Ben says:
Here we are with our luggage before setting off. A heavy amount to pack for a trip but remarkably light for moving. As we attempted to unpack we found it hard to know what to do with our stuff when we had little furniture, and in the work to clean the baby fell asleep and this was the only place to put her. Elnorra looks quite comfortable and she was so cute we had to take a picture. The last picture is an example of the way things are both different and the same here as in the U.S. This picture is taken feet from my work, which is also housed in a skyscraper. In fact it is more worth noticing if a building is shorter than 5 stories than taller. Taipei, I have heard, has the second highest population density in the world behind Bangladesh. Taipei is divided into twelve districts and the one in which we live, the Da-An district, has a population density of 27,576 persons per square kilometer. I remind you that a kilometer is smaller than a mile making it by my crude approximation almost 40,000 people per square mile. Yet I still don't feel particularly crowded! The busses and subway usually have plenty of room and there are still parks and trees... Really I must say that Taipei far from seeming crowded and dirty, as I have heard it called seems beautiful and clean with plenty of room as well as seeming unlimited commerce. The mountain park behind my house with its winding stairs and pagodas is an example!