MAY 22, 2000 VOL. 155 NO. 20

Detour

TRAVEL WATCH Laos Unplugged While the big time is a long way off, the little things make Laos a great place to visit Detour Green Island is a sparkling paradise, a volcanic island where the sea is always blue and the weather sunny and warm Web Crawling A website of visitors' tales that offer a varied perspective on the local travel experience

Unlike bland, austere northern Taiwan, Green Island is a sparkling paradise, a volcanic island where the sea is always blue and the weather sunny and warm. Just 10 minutes by air from Taiwan's southeast coast, Green Island is rapidly becoming one of the region's hottest vacation spots. It's best known for hot springs, scuba diving and, of all things, human rights. Visit the "Green Meadow Resort," an abandoned compound ringed by barbed wire, which once held hundreds of dissidents who opposed the late dictator Chiang Kai-shek. Near the old prison is a monument to human rights in the form of an elegant $1 million sculpture. The prisoners whose names are inscribed on the wall represent a who's who of Taiwan's freedom movement. Among them are Peng Ming-min, who ran for president in 1996; Shih Ming-teh, who helped found the opposition Democratic Progressive Party, whose candidate Chen Shui-bian is the country's President-elect; and author Bo Yang, who spearheaded the building of the memorial, which opened last December.

Green Island is also Taiwan's top diving destination. It sits in the middle of the Japan current, a nutrient-rich stream that feeds a stunning variety of crustaceans, tropical fish and other sealife. The island is famed for its underwater meadows of grass coral.

Chao Jih hot springs are another local favorite. Cold ocean water leaks through the rock, hits the red-hot underground lava and bubbles up to the surface. If the tide is high and the ocean stormy, waves roll into the springs. There is nothing like lying in the hot springs and bracing for a surge of cold sea water. The baths are illuminated in the evenings and open until midnight. For more information call (88-62) 2717-3737.

By Brent Hannon