No other part of London excites and fascinates the soul in quite the way that Soho does. Its ability to condense the very best and worst of this great city into one square mile remains unparalleled. Soho, like all the best areas, is a place of absolute contradictions. It has sleaze yet spirituality; it has the poor but attracts the rich: it is stylish but always slightly edgy.

Soho has so much to offer that its streets are packed with all classes. Some are driven by food, heading for classy restaurants such as the Italian Quo Vadis on Dean Street (whose upstairs flat Karl Marx once lived and wrote in), or the Indian Red Fort on Frith Street. Some are heading for the musicals, in particular Mamma Mia at the Prince Of Wales Theatre on Old Compton Street, the Abba musical which has run for years. Some are here for the clothes, tailor made by the likes Mark Powell on Berwick Street, bought from individual clothes outlets such as Pop on Great Monmouth Street, or taken from huge outlets such as Ben Sherman on Carnaby Street.

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I love Taipei.  Not from the perspective of someone from the USA, but as a native New Yorker. There are strong parallels between our respective cities. Taipei, like New York City, sits off the coast of a very large and powerful country; we acknowledge their existence, but we pretty much try to do our own thing regardless of whether the mainland approves or not.

I have been traveling to Taiwan since 2004 and completed nearly 3-month stays in 2005 and in 2007. My girlfriend, a resident of Taipei, reciprocates by visiting me at half yearly intervals. This has given me a great view and appreciation of the city. Taipei to me represents safety, comfort and a second home. I love the infrastructure, the look and design of their buildings, their spotless MRT subway line, and the mish-mash of old and new. The Taiwanese adherence to tradition is coupled with the need to push forward and modernize. The trick, as always, is to find the proper balance between progress and heritage. This never-ending clash of ideas and interests is the engine that provides Taipei with its identity as much as it does New York City.

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