There are always a few things that come to mind when you think about Asia and Asian culture in general. For me the words that I associate with Asian culture are: food, colorful, crowded and gardens.
During my trips to Taipei, Taiwan’s capital city, in 2004 and 2005, I had the chance to visit a few typical Asian gardens, not just their modern skyscrapers. I’m not sure if they’re called Japanese gardens or Chinese gardens, so my apologies to those that feel offended.
Anyway, I still remember quite vividly my first visit, mainly because of the fish pond where giant white, red and yellow creatures came to be feed by hand. I guess I had that image in mind about fish that run out of sight at the slightest noise you make. Not the fish I’ve seen there…

I also believe gardens in Asia, not just Taiwan, are great places for the community to chill in the hot summer days or when humidity from the rain season challenges your body, as it did with mine. I remember that temperatures were not higher than 25 degrees Celsius, which sounds OK, but because of the high humidity it was pretty hard to breathe and your clothes would get soaking wet after the slightest effort.






So you can imagine that a visit to a public garden is a smart choice, especially if you love nature. You get a perfect mix of vegetation, ponds fauna and resting places where you can read a book or talk with your friends. The entrance is free, as I recall it, but make sure you leave everything untouched, as great effort is made to keep these gardens clean, neat and organized. There was even a guy who’s job was to clean the pond from leaves falling down from the trees nearby.
Depending on the garden there’s local fauna you’ll meet on the small alleys or there’s a special area, a small zoo if you will, where the animals are kept out of reach, but can be admired through the fences. So, if you’re in Asia don’t forget to plan a trip to a local public garden. There are plenty of things to see.
Oh, where did you find the garden? When I was in Taipei last November I couldn’t find any (it’s true I wasn’t looking for one).
If memory serves me well that particular garden was on the road towards the National Museum in Taiwan, pretty close to it. I’m sorry I can’t exactly pin point it.