First to board, I was welcomed by a delightful male flight attendant donning a frangipani behind his ear. He swiftly directed me to my window seat all set up with a soft pillow and cosy blanket.

Beneath a frangipani tree in Punan Village in Yunlin’s Kouhu Township is a shrine dedicated to “Lord Holland.” The tree is said to have been planted there by a pioneering Dutchman, who after his death ...