One can enjoy Tokyo no matter how short the stay may be. Of the many things to do, these were those I did.

1. Walk through the lush greenery of Meiji Jingu Shrine 明治神宮. Enjoy the peace and quiet. Write your prayers on a piece of ema.

Ema to write one's wishes

2.  Pop into any ramen chain. Try to order lunch on the vending machine. Slurp and enjoy the piping hot goodness.

Keika's ramen vending machine

3. Wake up early for Tsujiki Market 築地市場. Walk, look, buy and eat your way through.

Random stall at Tsujiki Market

4. Visit the any intriguing shops and busk in Japanese’s way of life.

Chopsticks shop at Midtown, Roppongi

5. Explore the amazing food basements numerous times. And eat till one’s content!

Pierre Herme at Isetan, Shinjuku

Have fun in Tokyo!

Hang on to your hats, one way round no bumping…here we go. This is a whistle stop food tour for the serious food lover around the magical jungle city of Chiang Mai, Thailand. Not for the faint hearted.    

Our day starts early with fresh brewed local coffee at my good friend Khun Sonthaya’s Coffee House. Now this might not sound too impressive, but good coffee is not that easy to find in a city strangely obsessed with instant Nescafe and condensed milk. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big “condensed milk with everything” fan but first thing in the morning it doesn’t really cut the mustard, does it. Not for the likes of you or I anyway.

Khun Sonthaya only buys top class local coffee beans from a small company called HillKoff who grow their coffee on the humid mountain sides just outside of Chiang Mai. You can, as a special treat, ask Khun Sonthaya for the special Civet Poo Coffee that is now being locally produced by a small organic organisation up in the mountains. Let me explain.

At night wild Civets (a notoriously shy and illusive cat like mammal) emerge from their day time hidy holes to creep through the jungle feeding on whatever they can find…notably the freshest and ripest coffee beans which they are most partial to (apparently). As the coffee bean passes through their gut, acids remove the outer layer of the bean which gives the coffee a strong but smooth taste (I did say not for the faint hearted). In the morning a small team of poo hunters comb the mountain side for Civet poo in order to process it into tiny amounts of rare tasting coffee. The price as you can imagine is horrendous. In America it sells for between $35 and $50 dollars per cup.

After coffee, Khun Sonthaya will join us for the rest of our food tour. We’re all off to Ching Choo Chai breakfast restaurant on the outskirts of Chiang Mai. Don’t try to find it by yourself…you won’t. It’s out of town and in an odd location off the ring road. It’s a real “locals only” place frequented by everyone from traffic cops to bank managers. There’s no menu, no hanging about and no disappointment; it serves the best breakfast you will find anywhere in the world (and God knows I’ve looked hard). You have a choice of 3 things; pork and rice, pork ball soup and rice porridge with (you guessed it) pork. I’m going to treat you to pork and rice (Cow Ca Moo). The pork is braised for hours and is so tender it does actually feel like it melts in your mouth. The rice is local jasmine rice that is served with the cooking juices of the pork. To off set the smoothness of the pork it is served with a spoonful of home made pickled cabbage and wonderfully hot spicy red chilli sauce.

Apart from serving the best breakfast in the world Ching Choo Chai’s prices are fairly competitive. To eat breakfast here with me and Sonthaya it will set you back less than the price of a Mars Bar in the 7 Eleven. So, breakfasts on me. I am the last of the big spenders!

Okay, ready for lunch? We’ll warm up by stopping off at the side of the road to buy a massive bunch of fresh Lychees. We’ll munch our way through as we speed off in my old diesel truck to a lunch restaurant called “that Northern Thai chicken place next to the moat”. Every lunch time they roast hundreds of chickens on big outdoor grills made from old oil drums. We’ll order a couple of plump golden good’uns and some hot and sweet red chilli dipping sauce. As a special treat…just because you’re with us today I’ll treat you to what is literally translated as a “Pork Shower”. Great name isn’t it. It is a type of ground pork salad mined with spicy chillies and freshened with chopped coriander and mint. It’s a great accompaniment to anything. We’ll wash all of this down with iced lemon tea and some of their home made coconut ice cream.

Now then, lets have a walk along the tree lined moat to work up a proper appetite…the leafyness and coolness of which always, and rather romantically, reminds me of  Paris (sorry but it really does). To take our minds of Paris I’ll treat you to some mango and sticky rice as we walk along.

Finally, as the day is drawing to an end and the sun is slipping behind the ever present Suthep Mountain we’ll set off, back out of town to my favourite fish and sea food restaurant locally known as “That fish and sea food restaurant out of town”. It’s a big operation and incredibly popular with Thai families. It starts to fill up from 5pm onwards and is staffed by an incredibly efficient army of waiting staff. We’ll get a table over the big central pond near the fountain so the afternoon air is cool and fresh. Our smiling waitress won’t leave until we have ordered everything we want, so nobody gets left behind. We’ll let Khun Sonthaya order as it’ll be quicker. I’ll put in a request for both of us, what about; a whole Pomfret fish steamed with ginger, shallots and lime, stir fried spinney crab, a few oyster omelettes (just because they are so good), some rice and a spicy papaya salad, all washed down with a big iced jug of beer.

We’ll sit out late under the stars in the moonlit shadow of the mountains listening to the distant and strange whirring noise of the Nightjars watching the owls swoop down from the forests and the bats flitting about the street lights. We’ll relax and talk about food, maybe order a couple of Thai whiskies and think about where we should eat tomorrow. Or shall we just do it all the same again.?

You may think the idea of having 5 different types of bananas to choose from is entirely normal. But, I can assure you that if you had grown up on the outskirts of London in the 1970s were it was unusual to buy fruit at all (unless someone was ill) you would also share my amazement. 

When we were kids a sign of extravagance was to have a bowl of fruit on the sideboard. At Christmas it was joined by a small bowl of walnuts. There were only ever 3 kinds of fruit in the bowl, apples, oranges and bananas. The apples were soft, the oranges bitter but the bananas were at least a bland non offensive alternative. They usually disappeared first, then the apples and the oranges were sometimes left untouched and alarmingly none the worse for several years.

How can it be that you can get to 40 something years old and not realize there are varieties of banana. You would think that someone might tell you along the way, in the same way that you get to realize that the moon is not really made from cheese or the school nurse tells every boy their eyesight is so good they could be a fighter pilot (I was eighteen when an optician nearly killed himself laughing).

When I moved to Chiang Mai I basically thought that bananas were bananas. I had some vague idea that I had seen tiny, miniature bananas in Harrods or somewhere posh like that, which cost about a million pounds, but just assumed they were some weird affectation of the rich and famous (“Jeeves….make my bananas smaller!”). It is therefore with childlike delight that I can walk down the road any time and peruse several varieties of banana in my local market.

At the moment the market looks like a banana festival on Planet Banana. There are tables full of bananas of every shape, size and hue of yellow. I love the tiny finger sized ones that come in enormous bunches of up to 20 fruit. What I particularly like is the fact that you get so much for only 20 Thai Baht and when you eat them you feel like a giant. The flesh of these tiny fun sized bananas is a pleasing dark yellow. As different to the white anemic tasteless things we grew up eating as you could possibly get.

The fact that they are so wonderfully small and good to eat really does get me. Imagine being able to eat little water melons or growing tiny little juicy apples on little fairy trees. Moving to Thailand must be as close as you can get to moving to a different universe.

Although the tiny bananas are a knock out they do not have as good a taste as the big traditional looking fellows. My Thai friend told me that the literal translation for this type of banana is “good smell” which is certainly well placed. When you peel them they are beautifully fragrant which makes them irresistible. Although the flesh is whiter than the small ones they are creamier in taste and not as grainy and seem to command much higher prices.

In between these 2 extremes there are what I call “everyday bananas”. I get the feeling that people don’t really like them, that they are a bit common, which suits me fine. They are certainly the cheapest, I can get a big bunch for just 10 Baht or even 5 Baht if they won’t keep too long. They tend to be fairly straight and modest in size. The last bunch that I bought had hard black seeds inside like lead shot. It was the first ever time I’ve eaten a banana that has got pips. Will the wonders of Thailand never cease?

I have a strange affliction whereby I will almost certainly cycle down to the market this evening completely certain that I don’t need to buy any more bananas only to return with another huge bunch feeling strangely proud. My children are beginning to develop a pale yellow tinge although luckily for me the novelty of banana sandwiches has yet to wear thin. Perhaps I’ll buy just one more bunch.

From December, the world’s A-list celebrities will gather in Bangkok to meet their adoring Thai fans

By the end of 2010 you will be unable to move for A-list celebrities in Bangkok. Or rather the “celebrities” are the ones who will not be moving. That is because on December 4, Southeast Asia’s first branch of Madame Tussauds opens for public gawping.

Madame Tussauds is, of course, a gallery of waxworks established 250 years ago by its eponymous French sculptor. Her original showcase established in London in 1884. To this day, it still draws daily hordes of camera-toting tourists.

Madame Tussauds Bangkok will be the fame-mongering brand’s 10th worldwide branch—and Asia’s third, after Hong Kong and Shanghai. The US$15m development is based on the 6th Floor of the Siam Discovery, and recently unveiled figures of Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Michael Jackson and legendary local screen idol, Mitr Chaibancha.

Around “30 percent” of the 70 models populating Bangkok’s Tussauds will be Southeast Asian figures, according to General Manager Paul Williams. Among Thailand’s entries are punk-haired celebrity pathologist Porntip Rojanasunan, martial arts icon Tony Jaa, pop singers Tata Young and Ad Carabao and soap opera pin-up Pancake-Khemanit Jamikorn. Regal figureheads Prince Mahidol and the Princess Mother will also go on display in the Royal Hall.

The foreign faces, meanwhile, include Princess Diana, Queen Elizabeth II, the Dalai Lama, Mahatma Gandhi, Beethoven, Einstein, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp, Will Smith, Stephen Gerrard, Bruce Lee, Tom Cruise, Angelina Jolie, Jim Carrey and the ubiquitous David Beckham.

Each figure takes four to six months to craft in London at a cost of around 8 million baht, explaining why branches are updated with just two or three annual additions. Aside from taking snapshots every six seconds, visitors will also be able to jostle over interactive audio-visual elements. These reportedly include answering the hotline phone in President Obama’s Oval Office; playing one-on-one with Chinese basketball giant Yao Ming; practicing kung-fu with Bruce Lee; weightlifting with Paweena Tongsuk; or acting out a drama scene with Anne Thongprasom.

At a press launch, the Thai soap opera star admitted having “this chill down my spine” when first e-mailed a photo of her likeness. “It looked so much like me. Just like when I stand in front of a mirror.” Promising stuff, indeed.

Interestingly, while Madame Tussauds is a measurement of fame, it claims an apolitical stance. As Paul Williams says, “Madame Tussauds has something for everyone.” Therefore, striking doppelgangers of serial killers like Dennis Nilsen and mass-murdering Adolf Hitler take their due podiums in the London edition’s Chamber of Horrors (which also exhibits the guillotine blade that killed Marie Antoinette).

If that sounds grisly, consider that the original Marie Tussaud wrote in her memoirs of rifling through corpses for decapitated heads of executed citizens, from which to make death masks, which were later paraded through Parisian streets as macabre revolutionary flags.

It is a strange beast, celebrity worship. If Marie Tussaud did not pioneer the dubious pastime that spawned such fripperies as fan clubs, paparazzi and Perez Hilton, she certainly set the concept in wax. Meanwhile, Paul Williams sees Tussauds as “educational, because parents can explain to their children who these famous people are.” In that context, the average library must be a regular breeding ground for geniuses.

One of the funniest things I think I’ve seen occurred during a high-school trip to London’s Madame Tussauds. A teenage Italian tourist moved slowly yet purposefully towards my friend, Brodie, as if to scrutinize him close-up. Brodie, to his credit, remained absolutely still. Then, with perfect comic timing, just as the girl approached kissing distance, he very suddenly twitched. Her scream of shock filled the massive exhibition hall. We never could figure out who she thought he was…
Jet Li or Zhang Ziyi lookalikes beware!

Madame Tussauds Bangkok opens December 4, 2010. Admission is THB700 ($23) for adults and THB500 (US$16) for children.
www.madametussauds.com/bangkok

Badaling 八达岭  or Juyongguan 居庸关?   We are spoilt for choice in deciding which section of the Great Wall to visit.  In the end, we found ourselves at the steeper albeit less touristy Juyongguan.

Completed earlier than Badaling, Juyongguan screams ancient charm.  No wonder Karl Lagerfield chose this section of the Great Wall as the runway for his Fendi’s show in 2007.

Juyongguan is also known for the First and Foremost Pass Under Heaven 天下第一雄关 along with the First Pass Under Heaven (Shanhaiguan 山海关 in Hebei) and First and Greatest Pass Under Heaven (Jiayuguan 嘉峪关 in Gansu).  So many passes in China and all are somehow first under heaven.  Interesting.

The vertically extended Juyonguan is indeed a strenous section to climb, much more difficult than the stretching Badaling.  After going up the steps for about 20mins, we get to reach the souvenir shop to buy a I have been to the Great Wall certificate.  And the rest of our Great Wall adventure was just going down its precarious steps.

We spend the rest of the day exploring some grey walls at the hutongs (read: the narrow alleys) in  Beijing. The walls at Liulizhang 琉璃厂 (a hutong) is possibly more interesting than the Great Wall . We manage to get through the front rows of some arty-touristy-paraphernalia shops and reached the grey walls.

Since this is where typical people in Beijing live.  What is a visit to China without seeing those quintessential banners with slogans?

Or that strong desire to embrace the benefits of modern living coupled with resistence to change in preservation of its unique past?  The stark contrast between the greyish walls of the Hutongs and the shiny skyscrapers was quite a heart-wrenching sight.

We saw some of the oldest professionals making their living in open streets.  Silver hair grandpas and grandmas waiting patiently for their turn at the barber’s.

And even a most skilful dentist who can maintain his composure and balance amidst the crowd.  Intriguing.

Finally, the market at liulizhang is not to be missed.

Beijing. Be it Great Wall or grey walls. You have won my heart.

Plush, stylish and regal: Kaya Kalp – the Royal Spa gives new meaning to royal treatment. From the extravagant wellness treatments to the paradisical landscaping, the spa is especially designed to provide a living experience of regal being. Voted by many as one of the best spas in India, the Royal Spa is a perfect blending of old-world charm and modern-day spa pampering.

Stepping foot into the spa, it’s easy to see how Kaya Kalp has gained such recognition. Davina Hassell, the Spa Manager, guides me around the lavish property and explains, “The spa industry in India is still in its growing stage. I’m proud to say that Kaya Kalp is at the forefront of it and we’re working hard to strive for growth.”

The flagship Kaya Kalp spa located in ITC Mughal Agra Hotel is India’s biggest spa to date, sprawling over 99,000 square feet in area. Since opening its doors in 2008, the spa has already nabbed 8 prestigious awards, one of which is the Best City Spa awarded by Condé Nast Traveller.

Mughal Interior

Inside the spa, the Mughal mood is infectious. Kaya Kalp is designed using many elements from Mughal dynasty architecture: from latticework to bronzed lamps to velvet upholstery. Delhi-based architect and landscape designer, Pradeep Sachdeva, uses the pomegranate fruit as the theme of the spa – a fruit representative of the Mughal dynasty. Ruby red pomegranate designs can be seen in the design on the walls, ceiling and white terrazzo flooring.

The spa ground extends to the lush, tropical gardens. Running fountains flow, while fragrant flowers and fruit bearing trees blossom under the sunlight. Adapting the garden concept brought in by Baber, the first Mughal Emperor, the Kaya Kalp – Royal Spa adds in that eden atmosphere that can be felt all over the city. We are after all in Agra, the garden city most famous for India’s emblem, the Taj Mahal.

Spa Treatments

After an exhausting day of visiting the city’s numerous monuments, a rejuvenating spa treatment is just what you need. From traditional Ayurvedic rituals to chakra balancing and gem stone massages, there is a large assortment of holistic treatments and spa journeys on offer. A Royal Mughal hammam, resembling those of the old Persian days, is another interesting feature of the spa. Enjoy a deep cleansing body scrub, an oil massage, a scalp massage or simply lounge around the bath. Couples who want some intimate privacy can opt for the Taj Mahal Romance treatment, which includes Ayurvedic massages, guided meditation and Shirodhara therapy enjoyed together.

Pomegranate Journey

Curious to try out the spa’s most unique treatment, I book myself in for the Pomegranate Journey. My therapist first cleans my feet with water – a tradition used by the South Indians to welcome guests into their houses. To begin the journey, we start with a Pomegranate ritual scrub. Kaya Kalp’s signature blend of natural fruits such as pomegranate, lime and ginger, mixed with organic brown sugar allows the body to be gently exfoliated. It deeply cleanses, polishes and softens the body. Next, I get a deliciously healthy bath of pomegranate fruit essence, while sipping freshly squeezed pomegranate and lime juice. After feeling utterly relaxed, my treatment culminates with an Indian aromasoul ritual massage where my body is instantly revitalized with the use of traditional aromatherapy.

Towards the end of my journey, I feel enlighted – physically rejuvenated from the spa treatments, and intellectually enriched from experiencing India’s culture and history.

Stretching across Northern India, the region of Rajasthan pulsates with invigorating energy and vibrance. The cacophony of deafening sounds, blinding sights and fragrant smells in India never fail to awaken the curiosity in me. Splashed in bright rainbow hues, Rajasthani cities are distinguished by colours: Jaipur, the chaotic capital, is known as the ‘Pink City‘ for its reddish palaces while the desert city of Jaisalmer is dubbed the ‘Golden City’ for the honeycombed fort that rises above the golden sand.

Against the backdrop of the cities, the streets of Rajasthan are filled with natives dressed in bright orange saris and bulky red turbans. Its spirited people are the reason why this part of India draws million of tourists to its doorstep. Warm, friendly and happy – it’s hard not to get infected by the spirit of Rajasthan. To get a taste of Rajathan, here are some of portrait shots of its beautiful people.

A tribal lady in the Thar Desert, close to the northwest frontier with Pakistan.

A Hindu lady sitting on the window sill of the Amber Fort, Jaipur.

On the stairs of the Jagdish Hindu Temple in Udaipur, an old lady sells offerings in the form of colourful jasmin flowers and coconut leaves.

On the streets of Jaisalmer, a lady smiles for the camera.

Swaggering moustache and multi-coloured turban: a typical Rajasthani man gets ready to milk his cow.

Hindu ladies, dressed in beautiful saris, stroll through the courtyard of Amber Fort, Jaipur

A priest sits on the stairs of Jagdish Temple, Udaipur.

Mother and son pair strolling through downtown Jaisalmer.

It was a bright and early morning in Beijing. Well, not early enough for the flag-raising at the birth place of the People’s Republic of China but we still manage to catch the many mobile breakfast stalls around the area.

We wondered around to realise that these ubiquitous stalls simply sell prata-look-alike pancakes and decided to grab them.  For just 5RMB per pancake, this sure made hearty breakfast for our empty stomaches.  Tasted like piping hot prata with egg (just an aside: piping hot prata has become unusually rare in Singapore, to think that I actually need to go to Beijing for that, sigh) but they are served with some sweet sauce and lettuce. Great stuff! Be sure to catch one of these stalls at almost every exit of the subway stations while you are in Beijing.

I am so so glad that we didn’t think about skipping breakfast for Tiananmen Square 天安门 is huge and crowded.  This is afterall the symbolic centre of the Chinese universe. A must-visit will be the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall 毛主席记念堂. Admission is free but be prepared to quene for hours to get in as Chinese from all over China flock in to pay their respect to the physical presence of Mao. I needed loads of energy from breakfast to get through the crowd, walked through the square before we reached the Forbidden City 紫禁城 aka 故宫博物院 (Admission: 60RMB from Apr to Oct, 40RMB for other months).

To say that the Forbidden City is huge is a serious understatement. To walk through the Forbidden City is just like walking through many Tiananmens.  It was really crowded inside and the photo below just happened to capture a rare corner without any human being.

By the time we reached the Imperial Garden (the grand finale after endless of gates and halls we had to get through in the Forbidden City) and out. It was way beyond lunchtime. We hopped into Fu Yue Lou 福越楼 at Qian Men Dong Da Jie for a duck, Peking Duck.  This unknown eatery is chosen instead of Quan Ju De for we did not like the over-rated chain.

At  Fu Yue Lou, we got better attention, crispier skin and more tender duck than the well-known chain.  For the duck bones, we chose the salt and pepper style of cooking (extra 8RMB).  The fried duck bones tasted totally ahem KFC.  Very yum and appetising.  The entire duck just cost us 98RMB while the 2 big Peking Duck players – Quan Ju De charges 114RMB and Da Dong charges 99RMB for HALF a duck.

I could not miss out an order of the shui zhu yu 水煮鱼 right in Beijing. Look at the amount of chilli that came along.  Beijing’s shui zhu yu is definitely not for the faint-heart.  The sichuan dish was full of kick, the fish slices were ultra fresh and full of bones. Ouch! Careful! Next slice!

Portions were huge for lunch and so we went to another huge place to walk. The Temple of Heaven park 天坛公园 was the place of worship for the emperor (son of heaven). These days people go there to admire the grandeur of Ming Dynasty’s architecture .  It is ANOTHER huge area and the main sights are the Round Alter, Imperial Vault of Heaven, Echo Wall and the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest.  While admission to the park is 15RMB but you need to fork out another 20RMB for enter the 4 main sights

By the time we are done with the Temple of Heaven it was near evening.  As a foodie who watches too much food tv for any good, I simply need to go Dong Hua Men nightmarket 东华门夜市 which happens to be round the corner of Beijing’s shopping mecca, Wang Fu Jing 王府井.  Lest you are distracted (actually I was indeed distracted) by all the Cartier, IWC and Uniqlo in the shopping street and missed the street leading to Dong Hua Men nightmarket, you can try to find the literal 井of the 王府 (well of the house of Wang) which the street is named after.

Yup, as seen from the above photo, the well is all dried and covered up by now, simply turn into the street after the well is located and Dong Hua Men Nightmarket is right in front of your eyes.  The fear-factor food street selling all sorts of scary food – scorpions, cicadas, starfish and silkworms (15RMB each).

I seriously do not know how many people eat the scary food but I was very purposeful.  I was there for my fried-ice-cream and the moment I spotted it, I had it!

Freshly fried in recycled oil but who cares.  The fried ice-cream (15RMB) was coated with a generous amount of icing sugar served on an equally delectable french toast.  Totally chased the simmering heat of Beijing’s tail end summer away.

While fried ice-cream was a yummy treat, the fried fresh milk (15RMB) paled in comparison.  Tasted just like some plain and gluely chinese cake in thick batter.

Another common street snack will be beef tripe (20RMB).  The ridged tripe 爆肚 was extremely pungent so you will either love or hate it and I belong to the latter.

Well, I decided to get some Tianjin’s buns just because of its name (kuo bu li 狗不理 translates loosely to dog ignores).  It was said that the original bun from Tianjin was Empress Dowager Cixi’s fave.  Ok it’s just meat buns (15RMB for 5).  If you are really interested there is a branch from the restaurant (suitably named 狗不理) the Empress used to patronise just off Jian Men Da Jie.

After exploring the food street, I was dead beat but still insisted on going to the gorgeous St Joseph’s church around the corner of Wang Fu Jin, went to Wang Fu Jin bookstore to get violin concertos scores for my brother (ultra cheap ok!) and explored the extremely similar but a lot more touristy Wang Fu Jing snack street before turning in for the night.

Photo by Carrie Kellenberger

1. TAROKO NATIONAL PARK

A landscape carved out of towering mountains, lush forest, and deep valleys, Taroko National Park extends through Hualien, Taichung, and Nantou counties.  This is THE trip to make if you’re visiting Taiwan.

Photo by Carrie Kellenberger

2. YEHLIU GEO-PARK

This unusual geo-park on the northern coastline of Taiwan has a most unusual terrain and is bound to delight even the most seasoned travelers.

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3. ALISHAN NATIONAL SCENIC AREA

Beautiful Alishan (Mount Ali) is just one of several mountain attractions in Taiwan. Located in Chiayi County, the mountain resort and natural preserve includes rugged mountain wilderness, waterfalls, tea plantations, hiking trails and four mountain villages. Alishan is especially popular with nature lovers, tourists, and mountain climbers. One of the top sightseeing attractions in Alishan is its spectacular sunrises, when one can watch the sun emerge from a sea of clouds.

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4. BEITOU HOT SPRING VALLEY

Sink into the steamy warm bliss at a hot spring resort in Beitou Hot Spring Valley.

Photo by Carrie Kellenberger

5. TAIPEI 101
Second only to the Burj Khalifa for tallest skyscrapers in the world, Taipei 101 was the world’s largest skyscraper from 2004 to 2010.

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6. SUN MOON LAKE

The beauty of Sun Moon Lake in Nantou County is legendary. As Taiwan’s largest lake, this stunning alpine owes its name to the eastern part of the lake, which is round like the sun. The western side of the lake resembles a crescent moon.

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7. THE EAST COAST
Taiwan’s dramatic eastern coastline should be included as one of the most scenic drives in the world.

Photo by Carrie Kellenberger

8. PENGHU
This island archipelago in the Taiwan Strait between Taiwan and Mainland China is home to gorgeous white-sand and coral beaches, Chinese-style homes and the largest concentration of temples in Taiwan.

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9. KENTING NATIONAL PARK
Taiwan’s oldest national park encompasses the southernmost tip of the island.  Kenting is well known for its sunny climate, beach resorts, and mountain scenery. It is a long-standing favorite tourist destination for Taiwanese families.

Photo by Steve Leggat

10. JIUFEN
This charming mountain town in Northern Taiwan was once a prosperous gold mining town. Today, visitors flock to the tiny town to experience its quaint streets, stunning scenery, and traditional teahouses.

As the sun begins to set over Suthep mountain a strange group of men emerge to congregate around the city moats of Chiang Mai; the Tree Top Spear Fishermen.

Growing up in the 1970s watching repeats of The Twilight Zone I have always associated this time when day melts into night with mystery and magic; a brief gap where it’s neither one thing nor another, where it’s betwixt and between. Ambiguity of every kind is more pronounced in Thailand than anywhere else in the world. It’s as though Thailand is forever plunged into a magical twilight zone where there really is a third sex, where tomorrow could mean next week, next week could mean next year and to have the most is also to have the least.

This ambiguous time of day, or is it night, the whole of Chiang Mai is at it’s most active. The heat of the day has gone but the light of the day still lingering. Parks and odd bits of waste land are packed with thousands of games of Tak Kraw, joggers and other assorted fitness fanatics. Food vendors swarm the streets, markets buzz into life and a million fairy lights begin to twinkle outside thousands of bars as hundreds of bar girls put on their lip stick. There is a dizzy aroma of incense and fried chicken as the traffic cops fight a loosing battle to maintain order over an entire city on the move.

During this magical time, unnoticed by the day time people and the night time people, a small group of twilight people come out. Their work can only take place between the end of day and the beginning of night, between the time the sun sets,  and as they say in Ireland, “the time when the green goes out of the grass”.

Fishermen the world over from Bangkok to Balham will know that during this time fish are at their most active and what’s more, the reflections from the surface of the water suddenly vanish. It’s as though a stage magician has suddenly whisked away the silk curtain exposing a dark watery world beneath.

As the traffic whirls around the moats, all within becomes still and transparent. This is what the fishermen have been waiting for all day. The reflective veil has lifted exposing large old catfish dozing just beneath the surface.

As the fishermen congregate around the moats they lash murderous looking spear guns and harpoons to their backs. Most of these are standard under water spear guns used for marine fish hunting,  but some are wonderful home made contraptions made out of bits of iron rod resembling huge cross bows,  the needle sharp tip of the spear protected by a bit of dirty polystyrene. Each gun is attached to its spear by a coiled length of strong nylon cord. To the uninitiated eye it’s all quite an arresting sight that wouldn’t look out of place in a fantasy battle scene from Lord of the Rings.

It’s what happens next that is really unusual. Instead of the fishermen slipping undetected into the water, as would be normal in spear gun fishing, they climb up into the huge old trees that overhang the water. They climb as high as they can so they have an excellent view down into the clear dark water. From these tree top eyries they sit motionless with spear gun at the ready focusing intently on the water, cutting an arresting silhouette against the darkening skies above.     

Then suddenly, the still evening air is filled with movement … zooooom. The trigger is pulled and a flash of silver darts through the air at incredible speed with incredible power slicing into the water towards a poor unsuspecting catfish. All is action. Down on the ground the fishermen’s young accomplice dashes out from beneath the tree to retrieve the spear and the harpooned fish. The fish is despatched quickly and hidden in an old plastic bag and the nylon cord wound in and the spear re set ready for the next victim.

I have explained this story to several guests that have come to stay with us here in Chiang Mai. I can see them looking at me rather uncertainly wondering if it’s the heat or the Thai whisky that has got to me. I don’t mind if you don’t believe me either, but all I do ask is that if you find yourself in Chiang Mai walking along by the cool waters of the moat at the end of the day, even if you feel over come with heat, don’t, and I repeat don’t be tempted for an evening dip, especially under the big old overhanging trees.