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Zeelandia Bookshop
Taipei
Many have asked founders of Zeelandia what motivated the establishment of a travel themed bookstore - but stepping into the text-rich shelter of Zeelandia, the answer is obvious. This bookstore magically captures the fleeting intimacy of the traveller, accelerating wanderlust into hyperdrive and reminding of us of the ways in which travel opens us up to the intimacy of strangers on a train. Dog-eared postcards, notes scrawled over obsolete maps and souvenirs scattered of tall bookshelves, leaning with a wealth of knowledge that Google Maps could not even begin to quantify.
When hankerings of wanderlust become far too much, release the scroll button, step away from the screen and sneak into Zeelandia. Somewhere between a casting for Indiana Jones and the cast of The Never Ending Story, this yellow-eared setting is bursting with travel books. Graphic-heavy coffee table books, guidebooks and translation handbooks, Zeelandia screams to those planning their next escape in the dreariness of winter or, worse yet, Mondays.
Although there is a plethora of information available to travellers online, the online space cannot capture or convey a crucial element of travel - and that is the yearning for connection. Zeelandia offers a meeting room for the likeminded. A place where, over a cup of coffee and a hopeful travel list, strangers rub shoulders, share stories and fuel each others wish for more of the world.
The staff at Zeelandia are immensely helpful to tourists so this is a great place to pop in for advice, of the literary nature or other. Take note Zeelandia is Closed on Tuesdays!