What's better for John after 36 hours sick in bed than a nice hike up a mountain, 600 feet straight up? Nothing! It's another beautiful spring day here in Taipei - 76 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. This mountain offers many stops on the way up with huge panoramic views of the Taipei Basin. The city proper is about 3 million and the metro Taipei is about 7 million. When the Japanese colonized from late 1800s until after WW2, they modernized the place - utilities, roadways, and lots of other infrastructure. They also left behind remnants of their culture like (among other things) politeness and cleanliness. And the ability to properly stand in line, which is unheard of in mainland China. It's a nice place to visit and the people are really friendly and helpful. No significant language issues and there are very very few westerners. In the three days we've been here we have seriously seen fewer than 100 westerners. And they have all been clustered at the tourist spots like the Taipei 101 and the Shilin night market and even then they are far, far outnumbered by Asians. I'm sure there are plenty of tourists but it doesn't feel that way at all.
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