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Cobras (some certain and some probable) I've seen in Taipei

Photos of these snakes: Photos of all these snakes are at  this dropbox link.    The cropped photos are selected from the best ones.  You do not need to have a dropbox account to download or view them.  (You might have to click at the very bottom of the menu to download without an account.) New Taipei City: March 15, 2023, unknown time Type of snake:   I believe this was a cobra, particularly from the sound of the hiss it made when striking.  It was just out of range of my leg. Location: Somewhere within about 100 meters of  this google map location  (from memory) Aftermath:   Maybe a month afterwards the city cut back all the brush where that snake had been, and they put a fence between the bike path and the river.  I assume that is because of the cobra problem there.   (I did not report it to the city, but I suspect someone else did.) New Taipei City  April 25, 2023 12:57pm Type of snake:   People on ...
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Advice for Americans visiting Taipei for the first time

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I moved to Taipei three years ago, and I've compiled a list of important things to tell my friends who visit here.   Some dangers for clueless foreigners in Taiwan Dangers for pedestrians:   Bikers and electric motorcyclists in Taiwan tend to sneak up and pass you from behind at a distance of inches, so a careless step in an unexpected direction without looking can get you run over even if you remain on a sidewalk .  The rules of the sidewalk are much more like the rules of the road in the USA:  If you're going to move sideways or change direction then look behind you to make sure there isn't a biker or motorcyclist ( motorcycles sometimes come up on the sidewalk ) about to run you down.  Another thing to avoid is stepping out from behind a post on the sidewalk, because you can get run over by a biker or motorcyclist.  (Buildings often overhang sidewalks, so there are lots of posts around supporting them.) My first week in Taiwan I was standing at a fo...
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