Around Taipei

Today we have a free day in Taipei. Are you brave enough to explore by using the Metro….the map looks complicated but I am sure we can work it out. A city always looks different from above.

We are heading for the hot springsbut  you need to catch another local train. Never mind, look  there’s a rice field right in the centre of the town .

Next stop? Let’s try the Botanical Gardens.

Now would you own a cat if you had a bird shop? This shopkeeper does.

Last stop for us today I think….I would like to see the old city.It is called the Bopiliao Historical Block. This is the original urban area first settled in Taipei.  It was still being used by shops but without modern plumbing and services, needed to be renovated. At present the renovations have allowed areas for exhibitions. I liked the section that explained how it developed through three periods. In the Japanese period it got its name as it means strip bark. Workers had that job and lived here. Stories of the different families and their traditions though the generations make the place seem real

Imagine , it took 200 people to print the original newspapers.

A little retail therapy to fill in time a coffee, I think . The bus comes at 3.40 and then we are homeward bound.