Hiking

It's very common to see the statues of Buddha or Guan Yin (the Goddess of mercy) in the mountains of Taiwan. They are found in temples, shrines, caves, or sometimes just on big rocks. On Elephant mountain in Taipei, there are many statues of Buddha, too.

How to get to Elephant Mountain?

From Taipei 101 it takes about 15 minutes to get to the start of the hiking path.

First, walk east along Xinyi Road for about 10 minutes to the junction of Song Ren Rd and Xinyi Road Section 5.

Riverside bike trails

Who would dare to ride a bicycle in Taipei, with its busy roads full of traffic? Actually, if you want to ride a bicycle without worrying, there are more than 100 kilometers of beautiful, peaceful cycle paths along the three rivers that flow through Taipei. They are only for bicycles - no cars or scooters are allowed. Bicycles are available for rent at low prices at several locations along the bike paths.

If you've ever wandered around in the busy center of Taipei, feeling bored of shopping, or tired of meetings. Elephant mountain is a different experience. It's almost like Central Park in New York. You would imagine that mountains would be far from the city center, but Elephant mountain is only 5 minutes walk away from the Taipei center, the tallest building, Taipei 101.

The slowest journey on the high speed railway

Jake visited me to study in June 2008. He is responsible for very important safety work on Taiwan's 'bullet train', the High Speed Railway (HSR). Most people's trip on the 300 km/h High Speed Rail takes less than 90 minutes. But for Jake, the journey took weeks. He traveled by foot.