A classical Chinese garden in Vancouver BC. Entry fee. I didn’t make it there but ran across it in a top20 list.
Category: Taiwan
Dr Sun Yat Sen – he’s everywhere!
Well, just about everywhere there are significant Chinese population, it would seem (recall he is the founder of “modern China” who overthrew the last Chinese emperor).
There are monuments/memorials/roads/historical sites in honour of Dr Sun Yat Sen in Taipei (Taiwan), Maui (Hawaii, USA), Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore and Penang (Malaysia)!
Given the large Chinese community in Toronto, I just googled it and found this memorial statue in Riverside Park.
Singapore vs Taipei street food
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/singapore/travel-tips-and-articles/77041
“Though without question a festival for nose and tastebuds, visually speaking most of Singapore’s centrally planned communal eateries have only slightly more charm than your average parking garage.”
Hmm. Well, I was a little disappointed with Taipei street food, but in a few weeks I’ll be able to compare Singapore (and Hong Kong) street food.
Update: having returned from Singapore now, I definitely give Singapore the win over Hong Kong, which in turn wins over Taipei, for street food.
Maui: Sun Yat-Sen park (father of Taiwan)
Apparently Sun Yat-Sen went to school in Hawaii, and his relatives lived in upcountry Maui (near Kula). He even planned some of the Chinese revolution from here.
There is a park with a new statue of him, with a great view of the ocean.
San Francisco: a “rebuttal” to some of my Taiwan comments
It turns out San Francisco has some of the things I found “advanced” in Taipei:
- Some dedicated motorcycle parking
- Intelligent transit video screens with arrival times (also, many bus stops have an LED screen that shows the next bus arrival time)
- Multi-lingual announcements on some transit systems (English, Mandarin and Spanish)
Misc Taipei notes (last ones!)
Some final misc notes on Taipei.
This should be the last Taipei note. See www.jantrabandt.com/wordpress/ if you missed the earlier posts.
- Some stores (like 7-11 and Family Mart) had a little machine that would heat-seal (in a few seconds) a plastic film on the top of a drink (e.g. coffee), making it spill-proof, at least until you push a straw into it when you are ready to drink it.
- You could use your EasyCard at some retailers, like 7-11
Map of Taipei with my points of interest
To put my Taiwan trip into a little perspective, see this google map of Taipei with places I went:
Bicycling routes in Taipei
There are almost 100km of bicycle trails along 5 river banks in the city, including out to the coast just past Danshui/Tamshui.
Unfortunately I didn’t get to do any bicycling in my limited time; the one day I tried, I found out I couldn’t rent a bicycle at one location and return it at another (as I had been misinformed at the tourist office).
For a detailed bicyling map see www.taipeitravel.net/download.do?fileName=/d_upload_ttn/att/files/10002736.pdf. (5 MB).
There is also a free short-term bicycle hire system called U-bike. Currently it’s only in Xinyi district (i.e. between Taipei City Hall/Sun Ya-sen Memorial Hall and Taipei 101). However, you have to have a smart chip credit card.
See www.taipeitravel.net/en/ for general Taipei visitor info.
Taipei: Random food photos
Here are some random food photos from around Taipei (some I ate, some I just saw):
More MRT signs (Taipei metro)
More signs in the Taipei metro: