Wednesday Wandering

Since my original flight from Taipei was canceled, I found myself with seven and a half extra hours on my hands. Time was spent this morning getting the itinerary nailed down, along with some work-related emails (the inbox is down below ten messages). I had until 3 PM to check out of the hotel, so what to do for five hours when I only had $11NT in my pocket (about 35¢). Wander of course.

I've found Taipei's side streets and back alleys to be more interesting than the main drags. The last journeys brought me to points north, east and south of the hotel, so naturally I headed west.

Various regions of Taipei seem to have specific retailers, such as the electronics district. While nowhere near as large as the electronics district, this area seemed to focus on automotive repair, scooter sales and golf equipment. I like cars, I like scooters but golf bores me to tears so no shots of clubs or bags. Sorry.

One of the nicer scooter shops:
New scooter delivery:
Christian church and/or school:
Liquor store. Do you want red wine or whisky?
Another robotic construction flagger. This one is cautious and wearing eye protection:
A beer distributor had their overhead door open. Taiwan Beer anyone?
Beater motorcycle. I love the patina:
I've really taken a liking to the animals I've found on Taipei streets:

very typical Taiwan street dog, about 35 lbs, pointy head and ears

It's amazing how the doggies stay out of the way of the scooter swarms, crazy taxis and renegade delivery trucks.

(not shown - two scooters barreling down on both the dog and me)

Getting barked at (again):

yeah, you're so tough, but come out from behind that scooter and we'll really see who's boss...

Typical auto repair shop, a one car wide storefront with a lift. Many mechanics were also working on cars in the alleys.
Yet another street market:
The shopkeeper was deftly slicing pineapple with a big-ass knife. Looked pretty good!
Fresh chicken above, fresher chicken below:
One of the many VW vans found here in Taiwan:
And back to my home away from home for a few more hours:

Landis Hotel