Thinking of heading to Taipei

[FrancaisDeutsch]

Originally Posted by Tomboy-

Are you learning traditional or simplified Chinese characters ?

And also, can Chinese learners tell which one is more popular in your country?

I intend to learn traditional characters.

I think that most people learn simplified characters in the US.

Thank you for your post.

[Tomboy-]

I see.

Most Chinese learners in countries with official diplomatic relations with China learn simplified characters , pinyin and China's Putonghua pronounciation.

[FrancaisDeutsch]

Originally Posted by Tomboy-

I see.

Most Chinese learners in countries with official diplomatic relations with China learn simplified characters , pinyin and China's Putonghua pronounciation.

I will be learning the opposite: traditional characters and bopomofu (with some pinyin at times mixed in to speed things up lol).

[Hal Roach]

Originally Posted by FrancaisDeutsch

I do like the Taiwanese accent.

Not a big fan of the Australian accent.

I agree. There is still a huge British influence in Australia. Pleasant to talk to, but loaded with slang.

[jackierudetsky]

Will be going there in December myself.

[FrancaisDeutsch]

Originally Posted by jackierudetsky

Will be going there in December myself.

That's great!

I am not sure if I will be making it there or not this autumn. I really want to, but I am thinking of going other places: Peru, Eastern Europe, India, etc. Too many fun places to try out.

Best of luck on your trip!

[Hal Roach]

China Air (do not confuse with Air China) might get you from JFK to CKS pretty cheap. Might be a good alternative to Hong Kong or even Bangkok.

[FrancaisDeutsch]

Originally Posted by Hal Roach

China Air (do not confuse with Air China) might get you from JFK to CKS pretty cheap. Might be a good alternative to Hong Kong or even Bangkok.

Thank you so much for this tip. Very nice of you.

It will be a long flight for me, coming from the East Coast of the US. It looks like 15-16 hours non-stop.

[madrone2k]

Interestingly (to me, at least :-) the nonstop flight times to Taipei from either JFK or Houston are the same; the return flight to Houston is 1 hour shorter, though.

I've flown to TPE twice from LAX, which reduces the flying time by about 2 hours, each way, compared to Houston. If I go again, I will try flying to TPE from Vancouver, BC ... which is the shortest, ~12 hours going over and 10.5 coming back. That would save ~3-4 hours for either of us. Plus, Vancouver appears to have a decent hotel at their airport (that you can easily walk to) if you wanted to have a layover there.

[madrone2k]

Oh, and a friend from Australia likes to have a layover in Hawaii when traveling from Houston to Oz. From checking online, that doesn't seem to save much (if any) time if one wants to travel via Hawaii to TPE, though. And ... I think it costs a bunch more.