Jon had a tax conference in Taipei so I decided (begged!) to tag along and experience Taiwan. The drawback was that Jon was in meetings during the days so I did most everything on my own. The silver lining: I got to explore whatever my little heart desired, at my own pace.
After wandering around a little bit I came to the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall.
The grounds were really beautiful. Just as I was lining up a photo these fountains sputtered up and music began to fill the air. I must have looked crazy, laughing to myself. It was just so perfectly cued!
I had been told by several friends who have been to Taiwan that the changing of the guards is not to be missed. I thought about taking video, but then decided to snap some pictures instead. It was really impressive.
The museum inside was quite nice and since I know little of Taiwan's history I found it very interesting. I left just as it was getting dark. Here you can see Taipei 101. It was the world's tallest building from 2004-2010. It is a really cool building, but it looks so strange because it is the ONLY tall building in Taipei! (OK, so there is one 85 story building, but only a handful of other buildings are even half the size of Taipei 101!)
You can also see the Grand Hyatt where we stayed (two brown towers in the center). Just before we left for Taiwan we learned that our hotel was haunted!!! It was built on the land of an old wartime political prison where many executions took place. The lobby is full of sacred scrolls and a Chinese sutra was positioned at the entrance to ward off evil spirits. Cree-ee-eepy!
Once Jon was done with meetings we went to the Shilin night market. What a fantastic place! I love night markets and this was one of my favorites for two reasons: 1. Tons of fun stalls to shop at cheap prices 2. THE FOOD! Oh, the food. It was unbelievably delicious! I even had fried milk, which was kind of like deep fried flan. Mmmmmm...
Past the food stalls we came to some games like you might find at a carnival, then found ourselves in this little snake restaurant. Yikes!
Just around the next corner was a temple. The market was energizing and dizzying. I'm pretty sure we walked around in circles all night and still saw new things every time 'round!
The next morning I set off for the National Palace Museum.
The grounds were really beautiful. I was lucky to arrive just in time for a guided tour. I have to say, this was a great museum. I highly recommend it! The collection is made up of many of the finest treasures from China's history. They were brought to Taiwan for protection when the Forbidden City in Beijing was threatened (and then overtaken) by the Japanese. It includes a permanent collection of almost 700,000 pieces that span over 8,000 years of Chinese history. I was fortunate to see their "top 100" pieces for the Republic of China's 100th anniversary celebration. Unfortunately, no photography was allowed. So this was my only shot. At the entrance.
One of the highlights was the "Jadeite Cabbage," a large piece of jade carved to look like bok choy. On the top are two tiny grasshoppers. You should have seen the line to view this cabbage. Crazy! It is a really famous piece, said to have been a gift to one of the emperors' brides. I'm glad I saw it. I even bought a tiny replica at the gift shop, just like all the other chinese tourists:)
I'm pretty sure this was a protest of some sort outside of the National Palace Museum, Tai Chi style.
Wandering around Taipei
When I looked up at this building I heard the theme song from Tetris in my head. And that's where it stayed for the rest of the day!
Next it was me vs the Jade Market.
I know nothing about jade or how to tell what's quality, but I really enjoyed taking it all in. There were so many beautiful things!
In the back corner of one store I came across this sight: a bored shop owner's son surfing the internet, sipping a Coke from McDonald's. No matter where you are, you can't escape american culture (for better or worse)!
The jade market and the flower market are built under this overpass. It was nice on this RAINY day!
The crosswalks in Taipei feature this little man with the conical hat, walking. As the time to cross shortens he accelerates to a run. Awesome. It made me smile every time I crossed the street!
I don't know what you're selling old man, but I want some. Street food in Taipei never disappoints!
Flower Market!!! Can you imagine the scent? Close your eyes and take it in!
The only sad thing about the flower market was knowing that I couldn't take any flowers home! They were gorgeous and cheap!
My sister Lesley adopted a dog from Taiwan (via a rescue in California) named Oliver. To my surprise I found his twin in Taipei!!! From left to right, Oliver's Taiwanese twin, the real Ollie, and her other dog, Lola.
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