Last week was full of typical Taiwanese winter days averaging around 28-30c with clear blue skies and refreshing sea-wind. I was just cruising around on the scooter, getting things done and enjoying Taiwanese winter, as I realize something strange.

So maybe to share that feeling with you, here’s a quick snapshot of what’s around me waiting for the lights to go green with a big group of Taiwanese on their scooters. It is, I promise you, a hot 30c day with the sun high above shining down directly at us:

You’ll notice that, aside from the guy next to me (who doesn’t even …

I’ll be off to spend the Chinese new year wondering around India. Hopefully, will have a lot of adventures and photos to share with you. BTW - seems like this blog no longer needs me in order to keep posting, so - oddly enough - it will keep self posting even while I’m not here.   So, here’s an early Happy Chinese New Year from India to you all.

Mercer and The Economist both release lists of the world’s most livable cities. Doing some related academic essay, I needed to rip down a sub-list for the most livable cities in Asia. It’s be interesting to read the in-depth analysis of those reports and see how they measured quality of life. I find the results fascinating, and somewhat sensible based on my tours and life around Asia so far. Here it the most livable cities in Asia according to Mercer (I think The Economist list requires 200US$):

(City name - country name - …

I think this one is just hilarious - Bloomberg’s “China Goes Kosher as Exporters Use Rabbis to Reassure Consumers” : Chinese exporters, facing a U.S. backlash over tainted food products, are turning to an unlikely group of inspectors to help clean up their act: Jewish rabbis. Kosher certifications by rabbis have doubled to more than 300 in China in the past two years, according to the Orthodox Union, a New York-based organization that does inspections. The group expects thousands more plants to get certified in the next few years, covering everything from …

You just don’t see that many western-tourists around Tainan, although there’s alot to see. Even the internationals leaving in the city rarely take the time to explore around and appreciate some of the history and beauty that’s in this city. Through a website soon to open up, I came across those wonderful touring Tainan videos, probably created by the Tainan City tourism office. It takes you around the main spots of Tainan and shows you some of the magic that surrounds this city.   There are even a few spots here that I haven’t been to yet.

It’s great seeing other Israelis doing well in Taiwan. Warms my heart.

The other night, as I was meeting someone at Tainan’s “Hangout”, I picked the newest issue of +886, the Taipei based life style magazine in both Chinese and English, and noticed something familiar on the cover. I stared at it for a few seconds and then asked “hey, that guy on the cover, we know him, right? I can’t remember where - but I’ve seen this guy somewhere”.

Just when I got home and read the article I realized this was Israeli Tomer and his beautiful Malaysian wife - Jun …