Exams are finally over and I can update about Taiwan again! It's now less than a week before I leave, and I just ordered a tiny camcorder online so hopefully it will come before then and I can show videos from my next trip! ^^ For now, here's info about the sightseeing from the second part of my winter Taiwan trip.
1. Taipei 101, AT&T Mall, and Xinyi District
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| A Cloudy Day at Taipei 101 |
Rain seems to follow me everywhere. During my entire trip there were maybe one or two times that it wasn't raining, and during these days it was still very cloudy. Even for my next trip, the precipitation rate is predicted to be 60% with scattered thunderstorms every day.
Before going to Taipei 101, my friend and I grabbed some lunch at the Taipower Building. There is an amazing food court, and I could have spent hours there wandering around and shopping! We were able to have a feast for a reasonable price... yum yum!
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| My favorite... BBQ Pork Buns |
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| Some meatball wrapped in rice |
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| Free side dishes.. some yummy veggies and Scallion Pancake (drool) |
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Beef noodle soup... not my favorite, but I don't really like beef...
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After stuffing ourselves full of food, we digested by walking the 10-20 minute trip from MRT Taipower Building Station to Taipei 101.
On this day I was with a friend, and although we spent a good amount of time in the building, we decided not to go to the observatory due to the cloudy weather. The inside of the building was really nice and the architecture was amazing, but the mall was too expensive so we didn't do any shopping. They did have a very cute Christmas setup!
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| Cute little Christmas setup in Taipei 101 |
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| The snow globe had Taipei 101 inside of it! |
We also saw some interesting coral and pottery displays... They were all for sale, but some of the coral pieces were more expensive than a house!
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| Expensive Coral |
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| Don't remember what this is... |
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| Pottery... can you see me taking the photo? |
Some more photos of Taipei 101...
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| Really interesting architecture |
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| Our view not from the observation deck |
See the building with the purple neon lights? That's where we went next. It was a shopping center with largely mid-range priced shops marketed towards teenagers and young adults. The lower floors were mostly brand names and a bit more expensive, while upper floors had small shops selling cute clothes and stationary goods starting around USD $5-10.
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| Cute little snack and toy store on one of the upper levels |
The area of Xinyi is beautiful at night... if I ever make enough money to afford shopping here I would definitely stay forever! Even without shopping in the fancy stores the sights make the trip worth it ^^
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| Taipei 101 at night... really wish I had gone to the top |
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| Really unique and pretty architecture in the area |
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| Oddest Christmas Tree I've ever seen |
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| Love! |
We got really hungry, so we headed back to the Taipower Building for dinner. I got to try teppanyaki for the first time!
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| Amazing cook! |
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| Our yummy food~ |
2. Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall
On another rainy day, I decided to make a trip to the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall~ It was only one stop from my hostel on the MRT, so I was able to get there quickly. Even if you are someone who doesn't usually visit historical places when on vacation, this one is worth it! The landscaping is beautiful and the buildings will amaze you.
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| At first I thought this was the memorial... |
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| Pretty landscaping... would be nice for a picnic if it weren't raining! |
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| The actual memorial! |
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| From the top of the steps... gloomy day.. |
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| Somehow caught the changing of the guard! |
I managed to catch a little video of the changing of the guard too... There were a lot of people and I was being jostled so the video is very shaky, but it is interesting to see!
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layout of the memorial hall
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| Really loved the landscaping... |
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| There is a very pretty tea shop here but the prices were too expensive to go in! |
3. Jiufen
It was the day I was supposed to leave, and a close friend had just arrived in Taiwan. The two or three hours we had together before I had to go back to the airport didn't seem like enough, so I suddenly changed my flight! At 1:30 PM I was able to reschedule my 3PM flight for the next day. That night, we decided to go to Jiufen.
Jiufen is about an hour away from Taipei, and we had to take a bus to get there. We arrived around 8PM, so most of the shops were beginning to close and not many people were out due to the rain. Even though it was raining and not much open, I think Jiufen was my favorite part of the trip!
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| A pretty restaurant |
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| The narrow roads lined with lanterns give a really mystical feel |
We stopped in at a well known tea shop to dry off and relax after the long bus ride. The tea was beautiful and very high quality, definitely worth the trip!
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| This is the menu! |
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| This was for the tea... but I am not sure if it had any specific function |
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| pretty store |
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| Setup of the tea on the rock thing |
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| The waitress showed us how to make the tea! She spoke Japanese but not English.. |
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| This shop really was amazingly pretty... |
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| Our finished product, with snacks!! |
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| Umbrellas by the entrance~ |
While we were still having our tea, the waitress came over to tell us that the last bus was going to leave soon. She packed the rest of our tea leaves in a pretty red box and we were on our way back to the bus stop! Someday I would like to take the time to spend a whole day in Jiufen so that I can see more of the sights... but it will have to wait for the future.
4. National Palace Museum
The National Palace Museum is considered one of the must-go places for visiting Taipei. The most famous pieces in the museum are a Bok Choy and a piece of meat. Why does it sound like a restaurant? But it was definitely very exciting to see, and the Bok Choy actually looked scarily realistic! I bought a lot of Bok Choy souvenirs afterwards ^ㅡ^*
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| At the gate... so big! |
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Directly outside... we weren't allowed to bring cameras inside!
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I had to leave my camera in storage and wasn't able to take any photos inside, but after we looked around for a little while my friend's mom came and treated us to late morning tea and dim sum in a restaurant inside the museum.
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| View of the museum from the restaurant |
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| Our tasty dim sum |
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| Pretty restaurant~ |
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| This fungus drink was healthy and delicious! |
After visiting the National Palace Museum, it was time for me to go back to the airport.. I really wish I had spent more time appreciating Taipei, because I feel like there is so much I didn't get to do! I am so grateful for all of the friends that I saw there and for everyone who helped me out on my trip.
This won't be my last post on Taipei, as there are many random photos that didn't seem to fit in right with the posts. Please look forward to Part 3!
On this day I was with a friend, and although we spent a good amount of time in the building, we decided not to go to the observatory due to the cloudy weather. The inside of the building was really nice and the architecture was amazing, but the mall was too expensive so we didn't do any shopping. They did have a very cute Christmas setup!
