With very little knowledge of the language – I only knew ni hao, xie xie, wei, xiao long bao – seeing signs with drawings and English words in Taipei was really helpful, and sometimes amusing, even.

Expressive emoticons keep the commuters safe.

 

Ximending, best visited at night, is loud, colorful, alive, thanks in part to its neon signs and billboards.

 

Fashion and flashing lights are all around Ximending. I definitely had sensory overload there; I was so awe-struck, I didn’t know what to focus on: people watching? Beauty bargain hunting? Clothes shopping? Eating? Ximending has everything (spoken like SNL’s Stefon).

 

At Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s Memorial Hall, you can salute in front of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the founding father of the Republic of China; or if that’s a little awkward for you, watch the hourly changing of the guards. Go to the balcony for a better view of the choreography.

Hot tip: the Memorial Hall is the best place to see and photograph Taipei 101, one of the tallest buildings in the world. 
It was raining really hard that day, and the fog was crazy!

 

 

I bought sausage and it was very grateful and polite

 

Chit for that.

 

Do you like looking and taking photos of signs, too? What are your favorite signs you encountered during your travels?