From Taipei to Singapore

Yesterday was my last day in Taipei; I spent it going up into the "mountains" just outside of Taipei to an area called Maokong. There's a new gondola system that takes you up there from the zoo at the edge of town. The ride is about 20 minutes (it's a long trek), but I had to stand in line for 1 1/2 hours to get onto the gondola. A very inefficient system....luckily I had a magazine to read. Anyway, here's a view from my gondola as we went up the hill:

And a view of the city's edge from the gondola:

And finally, the top, Maokong station. This area was once used to grow tea (there's still some growing there.....I don't think you can see the plants in the following photo because everything is green, but they're there).


And the road going through Maokong...

The day was grey and drizzly. I had a nice time, however, and am glad I went. I went and had tea at one of the local tea houses. It was expensive...about US$10, but a good experience. You bought a little can of the tea, and they bring out all the stuff you need to make it yourself. Needless to say, I had to ask how to do it properly.


I ate some food on a stick from a couple of the local vendors, and then headed downtown where I got lost in the underground mall system that surrounds the main train/subway system. Eventually I found my way through, and had some noodle soup (with freshly made noodles).

A last view of Taipei, at the night market up the street from where I was staying.

A note of interest.....the people of Taiway really like pets. Lots of little dogs and petshops (plus sad puppy/kitten markets, where the animals are kept in tiny cages that would easily be illegal in the west). Here's a (slight blurry) picture of a dog I saw on the street wearing a cute little outfit:

This morning I flew in to Taipei....here's the gate that I left from.

I made it to my hotel in the Little India section of Singapore. It's really hot and muggy here, and everybody wants to sell you a suit. Just a few minutes after leaving my hotel, I was walking down the street and was acosted by guy who wanted to show me his camera shop. It turns out, they also sell suits. Three minutes later another guy got me into his shop; I did have a mild interest in a shirt or two. After giving me a beer, he started on the hard sell. I ended up buying one shirt, for about $60; this price seems a bit high so I was going to look at other places and get further pricing info before making the plunge into more shirts. My shirt will be ready tomorrow...we'll see how it comes out. One factor in my decision to buy more shirts will definately be the mediocrity of the restaurant the guys in the shop recommended.

Here's one photo of Little India, along with a picture of (a small portion of) the food court across the street from my hotel.

And yes, there is a 7-11 in Little India.