Wed Jan 2 2013 Taipei very clean and orderly. People very correct, polite, and helpful. In restaurant, packaged hand wipe at place. When we didn't use them, waiter handed them to us to use. People pass items (paper, documents,food etc) using 2 hands. Pedestrians crossing street are respected. Traffic lights indicate countdown times (green lights as well as red lights) as high as 70 seconds. Nice to know how long you have to cross or to wait. Masks: it seems as if about 5% of Taiwanese wear masks, young and old. We were told that it is a courtesy to wear a mask if you are contagious to protect others, or if you are concerned about pollution to protect yourself. Metro (MRT) efficient and cheap (20-30 NT$) depending on distance. Trains very long - 10 cars?
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