Monga/Wanhua district, Taipei

Spent some time in the historical suburb of Monga this afternoon. The area has become somewhat of tourist attraction due to a recent Taiwanese gangster film of the same name.

The area was one of the first to be built during the development of Taipei before construction headed eastward. As you might expect, it is very old. Volk acted as my guide through a series of tiny pathways between the aging buildings, often less than a meter wide. The image above is actually the exterior of someone's house living amongst these alleyways.

These backstreets led us to a tiny shrine perched at the top of an archway. The stairs were so narrow and steep that I could barely fit half a shoelength on each step. It appears as though many stray cats have taken up residence at this shrine. As soon as I got close they all scattered, running accross a series of tin rooftops and carefully watching my movements from a safe distance.

Further down the road was the famous Huashi Street Night Market; the first of its kind in Taiwan. It was more a gathering of massage palours and strange seafood, some of which I'd never seen before. There were also a couple of stores specialising in snake meat and blood - photography was strictly forbidden.

It was a fascinating area though I'm glad I had Volk with me. It's not somewhere that I'd like to spend too much time alone in.