[hkskyline]

1. The animated Taipei map ...

2. The subway system is clean and people line up in a very orderly fashion. Even when the lines seem excessive, surprisingly, everyone can somehow get in!

4. There are fewer motorcycles / mopeds every time I visit, but the traffic infrastructure accomodates them well. They sit at the front of the line.

6. Shin Kong used to be the tallest in the city, but is now greatly overshadowed by 101. Lucky they're on opposite ends of town!

10. Quite a nice building for a high school!

12. The bus stops even allow advertisement space. Which bus stops here again?

13. Even the utility boxes are nicely-decorated.

15. Did you just miss the bus?

16. Is this colonial colonial or Japanese colonial?

21. Night markets are very popular throughout Taiwan. Grab some food and start eating!

32. It's time for a break. With cooler temperatures, tofu in ginger sauce would spice up the evening.

34. Good food in Taiwan costs less than in Hong Kong. After a long walk, I need to replenish my energy.

38. There is a tofu speciality street just outside town. Although they advertise stinky tofu, the aroma in the air is nowhere near stinky!

46. So what type of tofu style do you like?

47. I opted for this in the end. Put some vegetables on top of fried tofu, and it's a great snack!

48. Away from the busy street, a more serene landscape awaits next door.

 

[Anth]

Your photo threads always capture everyday life to the point that I feel like I've visited these places myself!

Thanks again.

 

[ganjavih]

One thing to envy about Asian cities is the street life, especially at night.

 

[hkskyline]

I'm a regular visitor to Taipei and by now, I'm a bit tired of the typical tourist sites. So on this trip, I tried to venture out to seek exotic new places that may be of interest to locals rather than the average foreign visitor.

Located one stop away from Taipei main station on the high-speed railway line, the Taipei County Government Building in Banqiao has a free observation deck with a surprisingly good view. This location was mentioned in my guidebook which I had purchased on a prior visit to Taipei.

A lot of government departments are located in here.

The deck was surprisingly quiet, with barely any tourists around.

The view was spectacular on a clear day. This is the old city centre, with the Shin Kong Building being the centre

In this wider shot, you can see the new city centre in Xinyi, with Taipei 101.

Banqiao is located southwest of Taipei centre. The location was good enough not to be blocked by the rolling hills that surround the city, yet you can still see the river that flows out to Danshui and the ocean.

101 looks great as always!

This place is only 8 minutes from Taipei main station.

What the pictures didn't show was the absolutely insane heat outside. Taipei's summer temperatures soar to very uncomfortable levels. I endured a week of 38C temperatures. Even late at night, it's still 30C.

Songshan Airport is the dingy old domestic airport in the heart of Taipei. Now it serves flights to mainland China and I believe soon there will be connections to Korea and Japan. The old terminal still looks very retro though.

So now travellers have another new option. From here, it is a very short ride into Xinyi district.

Inside, the counters and layout remind me of Kai Tak in Hong Kong. Typical 60s and 70s architecture - but it's clean and bright nevertheless.

The timetable board has not yet gone electronic.

There was even a paper waiting list!

Flying within Taiwan itself is not as popular now that there is a high-speed rail link to Kaohsiung.

However, there is also a new T2.

I ventured about trying to find some good vantage points to capture 101. Being so tall, it was not hard.

Why is this piece of Philadelphia in town?

Motorcyclists get their own lane and box.

Huashan Culture Park is a revitalization project where artists take over abandoned buildings.

Since the artists have taken over, there are many art installations.

The food was good and there were no long lines.