About Mizuc
I am the Mizuc (迷走客)
Do you love travel? Do you cherish the thrill of wandering aimlessly across unfamiliar metropolises and boundless wilderness?
Many who come across Mizuc never realize that growing up in the riverside town of Tamsui, stepping beyond its familiar boundaries felt like an unimaginable leap.
“To explore, to feel, the real and unique world!”
— Mizuc’s Enduring Motto
Awakening: The Uncrossed Boundary
Living a simple life in an idyllic coastal haven, Mizuc had never ventured solo beyond the Greater Taipei basin, let alone traveled abroad. My very first passport was issued when I was twenty-three, solely because family arranged a journey back to the ancestral mainland.
While studying electronic engineering at St. John’s & St. Mary’s Institute of Technology (Hsinpu), unable to ride a scooter, I deeply envied classmates cruising through the hills and socializing with girls from nearby colleges. Back then, the word “travel” simply did not exist in my vocabulary.
Graduation Trip: The Prelude to Wandering
My life revolved strictly around home, school, and a few specific Taipei corridors—visiting Chongqing South Road for secondhand books or Guanghua for electronic components.
Yet my first true memory of travel sprouted at the close of my junior college years. With the class fractured into distinct cliques and graduation committee representatives preoccupied with cram schools and romances, no one bothered organizing a graduation trip.
Together with three close brothers, we boarded a Taiwan Railway train for a three-day, two-night journey to Yilan. That humble getaway became our personal graduation trip, and the opening chapter of Mizuc’s wandering life.
Hsinchu Days: The Reckless Warmth of Youth
After graduation, I moved to Hsinchu for advanced studies. For the first time, I truly left home for unfamiliar soil. Those two years in the Windy City ignited my lifelong philosophy of wandering.
Whenever afternoon classes cleared, a classmate and I would hop on his modest 90cc scooter, slowly cruising across every corner of Hsinchu County, southern Taoyuan, and northern Miaoli. City alleys, quiet country lanes, and misty mountain ridges—we embraced that unfettered student freedom with youthful abandon.
Hitting the Road Alone: The Romance of the Unplanned
My first genuine solo expedition came right after finishing university in Hsinchu. Without telling my parents, I borrowed the family car and set off to circle the island of Taiwan. Inexperienced behind the wheel and running out of cash, I had to leave my national ID at a Checheng gas station in Pingtung while frantically calling home for a postal wire transfer.
Over years of subsequent wanderings, I met travelers who meticulously pre-planned every minute. To me, they felt like curious exotics. On the open road, “plans never keep up with changes.” I’ve watched companions fracture into bitter arguments and shed tears at airports over unforeseen hiccups.
If travel is solely about maximizing return on investment, one might as well read an encyclopedia in an air-conditioned library. Ever since my Hsinchu days, rigid itineraries hold little allure.
Even my grand solo expedition to New Zealand was hatched without a plan. From the sudden urge to visiting New Zealand, only seven days elapsed: one day to conceive, three days for medical checks and visa paperwork, one day for flights and outdoor gear, one day dining with friends, one day with family, and the final day stepping onto the plane.
The Birth and Creed of the Mizuc
While resisting rigid plans naturally brings the side effect of getting lost, Mizuc relishes the tense excitement of navigating unknown crossroads. Detours grant unexpected encounters, and getting lost provides the perfect excuse to strike up conversations with locals.
The word “Mizuc” (迷走客) was coined from this very spirit—someone who loves being lost, delights in detours, and deliberately loses oneself, inspired by the spirit of the “Backpacker.”
Do you also love wandering?
I believe a Mizuc is a magnificent creature that feasts upon landscapes, drinks deeply of human warmth, and harbors an insatiable instinct to wander.
In the realm of the Mizuc, only one universal principle applies:
“Wander everywhere with a spirit unbound and free. Even through trials, hold steadfast to your smile.”
