage and all the belongings while having a nice night of sleep or going to the bathroom? Many of the travelers have the fear of getting their luggage stolen while letting their guards down at the airport. However, here are some tips we can give you. It might not prevent you from getting you luggage stolen, and out apologies that we can't hold any responsibility for it. But we can assure that you can find the right people to trust in the airports to help you safely and comfortably survive the night alone, and perhaps even making some new friends along the way!

Lunar New Year, or sometimes known as Chinese New Year, is the annual celebration where family members chat and share lives with each other, enjoying the feel of surrounded by family. Because it's not technically the one day holiday such as Thanksgiving and Christmas that you'd typically see in the western society, Lunar New Year celebration is close to a month worth of celebrating. Even though technically there's only one New Year. In the articles last week we introduced the list of events and holidays within the Lunar New Year celebration; however with the list being so long and complicated, lantern festival was mentioned but not explained in depth.

Photo by Ting W. Chang. CC:BY-SA

Custom 6: January 1 (Lunar) Spring is Officially in Action

Firecrackers are lit during the countdown to new year to drive away the creature Nian who used to scare the farmers. By the morning of January 1^st, everyone, and I mean probably include your mom’s dog she walks everyday, goes out and greets everyone they know from friends, neighbors, to the bosses they usually hate. However, women who are married are traditionally not allowed or shun on for going back their original family on this day as they are considered a part of their husband's family instead of their original family.

Photo by Jennifer. CC:BY-SA.

Thanksgiving Dinner, Christmas Trees, and New Year Shopping Spree, Lunar New Year rolls around the corner after the so called western holiday season.

It’s no doubt that many of the traditional holidays have been forgotten or transformed into something more profitable for the corporates. However, there should still be some respect paid to these holidays that has such a significant importance as the cultural heritage of our society.

Lunar New Year is a series of holiday that even in today’s culture not widely celebrated as it was perhaps ten years ago. Many of the younger generations take the holiday as a free vacation instead of a day to remember their cultural heritage. It’s also a great way for foreigners to touch the roots of a culture directly when traveling abroad.

It's that time of the Lunar New Year again! Have you been summoned to help on New Year's shopping?

Speaking of New Year Essentials, it's gotta be the DiHua Street of Taipei's Dadaocheng business district.
Dadaocheng's trading activity started around the end of Qing dynasty to the early stage of Japanese Occupation, mainly focusing on North&South groceries and teas. After 1945, the street becomes the wholesaler center for Groceries, Chinese Medicine, and Textiles. Most of the buildings still have their traditional looks, not only recording the history of Taipei but also Taiwan's history of international trading and business development. Now Dadaocheng has integrated the traditional structure and it's culturally creative content, the area has attracted a new crowd of tourist coming for its historic and archaic vibe. Not to mention the craziness of families doing New Year's Shopping around the Lunar New Year week. Barely any room to even turn your shoulders, DiHua Street's crowd of people and the different dried goods sold in the store can definitely represent something unique of Taipei.

Whether you're a prepared buyer with lists and deals ready, or a demo person that's hopping in at the right time, or even just a tourist stopping by to experience the Lunar New Year feel, DiHua Street has something for everyone. Rows after rows of cooked food and dried goods ready to lure you, store shouting out sale and bargaining on this side, countless signature items and tastings, all of these asking you the customer to stop and pay with every dime you've got in the wallet. In my honest opinion, it's going to take some effort for you and your wallet to survive DiHua Street during the Festival and New Year times.

Last Updated: 201601

London has Oyster Card, Hong Kong has Octopus, Taiwan of course also as something along the lines of electronic tickets that can save travelers time and money when moving through the city.

Last Updated: 201601

Backpackers will usually choose public transportations such as metros or buses when it comes to traveling abroad due to the budget issue. But if you are more of a night owl or traveling a more remote area, then you might still run into the situation of riding a taxi. So we're going to introduce in this article the rates of taxis and things to watch out for in Taiwan.

Mapping maniacs here we go!
A tricky question, where's the northernmost airport of Taiwan>
5, 4, 3, 2, 1...

Relationships and marriage tends to be something that Asian people look to the deities for a definite answer. Even though the younger generations have successfully gained their freedom on choosing partners, the deities and the praying process is still considered as a boost to your luck in love.

Who said the love of god has to be a baby half naked? Image by martinak15. CC:BY-SA

In our last article, we've introduced Taiwan's Free WiFis. Unfortunately, both the FamilyMart and 7-Eleven's Wifi Registration page doesn't provide an English version. Therefore we've written this article in the hopes of helping out our friends that doesn't read Mandarin to enjoy such an awesome free service. This ultimate guide will ensure you're able to signup without knowing Mandarin.

7-Eleven ibon-WiFi

Step 1: Connect to the ibon-WiFi on your device then it will be automatically transfer to the Login/Register page. First time users please click the register button.