Re: Going to Taipei - where should I visit?It depends how much time you have. Apart from Mucha (Maokong) which is
really good I find Taipei a great disappointment regarding good tea.
Yes, near the station there are a few places, if you can find them.
Almost all you find is glitzy shops selling pearl tea! If you can,
visit Pinglin about 40 km south of Taipei where they produce Pao-chung
tea (=A5]=BA=D8=AF=F9 paper-wrapped tea) and have a large tea museum, the l=
argest
in Asia ( * w w w .sinica.edu.tw/tit/museums/0397_Tea.html ). Lots
of good tea-sellers along the street there. For any serious purchase
of pottery / ceramics, take the train to Yingge (still in Taipei
county) and spend a few hours in the very large number of shops along
the street just beside the station (visit the ceramic museum, too
* w w w .ceramics.tpc.gov.tw/en-us/Home.aspx ) In Kaohsiung there
are tea shops of quality, I was in one, but cannot find the address
now. Its near a small park in the center of town! Of course, with a
couple of days to spare you would take the train from Chiyai up
Alishan, where the region around 1000 meters produces High Mountain
Oolong in numerous plantations with a lot of families offering
accomodation in their homes. I was in Ruili and there are many other
such villages.
Bon Voyage
An