Welcome to the third Travel on a Shoestring Carnival for Asia, Oz. Here you’ll find Asian, Australian, New Zealand and Oceania travel tips for those without a lot of money to spend.
Marilyn Terrell of Intelligent Travel sent in the post Walking Taiwan. It features the blog of D.C.-resident Jeff Chen, who spent his Christmas break walking the length of Taiwan, meeting people and discovering his ethnic heritage. (The photo illustrates what can happen if you don’t pick your camping spots carefully. . .)
I believe this quotation from Jeff’s post captures why the no-budget traveler often chooses to walk when s/he could fly:
The thing about walking is that it’s accessible to most people across the world and it really helps you understand the land. People take note of what you’re doing and ask questions. Questions turn into conversations, and then there’s an exchange of cultural information that’s priceless. For the world to meet one another is an endless opportunity of both inner and outer exploration. It’s that simple.
You can find all of Jeff’s adventures at A Walk (and a car-ride) on my Ethnic Lines.
The rest of this week’s picks are after the jump.
Listen along to Chris Christensen of The Amateur Traveler for off-track travel advice from Will at his broadcast Episode 99: Malaysia.
Eva Holland of Vagabondish suggests five free or nearly-free places to explore when the weather turns sour in Rainy Day Travel: 5 Ways to Beat the Crowds When the Sun Doesn’t Shine.
Harriet Hirshorn‘s post In Shanghai: a Museum Dedicated to Urban Planning at IHT Globespotters Blog guides you not only to an interesting exhibition, but also through your post-visit refreshment options and a neighborhood soon to disappear to urban planning.
Getting to Asia or Australia is going to take every frequent flier mile you’ve ever accumulated. Make sure you don’t lose a single one following Raymond‘s advice in Prevent Your Frequent Flyer Miles From Expiring posted at Money Blue Book.
And just for giggles: an unfortunately named business from South Korea, posted over at Vagabondish.
Thanks to everyone for participating. Submit your blog article (or encourage your favorite travel bloggers to submit) to the next edition of Travel on a Shoestring: Asia, Oz using the carnival submission form. Next week this time we travel to South America, Africa, the Middle East, and Antartica. You can still submit your posts to that carnival till Wednesday.
I think Taiwan’s is unfairly overlooked as a destination, since Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai always top people’s lists when they want to go somewhere Chinese. (Also, and this is a slightly political issue, there are still no regular flights from Mainland China to Taiwan, so those on “China tours” often don’t bother. There are flights from HK, though).
Some of the most beautiful walks I’ve done were around the Alishan region, and around Lalu Lake (though the main hotel there is hardly budget). It’s immaculate, gorgeous and has a culture and cuisine slightly different to other Chinese place.
I wrote a half-dozen lengthy blog posts about it on my personal site, Joyceyland. If you’re interested, go to the Feb 2007 archives.
I also write for IHT Globespotters, which is how I found this site. Thanks for linking to us!