Not a place many people visit, but I’d agree with Rough Guide when they call Taipei Asia’s most under-rated city. It’s where the IT press go every year for Computex; I’ve been there three years (2006, 2007, and this year). Here’s some photos not of motherboards or netbooks, but of the place where they’re born.

Close-up detail of a painted door, temple, Taipei.

Businessmen praying before work. Incense burns, and people rub the smoke into their clothes for good luck. This was taken at Longshan temple, one of Taipei’s busiest.

Entrance to a temple, crammed in between shops and newer buildings.

Two things Taipei is never short of: rain and scooters.

Amazingly, I saw this guy directing traffic every morning, so he seemed perfectly able to survive the regular onrush of scooters.

Despite the fact it rains a lot – at least when Computex is on, in June – it’s always warm and humid.

A scooter zipping towards Taipei 101, until very recently the world’s tallest building.

Two views of the city from 101.