Itinerary

The plan is set in motion. Two tickets are acquired to get me to Taiwan February 25th and then a departure from Narita (Tokyo) May 26th!!

The many weeks in-between are roughly hewned out to look as such:

TAIWAN (February 26th to March 19th)
a) Taipei: i will take 8 days to explore the capital and all the glories of its fine food culture!

b) East Coast exploration with dear old friend "Congo"
          -Lanyu (orchid island)
        - Tao tribe semi-underground dwelling, loincloth & silver helmets
        - Coral reef – best unspoiled spot in Asia for snorkeling
        - Dawu or Yami (Tao) Flying Fish Festival

c) Taroko Gorge, Jiufen, and Green Island (with "Congo")

KOREA (4 weeks - six locations)
1) Jeju-Do ISLAND
    —hiking, galeries and historic sites
    -  Chocolate museum!?
    — black pig, horse meat

2) Jeonju (hanoks)
   —stay at ChoGaJib traditional home
    —Jinan city stop to see Horse-Ear Mountain peaks

3) Gwangju (counter-culture Art scene)
    — one-hour bus ride to Gochang DOLMEN (440 megaliths) & Hwansun Dolmen group

3.5) Daehan Dawon (tea plantation)

4) Busan (coastal village and fish markets)

5) Gyeongju
    - Daegu
    - Bulkug-sa (eastern gyeongju TEMPLE)

5.5) Ganghwado island
    — Dolmen Park at Ganghwa (150 megaliths of which 70 are UNESCO Heritage sites)
              (Bugeun-ri Dolmen Trio weights 75 tons)

6) Seoul
    - Gyeongbok Palace (by blue house)
    - Cheong-gye-cheon WALKING STREAM: ice cream & spectral nighttime light shows
    - Weird Cafes (cat, sheep, muirrcat, raccoon, poop)


JAPAN 
The big finale to my 2020 travels will be 2 weeks spent in one location NARA, from which i can easily take trains to many other important cities and destinations:
  -Osaka (Sumo Wrestling, Canal tour, Aquarium)
  -Kyoto (Nishiki Market, Fushimi Inari Shrine hike, few nights at a Ryokan)
  -Nagano
  -Shikoku

And wrapping it all up with a English guide to accompany me to a serious Sumo Wrestling tournament and a day at the Ghibli Museum.

More to come,
Gulliver 

2025: little did i know that the WHO would declare COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11, 2020!!!