A Taiwanese couple is embarking on a cycling trip that will take them to four continents in 30 months to promote the centenary of the Republic of China (ROC), Taiwanese products and environmental awareness.
Lin Hsiau-kai (林孝鍇), 37, and his girlfriend Yen Yi-hui (顏怡慧), 27, began their 55,000km trip on Wednesday by flying from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to Bangkok, Thailand, where the cycling began. They plan to complete their trip in October 2012.
“Ever since I was a high school freshman in 1986, I’ve dreamed about taking this trip and it has finally come true, but the road is long and there are big challenges ahead, “ Lin said in an interview at the airport.
During their journey, they will cycle across Southeast Asia, Oceania, Central Asia and Europe, before flying across the Atlantic Ocean to the US and then Japan, the final stop.
Lin, who worked at the technical department of the Cloud Gate dance troupe with Yen before the two quit their jobs, said this has been a dream of his since he read about the story of Hu Jung-hua (胡榮華), the first Taiwanese to cycle around the world in the 1980s, and was greatly inspired.
He said, a coincidence made the trip possible.
“My landlord told us a couple of months ago that we had to move out because he had decided to sell the apartment. I thought about taking a break from work before coming up with the idea to turn the break into an around-the-world cycling tour,” Lin said.
He thought this year would be a good time to make the trip because preparations are getting underway to celebrate the ROC’s centenary next year and cycling is a good way to promote awareness of climate change and alternative energy.
Yen joined without hesitation even though she has no previous cycling experience. Lin has been a cyclist for a long time, cycling across Australia in 1996. Yen said she wanted to go out and see the world, and cycling is just one transportation option.
Yen and Lin said they would like to dedicate the trip to the ROC, which was established in 1911, as a birthday present to the country.
“I guess we’ll be somewhere in Australia on Jan. 1, 2011, to celebrate the first day of the centenary. And maybe we can get married on Oct. 10, or National Day, somewhere in Europe,” she said.
Lin drew up the travel itinerary after consulting an experienced cyclist, who advised them which countries to avoid.
The pair will cycle between 60km to 120km on average each day, Lin said.
With a budget of about NT$2 million (US$63,000), Lin said, the trip would not be possible without the sponsorship of several local bicycle companies, which provided them with bikes priced at NT$200,000 each, and the assistance of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which asked for support from Taiwan’s overseas offices.
Cloud Gate founder Lin Hwai-min (林懷民) also encouraged the couple to make the trip and made a donation of NT$100,000.
“Mr Lin jokingly told me that I would have to pay him the money back if I give up,” Lin Hsiau-kai said.
A certified historical sites guide in Taiwan, Lin Hsiau-kai said he believes that he will be able to share Taiwan’s stories with foreigners and “show Taiwan to the world” during his trip.
“About 90 percent of our equipment was made in Taiwan. We would like to tell people these products are very well made in Taiwan,” he said.
Cycling is an ideal way of travel, Lin said, because it makes connecting and communicating with local people possible.
Looking ahead to the trip, Yen said the place she would like to visit the most is Lijiang (麗江) in China’s Yunnan Province, because of the difficulty of the route, which is 2,800m to 3,000m above sea level.
However, Lin Hsiau-kai said it was very possible that the trip would turn out differently than originally planned because of weather conditions, accidents and various situations in different countries.
“We might have to change our plan along the way, “ he said.
No matter how the trip turns out, the couple said they plan to document their dream trip every step of the way via photographs and videos. They also plan to regularly update their blogs and Facebook pages to keep in touch with friends and family.
The first leg of the trip, which began on Wednesday and ends on April 28, will take them from Thailand to Malaysia and Singapore.
After that, they will travel to Australia and New Zealand, as well as making stops in China, Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus before entering eastern and central Europe in the second half of next year.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
A pro-Russia hacker group has launched a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack on the Taiwanese government in retaliation for President William Lai’s (賴清德) comments suggesting that China should have a territorial dispute with Russia, an information security company said today. The hacker group, NoName057, recently launched an HTTPs flood attack called “DDoSia” targeting Taiwanese government and financial units, Radware told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). Local tax bureaus in New Taipei City, Keelung, Hsinchu and Taoyuan were mentioned by the hackers. Only the Hsinchu Local Tax Bureau site appeared to be down earlier in the day, but was back
PROXIMITY: Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location, the Executive Yuan official said Taiwan plans to boost cooperation with the Czech Republic in semiconductor development due to Prague’s pivotal role in the European IC industry, Executive Yuan Secretary-General Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said. With Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) building a wafer fab in the German city of Dresden, a Germany-Czech Republic-Poland “silicon triangle” is forming, Kung said in a media interview on the weekend after returning from a visit to Prague. “Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location,” he said. “Taiwan and Prague have already launched direct flights and it is