See the True Taiwan: an insiders guide

Teapot mountain is a cute name for an enjoyable ocean side hike located a short ride from Jiu Fen's old street. The hike gets its name from the view of the rock outcropping at the summit of the trail which looks like a teapot without its handle. From start to finish you'll need to budget between two and three hours of your day to get it done, less if you're an avid hiker and decide not to climb your way around to higher peaks nearby. It's a more forgiving journey than the one up nearby Mt. Keelung, and while the view from the top isn't quite as epic on a beautiful day it has more character and far fewer people. From Taipei take bus 1062 from ZhongXiao FuXing MRT which is labeled Jin Gua Shi. The pick up point changes fairly often so check the station map to confirm you get to the right spot. You can also take bus 788 from Keelung, and if you're out at Rui Fang station there are two buses serving the mountain from there. The bus route to/from Taipei...

On a recent mission to back up all of the old photos on my phone I came across this photo which still made me laugh. It's the sort of classic photo mash up that quietly works its way into Taiwanese society, and you'd miss it if you weren't taking your time to enjoy the little things. The caption loosely translates to "clean up after your pet. Don't leave s**t on the ground". Considering the punishment is can be as steep as 6,000 NT I'm surprised there aren't more tickets about dog poop. But then again, when you consider how many dogs run around without owners or just roaming the neighborhood till they are let back into the house, it's a miracle there isn't a ton more gold lying in wait along the streets of Taiwan. Found the picture at JiuFen 九份 near a wooden ocean overlook. The following photo was also taken from the same spot, just 180 degrees in the other direction. Not "Spirited Away" worthy, but a very nice sigh...