My only exposure to everyday life as a visitor in Taipei was its streets. They were definitely alive and gave me the impression that much of life in Taipei is spent on its streets. Street vendors abound throughout the city. Even established businesses many times spill out onto the street. Night markets become centers of activity that are still going strong in the early morning hours. When I asked one of the desk clerks at the hotel if I would be able to find a cab back to the hotel late at night he smiled and replied "Sir, Taipei never sleeps". And so it was. The buzz of scooters and car traffic was constant. People, lots of them, were everywhere. They were friendly. They were helpful. When I drew my little pictures and used my best sign language they were patient and laughed with me. Not once did their behavior or their attitude make me uncomfortable. I made every effort to return the favor.

Finding necessary supplies was a time consuming process. First you had to find someone who spoke enough English to understand what it was you needed and then they would write down the address of the area in the city that might supply your needs. We had needs in the areas of electronics and hardware. There was an entire street of vendors in the hardware business that were housed in individual "stores" of less than 250 square feet. At the end of the day they would simply push the inventory that spilled onto the sidewalk back into their space, lower an overhead door, and lock it. We went there with a need for bolts to secure our characters to the steel decking. Of course we needed a tap to thread the holes as well as the drill bits to drill the holes to the correct size. It took some time but we managed to find what we needed after much sign language and numerous drawings.

If you subscribe to the adage that a picture is worth a thousand words then what follows is an essay on Taipei's streets and its people.

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