Taipei, Taiwan
In February 2004 we went to the Philippines on a holiday, with a two-day
stopover in Taipei. Really, I think it was long enough.

This'll be the player
A view of the Chiang Kai-Shek monument.


 


A normal, soggy day at the square of the National Theatre & Gallery, taken before my camera shorted out. It's handy that Chinese script is vertical. But I'd have a sore neck if I tried to read anything. There are motorbikes and 7-11s everywhere in Taipei—on every street. Should the Chinese invade, they won't run out of Twix bars. Like the number 13 in western cultures, many Asians don't like the number 4. It makes elevators interesting! Chinese New Year celebrations. Symbolically, our chances for finding an open hotel room in Asia during this week go up in smoke. The arches of the National Theatre & Gallery. And a place to get out of the rain. Not sure what this edifice is for. Maybe there were once turnstiles there! Chiang Kai-Shek's monument. It certainly was a popular spot. Perhaps the statue gets up and dances on the hour and I missed it. Hwasi night market. The many, uh, marital aids sold all over the place make the market look a little seedy. At least it's dry... Parade for Chinese New Year, downtown. "Where's everyone going, a little water won't hurt you. Alright, we're counting to five and then sending the dragons after you..." The 'view' from our hotel window. Like most of northeast asia, there won't be any prizes for architecture, but it's a small, compact island. Fruitseller. Recognizable fruit, unrecognizable writing, but it was nice to see one business left that wasn't a 7-11, at least on the afternoon I took the picture. The sunset at the airport in Taipei on our way home. On the plus side, the rain kept the airport windows nice and clean.