Don’t forget to place your vote for Team Formosa and stay tuned for more exciting updates!

The weather is heating up all over the island of Formosa and so is the race to win the Best Trip in Taiwan. Ever since the Tourism Bureau announced early in May that they planned to host their own contest, based loosely on a Australian contest called Best Job in the World, online sources such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube have been all aflutter. In an effort to promote the beautiful island of Taiwan and its unique culture and history, travelers from around the world are being invited to show the rest of the world what Taiwan has to offer. Hundreds of groups have already signed up to participate. Fifty lucky teams will be chosen to compete against each other. The first stage of the contest is almost complete. Teams must submit their ideas for a unique travel theme, an inexpensive four day travel itinerary, and a team introduction via video before June 3oth. Winning teams will be announced on July 10th.

I can’t be too far off the money because the team that I am rooting for was featured in the China Times today as the best team to win. I contacted Team Taiwan late last week to offer them some free publicity on My Several Worlds. We’re placing all bets on this team of four intriguing young men who are passionate about Taiwan and bring an array of talents to the table. Make sure you head on over to the website and place your vote for Team Formosa.

We are the Formosa Adventurers. We have over 20 years of combined traveling experience in Taiwan and around Asia. Between us, we have four web sites; three of which are travel blogs. This trip is just one step in our ongoing mission to promote tourism in Taiwan. At the end of the trip, the entire itinerary will be available on our blogs, in English and Chinese, so that anyone planning to visit Taiwan will also be able to experience our trip first-hand. We have planned every part of our trip in English. Our goal is show people that you don’t need to speak Chinese to travel in Taiwan and get off the beaten path. Furthermore, our journey can be easily recreated by just about anyone.  We have kept our costs low to make the trip possible for a larger number of people. During our four day excursion, we will help you learn about Taiwanese culture and take part in various adventure sports, such as white water rafting and river tracing.

PHIL DAWSON: I have been studying Chinese for several years and currently writes a travel blog in Chinese. I’ve also traveled extensively throughout Taiwan and have a vast knowledge of local culture, particularly aboriginal culture.In 2003, I graduated from Leeds University in England with a degree in maths. After I graduated, I wanted to see the world, particularly Asia. At the time, I was reading the novel River Town by Peter Hessler and it helped me decide to come to Taiwan to teach English. I never thought I would stay in Taiwan for longer a year, but I fell in love with the island. It’s six years later and I’m still here. Almost every weekend I travel to various places around the island and explore the truly spectacular natural scenery the country has to offer. For over two years I have been studying Chinese at NTNU and that has helped me to discover more places here and learn more about the fascinating culture and people. I recently started to write my own travel blog in Chinese to give Taiwanese people a foreigners’ perspective of their home.

MSW: What do you hope to accomplish by entering this contest?

Phil: All of us have lived in Taiwan for some time now. We’ve travelled the four corners of this island and love everything about it. We feel that Taiwan is all too often over-looked as a tourist destination and hopefully, by showing the world Taiwan’s natural beauty and friendly locals, we can encourage more people to visit.

We have all been blogging about the many wonders of Taiwan for a while now and, in addition to this, we have recently come up with a plan to help improve the English environment of Taiwan’s tourism industry. Through my blog, I will be offering free English translation for restaurants and other tourism industries.

Stu Dawson

STU DAWSON: I originally came to Taiwan, like so many people, with the idea that I would have a bit of fun and teach English for about six months and then I’d be off on new adventures. I just passed the four year mark and I’m still in Taiwan and I’m still enjoying myself! I’ve always liked doing sports, particularly swimming. Since coming to Taiwan, I’ve developed a bit of an obsession with the great outdoors. I spend almost every weekend in the mountains and valleys of Taiwan river tracing, hiking, camping, and searching for hot springs. However, I’ve always felt that the amount of information available in English for these kinds of activities is very poor and so I decided to start a blog called Hiking in Taiwan to keep track of all of the wonderful places Taiwan has to offer visitors and expats. My photos from these journeys are available on Flickr.

MSW: How did you hear about the contest? Do you have any concerns at this point?Stu: We heard about it through a friend. At the moment I don’t think we have any major concerns. We’re just anxiously waiting to find out if we are one of the top fifty winners and praying for good weather!

ROSS TWEEDIE: I’d always dreamt of travelling, and the travel experiences that I had when I was in my teens and early twenties were great, but fleeting. After living in a traveller household in London crammed with Aussies I realised, ” These guys are travelling every day that they’re here”. I was  determined to get on the road myself. I had friends living and working in China, Japan and Korea, so being the obstinate person that I am, I went for Taiwan. I’m still here. I left after the first year, but was drawn back. I felt I hadn’t really experienced and seen enough, and I still don’t. There’s so much to see: amazing things, beautiful things, unique things, and the ease with which I can indulge my passions and do the things I love most, whether it is hiking mountains that dwarf Scotland’s own mountainous territory or jumping into rivers for no apparent reason. It’s all here, and so am I!

MSW: How did the four of you decide to enter together as a team? How do you all know each other?

Ross: Phil and Stu are brothers, so they have obviously known each other for a long time. We all met through work or class and discovered that we shared the same passion for traveling and the outdoors. For about three years now we have been traveling all over the island together and most weekends we get out and about to try and explore somewhere new. When we heard about the competition we all immediately knew that we should do it together and pool our collective talents and enthusiasm in order to show Taiwan’s beauty to the world.

NEIL WADE: I’ve spent my whole life traveling and taking pictures. My first photography article was published at 16 and I went on my first big trip when I was 17. Some friends and I set out in an old VW camper across the US and the travel bug was firmly set. Many years and road trips later, I found myself with a Biology degree and a desperate desire to come to Asia, and not go home. Six months in Southeast Asia led me to Taiwan, where I heard life was good. I’ve been here for four years and I still don’t have any plans to return to the US. I love everything about Taiwan: the people, the mountains, the cities and the beaches.

I stay busy with photography, traveling, writing my blog, hiking, skateboarding, swimming and just living the good life. I haven’t watched TV or been bored in years, and I couldn’t be happier! Neil Wade Photography.

MSW: You all have different talents and come from pretty diverse backgrounds. What do you think your respective talents will bring to the contest?

Neil: Although we all share the same passion for travelling, we each bring different skills and talents to the team. Being a professional photographer, I hope to cover the trip much like I would an assignment. After fulfilling the contest requirements, I’ll try to get our story published to help promote Taiwan. Adventurous traveling with interesting subjects always make for good articles!

Ross is the all around adventurous guy. Always ready for some action and not afraid to get his hands dirty. He also has a lot of experience filiming and editing and will be our primary cameraman for the tour (and we needed a token bald guy).

Stu is an avid hiker and lover of the great outdoors. On the weekends, if he is not out in some far off corner of Taiwan exploring mountains and forests, then he will be busy writing his excellent and informative hiking blog. His writing talents and outdoors experience really add something to the team.

Phil has been studying Chinese for a long time and currently writes a travel blog in Chinese. He also has travelled extensively throughout Taiwan and has a vast knowledge of local and particularly aboriginal culture.

MSW: Thanks very much to all of you for sending in your bios and introducing yourselves to my readers. We’re really excited to see what happens with the contest.

Dear readers,
Don’t forget to place your vote for Team Formosa and stay tuned for more exciting updates!