Taipei Metro

Didn't actually do that much today. I did hit up the riverside for some ball and took on a six foot high schooler one on one. Eked out the win against a lumbering Ben Kim type, but couldn't quite punish him outside cuz I had no jumper. Basketball takes four times as much effort in this weather. I played for a solid half hour and wanted to die.

We hit up Din Tai Fung - 鼎泰豐 for dinner. This establishment is famous for their juicy pork dumplings or Xiaolongbao - 小籠包. The chain actually has one in California as well I think. All in all, I don't totally love Xiaolongbao like a lot of people do, but I had a pretty awesome time. We had a variety of other dishes too, and V pretty much singlehandedly took down a bowl of hot and sour soup. Mmmm.

Since, I don't have too much to talk about, I thought I'd give you my thoughts on the Taipei Metro. It didn't actually begin operations until 1996, so it by far the newest and nicest subway system I have ever seen. The stations are pretty much impeccable, largely due to an enforced law preventing eating, drinking, and even gum-chewing within a certain distance of the trains.


Trains are super fast and super quiet. I always wondered how it was possible for the trains to be so quiet until I saw this:


The trains run on tires!!! I guess when you don't have to worry about anything freezing ever you can do stuff like this. I am totally uncertain what the exact logistics are, but rubber-to -whatever contact is undoubtedly much quieter than the metal-to-metal contact you get in every other city in the world.

I guess when you can design an entire subway system as late as the 90's you get great tracks, quality trains, and excellent station layouts. There are signs with English everywhere and it's pretty much impossible to get lost. Maps in the stations display the surrounding areas with great detail. All in all, it's just a great system for foreigners to wander about the city. Plus everyone here speaks English anyway, including the high school kid I served on the court.