New Orleans       The Organizers’ Forum spent most of our time in Taipei, so it is hard to generalize about the whole country, but in the largest city we can be a bit surer about our observations.

We were impressed with the infrastructure, especially when it came to transportation systems.  All transportation was very inexpensive, and, unlike other cities, we never had to ride in an automobile, Uber or taxi, the whole time we were there.  The express train from the airport was hardly the equivalent of $4 USD.  Getting on the bus was frequently 15 NT, or about 50 cents US.  The subway was often just 30 NT or a dollar.  In buying a ticket, the map would show you the fare next to your destination.

It was surprising that the machines usually only accepted cash and exact change, indicating they had not been updated to modern digital systems.  This was also true in restaurants and elsewhere that didn’t’ take credit cards.  ATMs frequently would only convert cash and didn’t recognize many US or Canadian bank debit cards, a rarity for such a developed country.  There’s obviously a story about this that we don’t know.

The traffic system was amazing.  Motor scooters are everywhere, as is true in many Asian cities, but in Taipei they were rigorously managed like the rest of the vehicular traffic.  Buses had their own lanes.  Thoroughfares were elaborately marked for scooters to have a separate turning lane from cars and to move into a “box” in the front of the traffic line so they weren’t competing with cars at the starting point.  These precautions must result in fewer accidents and greater safety.

Signs were everywhere to prevent jaywalking and announcing the fines between $10 and $15 for infractions.  Pedestrians have the right-of-way, and it was respected.  There were lots of traffic police, but otherwise not much visible police presence.  Most importantly, there were timed walk signs at almost every intersection, even sometimes small alleys.  Amazingly, Taiwanese respected the signs.  It was impossible to guess at the algorithm because it was up to 90 seconds on some smaller streets and hardly 30 on some larger.  People waited patiently, though, whatever the number.  In one of our meetings, we were informed there was a dramatic cultural shift with the building of the CRT, rapid transit system.  People began to respect the lines drawn for entry, and this spilled out throughout the city’s systems.  Living in New Orleans and spending time in many cities, the cleanliness of streets everywhere was noticeable as well.

The rain is serious, and the climate feels tropical.  You could feel the sun acutely, and it was impossible not to get your sweat on.  We walked a lot.  One of our group had been resigned to no exercise this week, but we regularly ticked off 10,000 or more steps per day.  A lot of people wore shorts and sandals.  We saw very little formal dress.

Food was relatively cheap.  Bars weren’t common, and it took some searching for some of our party to find a beer, although 7/11’s were as common in Taipei as in Japan and elsewhere.  There are a lot of coffee shops of all shapes and sizes.

The central business district was widely distributed, rather than filled with skyscrapers lined chock-a-block like New York and so many other cities.  High rises accumulated near many subway stops, but small and large operations sat side by side in most areas.  There was a lot of ongoing construction.

Let’s just say this.  I won’t go back soon, but if ever invited, I would be there in the blink of an eye.