Before I keep going with this blog, let me just say that my observations aren't news to most people (and that's why I expect no one to read this!), and they are my impressions, from an American who likes hyperbole way too much. Enjjoy!
The trip from TPE airport to my in-law's home gave me my first glimpse of Taipei. For a city of 10 million, the skyline is rather low - and yes, as an American, everything is benchmarked to New York City. My wife tells me that the city was built this way because of the frequent earthquakes in Taiwan.
If any of you are familiar with the world's tallest buildings, it brings us to an interesting question: why the hell is Taipei the home of the tallest building in the world? Yes, the irony of the skyline is that practically everything is 5 stories tall, and then you end up with this building that towers over everything else. Does recent technology make this building immune to earthquakes? I really don't have any answers, so I guess this is a flaky post. I'm going to have to do some research on this one and update.
The other noticeable feature of the city are the homes. In Manhattan, everyone lives in high rises. In North Jersey, some people live in high rises. When you get even further away from New York city, to Morristown for instance, almost no one lives in a high rise. In Taipei, it doesn't matter how far away from the city you are, everyone lives in buildings clustered together to hold thousands of people. It's crazy, and its EVERYWHERE.
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