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3 small Taipei Museums near the Songjiang Nanjing MRT station

Taipei is full of museums, so we here at WoWasis love to group them into geographical areas where we can see them all in a day, or an afternoon. The following 3 museums are all close to either the Songjiang Nanjing (Luzhou line) or the Zhongxiao Xinshong (Bannan Line) stations, and can be easily seen […]

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Taipei’s 2 modern art museums are conveniently located in the same neighborhood

Taipei is full of museums, so we here at WoWasis love to group them into geographical areas where we can see them all in a day, or an afternoon. The Taipei Fine Arts Museum (TFAM) and the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) are only three MRT stops away from each other (or you could walk […]

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WoWasis visits Taipei’s exceptional MRT Metro rail system

Here at WoWasis, we like to say that great transportation systems make great cities even greater.  Urban above or below-ground rail systems are transformative. In Bangkok, for instance, the BTS Skytrain has opened entire neighborhoods to new commercial and tourism opportunities. In pre-Skytrain days, getting through Bangkok’s traffic was a nightmare. That must surely have […]

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Fortunes won and lost below the streets of Taipei

One of the hottest commercial scenes going on in Taipei happens every night at the underground transit mall running between Taipei’s train and bus, and MRT Metro stations, right under Zhongxiao Road. Known in English as the Station Front Metro Mall, some of the best action here seems to occur between the Z4 and Z6 […]

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WoWasis ranks English bookstores in Taipei

Even though Taiwanese are voracious readers, most Taiwanese bookshops have little for westerners wanting to read in English. We’ve visited four bookstores in Taipei that offer — in varying degrees, books for western readers. Here at WoWasis, our focus is on bookstores that offer books in English on Taiwanese culture and history. Navigating these stores […]

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Taipei’s e-Library Waiting Lounge at Taoyuan Airport: Taiwan finally goes high tech!

Taiwan’s Taoyuan airport in the capital city of Taipei has been deservedly maligned as being possibly the most Neolithic — from a westerner perspective — capital city airport in Asia. Forget about Western food (Asians will tell you the Asian food stinks, too).  In fact, Taipei resident Jenna Cody, quoted in the February 13 issue […]

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Miserable shopping experience for WoWasis in Taipei airport

The bookstore at the departure lounge in Taipei airport was staffed by three people, a girl at the cash register, a guy stacking magazines, and another guy just walking around.  Your WoWasis correspondents noticed a high-design writing pen behind a locked glass door, selling for USD $150, and we wanted to see it, so asked […]

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