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Event | Celebrate Lunar New year with BORDERLESS HOUSE housemate!

Lunar New Year is a traditional festival calculated according to the lunar calendar and is one of Taiwan’s important holidays. During the Lunar New Year holiday period, people typically return to their hometowns to reunite with family and friends, celebrating the arrival of the new year together. Customs and traditions vary from region to region. In Taiwan, for example: on New Year’s Eve, families perform rituals to honor ancestors, gather for dinner, and stay up late into the night; on the first day of the new year, people pay a New Year’s visit; the second day is for married daughters going back to their own family to visit parents, relatives, and close friends; the third day is for going to bed earlier; the fourth day involves rituals to welcome deities and ensure good fortune for the coming year; and the fifth day marks the resumption of business activities after the holiday

This year, our Taiwanese housemate, James, brought our Japanese housemate, Azusa, back to his hometown (Kaohsiung and Tainan) to celebrate the New Year. During their visit, he introduced Azusa to Taiwanese customs, allowing her to immerse herself more deeply in the atmosphere of the Spring Festival. Let’s follow in their footsteps and explore the sights of southern Taiwan during the Lunar New Year!

Let’s start the trip from Kaohsiung! Dome of Light, Cijin, Cijin Lighthouse, and The Pier-2 Art Center✨


Our first stop was the renowned landmark at Kaohsiung’s Formosa Boulevard Station—the Dome of Light. The dome tells the story of human life in four chronologically arranged themes: Water: The Womb of Life; Earth: Prosperity and Growth; Light: The Creative Spirit; and Fire: Destruction and Rebirth, with an overall message of love and tolerance. Whenever new friends visit Kaohsiung for the first time, I always take them here.



Our next destination is Cijin, where we hopped on bicycles and rode along the seaside bike path, soaking in the coastal scenery. I noticed Azusa’s excitement as she witnessed the sunset by the beach. It seemed that in Taiwan, there were fewer opportunities for her to appreciate such beautiful landscapes while cycling, which made the experience even more special for her.



Afterwards, we visited the Cijin Lighthouse to enjoy the night scenery. This location offers a fantastic view, overlooking Cijin Beach and Kaohsiung. Surprisingly, it’s not widely known, so there weren’t many people around. We lingered here for quite some time, relishing the tranquil moments in the peaceful ambiance.


Finally, we took a boat back to Kaohsiung and strolled along the Pier-2 Art Center. Along the way, we encountered numerous art installations and food trucks. I explained to Azusa that Kaohsiung is a port city, historically centered around import-export trade, hence the frequent presence of cargo ships. The buildings at Pier-2 used to be warehouses for storing goods but have since been transformed into an artistic hub.

Fo Guang Shan, lion and dragon dances, and head to Tainan!



The next day, we visited Fo Guang Shan, a Buddhist monastery, to experience the spring festivities and offer prayers. As Taiwan’s largest Buddhist monastery, it attracts many visitors every year who come to pray for peace and prosperity. Besides the prayers, the monastery also offers a variety of unexpected vegetarian dishes, such as vegetarian chicken made from soybeans and mushrooms, as well as international cuisine. Along the way, we encountered the traditional lion and dragon dances, and lively performances that celebrate the arrival of the new year and add to the festive atmosphere.


Afterward, we headed to Tainan, arriving after dark. We visited the renowned souvenir shop, Hayashi Department Store, which opened during the Japanese colonial period in 1932, becoming the second department store in Taiwan and the first in southern Taiwan. After undergoing renovation, it reopened in 2014 as a “cultural and creative department store,” while still preserving many early artifacts. Here, you can find Taiwan’s famous specialties such as nougat, tea leaves, pineapple cakes, as well as clothing and unique cultural and creative products from the early Japanese colonial period. The packaging of these items is exquisitely cute, blending traditional Japanese patterns with local Taiwanese styles, making it worth a visit for everyone!

Experience the Lantern Festival atmosphere and eat delicious Tainan food.



During the Spring Festival period, as it approaches the Lantern Festival (the fifteenth day of the Chinese New Year), lantern festivals are held as part of the celebrations. This year is no exception. Not only are the streets of Tainan adorned with lanterns, but temples also display characteristic lanterns, creating a festive atmosphere. Moreover, there are some artistic paintings or small shops hidden along the streets, often attracting passersby to stop and explore.




If I were to describe Kaohsiung, I would say it’s a bustling port city that never sleeps, becoming more beautiful as the night deepens. On the other hand, Tainan can be described as a capital of food. Traditional breakfast in Tainan is seafood congee, reflecting the city’s early reliance on fishing for livelihoods, necessitating a hearty meal to sustain energy for work. Another famous delicacy is Tainan beef soup, which I highly recommend trying if you have the chance. The broth is rich and smooth, and the beef is tender yet flavorful! Additionally, prices in Tainan are relatively lower than in Taipei, so I believe you can enjoy your meals with great satisfaction there.

When it comes to must-try desserts in Tainan, we can’t forget about tofu pudding (douhua) and fruit shaved ice. During the summer, you can enjoy mango shaved ice, which foreigners highly favor, while in the winter, you can enjoy seasonal strawberry shaved ice.

The above is the three-day, two-night trip back to my hometown with Azusa. If there’s a chance, I’d also like to experience the local New Year culture in Japan:)!

Are you eager to experience wonderful international friendships? Let’s join BORDERLESS HOUSE!


BORDERLESS HOUSE offers accommodation environments akin to studying abroad, allowing you to feel the charm of a global community right at home. If you aspire to such a lifestyle, why not take action now?

We are now launching the Summer Early Bird campaign, allowing you to start preparing for your journey early! Don’t miss this opportunity and join us!

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Why Are Share Houses The Best Shelter Option When You Are Starting Life In Abroad?

In the present world, borders and boundaries have become fluid. These lines that mark and enclose an area to represent a city, country, or continent, and which primarily only exist on paper are in the present world not as rigid as they used to be earlier. Instead, in the present moment, these boundaries have become porous to allow people to move in and out of a country. This sits true for the borders and boundaries of almost all the countries or continents around the globe.

The Earth presently has become a global space, and all the cities and countries have become a part of its chain. Whether it is for studies or managing businesses, every year we witness people moving across borders. Because of this, it has become a natural occurrence to find citizens of different nationalities living together in a country they were not born or brought up.

But if you have ever traveled overseas, then you would know that living in a new country is not a very pleasant experience especially during the initial days. It is so because when you go to a new place you usually miss your old friends and family, and the previous surroundings terribly. Plus, when you move to a new country you feel like a stranger, and thus, it becomes difficult to blend in.

Mixing-in in a new country is not as easy as it may appear in the first place. We say so because when you go to a new place, you usually don’t know much about the culture or tradition of that place. And because of this, you always feel anxious and stressed in your new surroundings. You are always on your toes observing how other people are behaving so you would not mistakenly do that would hurt or disrespect the sentiments of the natives.

Thus, in such a time when you have freshly moved into a new country, it is considered a good idea to live in a share house. Doing so will help you in many ways. Wondering how that works? Well, in that case, read our next section to find out your answers.

How are share houses helpful in starting a fresh life in a new country?

A sharehouse is a big property that is offered on rent to tenants where many strangers share the same roof. In a share house, you can rent a single room for yourself or you can rent a room that houses 3 to 4 people in total depending upon your needs and requirements. This place is a top shelter choice for people, especially for those who have freshly shifted to a new country because-
It helps you in understanding alien customs.

As we have already established, when you move to a new country, chances are that you will be unfamiliar with its customs and traditions. This can make you anxious while adding to your stress levels. Also, there is this probability that if you did something wrong because of your unfamiliarity with the local customs that the natives find offending or insulting, then you might feel even more alienated and alone. Thus, for this reason, it is a safe choice to live in a share house at least for the initial days because there you are bound to come across many people who will be interested in international exchange.

When you will live with them, such people will help you in learning more about their local culture, while at the same time they will also try to understand your traditions. This healthy exchange will make your life significantly easier. So, if you want to know about the local customs and traditions of a place, its food, its manners, etc. in a friendly way without wasting much time, then share houses should be your top priority while seeking shelter.

It is a borderless accommodation

When you move to a new space how fluently you can speak their local language plays a very important role in deciding the ease with which you will blend in your new surroundings. So, for example, if you have moved to Taiwan for your further studies and you can fluently speak and write Chinese, then this will probably mean that you will find it easier to navigate Taiwan as compared to someone who doesn’t even understand Chinese. It is so because when you don’t understand the local language of a place, you find it hard to explain to people your queries or emotions.

Now, in such a scenario, it is wise to find a share house in your new country because in share houses you can probably find residents who are familiar with your language. In this way, your common language can help you in befriending people and it can also help you in learning the local language quite easily. We, BORDERLESS HOUSE, make language exchange easy for you by offering on our website the information about the nationality of its residents. You can even opt to talk to the residents of the share house while requesting a preview of the property.

It offers you easier access to common knowledge

When you shift to a new country, other than the customs, traditions, and language of that place there are many other things that you ought to learn about your new home town. These things include information on the common practices of the new place, knowledge about local shops and convenience stores in your locality, and awareness about the norms of living in that place such that your safety is not threatened.

Living in a share house can help you in gaining easy access to such information. It is so because when you are sharing a roof with other people you are bound to interact with them. In your conversations, you can come across the above-mentioned info without even requesting for the same. In opposed to this, if you opt to live alone in a new country, then acquiring such information may take some time.

Thus, these are some reasons because of which living in a share house should be your preferred choice. Living here can help you in settling-in easily.