The Sites
I've now been to most if not all of Taipei's main tourist destinations. The subway system here makes it super convenient to go anyplace you want. The trains are always packed and amazingly, the average wait time for each train is only 3 minutes or so. 
Probably the most visited Taipei landmark is the current tallest building in the world, Taipei 101; world record set in 2004 at 508 meters. It also boasts the world's fastest elevator topping speed at 1,101 meters per minute. Sorry, I do not know what that is in miles per minute. My inferior American education didn't teach me the metric system. What I do know is that it took exactly 37 seconds to reach the 89th floor of the observation deck. As we were going up, I can feel the g-force closing the airway to my ears.
Luckily, I had a full view of the building from my hotel window.
Taipei 101 is located in the heart of Taipei's financial district. In fact, the building is connected to the World Trade Center, Convention Center, and the Grand Hyatt Hotel. Inside 101 is a high end shopping mall filled with the most expensive brand name stores. As with most malls in Taipei, 101 is a high rise mall with many floors. Space is limited here so it's easier to build up rather than across.
101 is also connected by a sky-walkway to other major buildings such as Viewshow Cinemas, a 24 hour multiplex movie theater; Shin-kong Mitsukosi Department Store, a Japanese based mall; and New York New York Shopping Center, yup, an American based shopping mall. As one would expect, the crowd here is very hip and young. Inside New York New York were stores like Toys R Us and the coolest name for a donut shop ever.
Ironically, I heard this is a Japanese based donut chain.
Another popular tourist attraction is the National Palace Museum. It is the biggest and most popular museum in Taiwan and is renowned for its architecture and historical significance.
Most of the items on display are treasured artifacts saved and passed down from the ancient Chinese Dynasties of old. There are many paintings and priceless Chinese Calligraphy art on display, but you won't find any art from any Western European influenced artists. It's not what I'm used to in a museum as I'm more fond of art from the Renaissance period. But it was pretty incredible seeing how intricate some of the artifacts were considering some were made over 3 to 4 thousand years ago. Unfortunately, cameras were not allowed in most of the display rooms.
Next to the National Theater and Concert Hall of Taiwan is the Chaing Kai-Shek National Memorial Hall. He was one of China's great military leaders and president of the Republic of China (ROC). I knew about him when I was young mainly because his face was on all the money in Taiwan. But I never really learn about his significance and great accomplishments in school. Or maybe I did but just don't remember because I was so young. Regardless, here is the Wikipedia link to him if you are interested in learning a little bit of Chinese history. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiang_kai_shek
The Memorial is gigantic and there are some cool artifacts inside on display. But what impressed me more was the design of the three main monuments placed in the same rectangular square. It's quite a sight to see. Here is the Memorial.
And here is the view from the Memorial looking out into the square. As you can see, the whole square is quite massive. I don't think a picture can really do it justice.
Taiwan is also known for its numerous hot springs. Here in Taipei, the Beitou Hot Springs Museum offers tourists a quick overview of how hot springs work, how they're formed, and how they're used. Right next to the museum is a public hot springs area and I was able to experience one for the first time.
I put my foot in the stream but could only last about a second before I had to pull it out (that's what she said). I literally felt like my foot was being scorched. And as you can see from the next picture, the steam coming from the spring is no joke. 
See Blanco #1 and #2, I don't just eat and sleep while on vacation.
Probably the most visited Taipei landmark is the current tallest building in the world, Taipei 101; world record set in 2004 at 508 meters. It also boasts the world's fastest elevator topping speed at 1,101 meters per minute. Sorry, I do not know what that is in miles per minute. My inferior American education didn't teach me the metric system. What I do know is that it took exactly 37 seconds to reach the 89th floor of the observation deck. As we were going up, I can feel the g-force closing the airway to my ears.
Luckily, I had a full view of the building from my hotel window.
Taipei 101 is located in the heart of Taipei's financial district. In fact, the building is connected to the World Trade Center, Convention Center, and the Grand Hyatt Hotel. Inside 101 is a high end shopping mall filled with the most expensive brand name stores. As with most malls in Taipei, 101 is a high rise mall with many floors. Space is limited here so it's easier to build up rather than across.
101 is also connected by a sky-walkway to other major buildings such as Viewshow Cinemas, a 24 hour multiplex movie theater; Shin-kong Mitsukosi Department Store, a Japanese based mall; and New York New York Shopping Center, yup, an American based shopping mall. As one would expect, the crowd here is very hip and young. Inside New York New York were stores like Toys R Us and the coolest name for a donut shop ever.
Ironically, I heard this is a Japanese based donut chain.Another popular tourist attraction is the National Palace Museum. It is the biggest and most popular museum in Taiwan and is renowned for its architecture and historical significance.
Most of the items on display are treasured artifacts saved and passed down from the ancient Chinese Dynasties of old. There are many paintings and priceless Chinese Calligraphy art on display, but you won't find any art from any Western European influenced artists. It's not what I'm used to in a museum as I'm more fond of art from the Renaissance period. But it was pretty incredible seeing how intricate some of the artifacts were considering some were made over 3 to 4 thousand years ago. Unfortunately, cameras were not allowed in most of the display rooms.
Next to the National Theater and Concert Hall of Taiwan is the Chaing Kai-Shek National Memorial Hall. He was one of China's great military leaders and president of the Republic of China (ROC). I knew about him when I was young mainly because his face was on all the money in Taiwan. But I never really learn about his significance and great accomplishments in school. Or maybe I did but just don't remember because I was so young. Regardless, here is the Wikipedia link to him if you are interested in learning a little bit of Chinese history. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiang_kai_shek
The Memorial is gigantic and there are some cool artifacts inside on display. But what impressed me more was the design of the three main monuments placed in the same rectangular square. It's quite a sight to see. Here is the Memorial.
And here is the view from the Memorial looking out into the square. As you can see, the whole square is quite massive. I don't think a picture can really do it justice.
Taiwan is also known for its numerous hot springs. Here in Taipei, the Beitou Hot Springs Museum offers tourists a quick overview of how hot springs work, how they're formed, and how they're used. Right next to the museum is a public hot springs area and I was able to experience one for the first time.
I put my foot in the stream but could only last about a second before I had to pull it out (that's what she said). I literally felt like my foot was being scorched. And as you can see from the next picture, the steam coming from the spring is no joke. 
See Blanco #1 and #2, I don't just eat and sleep while on vacation.
posted by Presto at 7:22 PM
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