Talefeathers: The Latitude 35 Blog

A one-day tour to Taiwan's northeast coast: Yehliu Geopark, Jiufen Old Town, Shifen Waterfall, and Shifen Old Street One of the most iconic views of Jiufen Old Town. (© 2025 Karen Cristello) I'm so glad I booked a tour to see sights on the northeast coast. I'd looked into taking public transportation, but this saved me sooooo much time and hassle. Plus I got commentary from a knowledgeable guide. There was a Japanese woman on the bus and our guide also spoke Japanese, so it w

The best, the original, the influential, the highest, and the cutest. The Taipei 101 building at night. As the name implies, it's 101 stories tall. (© 2025, Karen Cristello) An Award-Winning Buzz Top-notch A-Bao coffee and buttery cinnamon toast at Simple Kaffa. (© 2025, Karen Cristello) There is no better way to start the day than with an excellent cup of coffee. So I headed to Simple Kaffa, a chain of three locations owned by Berg Wu, winner of the 2016 World Barista Champi

The crappy food isn't what you're thinking... A cute 3-D animated tiger at the Shilin Night Market (©Karen Cristello, 2025) I came to Taipei for three days of sweltering fun before my main adventure in Vietnam. (Seriously, it was in the 90s °F and relative humidity in the 80s. Boo-hoo!) I'd never been to Taiwan before, so didn't have many expectations. I was delighted to find that it reminded me of Japan in many ways — especially cartoon characters and general cuteness, some