Taiwan's waves

Taiwan's Hollywood lure

Fresh appeal: Taiwan's waves. Photo: Surfing Taiwan

Hollywood movie Life of Pi, directed by Taiwanese-born director Ang Lee, has played its part in the 43 per cent spike in Australians visiting Taiwan for the first quarter of 2013, according to the Taiwan Tourism Bureau (TTB).
While tourism is still in its infancy, visitor numbers jumped from 6579 to 9389 in the island country off the south-east coast of China, where filming for five and a half months included the Taipei Zoo and Kenting National Park, in Pingtung County where Lee was born.
"It was made very clear that much of the movie was shot on location in Taiwan so the Ang Lee connection has certainly been a contributory factor in bringing Taiwan to the fore," TTB's Clint McCarthy says.
In the water, surfers can find uncrowded breaks and quality waves, according to surf tour operator Joel Agostino. Australian-born Agostino, who has lived in Taiwan for a decade, says the north-east monsoon (November-April) produces consistent head-high surf along the east coast and the south-west monsoon (May-October) brings waist-high surf in water temperatures between 22 and 28 degrees.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/travel/taiwans-hollywood-lure-20130502-2iu9k.html#ixzz2SI796WTK