Taipei City and New Taipei City 

Image Overlooking Tamsui River and Taipei Port, on Flickr

Welcome to Beautiful Taipei, this is something that I never thought I would say when I first came here, but as you see in the picture above, there are times when you can find real beauty here...

The good news is that there are many wonderful opportunities awaiting the intrepid travelers to Taipei City and the surrounding areas of Northern Taiwan. So let me be your guide, if you will, as I take you on a trip around Taipei, the best of Northern Taiwan, and show you places that I have known for years as well as those I have just discovered.

Why? Because as some of the pictures will show you, our city changes fast and frequently: roads appear/disappear, skyscrapers shoot upwards, urban renewal replaces factories, and all in the space of a few years.

It's been a warm day here in Tamsui today, and there was a warm wind blowing... augurs of the approaching typhoon... and I'm reminded of how pleasant the weather really is here (OVERALL!) with the weather somewhat cooler than 37C of recent days!

Our favorite spring and late summer haunt is near the North East Coast, one of several beaches near Fuji Harbor. But there are a couple of beaches that are always popular with tourists (though there are a couple of others not far away that are pretty decent - and have NO tourists): LaoMei Village Beach, and White Sands Bay (the most popular).

So, we're thinking: buy decent beach towels (always be prepared!), a couple of decent deckchairs, an icebox, and a large beach umbrella. Then we'll be able to enjoy some of those fantastic beaches AFTER the hordes of students and tourists have to go back to work!

Kenneth