Snake Alley in Taipei

I visited Taiwan September 2000, this was the first time that I felt I was in a foreign country as there were no English Character signs and people rarely spoke English, the weather was poor for my entire trip. With the Neon Signs and densely packed building I felt I was in a Scene from Blade Runner!

On my free weekend I booked a tour into the mountains to view Wulai Waterfall, this was another trip in the rain, I saw a traditional wedding ceremony enacted, as was asked to participate . This involved having a woman sit on a chair that had been strapped to my back, after the performance the usual tat was for sale. During the ride back to Taipei there was an earthquake, but again I didn’t realise as I thought it was just bumpy roads.

One evening I was taken to an area called snake alley which had various stalls selling local produce, including live snakes which they would cut up in front of everyone.