Yeah actually going for a beer in the gay bars at Red House would also be a decent stop. I think most have coverings for the rain
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Needs more commas
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Thatās why me and Tinder, we are not a match.
Guy
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Iām hardly a huge success story, and have found writing less is more
If you are very generous and follow the MRT route, you get somewhere in the ballpark, closer to 15 miles, but of course if you fly like a crow then itās definitely more like 15 kilometrĆ©s.
I love Tamsui/Danshui. Not necessarily on a weekend, but in general. Great to have a place like this so close to central Taipei.
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Oh I didnāt know it was so close from central Taipei, might go there soon to soak up some sweet rays
For rainiy days: did anyone mention shrimp fishing?
Not sure if thatās a Taipei-only activity, but certainly fun if the museum, shopping and cafĆ© angles have been exhausted.
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Grand Hotel. Coffee is affordable. You donāt have to stay there
Former USA embassy. Eisenhower met CKS there
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I donāt have a credit card currently. Suddenly I need one. Should be possible to just head up there and wander around to get a room though, right? Looks like lots of options in and around Zhongzheng, Iāve got money for a nice place but can deal with a cheap place. Thereās nothing going on this weekend, is there?
Another specific question: where are the best usee book stores for English books?
Today, a friday, they were closed around 6pm. Iāll have to try mad masalas places next
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Some cool beer gardens at red house, havenāt seen anything like this in K-town!
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That reminds me, the old Westin used to have a VERY nice high end whiskey shop on the 2nd floor. They rebranded to the Hotel Metropolitan Premier Taipei, so I donāt know if itās still there, but might be worth ducking in to check if youāre passing by.
If youāre staying in Ximen, thereās a good hiking store just down the road:
A bit further along thereās also a great bouldering gym, if thatās your kind of thing:
Lol, i walked past it in my wandering but didnāt go in because it looked like high end no discount. If only youād suggested sooner!
I donāt know what their discount situation is, but they have a good reputation in the climbing community, at least.
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Suggest
228 Park. The landmark building where Japanese surrender to USA in 1945 is still there.
Or one of the temples.
Itās interesting to watch people there and speculate on whatās going on in their lives and compare to oneās own life. My parents went to church every day and often forced me to go. Usually the tiny crowd was only old people mostly widows and devouts like my dad. I remember one of the most beautiful women in the town with neon blue eyes and 2 gorgeous daughters in church on weekdays. She was married to president of the steel mill. Did she have everything or not? My guess was he was doing something that made her need divine intervention. He later did 3.5 years for embezzling at the mill.
Another time I saw in church on weekdays a 20 year old girl and salutatorian in a class of 500 ā whoād been overwhelmed with the biological urge to marry ā at 19. Why was she in church? What did she want from god? I donāt know but later her tall thin dainty ex husband globetrotted on the airlines as a steward. She had to raise 2 boys as the man of the house and the woman
Taiwan has many temples,
temple for good grades
temple to find spouse
Temple to ask for this
Temple to ask for that
temple for ____
Oh? Which building?
A
Itās easy to spot. Looks just like a radio tower office.
Announcement of surrender was at 228 park radio tower
Handover and signing on Oct 25, 1945 occurred at Taipei city hall
On October 25, 1945, a seemingly auspiCious day, What odd fate awaits not 1 but BOTH signers?
Iāll leave that to the curious
B
You might also visit original USA embassy.
Eisenhower was there and met CKS.
Mao was bombing Matsu until Eisenhower showed up.
CKS asked Eisenhower for 1 trillion in todayās dollars to reinvade mainland China.
Joe Stillwell tipped of Eisenhower that CKS was a con artist.
Ike told CKS to hollow out Matsu and put defensive works inside
You can eat and have a movie at the original US Embassy
When Carter recognized China not Taiwan there were mass demonstrations there, Attack on embassy.
Iām a history buff. I had a cappuccino in the room where Mao met Nixon. This happened at the Beijing Hotel. Itās not cheap. But I checked off an item on my bucket list.
For Halloween I want to stay at the home of Lizzie Borden (without my wife and little girl knowing what happened there). Itās the closest thing to reliving The Shining. Wish me luck
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You are mixing this up with Zhongshan Hall.
But 228 Peace Park, even without Zhongshan Hall, is awesome. Historic meeting spot for the gay community; now home of the 228 Monument and the 228 Memorial Hall museum; some crazy late dictatorship era pavillions trying to make the place look like China; and the site of Panaiās long-term protest for Indigenous land rights.
Itās also a lovely urban park.
Guy