Comprehensive Health Exam in Taipei

I recently underwent a comprehensive health exam in Taiwan. This is something that many people go to countries like Thailand or Malaysia to do, but I opted to do it in Taipei. If you are looking to get it done, here are the links for popular international hospitals in Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur. The one I went to was called Cathay and is located in the Da'an area of Taipei. 

HOW WAS THE BOOKING PROCESS? 

It was easy to book. I put my information in an online form and less than 24 hours later, someone emailed me in English to talk about the procedure. There were a few things which were a bit different, like usually they send you the stool sample kit and you have to print out the paperwork and fill it out ahead of time. However, my contact was fine with me doing this during my appointment instead. I did provide her with some basic information like my name and passport number, and she got me an appointment right away. Two things to note: first of all, I did this about a month before I was going to be in the area, and second I did need to change my appointment date later, and she did it quickly and easily. 

Also to note: I asked about a colonoscopy, which was an option as an add on, but they do require someone to be with you to take you home, and they do not provide this service. My understanding is that some places in Asia will provide a service for this, or you can often get a medical transport. I decided to skip it in the end, since a fecal test was part of the overall exam. 

HOW WAS THE CHECK IN PROCESS? 

My appointment was at 8 am, and I arrived around 7:45, and the waiting room was already quite busy. However, there is a line of attendants, similar to a valet area at a hotel, that come up to you as you walk in, get you seated and check you in. For me, since I had not filled out the paperwork in advance, I had to do this. One form was only in Mandarin, but an attendant sat with me and helped me fill it out. The rest were in English. 

I did have a slight complication that will likely not pertain to most, and that is that I had just finished menstruating the day before, and they required that you have three days afterward for both the pap smear as well as the urine test and one of the blood tests. After talking about this, we decided to schedule those exams the next week, and also she gave me my stool sample kit and said I can bring that back next week as well. 

I also discussed with them where I wanted my final results. Normally they send them by mail, but since I would not be around, they said they could email them. However, they could not do this with the imaging, and so normally this would come in a mailed CD. I told them I would rather pick up the CD myself, and we decided that I would do this at my next exam, even though it would likely mean about an hour wait after I was finished with everything. To be honest, I don't have a CD drive on my laptop, so I will have to wait until I go home to be able to view them anyway, but I felt it would be good to have the information if needed. 

After that, I got an electric wrist bracelet with a number on it, and was sent to the locker room to change. Your wristband activates your locker and it is needed for each exam to check into that particular test. The outfit you wear is a two piece sweat suit and normal indoor sandals like you would see anywhere in Asia. You have to take off everything but your underwear and change into the outfit. You have to leave everything in the locker except for your phone. As I was leaving the locker room, the attendant gave me a vest in case it was cold, and I am glad she did, because often the waiting rooms were pretty cool. 

Wristband

The only photo I have of the outfit
(I do love those Asian toilets though!)

HOW WAS THE EXAM PROCESS? 

Basically for each exam, your attendant tells you where to go, you go there, the next attendant tells you where to go, and you go there. There were three different floors where the exams were done. Often this involved a few minutes of sitting in the waiting room before they called me into the next exam room, but they had massage chairs in the waiting rooms so this was fine by me. 

Each time, they verified my name and birthday, then I would scan my wristband in for that particular exam. I would say that for the most part, either the person spoke a little English, or they were clearly pointing me toward the attendant that did. In each particular exam room, the examiner spoke enough English to communicate with me, if not more. The order that it went in was thus: 

9:00 am. Blood draw. The first thing I did was a blood draw, where they took a few vials of blood from me. 

Eye pressure test. They did a rudimentary eye exam (with my contact in) and then did the air pressure poof test that you normally get at the optometrist. Later they also took photos of the eye to measure eye health etc. 

Weight height body fat. This was the one where you hold the two "guns" to determine body fat. I had actually read that a DEXA scan was one of the tests and thought maybe the body fat would be with this, but it was only for bone density in the end. 

Abdominal ultrasound. This was nice as the gel was kind of warm. I wanted to ask the guy for a full body massage but I thought that would be rude. 

9:30 breakfast. Finally I was able to have breakfast, and coffee! They had a nice coffee machine with espresso, as well as soy milk and black tea. This is all included in the price of the exam.

Breakfast

Hearing test. This was one where you sit in a soundproof room and have to click the button when you hear a sound. 

Eye imaging/photos. As discussed above. 

BP and HR. This was kind of like the machine they have at CVS. 

X-Rays: Abdominal x-ray (lying down), Chest x-ray standing up, Lumbar x-ray, Cervical x-ray. 

Mammogram. This was pretty much the same as always except you don't get a gown, you just whip off your top and go stand next to the machine. 

 

DEXA scan. As discussed, for bone density, only scanned the pelvic area. 

Grip strength test. On this you get a little squeezy thing, and you have to squeeze as hard as you can, then you do the same for the other hand. It was all in kg, but my understanding is that my numbers were good. 

Stand sit test. I will admit that this one was a bit confusing as I did not understand that they point is to do it as fast as you can. You have to go 5 x up and down and you are timed. I did okay, but I think I could have done it faster. What? I am not competitive! Okay maybe I am. 

ABI Test. For this you lay down and they put BP cuffs on both arms and both legs. A few minutes later you are done. 

Doctor manual check. A real person examines your your chest, back, and palpates your abdomen, neck, and back.

 

EKG. Lay down, put on multiple stickers, two minutes later, remove stickers and leave.

11:10 am. Now I was done, but since I did not have to do the full exam panel today, I was finished a little early. They told me that the doctor would go over my results but that it could take about an hour for him to be available. I decided to have lunch then, even though at this point, it had not been that long since breakfast. I figured I may as well take advantage of the food before I left though. I lingered over my lunch and finished up around 11:50, and I went into the waiting room to wait for the doctor. 

Lunch

This was actually great, as I sat in the massage chair and read my book while waiting and it was quite relaxing. Around 12:25 pm, the doctor was ready and I sat down with him to go over the results. The doctor spoke perfect English, went over my results with me and answered any questions I had. Just a note though, none of the imaging was ready yet, so he did not go over any of that. Also, as noted before, I did not do the stool or urine samples, so I don't know if that is something that would have been ready in this consultation or not. 

Waiting for the doctor

By 12:35 pm I was out the door and headed home. But wait, there is more! What happened the next week? Well, you may have already read my DITL post, but if not, here is the rundown. 

DAY TWO:

8:30 am: I arrive at the health center, and head one floor up to the second floor to check in. The first thing I do is give my stool sample to the attendant. She takes my stool sample, and gives me a urine sample tube and my paperwork and sends me to the 3rd floor. 

Urine sample - very efficient system

8:45 am: I head to the toilet to take care of my urine sample right away, as the coffee has kicked in! The set up is quite easy; you get a little cup to pee in, which you then have to transfer to the tube, and then you leave the tube in an overall container in the restroom. That takes all of five minutes and I am headed to get blood drawn again. This time it is only one vial and the process is quick and painless. 

Leave the sample here

9:00 am: Blood draw done! I head to the 4th floor for the gynecologist. I can happily say that this was the best gynecological appointment that I have ever had. No joke. First I waited in the waiting room for about five minutes. They called me into the little room, sent me behind a curtain to take off my pants and underpants (while they were still in the room), then I sat in the fanciest chair I have ever seen. Unfortunately I did not get a photo, and I cannot find it on the internet. Picture a massage chair, but where you sit has cups for your two thighs. Now the doctor pushes a button, which raises you way up, leans you way back, and the chair opens your thighs for you. I won't go into more detail about that, but it was pretty impressive. They did a regular exam and an ultrasound, but all in all, I was in and out (pun intended!) in less than six minutes. 

Waiting room

9:10 am: I am finished, and I go back to the waiting room to wait for my imaging CD to be ready. 

10:03 am: I get the CD and I walk out the front door. 

SOME NOTES ON COST COMPARISONS:

The prices for these exams vary depending on your age, gender and how many tests you want to have done. For example, at Cathay, you can get a basic package and then add on a la carte items and it could be a bit cheaper depending on which extra items you choose. At the Bangkok facility, I have quoted the basic woman package, but there are more involved ones as well that cost more, and they also have over 50 etc. options, which usually get more expensive as the age increases. 

Bangkok Bumrungrad Female over 40 - 37,350 THB / $1,200 USD

KL Prince Court Female over 40 - 1,650 MYR / $421 USD

Taipei Cathay Standard All Day Exam - 19,800 TWD / $638 USD

You can definitely get all of these done cheaper in each of these places. However, the facilities listed above cater more to an international crowd, have English speaking doctors and attendants, and make the process a lot easier for a foreigner. So, if you want to DIY, you definitely can, and that could bring down the prices significantly for the same exams. However if you want an easy one stop shop with someone holding your hand most of the way, these facilities can't be beat. From what I understand also, the facilites in Bangkok and KL also give you ALL of your results the same day. 

I know you are wondering how much this would cost if it was done at home. Well, this depends. Normally insurance covers most preventative checks, so things like the pap, mammogram, and some blood panels may be free. However, from what I can find, depending on your insurance and what was covered, this could cost anywhere from $500 - $2500 in the US. However, it would likely not take one day, and could easily be 3-6 days of tests and going to different facilities depending on your carrier. 

There are also "executive health checks" in the US, UK and Canada, where they take you around all in one day, and these could run anywhere from: 

US: $1,500 - $15,000

UK: £1,295 – £1,795+ (~$1,600–$2,200 USD)

Canada: CAD $1,695 – $3,595 (~$1,200–$2,700 USD)

Oh and you are wondering what my results were? I have yet to receive my full report, but the preliminary results are good. I have high cholesterol and always have, and the funny part is that the doctor said I should "exercise more and eat less fried foods" which made me laugh, as I had just done an 800 mile bike ride around Taiwan and don't really eat fried foods. No, unfortunately my Dad has it and my Grandma has it and exercising a lot and eating healthy have not really helped matters much. I am not at the point where I need medication, but I am above the normal range. 

I also have a very low HR and blood pressure (my normal HR is around 44, BP is often in the 100/60 range), which have also always been the case, and have actually kept me from donating blood before (along with low iron). 

Other than that, I am interested to see what the imaging shows, but due to the Lunar New Year, the offices are all closed this week, so the results, which usually take 7-14 days, will take about a week longer than normal. 

A COUPLE OF LAST NOTES: 

I do have insurance. I have both US insurance that would cover preventative care, as well as international insurance that covers any emergencies or regular (non-preventative) doctor's visits. So I could have gotten the preventative items done in the US, but like I said, this could have taken me several days to do and I would have had to coordinate several different appointments to do it. I also thought it would be a fun experiment to see how things are done in other places. I am your guinea pig. 

I think many people think that in other countries, the medical care is worse than in North America or the UK, but I have not found this to be the case at all. Like I said, the equipment in Taiwan is top of the line, there are people who speak your language, and the process could not have been smoother. I have also been to the dentist abroad and it was great, I had surgery in Türkiye and it was smooth and efficient, and I have had to go for minor check-ups in several countries and have been happy in all cases. Actually for the most part, it is often cheaper abroad with no downgrade to quality. 

Have you ever had a comprehensive health exam? Would you consider going to a different country to get a health check? Have you ever had any medical procedures done in a different country and if so, how was it? 

Twenty Questions (E15): A Day in the Life

Recently Engie reminded me that I have not done a Day in the Life post in quite some time! Last year, I only did one when I was in Lyon, and in 2024 I did one about my day as a bikepacker.  As I am getting close to my 20 year anniversary and the end of my 20 Questions series, I decided to do this as a 20 snapshots of a day in my current life! 

Also, Happy President's day to those in the US! Tomorrow is Lunar New Year, and this week in many Asian countries, people have the whole week off. To all those celebrating, 恭喜發財 Gong hei fat choy, 新年快乐 Xīnnián kuàilè, 새해 복 많이 받으세요 Saehae bok mani badeuseyo and Chúc Mừng Năm Mới!! This year is the year of the horse, which is my year! Here is what that means for me. 

Horse: energetic, independent, charismatic, and quick-thinking, with a love of freedom, movement, and new experiences. They thrive on travel, change, and forward progress, and often feel restless when life becomes stagnant. When their zodiac year returns, it is not always lucky, and it can bring heightened change, personal transitions, and major turning points, especially around identity, career, or lifestyle. This is a year to stay grounded: wear red for protection, avoid impulsive decisions, manage financial risks carefully, focus on health, and balance ambition with humility. It’s not a year to hold back—but to move forward with awareness rather than impatience. 

Sounds about right! I guess I need to wear my red panties every day (my only red item). 

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A Day in the Life

Tuesday, February 10, 2026

Taipei, Taiwan

6:30 am: My alarm goes off. I get up, go downstairs, and put the kettle on. I brush my teeth, put my contacts in, and go to the kitchen to make coffee. Today I have the final few exams of a comprehensive health check. I did 75% of the exams last week, but I was not enough days past menstruation, so they wanted to do the gynecological exams later. Luckily I do not have to fast like I did last time, as I need coffee! I drink two cups in rapid succession as I prep for my day. 

7:00 am: Since I will be very close to people today, I decide to take a quick shower before heading out. Normally I shower in the evening, or right after my morning workout, but I don't want to embarrass myself at the doctor's office. I never used to have stinky pits, ever, but lately my flora has definitely changed, and not for the better! I shower and dress, grab my daypack, and put my jacket, water and snacks in it, as I will be going for a hike after my exams. I also put my stool sample in my bag, double bagged for safety, and head out the door. 

Waiting for the bus

7:30 am: I have about a seven minute walk to the bus stop, where I catch the bus to the clinic. The bus system in Taipei is quite good; when you get on and off, you swipe your transit card (called the Easy Card), and you can use Google Maps to get around quite easily. The only issue is that a couple of times, the bus has come a few minutes early! However, this time I make it there before the bus, and I flag them down to stop. I get on the bus and get a seat and turn on my audiobook. I am listening to Life is a Lazy Susan of Shit Sandwiches, which is good enough, but I am really only half listening as I stare out the window, watching the different neighborhoods go by. I get off the bus, and have about a 10 minute walk from the stop to the clinic. 

Health Clinic

8:30 am: This visit is a lot easier than the last. I will do an entire post about the comprehensive exam later this week, as it was quite extensive. I arrive at the health center, and head one floor up to the second floor to check in. In Taiwan this is the same "2nd floor" as it is in the US, rather than it being called the "1st floor" like it would be in Europe. The first thing I do is give the stool sample to the attendant. It is pretty efficient; when you walk in, if it is busy, you get in line at a desk for check in, but if you are early or it is not as busy, there is a line of "greeters" who come to you and you get your own personal check in person. My check in person takes my stool sample, and gives me a urine sample tube and my paperwork and sends me to the 3rd floor. 

Urine sample - very efficient system

8:45 am: I head to the toilet to take care of my urine sample right away, as the coffee has kicked in! The set up is quite easy; you get a little cup to pee in, which you then have to transfer to the tube, and then you leave the tube in an overall container in the restroom. That takes all of five minutes and I am headed to get blood drawn again. I say again, as I did a huge draw last week, but the draw they are doing today could be affected by hormones which is why they waited to do it until this week. 

Leave the sample here

9:00 am: Blood draw done! I head to the 4th floor for the gynecologist. I can happily say that this was the best gynecological appointment that I have ever had. No joke. First I waited in the waiting room for about five minutes. They called me into the little room, sent me behind a curtain to take off my pants and underpants (while they were still in the room), then I sat in the fanciest chair I have ever seen. Unfortunately I did not get a photo, and I cannot find it on the internet. Picture a massage chair, but where you sit has cups for your two thighs. Now the doctor pushes a button, which raises you way up, leans you way back, and the chair opens your thighs for you. I won't go into more detail about that, but it was pretty impressive. They did a regular exam and an ultrasound, but all in all, I was in and out (pun intended!) in less than six minutes. 

Waiting room

9:10 am: I am back in the waiting room. For all of the exams I have had done in the last week, they will send me all of my results via email, but the imaging must be put on a CD, which will take about an hour to produce. I sit in the waiting room and read blog posts while I wait for it to be done. 

10:03 am: I get the CD and I walk out the front door. I am headed to a hiking area that is nearby, since I figured that since I had already taken the bus this far, I may as well hang out closer to this neighborhood a little before heading back. The trailhead for the hike I am going to do its about 3 km or 2 miles away from where I am now. I start walking. 

10:11 am: Given that I haven't had breakfast, I am getting a tad hungry. I stop at 7-Eleven to grab some snacks. In Taiwan 7-Eleven is more prevalent than Starbucks, as in, you can be walking down the street and in a one block walk, you may see three of them. The cool thing is, not only do they have snacks, but they have entire meal kits, and the clerk will microwave them for you if you like. They also have a spot to sit and eat inside. However, today I am going to eat and walk, so I grab my favorite on the go snack triad: the rice triangle, a pastry, and a milk tea. 

10:32 am: I walk past a dog park. It is cool; they have it segregated into large dog (over 9 kg / 20 lbs) and small dog (under 9 kg / 20 lbs) areas. They also have a bench, so I sit on it to have a snack and drink my milk tea. 

Big dogs go here

10:51 am: I walk past a fruit market, and make a pit stop to grab some snacks for the hike. I get a few mandarins and two large carrots for about $2.00. I put them in my backpack and continue. 

The dragonfruit were tempting me

10:58 am: I arrive at the trailhead for the Elephant Mountain hike. This is about 1 km straight up, but once you get to the viewpoint, you can see Taipei 101 in the near distance. It is a very popular hike, especially on the weekends and at sunset, but since today is a Tuesday, I hope it will not be too busy. I start climbing! 

11:24 am: I get to the first viewpoint at Elephant Mountain, and it is a good one. I futz about, take a few photos and continue on. I am headed on a hike called the Five Yuan hike, which goes to five different peaks. The area I am in is called the Four Beasts, and the beasts are the elephant (Xiangshan), lion (Shishan), leopard (Baoshan) and tiger (Hushan), which are each a hill, and I will round it out by doing a fifth, which is called Jiuwu. Most people only go to the elephant, so after I pass that, there are a lot less people. 

12:06 pm: There are a lot less people, but there are still a lot of stairs! I get to the first peak, Jiuwu, take the obligatory photo, and carry on. 

Taipei 101 from Jiuwu peak

1:54 pm: Despite the stairs, it is a nice hike, through lots of greenery and past temples and shrines. It is so strange to think that just a couple of hours ago, I was in the middle of a bustling metropolis! I arrive at Tiger peak and admire the view. 

2:02 pm: I get to Leopard peak, which has a good view and no other people at the viewpoint! 

2:17 pm: I arrive at Lion peak, and am done with the four beasts! This one had the least exciting view of all the peaks, so it is kind of a less than exciting conclusion! However, I am happy to nearly be done and I head back down the hill toward the elephant peak to complete my circuit. 

2:42 pm: I arrive back at the trailhead where I started, check the bus schedule and head down to the nearest bus stop. The entire hike ended up being about 5 miles or 8 km. Here is the link to the route that I took. Since I have about 10 minutes until the bus comes, I go to 7-Eleven for a post hike drink. I try a new-to-me drink, guava juice, which is a little too sweet, but it is still nice to have something cool to drink after the hike. 

3:05 pm: I am on the bus. However, I did not realize that the bus I am on doubles back on itself, and I am on the bus going in the wrong direction. I get off the bus, and get on the one going the right direction! Normally if you stand on the proper side of the street you are good, but this one does a loop, so both buses (going west and east) stop on the same side of the road. It is not normally like this! 

3:55 pm: I get off the bus, walk through my "local" park, which is called 228 park, and is a commemoration of events that happened in Taipei on Feb 28. That takes me into the Ximen neighborhood, which is a hustling bustling pedestrian avenue with plenty of shopping during the day and a night market in the evenings. 

Ximen

4:05 pm: I stop at Watsons (like CVS) to get tampons and to check out their face masks. My friend's daughter L, who is 11, loves face masks, and I thought she may like one from Taiwan. There are way too many, and as a person who does not use face masks, it is a bit overwhelming. Luckily a clerk points me in the right direction (and likely upsells me a bit, oh well) and I am on my way. 

So many face masks!

4:20 pm: I am "home!" And I am hungry! I make a big stir fry in my one pan (don't get me started on this!) with cauliflower, tofu and noodles, and I sit down to eat while watching an episode of Outlander. I normally do not have Netflix, but this Airbnb has it, and I am taking advantage! 

5:20 pm: I finish my episode, put a load of laundry in, and finally sit down to catch up on some blogs, reading, travel planning, writing etc. As is often the case, I do a little research, make some notes, but don't really finalize much. I am trying to make some plans with a friend for August, so I do a bit of research about that. I am also still trying to decide what to do about my licensing, and like I said, am dragging my feet about it. 

7:56 pm: I take out the laundry, hang it up to dry, and sit down to do my Spanish practice. I have been trying to do roughly a half an hour of lessons, a half an hour of reading, and around 5-10 minutes of YouTube 3-5 times per week. I found this fun video of kids songs, which I have been working my way through. Just wait, before you know it, you'll also be singing along....los pollitos dicen pio, pio, pio, quando tienan hambre, quando tienan frio!! You know you want to sing along! 

9:10 pm: I do my daily game routine of Rummikub, Sudoku (I am getting better! I was only doing the easy one; now I am sometimes doing the medium, hard, and even expert ones fairly quickly) and Octowordle. 

10:06 pm: I set my alarm for 1:00 am, because they are releasing World Cup tickets at 12 pm ET and I am going to try to buy some. I put on a podcast, set the sleep timer to 15 minutes and fall asleep in about four minutes. 

So there you have it, a day in the life in twenty blurbs!

Where is the last place where you had to take a bus? Have you ever had a comprehensive health exam? Do you have any videos en español that you would recommend? What zodiac sign are you? 

TGIM

The high of the last week was: Watching the Superbowl! I had to get up today (Monday) and go to a bar at 7:00 am to do it, but it was so fun. I am not a huge American football fan, and I prefer the Niners over either of the teams that were playing, but it was so nice to have a taste of home. I love traveling, and seeing other cultures and trying to learn languages, but dang, sometimes it is nice to have people around you who you can talk about San Francisco burritos with! 

The low of the last week was: I am still struggling to get into a routine this year. I have been working out a bit here and there and have been getting some admin things done that need to be done, but I don't feel motivated to really dig in deep. I made a list of daily tasks a few days ago and I am checking them off each day in order to try to get my habits on track again, but it has been difficult lately. 

Something I marked off my to-do list was: I started looking into whether or not I am going to keep my professional licenses. If I do want to, I need to pay and do a bunch of continuing education by March 15, which kind of has me dragging my feet. I have been putting off the decision and I got a little bit closer (but still have not made the jump yet). I also got a bunch of travel planning done for April and have made forward progress on some plans for August as well. 

The book I am reading is: I just finished Nicole's book Inhale, Exhale, which I enjoyed (I will not spoil it by saying any more than that!), and I started What Kind of Paradise, which I am liking so far as well. I am on a reading roll at the moment! 

The best thing I spent money on was: I paid the final payment for the Alaska cruise, after rerunning the price and getting it for about $700 cheaper than the original price (pro tip: always double check the price of your cruise before paying in full, as they will honor lower pricing). So it was still a big chunk of change, but hey, I am happy that I can now buy $700 worth of drinks instead. Just kidding! 

Plans for this week include: This week I will complete my comprehensive health exam (I did about 75% of it last week but still have a few tests left to do), I have two meetups scheduled and I plan to do a couple of hikes! 

My favorite photos from the last week is are: 

Street art in Taipei

Artistic manhole cover

Liberty Square Archway

Lunch at health exam clinic

What good book have you read lately?

What I Learned, Looking Forward, Looking Back: January 2026

I know that for some, January was a cold and bleak month, but I was lucky to be in a place where that wasn't the case. After spending the holidays with family, I set off again, this time heading westward from home. It didn't start without a bit of adventure though, as the day I left, flights were being canceled right and left due to the conflict with Venezuela, and the airspace was closed over the Caribbean. My flight was delayed, then delayed again, then canceled. The wait time on the phone for an agent to figure out what do do was eight hours. I tried the chat, but as they often are now, it was a bot, and it was not very helpful! I got onto another flight, which was also delayed, then delayed again, but finally I made it out of the country! I ended up spending about 10 hours in the San Francisco airport. 

Pro tip: don't take no for an answer. When I got to the airport, despite not needing to check a bag, I stood in line for an agent. I asked him if he could put me on a different carrier, since the only other flight on my carrier (Delta) was the next day. He told me that with my 30 minute layover in Seattle, even with the delay, I was "going to be fine with the connection," aka, I would make my next flight. I was highly doubtful, so once I was inside the airport, I went to another desk with a real person and was put on a direct United flight, which is what I would have wanted anyway. Unfortunately this flight was also delayed and I ended up getting in about 4 hours later than I would have originally had things gone according to plan. 

The other saving grace was the lounge access I have on one of my credit cards, which I have been trying to decide the value of, but you can't put a monetary value on the ease of being able to hang in the lounge with food and WiFi and drinks and a nearby toilet while the world is going crazy outside. It's the rough times that show you who your real friends are and what things have more emotional value than you may have realized before. So, without further ado, here's January in a nutshell. 

Please copy and paste the questions at the end and add your answers to the mix! 

Where was I? Taiwan

1. What is the name of your last month's chapter or the theme of your last month if you prefer that? 

January: Devouring the Sweet Potato

Taiwan is known as "the Sweet Potato" apparently due to its shape, and/or the fact that sweet potato plants are resilient, as are the Taiwanese people. In January, I rode around the entire island, mostly around the edge, eating my way around each city one by one. 

2. What did you learn last month? 

I learned that Taiwan is called the Sweet Potato. I learned that dragon fruits are a cactus looking plant. I learned that I don't really like asparagus juice but I love milk tea. I learned that the kanji for "cold" looks kind of like a puppy dog to me. Woof.

3. What was the weather like where you are? 

It was quite nice! Mostly around the 70s f / 20-25 C but sometimes a bit cooler, and a few days of rain and high humidity. However, mostly pretty darn good! 

4. What event last month was your favorite?

It's hard to say but I did enjoy the night markets in Kaohsiung, as well as a hike I did there, which I found randomly but really enjoyed! 

Kaohsiung Liuhe Night Market

5. What was the best thing you read, listened to or watched last month? I got off to a a rough start and did not finish my first book until January 11th, but due to the bike ride, which meant LOTS of audiobook time, I caught up on my reading goals a bit and there were some good ones! However, none of them WOWED me, but I think my mood is just not in a "wow" mood right now, so I gave no 5 star reviews in January.

Book: Homeseeking by Karissa Chen, which I started during the cruise in late November, but finally came back to and finished, and am glad that I did. 

Movie/Show: I binged the last few episodes of Grey's Anatomy. I know its basically a soap opera, but what can I say, I still enjoy it after all these years. 

Podcast: Lives Less Ordinary on the BBC, where real people tell interesting tales, like this one, where a man accidentally finds his birth mother in his local bakery. 

6. Tell us one funny recent story. 

I got attacked by a monkey! I was in the Taroko gorge and I had just ridden up to a little village and I sat down to have a drink and a snack and before I knew it, a monkey was running up to me. I stood up to get away and he hopped up onto me and tried to get my food. For some reason, I resisted, as if saving my food was important, and he went away. However, two minutes later he was back, and I put my food behind my back to keep it away from  him and a different monkey came out of nowhere from behind and snatched it right out of my hand. It scared the bejeezus out of me and I screamed like a little girl! 

This is not the monkey that attacked me, but it is the same type.
(Formosan Rock Macaque) 

The funny (?) thing also is that I just watched Outbreak a few days before that and after the monkey took my food, I thought about how lucky I was that he had not bitten me or something! There is a scene in the movie where a little girl is feeding apples to the diseased monkey and it puts you on the edge of your seat, I tell you! 

7. What are you looking forward to this month?

I am looking forward to the Lunar New Year, and to settling in a bit in one place, to going to a couple of meetups, finding some good hiking trails and eating more great food! 

Your turn! To copy/paste, highlight the text below and click CTRL-C, then put the cursor in the comment box and click CTRL-V.

JANUARY:

1. What is the name of your last month's chapter or the theme of your last month if you prefer that?
2. What did you learn last month?
3. What was the weather like where you are?
4. What event last month was your favorite?
5. What was the best thing you read, listened to or watched last month? 
6. Tell us one funny recent story. 

FEBRUARY: 

7. What are you looking forward to this month?

Bonus question! What is the longest amount of time that you have ever spent in an airport? 

Twenty Questions (E14): Dear 20 Year Old Self

I am sure you have looked back at your life at some point and thought, "why didn't I do that differently?" I am not saying that you regret it, but maybe you see how young you were at the time and you want to give your 20 year old self a little advice. I polled readers about this and today I am going to give their answers along with some of my own. My question to you is...what advice would YOU give your 20 year old self if you could? And do you think your 20 year old self would take it? 

1. Lisa said: Worry less. Enjoy having complete control over your time. 

2. Ernie said: Chill out- it’ll all work out. Family can be the friends you choose to surround yourself with. And maybe select a career path or look into getting another degree so you have a fall back plan. 
 

3. Melissa said: People won't think less of you if you get things wrong some of the time.

4.  Diane said: I think it would be "Keep doing what you're doing."  Also - "Save for retirement." 

5. Nance said: Please relax and don't be so hard on yourself.

6. Tobia said: Love your body. Enjoy being young. 

7. San said: Stop trying to please other people, you can't please everyone.

8. Stephany said: Start an emergency savings account, even if you can only put $10 a month in it!

9. Kat said: Go to a different grad school, probably closer to home! I went to one several states away in a city where I knew no one and it just wasn’t the right choice for me at the age of 21. I floundered! And that affected my confidence and trajectory for a long time, unfortunately. 

10. Suzanne said: Connection is the source of so much joy and comfort. You will never regret nourishing the relationships with people in your life. 

11. Nicole said: Go for it!

12. Elisabeth said: You're not doing anything wrong. This feels hard because it is hard. 

Thanks ladies! These are all solid pieces of advice! I am still trying to follow some of them even now! Here are a few that I would tell my 20 year old self. 

Australia - Great Ocean Road
(with a real camera!)

13. Reach higher than you think you can. Despite being a know it all sometimes, I lacked confidence in myself in certain things. I applied for colleges partially for financial reasons, but I should have found what I wanted (Berkeley) and figured out what I needed to do to get there. Ironically I had really good grades and may have even gotten in, but at 17, I did not think so. And even at 20 I probably did not try hard enough to get what I actually wanted. 

14. Be more appreciative. I was always a polite child, but there have been some people in my life who have gone out of their way to do things for me, and I am not sure that I properly was thankful to them at the time. 

15. Call your mother! I have always had a good relationship with my Mom (she may beg to differ re my teenage years!) and I did have regular contact with her in college, but I am sure that no matter what day it was, or time it was, she would have been happy to hear from me more. I can't imagine what it is like to have a person you are used to seeing every day, who has been living in your house, who you have been responsible for for so long, suddenly be miles away, doing their own thing, not "needing" you. It is probably hard, and I did not recognize that then. 

16. You are beautiful. I used to wear a t-shirt over my swimming suit at the beach. I was embarrassed of my body, of people seeing it. I did get over that slowly, but I never considered myself good looking and always felt there were things that could be improved. I have gotten used to myself, and am happy to have strong legs and a nice smile, but back in my 20s, I did not appreciate my body. I see teenage girls even now talking about how they need to go on a diet, and it makes me sad. They are beautiful too, and I wish they could see what I see. 

17. Being right is not that important. I agree with Melissa. We all make mistakes; that is what makes us human. My way is not always the right way, and being wrong or doing something wrong is not the end of the world! However, some of the mistakes I have made have helped me learn, so I guess in some part, we have to go through each of the steps to get to the end. 

18. The world is huge; go out and explore it! I think 20 year old me would like this piece of advice. But I don't just mean go somewhere and party and act like a loud American. I mean see it, and learn from it, and be part of it. 

19. Be more patient. I am not patient. This is one I am still working on. But perhaps if I learned to be more patient when I was 20, I would be more patient now! I like to have a purpose or a goal. I walk fast; I like to get things done in a timely manner; I hate waiting for things, or people. However, in the last several years, I have learned the joy of a good book, or just staring at the sea from time to time, or sitting with a coffee just because. 

20. Keep a journal. I do have a lot of things written down, and I have kept some sort of written record (or verbal sometimes) of things, but I do sometimes wish I had more information about certain times of my life. I am often very factual in my records, but I wish I could remember more about my emotions at certain times. My Mom and Grandma are and were very good at this, but I could do better! 

So there you have it; now it is your turn! Which one of the above pieces of advice resonates with you the most? What would you tell your 20 year old self if you could, and do you think your 20 year old self would take the advice? 

2025: A Year in 12 Chapters

In 2024, after Elisabeth's great idea to name each month with a chapter, I decided to do a recap of the year, aka, my book for the year and it was titled 2024: A Year in 12 Chapters. I enjoyed it so much, that I kept on the tradition, and now we have it, a new year, new book! 

January: Baguettes and Many Steps

I spent the month of January saying goodbye to friends in Germany, and then continuing on solo to France, where I spent a a few days in Strasbourg enjoying the canals and medieval architecture (and the pastries!) before going to Dijon for a month. In Dijon I walked the Owl Trail, and enjoyed more bread and cheese before heading to Lyon, where I stayed for a month. Lyon is a great city and has a fascinating history, including the silk industry and the Lumière brothers, who pioneered the film industry. There are also some great river pathways, fun street art, and of course, more pastries. I met up with a language group and even butchered some French a few times, which was a jolly good time. Oui! 

February: In Like Minnesota; Out Like Hawaii

After Lyon, I did a bit of whirlwind travel. I went to Krakow for a week, learned more about the German invasion, toured the ghetto and Auschwitz, and walked from the ghetto to the Schindler factory in the freezing cold, imagining what it would have been like with scant clothing and little body fat. I tried zurek (soup) for the first time, ate lots of pierogies and wandered around the old town. I then went to the Netherlands, and stayed with friends in the little town of Leiden, where we rode bikes (naturally), drank coffee and beer, and enjoyed walking around the canals. We then all went to Brussels together, drank more beer, saw the manequin pis, and there I had my first French taco at a place called O'Tacos (I guess they are Irish French?), which has French fries in it! I should clarify that this was really pretty much a panini kind of sandwich and was nothing like a Mexican taco, but it was not that bad if you close your eyes when you are eating it. I went to Seville, got cursed at by the cleaning lady, ran on the river pathway and got glared at by the locals. I then headed south to the Costa del Sol. 

March: Wet and Wild

I stayed on the Costa del Sol for a month, in an apartment right on the beach, and had a great time taking daily walks and runs along the promenade. It was a great chance to rest and rejuvenate. The only issue was that there was a period with a ton of rain, which caused massive flooding in the area. My favorite part was when my Dad and Broski came to visit, and then also separately, but kind of at overlapping times, my uncle and his friend came. It was a lot of fun showing them around, having dinner, eating crappy paella (yup, we did that) and teaching my uncle how to use his phone while abroad. We also went to the Caminito del Rey, which was a lot of fun. After my uncle left, my Dad, Broski and I went to Gibraltar and Granada before they headed to the airport. My favorite of all these places was probably Granada. The Moorish influence is stunning and the tapas are delicious, plus they have mountains nearby. It is on my list for another visit for sure, but not in summer, as I hear that they get over 100 degrees then. 

April: My Life is in Ruins, and Beaches Too

The entire month of April was spent in Türkiye; first I spent a month in Antalya near the beach, and this led me to realize that as much as I enjoy swimming and water sports and looking at the waves, I am not really a beach person. Luckily nearby there were mountains, and I joined a hiking group for some fun forays out of the city. Afterward, I hiked the Lycian way along the Turquoise coast, which was beautiful.

May: Al Fresco

The beginning of May was also spent hiking, and it really was different than anything I had done before. The water was so blue and the coastline (and trail!) so rocky, and you are often hiking through ruins, like right next to them! I ate lots of cookies good food  and drank Turkish coffee and ayran and thoroughly enjoyed myself. However, I was glad to be done, and afterwards, I moved on to Cappadocia, where I explored cave churches and looked at balloons. I made my way east by taking the Dogu Express, a long distance train that goes across the country, and went overland to Georgia, where I had a great time hiking in the Caucus mountains before heading to Tbilisi. 

June: Tales as Old as Time: The Christianity and Wine Versions

I spent a month in Tbilisi, and have I mentioned that Georgia is definitely a place I would go back to? The city is surrounded by hills, there are tons of opportunities for running, hiking, biking and there is so much good food and wine. Also the history of the area fascinates me and the age of some of the history is even more staggering. You can easily get to the mountains and I even did a "day trip" to Yerevan, Armenia, where I spent four days checking out old churches and wine (when I wasn't in bed with food poisoning, that is). 

July: Quick and Dirty: the Baltics and the Balkans Adventure

After spending a month in Tbilisi, I was ready to move fast again, and off I went. I spent a week each in Riga, Vilnius and Poland (Warsaw and Wroclaw, where I met up with Tobia!), and really enjoyed the old and different (and colorful!) architecture, the river walks and the food in all of these places. I also was fascinated to learn more about how each of the countries were affected by the USSR and also how they each got out from under the Soviet's thumb. They each have different languages and customs and food, so it is very interesting to see what similarities they have as well as which differences. Also, I rented a bike in both Latvia and Lithuania and had a great time exploring on two wheels. I even went swimming a few times. Afterward, I flew to Podgorica, Montenegro where I began the next leg of my journey, the Peaks of the Balkans hike. 

August: The Dark Tourist

I spent 8 days hiking the Peaks of the Balkans through Montenegro, Albania and Kosovo, then I headed to Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia for some dark tourism. Just kidding, but apparently that is why a lot of people do go there, and there is a lot that has happened in these two countries! The Sarajevo siege, the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, the start of WWI, the Ottomans, the Austro-Hungarians and Tito and the communists! There is a lot to unpack. I also went to Romania where I was fascinated to hear about how all of these things affected them too (minus Tito, but they had Ceaușescu) but differently! For example, Romania has a huge Germanic influence, and much of the architecture and names of places reflect this, yet their language sounds more like Italian, and they don't use the Cyrillic alphabet (whereas Bosnia and Serbia use both, and Bulgaria uses Cyrillic!) 

September: Recharging The Batteries

After all of that moving, I was ready to settle down, and I picked the perfect place (for me) to do it, a small mountain town in Bulgaria called Bansko where nothing happens in the summer (it is a ski town), but the trails are made of dirt and the creeks are flowing and the mountains are just outside your door. I rented a bike for a week, made friends with the locals, did a bike race, found a running partner and some hiking buddies and had a great time. I met up with some fellow nomads, ate lots of meat, drank delicious wine and finally got some reading done. I loved it. 100% would go back. This month went by entirely too fast. 

October: Blown Away

I have a friend who I have not seen since 2009, but we kept in touch and I kept telling her I was going to come and see her in Scotland. Finally I kept my promise and I had a great time hanging out with her and her family, before I hit the road (literally) for a bit of hiking in the highlands. I loved it. I chose October to avoid the midges and, well, there were none! It was a tad cold, and there were some rainy and very, VERY windy days, but all in all, the countryside was beautiful and the IPAs were delicious, although very low in alcohol for some reason (the highest I saw was 5% whereas an IPA in the US could be closer to 9%). After a few weeks of hiking, I came back to gather up my stuff and say a last goodbye before heading to the Lake District in England, where I did some, you guessed it, more hiking! 

November: Baby, It's Cold Outside

Once again, I was a little tired of being on the move every day (literally) and so I was happy to have a 10 day rest doing some housesitting where I ate, caught up a little on some admin stuff, and pet the cat. I also explored the Peak District a bit. Then I headed to Snowdonia, Wales, hiked Mt. Snowdon and then spent some time with Rachel and the kiddos. Rachel was kind enough to let me use her bike and bags so that I could tackle the ride across Wales, called the Lon Las Cymru. I did it, but it was cold (17 degrees one morning) and there was snow and ice! However, I went through some charming little towns and rode on some tiny little roads, and it was great to see the countryside from the seat of a bike. Before I knew it, I was back at Rachel's house, showered and changed, and then on the train headed for the airport to go to Barcelona and my repositioning cruise. The first seven days of the cruise consisted of stops in Cartegena, Malaga, Cadiz, Gibraltar, Casablanca and Funchal. 

December: (Not So) Calm Seas

The sea! The last eight days of the cruise consisted of sea days! I wasn't sure if I would like this or not, but I did not mind it a bit. It was nice to get a routine going, do a daily walk and not feel like you had to see everything at whatever stop you were at. Before I knew it, I was in Florida, on the beach, with Jenny! We walked around looking at street art in Miami before Jenny drove me back to my hotel, but not before taking me grocery shopping (thanks Jenny)! The next day I was on a flight home, and being picked up by Broski to head to Monterey for some otters, seagulls and time with family. It was so nice to just hang out, walk, play games and spend time together. I then went and spent a couple of weeks with my parents, enjoying their company, packing, looking at Christmas lights and getting ready for the next leg of travel! The year ended with some time helping Broski clear some stuff from the garage, and a quick meet up with Julie, and I brought in the new year with K and the girls. All in all, it was a great year! 

Epilogue: if this sounds like a lot of stuff, it is. Of course, I am not driving kids to and fro to soccer practice, or going to a 9-5 every day, but in my own life, I definitely am working on finding a routine, or a balance, because although the last couple of months were great for example (I saw people! I did things! I learned stuff!) months like the month of September need to be more frequent. It gets tiring always planning the next thing, or being around people a lot, especially when there is an expectation of quality time and FOMO and guilt, so there needs to be a balance. I am still working on how much of each thing should be included and for how long, but this is definitely one of the pivots that I talked about in my recent What I Learned post. 

So I ask you for help again. Have you been to a place in the world, anywhere in the world that fits this criteria: public transportation, near mountains with hiking and/or biking trails (that ideally you could walk to), small enough town that you can walk to most things (like 8,000 - 25,000 would be ideal), and a running, hiking and/or biking community. Cherry on top if the produce is fresh and not too expensive, and also I would like to have a grocery store within walking distance. Whipped cream if there is an airport within three hours by bus or train. I don't have to speak the language per se but it would be nice if there were a few people who speak English. Anywhere in the world, now....GO! 

What did your 2025 book look like? What chapter or month was your favorite?