De-lurk: Tell me what brings you here

Dear silent reader,

I would be happy, if you comment below and tell me what brings you to my blog regularly. You can comment anonymously or not, whatever you choose, it's fine to me. Just tell me what is it that makes you return here either daily or occasionally, I'm just curious about it. I've noticed that I have some regular daily visitors coming to my blog from Taiwan, USA, Canada, Russia, Malaysia, Germany and Slovenia. Of course there are many occasional visitors from countries like Singapore, Philippines, France, UK, Australia, Mauritius and Japan. And I'm sure also from elsewhere, I just can't track everybody, because I have on average about 500 visits a day, sometimes even more.

I'm very happy about everybody, who loves to frequent here, that's something that keeps me going. I'm sorry that lately I'm not very productive on this blog, but that's because I'm busy with many things. But wait till I come to Taiwan, I'll have a lot to blog about for sure. Hopefully you won't get tired of me.

So, once again, I ask you: What brings you here regularly? What do you like to read? Is it because of me or is it my content? Whatever you write or reveal about yourself and your reasons, I'll be happy to read, because I'm very curious. And remember: You can comment anonymously, if you want, you can comment in German, Slovenian, Chinese, I'm fine with it.

I'll work hard to provide good posts in the future,

all the best in 2011 to all of us.

Your MKL

Another day lost

But I have to keep going...

Today I made a mistake and couldn't get a document. I lost a day, some money and I was home late, but most of all I was almost losing my nerves, I was holding back tears. When I came home, I was so beat up, I just fell into bed and had to take a nap. I couldn't chat with my girlfriend. I felt terribly sorry. It's always hard for me to miss a chat session with her, because I miss her every day. I missed her a lot today, but I was so weak. Tomorrow I need to try my luck again. Guess I will be very busy this month, but I can't help it. I underestimated the time and cost of this dance with the bureaucracy. Frankly, I'm a bit scared now, because almost every week I get some new information or someone tells me I have to come another day or go to a different office. It sucks. But I'm focused on her, I want to be with her as soon as possible. I'm looking forward to Friday, they say we'll have sunny 11 degrees. And another busy week will be over, I can finally sleep longer and get some rest. Wish me luck.

My Kafkaesque experience with the bureaucracy

Moving to another continent is not easy

These days I'm very busy. I'm totally focused on getting my documents translated and verified, so I can move to Taiwan and tie the knot with my sweet girlfriend. Although I had the feeling, that things won't be so easy, I'm surprised how complicated it is to get 4 documents translated and verified. I keep getting different information everywhere I go and every time I come to a new office they say I've done something wrong. The only good thing is, that it gets fixed that way. It's a very slow progress and at this point I still don't know when I can step off the plane and set foot on Taiwanese soil. I'm now somewhat half way through, but the expense is bigger than I expected and it's more time consuming, because I have to do 3 times more things than I was told initially. And most of them can only be done in the capital city, which is over 2h away by train. Once I have all my Slovenian documents translated to English and verified by our courts and ministries, I need to submit them to the Taiwan Trade Office in Vienna (equivalent of an embassy) and when it gets verified there, I can apply for visa. After I get that, I can finally travel to Taiwan and tie the knot with my cute girlfriend. Of course it doesn't stop here. Once in Taiwan, I need to translate everything to Chinese and verify again (and pray that they don't say something's wrong with my documents). Then and only then I will be able to marry my Lily and live in Taiwan with her. I do feel stressed sometimes, not only because I feel like Joseph K., but because it's a long and cold winter and a lot of time has passed, since I've been together with Lily. I miss her more and more by the day. It's about time we meet in Taoyuan, don't you think? So please, my Kafkaesque bureaucrats, work faster, I have a plane to catch and a woman to marry.

House Hunters International are looking for expats in Taiwan for a TV show

Do you want to be part of a show?

Sometimes I get emails from various people and companies asking me to write about their product or let them guest post here. I usually decline. But yesterday a TV producer from America got in touch with me by sending me the following email, which I agreed to publish here, because I won't participate in the show, but I'd like to help her (see the video above to get an impression of the show). If any of you would like to join, read through the email and check the details I provided at the end:

Dear MKL,

I found your details on your blog, I hope you might be able to help me with my strange request!

I am a Producer working on a television show called House Hunters International which follows English speaking expats in their quest to purchase a house abroad. I am hoping to find English speaking expats to profile who are living in Taiwan. I wonder if you or any of your expat contacts might be interested in getting involved?! Please find a little blurb about the show below:

House Hunters International is a half-hour program currently airing on the Home and Garden Television Network (HGTV). The program is a spin-off of the popular House Hunters and has spent the last several seasons exploring the idiosyncrasies of buying real estate in other countries. HHI is about a personal journey of discovery and the making of life-long dreams.

The series is designed to de-mystify the international home-buying process by going behind the scenes of a house hunt where buyers and their real estate agents tour 3 homes. At its core, House Hunters International is a travel show concentrating on the idiosyncrasies of the locales and what makes them special and different. A great deal of effort will be made to capture rich visuals and to provide sequences where viewers will be exposed to local vistas, traditions, lifestyles and architecture.

Please get in touch if you have any more questions about the show. I look forward to hearing from you!

Best wishes and many thanks,

Michelle

So if you're an English speaking expat in Taiwan and looking for a house, get in touch with Michelle. Her email is: MichelleJames[at]leopardfilms.com. Good luck :)

Would you participate in such show?

Mark Zuckerberg spent New Year in Taipei, the capital of Taiwan!

OMG! Mark Zuckerberg wants to be like me, part 2!

Some of you might remember a post I wrote a while ago, about how Mark Zuckerberg, the co-founder of Facebook, wants to be like me? Remember when I said he's white, blonde, has a thing for Asian women, is dating a Chinese girl by the name 陳, which is exactly my girlfriend's family name? If you haven't read that post, check it here. Many of you were skeptics at that time, among them nobody less than the most famous Malaysian travel blogger FuFu:

I wasn't even shocked, when he became Time Magazine's man of the year (I on the other hand became Jong Magazine's Man of The year). That was of course an easy guess, since both of us have transformed internet this year, so duh. But something else seriously baffled me today! You won't believe it, when I tell you where Mark Zuckerberg spent this New Year. He spent it in Taipei! Of all the places he could fly to with his private jet, from the Caymans to Mauritius, he went to Taiwan with his girlfriend (I would not be surprised, if she was Taiwanese, too) and was seen on various famous spots around Taipei. One of them was the Huaxi Street Night Market with the famous Snake Alley (See the snakes getting killed). Look at this photo and my photo on the right:

This photo is circulating around the net in Taiwan.

I was there! And suddenly he was there, too!? Do you think this is merely a coincidence? Are you really that naive? Of course he's reading my blog and thinks I'm cool, there's no other explanation for this. I'm sure he saw my Best Taiwan Blog 2010 Award, checked all my Taiwan posts and said to himself: »Wow, Taiwan is so cool. And he had so much fun in Taipei. That's awesome. I have to go there for new year!« And then he probably called his girlfriend Priscilla to show her my blog and said: »Babe, look! This guy is so awesome. Check his Taiwan posts. How about we go to Taipei for New Year?« She checked my blog a little and then most likely said: »Hon, we gotta see Taipei. It's uh-maiz-ing! OMG!«

I have to say I feel honored not only that he's trying to be like me, but also that he's reading my blog and using it as a resource for traveling. Mark, have you tried the snake soup or snake blood? I havn't... so I guess you haven't, too. How about frog? I have. I'll be soon in Taiwan, so when you come next time, we can go to some smaller night markets, where all the paparazzi would never expect you. I'll treat you some tasty bubble tea. Deal? ;-)

Btw, I even heard that he's trying to learn Mandarin (just like me!)... Are you even slightly shocked now? I think, if you follow my blog, you're not. If you're new here, pick up your jaw, it dropped on the floor. Now I have solid proof that Mark Zuckerberg, the co-founder of Facebook wants to be like me. Frankly, I am a bit puzzled about all this, I mean he is a tad bigger celeb than me. I feel very honored, though ;-)

Photos of Mark Z. circulating on the web (by Taiwanese): Photo 1, Photo 2, Photo 3
Articles about Mark Z. in Taipei (in Chinese): Liberty Times, Yahoo! Tw News, UDN.com

Related: [VISIT TAIPEI!][My TAIWAN page]

Let's tear down some walls

So long, best year of my life!


This is the biggest wall I ever made. Hope it'll last for decades.

What a year this was for me. A year of travel, love, new horizons, new food and new adventures. A year of many ups and few downs. A year of work, saving and enjoying. I've seen all of Taiwan and Slovenia this year, went on a trip to Macau and Seoul, toured Vienna twice, saw Bratislava, Trieste and Gorizia for the first time. I helped replacing the old roof on our house, we worked on it for 3 weeks. I constructed 3 walls in our basements and helped to pave a 10m long road near our house. I was lucky to buy me a new laptop, which helped me to blog faster and easier. In the end I even won a blog award with the help of my awesome friends. Looks like everything was somehow paying off this year. I wasn't already there where I thought I'll be by the end of 2009 (read my resolutions), but I'm happy how things turned out. I have never thought I would see Seoul and Korea so fast, I never thought I would go on such a big road trip with my girlfriend and have so much fun. There are so many more things I have not anticipated this year, too many to list them here.

So what's next in store for me? I have no idea. I have plans, hopes and dreams for next year. Moving to Taiwan and tying the knot is not something you do every day. And I hope I can have a good career and a happy harmonious life. Although I love adventures, I need a peaceful environment, where I can retreat. And in recent years it's been too much back and forth, so many travels and changes, it affects me. I need to find my base and hope that will be in Taiwan. I enjoyed my life the way it was, 5 intercontinental trips in 5 years, living in Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan all together for a year has given me so many new perspectives on life, has broadened my horizons the internet could never do. I love it, when you guys read my travelogues, but my posts could never really give you that atmosphere, that feeling, when you're somewhere in rural Malaysia in a house of friendly Chinese, who cook for you and make you feel special. Or the feeing to walk in a tropical jungle or to dine on top of a super tall skyscraper with your loved one. How many times I arrived and parted in these past years. I connect tears of joy and tears of broken hearts with airports, I love and hate them. Yet, I can't live without them. It's for me hard to live without my laptop, but even that you can take away from me. But don't take away from me the ability to hop on a plane and end up on the other side of the world the next day. My life's a big journey.

I was never sitting on a pile of banknotes, I always invested them in my trips, which were fueled by my hopes and dreams. Maybe next year that will change, but I think only a little. I'm very eager to see Japan and more of Taiwan. But I don't push myself anymore. Whatever will be, will be, I just hope it will be good. You can't really plan a whole year, you can only hope that some goals you set for yourself will be realized. If it's 50%, it's already more than you could dream of. Don't have too many expectations, but don't be aimless. Don't try to push yourself too hard, but don't lack passion. Embrace a new year with all it's dangers, challenges and possibilities. Don't regret a single thing, a mistake, a quarrel, a mishap. The year will pass too quickly and soon you can make it better in another year... and then another... and another.

Thank you everybody, who went on this journey with me the past year (and the past 5 years). It will never be the same again - it will be different - but that doesn't mean it will be worse. I am now 30, experienced and wiser (or that's what I hope). Sometimes I miss the 24 years old me, who had no idea how the world really looked like. I'm not sure, if I am that much happier now, though. But we can't stop ageing, we can't stop the world from changing. What we can do is make sure, that we adjust our pace to its pulse and hope for the best.

Happy 2011, everyone! Let's tear down some old walls.

PS: I've got another award: Blogger of the year by Netster.

This year just doesn't stop surprising me. Thanks so much, bro. I'm speechless.

A Taiwanderful interview with me

Best Taiwan blog award 2010 winner

Check the interview with me on Taiwanderful.com. I'm answering questions regarding my blog and Taiwan in general. You'll get to know me a little better, in case you are one of my new followers.

Happy 2011!