Some time back I took the train to the former coal-mining town of Houtong (猴硐 “Monkey Cave”) – also known as Taiwan’s Cat Village (猴硐貓村).

Cat Village is a world-famous destination filled with all things cat.  There are cat stamps, cat letterhead, cat-themed drinks, and I even had a bowl of really tasty “cat-ear noodle” soup at a restaurant called 猴硐貓村容環有味. Aside from cats, there are loads of great coffee shops to hang out in, and long stretches of roads to walk along for some quiet adventure that may include rusty old coal mining equipment, ramshackle buildings covered in mold, and an occasional cat-weary dog-eared dog.