I want to share three stories from my time in Taipei that made me fall in love with Taiwan all over again.

A Wonderful Culture: Three Stories From My Visit To Taiwan

Taiwan is not at all like Mainland China. While the People’s Republic has cleaned up its cities, there’s a sense of fear that pervades the land. Internet searches are censored and individual rights must always give way to the collective good, as judged by the communist party leaders.

In Taiwan, there’s a sense of freedom that is starkly different than across the Taiwan Strait and it shows itself not only in the lack of censorship, but in the kindness of the people.

As I was walking through the city, I stopped at a shop (I don’t even know what type of shop it was…) where there was an older man sitting and watching the World Series game. He noticed I was watching and beckoned me inside. We sat and watched Freddie Freeman hit a game-winning walk-off home run in the 18th inning. He couldn’t speak English and I could not speak Mandarin, but he kept patting me on the shoulder and smiling as the game continued in extra innings.

A great solo travel tip spotted this week on Live and Let's Fly.