Company team-building activities are a fairly regular activity on the Dell calendar. One of the more community-spirited activities is the annual Jinshan beach clear-up operation at one of the surf hot spots on the other side of northen Taiwan. As a result of Typhoon Morakot, the area was in severe need of some affection, and we were glad to help. Rubbish and driftwood were dispatched in double-quick time and arranged in a relatively neat pile at the head of the beach, and we were so efficient that we were told to ‘stop’ lest we ruin the beach cleanup effort of subsequent companies doing similar initiatives – irony.

Once we had that done and dusted, we took the opportunity not to squander our time on that side of the island, and made a beeline for the Gold Ecological Park, where my ex-Chinese teacher works. A pretty nice place, and worth a trip up the amazingly meandering road.

Highlight of the day, though, was an evening spent in Jiufen – a place I have inexplicably never been to. What a mistake – the place was magical, and we spent a happy few hours spiriting away time in a tea shop watching the sun set over the hills towards Taipei, and subsequent glide down quite the most charming street of hanging lanterns. All in all, a fantastic little adventure.