Well, even Taiwan is now more environmentally progressive than the US.

About 10,000 convenience stores in Taiwan will join an environmental push by withholding disposable chopsticks from hordes of customers used to getting them with take-out meals, Reuters reports.

From next Wednesday in Taipei, and by July 1 on the rest of the island, four convenience store chains will give out the wooden single-use chopsticks only on request. Taiwan's small restaurants also will be encouraged, with the enticement of saving money, to phase out disposable chopsticks, claiming that "conservation is getting to be mainstream" and that it shouldn't be an issue.

Conservation efforts are happening elsewhere in Asia. For example, China banned production of ultra-thin plastic bags in May and activists in Japan are pushing for a reduction of wooden chopsticks, which are already made from recycled chips. I travel with my own chopsticks anyway, so it would be a non-issue for me.

I wish conservation was "becoming mainstream" in the US. I think the minute Americans get "forced" to carry reusable chopsticks or forks for take-out lunch, there might be riots in the streets.

[via Asiaone]

Believe it or not, China and Taiwan held their first formal talks in 10 years and, productively enough, decided to allow direct weekend air travel between the two destinations as a result, BBC reports. Previously, direct flights were only allowed during four holiday periods each year. Otherwise, travelers had to fly through Hong Kong or Macao.

The weekend passenger flights will begin on July 4 and there will be 36 flights each week, with China and Taiwan operating 18 flights each. From July 18, each side will also allow in 3,000 tourists per day - a move that triples the number of mainland Chinese who will be allowed into Taiwan.

How progressive! China must really want to attract as many people as possible for the Olympics...

Sex and the City was the hot topic the summer between our two years living in Taiwan and our two years in India. I saw it once at a friend's house when I stopped over in Albuquerque for a few days visit. I liked it, but nothing I couldn't live without. I was jet-lagged anyway. Two years later, I saw one more episode. Friends we were visiting in Pochetello, Idaho had TiVoed it---something else that was new phenomenon in the U.S. cultural scene.

Five years after that, there I was last night with two of my women friends at the opening night Sex and the City event at Drexel East, one of the independent movie theaters in Columbus, Ohio. One friend was wearing a black dress. Since living overseas has made me totally out of tune with what to wear on many occasions, and I don't travel in glamorous circles very often, I wasn't paying attention to my attire. Plus, this was a back to back event--the first event was the end-of -the-year potluck at my son's elementary school. With ten minutes in between the two, I had on a very nice T-shirt, black jeans and a pair of new shoes that fit into casual nice. Ooops.

I was all caught up with the Sex and the City storyline, however, thanks to videos and cable television. It used to be that living overseas meant huge chunks of popular culture were totally gone. It wasn't a terrible loss, but there were movies I hadn't seen, or events that happened in celebrity-ville that I wasn't privy too. There were some conversations at parties I couldn't join in. No loss really, but it was clear who had been living a life out of the American mainstream.

Although, finding deals are still on our minds (poor Iva in Moscow is having little luck), food and drink has been one topic of interest this week.

• Iva, for example, has found some solace in the vodka. She's discovered loads of it, and all brands are not the same.
• Aaron has clued us into saying good-bye to free peanuts--even though they cost peanuts-- and has told us where the best places to drink in 2008 are located.
• Tynan was wined and dined at the Lalu Hotel in Taiwan and found out that while staying in luxury you can eat vegan.
• Kent shared the advantages of a two-day trip to San Juan, one being eating Mexican food overlooking the ocean, Must be tough.
• But, if you want to know what it's like to work on an organic farm, ask Jerry. He has first-hand experience. It sounds tough. Check out part two tomorrow.
• I'm the one, though, who knows all about White Castle hamburgers, and I'm proud of it.

Have a great last half a weekend in May. Sunday is June 1. Hope you find something yummy.

To fully experience Taiwan's natural beauty, there's one destination that is universally praised: Sun Moon Lake.

It's the largest lake in Taiwan, and is so beautiful that Chang Kai Shek, Taiwan's first president, built a house there to vacation.

In 1997, after an earthquake destroyed his house, the lot was purchased and after five years of construction Taiwan's only six star hotel, The Lalu Hotel, was built. Shortly after it joined the ranks of Design Hotels, a premiere group of international boutique and luxury hotels.

I recently had the chance to stay there for a few nights and meet with the manager of the hotel to get the full tour.

When, after waiting a full six months, the chairman received the blueprints from the architect, he was furious. They showed a very simple design with long straight lines and no curves at all. For what would become the best hotel in Taiwan, it didn't seem very fancy.

The chairman was calmed down and after some convincing agreed to build the hotel according to the blueprints. The result, as it stands today, is a building which relies on high quality materials and workmanship, rather than gimmicks or fancy veneers.

This attitude doesn't stop with the architecture, but rather is echoed throughout the entire experience of staying at The Lalu.

Several botanical gardens are having Mother's Day events this Sunday. One of the advantages of going to a botanical garden, I've found, is that they usually have wonderful gift shops that are perfect places for picking up that last minute present.

If you've forgotten to buy your mother a gift, when she's not looking, perhaps, when she's basking in the fragrance of a floral paradise, slip into the shop to buy her a little something. Since the wedding season is upon us, pick up a wedding gift as well. Here are the first 10 botanical gardens I came across that listed a Mother's Day happening. Nine are in the U.S. and one is not.

(This photo is from a tribute to redbuds and mothers at the Children's Garden at the Cleveland Botanical Garden. My mom taught me to love redbuds too, so I thought this fitting.)

Every year when the temperature warms and the wind picks up, we buy a cheap kite to fly for a day or two before we get too busy to head to an open field. As an Earth Day Celebration, what could be more environmentally friendly than kite flying? Except, of course, for the gas to get to a place with wind and enough space.

Open fields are among the best places to fly a kite if you live in an urban area. Think the middle of a high school track for one option. Look out for power lines, though. Kites and power lines are not a good combo. If you live near a coast or a large lake, head to the beach. Other places to consider are fields in city parks.

One thing I like about kite flying, once you have a kite, it's free. It's also participatory. What a great way to join in with humanity in environmentally friendly fun. Here are suggestions--some based on personal experience, what people have told me, or in this article, "The Ten Best Places Around the World to Go Fly a Kite":

One of the more interesting aspects of living in another country, I think, is going to a cultural event that is not part of ones own culture or the culture of the host country. In each place I've lived, there have been people from other countries who are also transplants who have brought aspects of their own cultures with them. Such was the case with the Passover Seder I went to at the American Club in Taipei. I'm not Jewish, but a good friend that I taught with in Hsinchu is, and she asked if I wanted to go.

The American Club was merely the location of the event. One didn't have to be an American to go, or a member of the American Club. There were Jewish folks from all over the world. If I hadn't been living in Taiwan, I wouldn't have had this experience--not because there haven't been Seders that I could have gone to before this, but because it's so easy to become routine in ones habits. Living overseas gets one out of the routine and, at least to me, opens up other possibilities for cultural exchange.

With Passover coming up, April 19-27, I was reminded of this experience. Here's a Web site of the Chabad-Lubavitch where you can find Seders to attend all over the world, as well as, a variety of activities and info about Passover. The International Seder Finder lists 2,000 Seders. This link leads to descriptions of the cultural significance of each of the foods shown in the picture.

The fortune cookie isn't the only food that is not authentically Chinese. There are others--some I knew about just because many dishes served at Chinese restaurants in the U.S. didn't originate in China, or if they did, have been altered to suit American palates. Most of the Chinese food I ate in Taiwan or Singapore didn't look or taste similar to the food we pile on our plates at the China Buffet near our house in Columbus, Ohio. Although, it is a perfect place to eat with young children, unless you're Anthony Bourdain, and, in that case, the food barely resembles food at all, authentic it's not.

Back to Chinese food that didn't hail from the "old country" meaning China. In this photo essay, Jennifer 8 Lee, New York Times reporter and writer of the book Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food, presents info about food related items associated with China, but they aren't really Chinese. Broccoli, for example, is not Chinese. That broccoli-chicken dish is an American version, although broccoli has made its way to Taiwan. I imagine there's probably an altered American/Chinese version there. I don't recall. I was too busy stuffing my face with other dishes.

Lee also knows a lot about what is Chinese culture and not Chinese culture about other food related topics, such as food containers. Cardboard cartons for Chinese take-out were created and popularized in the U.S., but Taiwan has a love affair going with Styrofoam. Environmentally friendly habits are not Taiwan's strong suit. I do know that from experience. The few details presented in the photo essay, besides making me feel a bit hungry, put me in the mood for checking out Lee's book.

If you have 21 days between now and May 15 and August 20 through December 1, Cathay Pacific Airways has the All Asia Pass that gives travelers a chance to visit Hong Kong and up to four more cities in Asia. Prices range from $1,099 with two additional cities; $1,399 for three cities, plus Hong Kong; to $1,699 for the four cities and Hong Kong. With San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York as departure cities, you could probably snag an inexpensive flight to any of them if you plan early enough.

If I were going to take advantage of this ticket, I'd head to Vietnam, Thailand, Taiwan and Cambodia. The first three, because I've been to each of them and have people I'd like to visit. Cambodia is a place I'd love to go. None of them are far from each other which would help maximize my time in the countries and not going from place to place. In Vietnam, I'd head north to Sapa, a place I haven't been and see friends in Hanoi. In Thailand, I'd spend a day or two in Bangkok and then head to a beach somewhere. Taiwan would mean revisiting places I liked when I lived there, particularly Beipu and eating all the food I've missed since I left. Cambodia would mean new discoveries.

But, since as with most great travel deals, the summer is excluded and that's when I would have the 21 days to spare, I can't take advantage. Hopefully, others can. Except for Taiwan, it's possible to travel in the other three on a shoestring. Hong Kong is good for a day or two, but I'd head to cheaper locations ASAP.