Good morning 🌞, good morning!! I am sitting at a temple, literally directly under the Taiwan Gods watching over me as I write to you.
I was smitten by Taipei the moment I arrived here. The people are really nice (for the most part). Their public transportation system (MRT) is super wheelchair accessible and clean. However, you do need to get out in certain exits in order to utilize the elevators. AND there are wheelchair accessible bathrooms everywhere! There is a wheelchair accessible bathroom at almost every MRT station. The trains are easy to navigate and the staff is super helpful. They even have a lower ticket 🎫 purchase machine at every station in addition to a kiosk with resourceful staff.
I didn’t do this when I first arrived into Taipei, but I suggest you purchase a metro card as soon as you arrive here. According to some really nice and friendly French boys I met, I heard you earn metro points by using it. I’ve just purchased single journeys tokens. You zap the token against the turnstile when you enter and return it in the turnstile exit slot when you leave — no plastic or paper is wasted. It is a really beautiful system that I would suggest for D.C. and NYC to adopt.
I am truly so happily surprised at how thoughtful the infrastructural layout is for people with mobility disabilities. Yesterday I visited two of their oldest sites, National Palace Museum (founded in 1925) and Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall (started in 1976), and they were both amazingly accessible and enjoyable to maneuver around. There were a few steps going out into the courtyard of the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall, but otherwise it was perfect! I suggest if you are scratching your head on how to make an old building built before the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 accessible, please check out these two magnificent attractions. They are not only breathtakingly beautiful, but they are made even more gorgeous by being accessible to all.
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