Taiwan for Culture Vultures
Taiwan for Culture Vultures is an iPhone travel app that was written by author Steve Crook. I contributed a number of photographs to it (27) and it’s now available for $2.99 from the App Store for iPhones and iPads. Here’s the press release that went out with it.
Taiwan for Culture Vultures, a new downloadable travel guide published by GuideGecko, is aimed at visitors intrigued by Taiwan’s fascinating blend of cutting-edge modernity and centuries-old tradition. Users of the guide are saying it opens a door into a society that is one of Asia’s most distinctive, but which often leaves visitors who can’t speak Chinese baffled.
Author Steven Crook, who has spent most of the past 20 years in Taiwan, expects it to be the first in a series of electronic guides about the island for visitors and expatriates. “Taiwan is such a fantastically diverse destination that hikers, foodies and eco-tourists also deserve tailor-made guides,” he says. “I decided to begin with cultural attractions because travelers have told me that’s an area they need special help deciphering what they see.”
Taiwan for Culture Vultures is available for iPhones and iPads and priced at US$2.99.
“Electronic platforms have several advantages over traditional printed guidebooks. In addition to being very inexpensive, because there are no printing costs, they are of course lighter to carry, and they’re updated, corrected and expanded very often,” he says. “As a writer, I’ve appreciated being able to avoid repetition. Instead of having to explain who a particular person (or deity, in the case of temples, or ethnic group) is each time he or she is mentioned, I simply link to one of the background articles.”
Currently the guide features 95 places of interest, among them museums, temples, churches, parks, and other landmarks. Taiwan’s key cultural and architectural attractions, notably the National Palace Museum, Taipei 101 and Tainan’s Confucius Temples are featured – as are many lesser-known but just as fascinating attractions.
“I decided to include several places I feel have been neglected by English-language travel writers,” says Crook. “At Ten Drum Culture Village, visitors can enjoy performances that are modern yet draw heavily on folk traditions, and which have won international acclaim.”
“Also, I have included some places – such as Houtong Coal Ecological Park – which opened too late to be included in the conventional guidebook I researched and wrote in 2009-2010.”
“I really think there’s a good mix. There’s plenty for those who want to learn about and appreciate traditional arts. If they want a more outdoorsy experience, they can head to the Old Mountain Railway Line. Those with environmental interests will enjoy the new Magic School of Green Technology.”
Screenshot of the National Palace Museum entry.
Entries average 250 to 300 words with between one and four photos, giving users an in-depth introduction to each site. In spring 2012, the guide will be expanded to cover at least 120 sights.
“I researched the guide by combing both English- and Chinese-language sources, in addition, of course, to visiting each spot at least once,” says Crook. “Many of the details I’ve included don’t appear in any of the major English-language guidebooks to Taiwan.”
Crook is the author of three books about the island: Keeping Up With The War God (2001), Dos and Don’ts in Taiwan (2010) and Taiwan: The Bradt Travel Guide (2010). Links to many of the hundreds of articles he has written about Taiwan can be found at: http://crooksteven.blogspot.com
