Taipei Metro
My best friend asked me to send snapshots of Taiwan so that she could see what it looks like here. I've been having difficulty finding postcards of the local sights and the touristy shots I snapped of Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Plaza appear to be just that - touristy - sort of a Washington monumentesque experience. These images are juxtaposed in my mind with the piles of rubble and construction everywhere - I don't quite know what to take a picture of, i.e. what represents Taiwan.
The TAV is located about five minutes on the Shandao Temple blue line MRT which runs east/west through the city. In the heart of the old part of Taipei towards the west end, I have views of the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Life Tower and Taipei 101. The hood surrounding Mitsukoshi is a busy shopping thoroughfare of restaurants and eateries that mirrors the frenetic energy of 5th Avenue in New York. Chiang Kai Shek Plaza is a 20 minute walk down Zhongshan Road that takes me past the university hospital where I see many patients on the streets with head injuries and black eyes which make me think car accident. The crossing from Zhongshan to Roosevelt to get to CKS Plaza is particularly tricky - reminiscent of Pittsburgh around the University neighborhood. Traffic only appears to come from one direction, but if you make the mistake of disregarding the one lane which travels in the opposite direction directly adjacent to the curb, i.e. the bus lane, and walk out into the street, you could be a dead tourist. The cars and scooters on the road are the worse that I have ever seen in any city - right of way is not granted to pedestrians and though you may have the green walk signal, taxi drivers and delivery men will not hesitate to plow you down.
The National Museum of History where I was yesterday is just southwest of CKS Plaza. From the second floor tea room there is an incredible view of the Botanical Garden next door maintained by the National Forestry Service. I had to resist the urge to abandon my tea too quickly to take more pictures of the lotus pond which is full of koi, goldfish and turtles. Around the park, you will see people out taking jogs, which is an anomaly in this city. About a 20 minute walk northwest is the Longshan Temple MRT stop. All along Heping W. Road there are sidewalk shops selling bamboo caged songbirds - finch and thrush. It is really quite an incredible thing to see, though I felt too shy yesterday to ask permission to shoot. You can even by a fabric cozy for your birdcage to indicate to your bird that it is time to sleep. Birds are a big thing here, associated particularly with fortune-tellers. At Longshan Temple there is the Guangzhou Street Night Market - clothing shops and food vendors on the street cooking up delicacies for the public.
I have mostly explored the areas South and West of TAV. Today it was about 53 degrees outside, threatening rain. Tomorrow, I may try walking southeast to the Yongkang Street neighborhood, a good place for vegetarian dining.
The TAV is located about five minutes on the Shandao Temple blue line MRT which runs east/west through the city. In the heart of the old part of Taipei towards the west end, I have views of the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Life Tower and Taipei 101. The hood surrounding Mitsukoshi is a busy shopping thoroughfare of restaurants and eateries that mirrors the frenetic energy of 5th Avenue in New York. Chiang Kai Shek Plaza is a 20 minute walk down Zhongshan Road that takes me past the university hospital where I see many patients on the streets with head injuries and black eyes which make me think car accident. The crossing from Zhongshan to Roosevelt to get to CKS Plaza is particularly tricky - reminiscent of Pittsburgh around the University neighborhood. Traffic only appears to come from one direction, but if you make the mistake of disregarding the one lane which travels in the opposite direction directly adjacent to the curb, i.e. the bus lane, and walk out into the street, you could be a dead tourist. The cars and scooters on the road are the worse that I have ever seen in any city - right of way is not granted to pedestrians and though you may have the green walk signal, taxi drivers and delivery men will not hesitate to plow you down.
The National Museum of History where I was yesterday is just southwest of CKS Plaza. From the second floor tea room there is an incredible view of the Botanical Garden next door maintained by the National Forestry Service. I had to resist the urge to abandon my tea too quickly to take more pictures of the lotus pond which is full of koi, goldfish and turtles. Around the park, you will see people out taking jogs, which is an anomaly in this city. About a 20 minute walk northwest is the Longshan Temple MRT stop. All along Heping W. Road there are sidewalk shops selling bamboo caged songbirds - finch and thrush. It is really quite an incredible thing to see, though I felt too shy yesterday to ask permission to shoot. You can even by a fabric cozy for your birdcage to indicate to your bird that it is time to sleep. Birds are a big thing here, associated particularly with fortune-tellers. At Longshan Temple there is the Guangzhou Street Night Market - clothing shops and food vendors on the street cooking up delicacies for the public.
I have mostly explored the areas South and West of TAV. Today it was about 53 degrees outside, threatening rain. Tomorrow, I may try walking southeast to the Yongkang Street neighborhood, a good place for vegetarian dining.
posted by Shin Yu Pai at 5:23 PM
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