Taiwan's Tantilizing TiT Townhouses

I can think of few places in the world besides Taiwan that would market a residential apartment complex entitled "TiT" -- "Town in Town". Are they being coy or just didn't bother to ask any random foreigner what "tit" means? Or to just look it up in the dictionary?

hao chr 好吃

I really like local content sites made by real users of said content. Well, er, food in this case. "Hao Chr" is a clever blog that has attractive reviews of eateries in Taipei.

Almost-post-industrial architecture in Taiwan

The almost-post-industrial architecture of Taiwan. This shot taken in Hsinchuang, Taipei County.

Illegal vehicles for senior citizen scavengers in Taiwan

Taiwan presents itself - rightly so - as a high-tech powerhouse (such as the Bill Gates-laden ad on CNN now). However, some parts of the economy and society are still quite low-tech. Dare I say poor? It is frequent in Taiwan to see dilapidated, old and illegal (no license plate) motorized or pedal-powered vehicles such as these. Elderly men and women use such vehicles to scavenge Taiwan for recycleables such as cardboard.

Police don't seem to enforce traffic rules against these poor senior citizens - not sure if that is good or bad for society.

Taiwanese food court redux

A food court in Taiwan - still bustling!

Driving with lights off - saving gas or bad drivers?

A rant here. Please don't misconstrue this as racism or as anti-Taiwanese or anti-Chinese. I am just concerned for the road safety of all who drive (including me) in this part of the world.

Why do about 1 in 20 drivers in "Greater China" (Taiwan and China) drive with their lights off at night? Saving on petrol (gas) -- is this scientifically valid? Or the bumper-to-bumper traffic congestion makes it seem that lights are unnecessary? Are are these drivers just bad drivers?

Civic Boulevard temple

A temple on Civic Boulevard (市民大道) in Taipei. Near the intersection of FuXing South Road. Close to the Breeze Center shopping mall.

Scooters galore

For those new to or visiting Taiwan, beware of the scooters:

Dome of CKS Memorial Hall

Interesting dome of the CKS Memorial Hall that shows the Kuomintang (Guomindang or KMT or 國民黨) flag. The KMT flag of course is the canton of the ROC (Republic of China) flag.

Changing of the guard - CKS Memorial Hall

The ceremonial changing of the guard at the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall in Taipei is worth a few minutes. Nice eye candy.

CKS Memorial Hall (中正紀念堂) at night

The CKS Memorial Hall (中正紀念堂) remains a really nice place for a walk or a show (theater), etc. Here are some photos at night:

Chiang Kai-shek's crib in Taipei

Former Taiwanese dictator, Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) kept a rolling residence in northern Taipei. This residence still takes up a lot of space in crowded Taipei, but is now a nice park within the city. One wonders if some of the rotting structures should be better preserved or not.

Taiwanese food court

A video of a typical Taiwanese food court - always bustling with activity and great tasting, fragrant food.

More Mom shots

Farmers' Market Taipei

Photos taken of me at the farmers' market near the GuangHua Computer Center in Taipei. Photos taken by my Mom during her October 2005 visit to Taiwan.

Traditional Taiwanese street theater

It appears that traditional Taiwanese street theater is alive and well:

Taipei 101 - view

The view from the observation deck of Taipei 101 -- the world's tallest building. Taiwan.