A day in Keelung

Keelung is Taiwan's second biggest port. It has a great fish market. Above the fish market is an enclosed food court that includes numerous clothing and beauty shops.

Kids, cows, and cherry blossoms

More pictures of Jiufen

A trip to two mining towns in the northeast

A few pictures from my trip to Jiufen and Jinguashi, two gold mining towns perched on the hills, founded by the Japanese in the 1890s. These pictures are of Jinguashi's mining center now an "ecological park." The mining mural is in Jiufen.

A trip to a cherry blossom festival and a temple in Danshui

Some pictures from the past

Cool things around here

Many buildings have these water dispensers on each floor. They provide hot and cold water. The hot water is great for ramen-noodle instant lunches and coffee/tea.

The kids in one of the many malls in Taipei Main Station

The Amazing Taipei Main Station-metro, buses, trains, and shopping.

Beautiful Day in Danshui

Our favorite food stand operator

We like the food stands near our apartment. We patronize this gentleman's stand frequently. He serves pork or chicken with rice and cabbage.

More pictures from Qixing Mountain

Deadly stairs.


Qixing is the highest mountain in Taipei.

A trip to Betitou hot springs and a strenuous hike up Qixing Mountain

On Saturday we went to Beitou hot springs. It rained the whole day. We had an excellent vegetarian lunch. Checked into a hotel for two hours ($45US) and soaked in big tub supposedly supplied with hot springs water.

On Sunday I took the MRT to Beitou station then took a short bus ride to Yangmingshan National Park and hiked up Qixing Mountain. Yangmingshan is within the Taipei city limits. The "hike" amounted to climbing up steep stairs for about an hour and a half. The view from the peak was beautiful. A Taiwanese girl wanted to take her picture with me. Walking down I stopped at a free public hot springs. The warm water felt good. I still ache though from the climb.

Trip to Beitou Hot Springs

Here's a photo of Beitou at night. We visited the hot springs.

News stories from Taiwan

Lots of interesting news in today's paper. The health care debate continues here. Taiwan's health care program is in debt and the government has to raise premiums. The government proposed a $3/mo increase . . . The minister of justice says she will not execute any of the 44 death row inmates. She is a Buddhist. . . Front-page story on Michelle Obama's inauguration gown going into the Smithsonian. Jason Wu, a Taiwanese-American designed the gown. . . Consumers can use the Taipei bus/metro's "easy card" at 10,000 convenience stores (drug stores, 7-11, Starbucks, cinemas) for purchases, up to $100 per day; a maximum of $300 can be stored on the card.

Visit to Chiang Kai-shek Memorial, Daan Park, and 228 Memorial (Peace Park)

We visited the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial and a dinosaur exhibit. Antonio played basketball in Daan Park. We visited the 228 Memorial Museum and park.