Mondo Taiwan - Links: Language Study, Weather, Tourist Spots

In Taiwanese, it's pronounced something like 'Hwee shiong Dai wan'

LINKS

(Last update to this page: 8/7/2002)

There are others out there who have their own websites with their own stories, their own opinions, and their own links related to Taiwan. Here's the thing that makes the web what it is: LINKS to these other sites. I hope you find many different things out there so you can generate an informed opinion and not just take my words without a grain (or two) of salt. I always like to say, "Question everything, especially this." Y'all come back, now!

PERSONAL PAGES

John Diedrichs' Taipei Homepage - Observations from a guy who's been here a while. It has pictures from around Taipei, "Scooter Talk," traffic stories, and lots more.

Monty Vierra: Taiwan Skeptic - UFOs and urine drinkers who claim it's good for your health. (Ha! You just thought it tasted good.) If this floats your boat, go there now!

David's Alternative View of Taiwan - Expat David Garside's letters/rants about "interesting or horrifying" subjects ranging from betel nut to electioneering to Hello Kitty to pollution to prostitution to stray dogs to traffic -- a lot of the same topics found on Mondo Taiwan.

Hall Houston presents the infamous "You know you've been in Taiwan too long when..." list as one segment of a very informative site which, for the most part, is about teaching EFL in Taiwan and elsewhere in Asia.

Learning Mandarin & TAIWANESE

Monkey Boy's Taiwanese Learning Online - "Monkey boy" is a cute term Taiwanese people call a smart kid with a lot of energy. There are lessons, an online dictionary, and (there used to be) daily news related to Taiwan and other things (Microsoft vs. Apple, etc.).

Taipei Language Institute - Whether you want to study the local languages (Taiwanese or Mandarin, at least) or simply extend your visa, these people will gladly accept your cash to do either.

Chinese Characters (Hanzi) - Genealogy, Dictionary, Readings at ZhongWen.Com - If you don't have the ability to display Chinese characters (Hanzi) on your computer, this is a good place to go to learn Mandarin. In addition to using the standard Pinyin established by the "commies" in the PRC (and shunned by Taiwanese in favor of whatever makes the least sense at the time), they have lots of Mandarin words in image form, so anyone with a browser can see them (even if you don't know how to read 'em).

Ocrat.com - Another site that has Chinese characters (Hanzi) in graphic form in case you can't display them on your computer. Also has some interesting and useful tools. One example is the form that will allow you to paste in a Chinese character (perhaps from a website) that you don't know how to pronounce, and it will give you the pronunciation in pinyin. Another is a Java application that will read the text of a Chinese text (Hanzi) file and turn it into GIF form so that you can at least see the characters even without the software or Chinese fonts. Incredible!

Pristine Lexicon - A free online reference tool for Chinese/English translation and language learning with over 120,000 entries and focusing especially on current news, proper nouns, technology, natural sciences and much more. Perform searches in Chinese (Big 5), English or Hanyu Pinyin. (That's their own description. Their site will probably give you a "cookie" which will only allow you 5 searches before you have to register with them to use it further. If you have any "cookie cutter" software, be sure to use it after visiting.)

Taiwan Radio Online - Whether you want to practice your Mandarin, Taiwanese, or "Taiwan Guoyu" listening ability or just enjoy the sounds "John Cage" style, you can hear either Hi Media NetShow Music Channel, Hit FM 91.7 FM, ICRT 100 FM (International Community Radio Taipei), Philharmonic Radio Taipei 99.7 FM, or Voice of Taipei via Javascripted links on this page. Requires Windows Media Player.

Taiwan FM - The above listing doesn't work too well for me on my "old" Mac (since I'm using an older version of RealPlayer and Windows Media Player doesn't function well), so this is an alternative source of Taiwanese radio. Categories include: education, Taiwan live, music, entertainment, and Taiwan news. While this page is in English, you can also see it in Big-5 Chinese here.

A-Kuei.com - As with the listing above, whether you want to practice your Mandarin, Taiwanese, or "Taiwan Guoyu" listening ability or just enjoy the sounds "John Cage" style, on this website you can see and hear Flash animations of the popular character "A-Kuei" ("Li'l Precious") who's featured in lots of local commercials. It's in Big-5 Chinese, but there are lots of graphic links for those whose computers can't display the text properly.

SEARCH ENGINES

YamWeb Navigator - English Search Engine It's called YamWeb 'cuz Taiwan is shaped like a sweet potato.

Yahoo! Taiwan - A Yahoo! specifically for Taiwan, in Hanzi (Mandarin text). (Big-5) Help! Yahoo! has! eaten! Kimo! and! now! they! can't! stop! sending! me! SPAM! Fuck! 'em up the ass with a red hot poker!

WEATHER REPORTS

Taipei (Northern Taiwan) Weather from the Weather Underground in English or Chinese (Big-5)

Taiwan Central Weather Bureau Click map on the left side of the page to display next day forecast, 7-day forecast, and current conditions for any part of Taiwan and outlying islands.

ICRT (International Community Radio Taipei) Weather Covers conditions -- including air quality reports -- for all of Taiwan.

Kaohsiung (Southern Taiwan) Weather from the Weather Underground in English or Chinese (Big-5)

ORDERING BOOKS

ChineseBooks - Like it says... (Big-5)

Book 4 U - I hope they have more than ONE... (Big-5)

RESEARCH

Taiwan Map Collection - A whole bunch of maps (navigational, relief, etc.) and links to other online maps from the University of Texas at Austin.

CIA Factbook Taiwan - The spies have all the info you could never have gotten your greedy little hands on legally without their murderous help. Hahahaha!

Taiwan Architecture - "Scholarly" stuff that overlooks the real ugliness. Propaganda brought to you by the Government Information Office of the ROC. Useful if you want to know why Chinese-style roofs are shaped like that.

NBCi.com's Taiwan Links - Several links to websites related to travel, and government affairs, as well as a Q & A board.

EFL in Asia - A collection of links to information about teaching English in Asia with specific info for each of 15 Asian countries. There are also online lesson plans and links to job boards. A good place to start if you're thinking about teaching English in Taiwan or elsewhere in Asia.

Taiwan...Uncensored - A small but interesting collection of links to things like dating services, pub guides, and the World Sex Guide's document of Taipei. Also very funny (because it's true for the most part) is the test for Taiwanese women to determine "Is your foreign boyfriend a loser?"

Taiwan Culture - The ROC Gov't Info Office page that "enlightens" on various subjects: kung fu, Chinese embroidery, macrame, cloisonne, brass, calligraphy, dance...

Stone Monkey Magazine - A site which contrasts greatly with the above "research" links. You can find cultural and social commentary (such as what you can buy at 7-11 and why you should buy it), dining tips, and toilet reviews on the Stone Monkey site. Entire issues can supposedly be downloaded as pdf files here, but all I saw was e-mail links.

THE I-CHING ORACLE

The I-Ching Oracle Whether superstitious or just interested in the workings of the I-Ching, here's an interesting page from the people at BlueMountain.Com. They have "free" greeting cards for many "Chinese" holidays. Just be aware that when you send one of these cards, an advertiser will then have yours and the recipient's names and e-mail addresses. Best to copy the nice images and Chinese MIDIs and make your own card.

Book of Changes - More about the I-Ching, this is some interesting shareware (only US$10) by Brian Kelley for the Macintosh computer. A description at ZDNet says, "This program is a version of the I Ching. For centuries, the I Ching has been used in China much the same way Astrologers use charts in Western Culture, to predict the future or offer advice about a course of action. You ask a question, and then throw three coins six times, recording the results, which generates a hexagram which is then looked up and interpreted, usually with vague results. While the surrounding ritual might be ancient and have cultural significance, on the face of it the idea that throwing three coins and looking up the results in a book to predict the future is just as ludicrous as the idea that the positions of the planets when you're born has something to do with your personality. If you're curious about the I Ching, then you might want to check out The Book of Changes."

TOURIST ATTRACTIONS

Tourism Bureau, R.O.C. - "Interesting" info -- albeit biased with that pervasive "everything is splendid" candy-coating (to help the medicine go down?). The pinyin spelling on this site SUCKS! It doesn't match the spellings used in Taiwan, nor does it seem to match any ONE form of pinyin, but if you have some idea about what your looking at, it is informative regarding admission prices, addresses (again beware of spelling!), hours of operation, and telephone numbers of places to visit in Taiwan. Website has Hanzi (Chinese text), English, and Japanese versions.

National Museum of Natural Science. - Located in Taichung, it's an interesting place to visit on the weekend, but there are no English explanations anywhere in the place. The museum includes a 3-D movie theater and an IMAX theater. Website has English and Chinese (Big-5) versions.

National Palace Museum. - Located in Taipei, this place is custodian of the "national treasures" taken from the mainland way back when. Main site in Big-5 Chinese. English site can be found here.

Taiwan Folk Village. - Located in Changhua, this is one of the places I visited on my first trip to Taiwan. Reopening once again in August, 2002. It's a nice way to spend a whole day learning about the culture and customs of Taiwan. Oh, and you can ride the Slam Bob, too -- if you dare!

Asian Photo Gallery - Taiwan. - A nice collection of photos dedicated to the more photogenic aspects of the island.

E-pinions - Taiwan. - Commentary -- mostly cheerily positive -- from previous and current visitors as well as long-time expat residents.

CIRCUS, CIRCUS -- AKA THE MEDIA
TELEVISION

Formosa TV (FTV) - If you want your news in Taiwanese (Hokkien), this is the station to turn to. (Big-5 Chinese encoding)

China Television Company (CTV) - According to their listing on Yamweb's English-y page about "Publis TV Channel," CTV "is an TV owned by KMT, Taiwan," who aren't sure which side of the Taiwan Strait they're on (physically and in their hearts) nor if they merely own a(n?) single television set. Well, they are cross-platform. They've got stuff to view (looks like) in Windows Media, Shockwave, Flash, RealPlayer, and QuickTime formats.

Public Television Service Taiwan - Kind of like PBS (they showed Vangelis, Jessye Norman, and Kathleen Battle's performance of "Mythodea" at the Temple of Zeus in Athens), but it's also often related to local subjects. If you're plopped in front of the tube, this is a nice place to take a break from the 24-hour "news" channels and foolish variety shows. (Big-5 Chinese encoding)

China Television Service (CTS) - Not to be confused with the "confused" CTV above. Detailed, latest news and current affairs, exclusive information on Open-Air-Education, popular variety shows, and introductions of dramas and films. (Big-5 Chinese encoding, and slow as a constipated snail crawling through molasses)

Taiwan Television Company TTV - Their website has realtime news, a station guide, and more. (Big-5 Chinese encoding)

ETTV - The station with the highest rate of feng shui, superstition, ghost, mysterious phenomenon, and other un-newsworthy news in all of Taiwan. Other than that, it ain't half bad. (Big-5 Chinese encoding)

RADIO

International Community Radio Taipei (ICRT) - Tune in to this station at around FM 100 on your dial (depending where you are and how many pirate radio stations are near you) to hear DJs who can speak English. At least they can do that.

Scoop Weekly - The magazine infamous for giving away the illegally taped Chu Mei-feng sex video on a VCD included with the magazine. (Big-5 Chinese encoding)

TVBS Weekly - Usually features a hottie in a bikini on the cover to get people to buy the magazine which is filled with gossip and lots of other useless garbage. Check it out! (Big-5 Chinese encoding)

Please let us know if any information here is inaccurate or outdated.

If you have any suggestions, comments, complaints, or criticism,

send them to us, or wither away in complacency ! ! ! ! !

MondoTaiwan($)mailcity.com

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