A long time ago Taipei was a city of houses. Each house had a large brick wall around the property with a large yard or garden separating the house from the outer wall. But like with any city the houses went away and were replaced by apartment buildings and office buildings.
There are a small number of homes left in Taipei. Most of these are in a government area and used as homes for government officials and those who had connections to the former rulers of Taiwan. However there are a few other house around other parts of the city.
The picture above is of one such house. Like most of the homes they are actually uninhabited. This one is missing glass in some of the windows. But somebody must take care of it, as the garden seems like somebody comes by every few months to make sure it isn't too overgrown. It's a shame that it's fallen into such disrepair though, especially given that whoever owns this is absurdly rich.
The reason I know this is because this home and garden is taking up a half block in the most valuable property area in the whole country. Yet they have no need to sell the land for a large amount of money even though it's a home they don't even use.
Speaking as a guy who spends less than five bucks a day on food and other daily needs, I wonder what it's like to be so rich. But mostly I just wonder if whoever owns this house has a daughter!
