Taipei 101 (the entry level course, not the building)

So, here I am in Taipei. This is my second time here, having made the trip last May. I remember that last year, I really liked it here, and spoke highly of it. So, I thought it would be worth visiting again.

To me, Taipei has always been a mixture of what is good about Hong Kong, and what is good about China. You can clearly see the influences of both in this city. Taipei is a fairly wealthy city, largely due to the influence of the hi-tech industry here. Taiwan is world renowned for the quality of their electronics manufacturing sector. With the abundance of construction of tall buildings here, you'd wonder where the signs of a financial crises are.

I have not been here for a full day yet, but I have a few interesting observations. One of the things that struck me as different, compared to Hong Kong, is the proliferation of motorbikes here. There are equally as many motorbikes as there are cars here. And they travel in packs, just like Vietnam. Also, you can see the how the city is encouraging bicycle travel too. There is a large network of bikes that you can rent, all over the city. I've heard of this concept in Amsterdam, but this is the first time I've seen it in Asia. They city has developed a large network of bicycle paths all over the core, to accommodate the encouraged bicycle traffic. It's really a clever (and cheap) system.



I have not succumbed to the pressure of visiting the top of the tallest building - The Taipei 101 - yet. But, who knows, I just may before the visit is over. I am not all that excited about doing that sort of touristy type things, but it's such a nice looking building, and there are not many tall towers near it so the view should be good.

I will be here until Tuesday and I think the weather will be fairly decent. It's supposed to be +27 and sunny both days this weekend. I am looking forward to some nice hot weather.