Day 27 (Aug 4): Drawing to a Close

Our explorations have neared an end. We started with about two weeks in Taipei, spending mornings in class, and the rest of the day getting to know others in the program - through activities as well as afternoon outings to some of Taipei's sights, including Jinshan Beach, the Taipei Discovery Center, and the National Palace Museum. Free days allowed us to visit even more places, along with friends and family also in Taiwan. Once our cultural knowledge was "up to speed", we started a ten day tour around the island, touring around from morning 'til night.  We arrived back in Taipei and continued exploring for two long days. Today - we start wrapping up.

Preparations for tomorrow's closing ceremonies have started, an opportunity to show the heads of the Overseas Compatriot Affairs Commission that yes, we did actually learn stuff. Our lobby had a few people working on speeches - a few students were asked to say some words - while those in the performing culture classes needed to gather and rehearse. That included the flutists - along with those who practised traditional dance, the Chinese yo-yo, and Kung Fu.

Our relatively unproductive practice started at 9:30 and ended soon after eleven. We spent most of that time looking for a place to practice; apparently, people don't like to put up with a dozen players of the Chinese flute (louder and buzzier than the Western flute) who are out of tune, and struggling through their songs. After being asked to move several times in several places, we found an empty hallway, played a bit, and then the director came to listen. If she expected a sloppy performance (and I think she did), we definitely qualified! =D. Our main goal though, was to try to get the music memorized. My playing still wasn't great, but having performed the Taiwanese folk songs before, the notes were already in my head =).

We were given a boxed lunch, and we had the rest of the day for free time. Along with four other friends, all roommates, we headed back south to Ximending, Taipei's go-to-place for young shoppers. Two people in our group were looking for a haircut, and they found a pretty nice place above a tea shop. We then went shopping, looking for last minute gifts, and had some fun at the Tom's World arcade (I've already been there twice before, so I've said enough about it).

mmm... lunch.

heading out. Abbey Road style.

Heading back out of Ximending, I suggested that we visit the 228 Peace Park, as the other four have not visited the area yet. My journey there happened about two weeks ago (link: here), but it was good to pass through again. We boarded the MRT and went back to Jiantan to drop our bags and rest a little, before heading back out for dinner.

The larger MRT stations feature a station profile, to guide you through the maze of escalators.

We had hot pot at a restaurant just south of the Shilin Night Market. There are two places right next to each other, featuring dinner for $200 NT (just over $6.50 CAD, no sales tax, no tip needed). One was all you can eat, but the other had better reviews from friends, so that's where we went.

The restaurant was fairly packed. The menu was on the placemat. First, we picked our main meat style (beef, pork, lamb, etc... or a variety of meat, or fish + meat, at a slightly higher cost(; I chose lamb. We all chose the standard broth, and the standard set of hot pot items (everything minus the lamb) were brought out: plenty of vegetables, various mushrooms, corn, various fish balls/cakes, tofu, other soy-bean based products, a piece of pumpkin/squash, some taro, a shrimp, and a piece of pig blood rice cake. Of course, eaten with a sauce based on sa-cha sauce. Well, standard stuff - Taiwanese style hot pot. Yet, it always seems too hot in Taiwan to fully enjoy it. Best had at home, in Canada, with friends, on a snowy winter's day =).

Left: Placemat Menu. Right: Plate of vegetables, mushrooms, etc.

Left: starting to cook... Right: the arrival of meat. yum!

For $200 NT, the meal was very good - we had more than enough food so that if felt like a buffet anyways. Also, there were self-serve drinks (I liked their milk tea) as well as dessert, including ice cream, grass jelly, green bean soup, and a chocolate fountain along with biscuits.

Leaving the restaurant (after stopping by at another table to say hi to other friends), we decided to take a walk through Shilin yet again. We considered going bowling and trying bumper cars (yep, all at the night market), but opted out for a bit more arcade fun before heading back to the Youth Center for our second last sleep at Jiantan. Actually, knowing how life is on the last night of most summer programs, I might as well call this our last sleep at Jiantan =).

A photo taken from the MRT Red Line, passing over the Keelung River.

The building on the very left is the Grand Hotel. The building in the centre is where we sleep =).

Day 26 (Aug 3): Exploring Taipei, Day 2

Finally hitting the hay at around six, we slept through breakfast to catch about two and a half hours of sleep before forcing ourselves up to visit Yangmingshan National Park. Much of the park is within Taipei City limits, covering the mountains directly North of Taipei. Unlike Toronto, which seems to expand northward endlessly, with housing gradually become more and more sparse, Taipei (and most of Taiwan's other cities) don't really have much of a suburbia - driving north, the city simply ends and you're driving up the mountain in Yangmingshan National Park.

On the road to Yangmingshan. (only about an hour from the downtown core)

The geological treasure here is the volcanic activity, making its presence with fumaroles (small gaps that allow steam and gases to escape; not geysers) and sulfur deposits, thus giving the nearby air the flavour of rotten eggs (note: it's actually the sulfur dioxide that gives the smell, not the sulfur itself). There are hot springs in the park as well, but we didn't get to go there =(.

Left: The main fumarole. Right: Some gas/steam escaping by some rocks.

We were promised a hike, but all we got was a short paved path between the small visitor centre to the main fumarole. If you've ever had the pleasure of visiting Yellowstone National Park - Yangmingshan is like a super-scaled down version, though in the mountains, featuring simliar geological features and not much plantlife due to the acidic soil. If you haven't been to Yellowstone... you should!

Later, we did find a trail of about two hundred metres leading upwards to a small observation platform, giving us a view of the mountains on one side, and Taipei on the other. The mountains here don't have much plant life though, so the sight wasn't as majestic as our other mountains shots, but it was nice to see Taipei from a different point of view. 

Left: We hiked up this trail! Right: within the trail (not me, but the earlier blog hijacker =P)

The view of the city. Taipei 101 is in the eastern side of the city, so it's cut off by the mountain on the left.

The weather was very hot though, so eventually, we all congregated on the lower floor of the visitor centre, which sold some snacks and an array of cold drinks. For lunch, we were bussed back to the Jiantan Youth Center. I don't remember napping afterwards, but the fact that I don't remember what I was doing might signal that I probably was =P. It wouldn't have been too long though, because at two, we were headed towards the Taipei Zoo. 

I have worked a summer in the Toronto Zoo - known to be a very spacious (the largest in Canada), providing plenty of space for many exhibits, and plenty of living areas for the animals. The Taipei Zoo is just as impressive (do I dare say even more than Toronto?), with more animals than you can see in a day, and lots of beautiful flora throughout the park (Toronto's vegetation can't compare with the tropics =P). The Zoo is Asia's largest; still smaller than Toronto's by land area, but with its exhibits are placed much closer together (individual exhibits are still very spacious though), the zoo has a lot to see. 

Admittedly, what I find most surprising about the zoo is its price: $60 NT for regular admission, and $30 NT if you're a student. That's less than toonie for an adult, and cheaper than anything in a dollar store if you're still at school. That's compared to $21 CAD if you want to visit the Toronto Zoo. Both are government operated. Luckily, most elementary schools in Toronto bring kids to the zoo for a much lower fee, but at regular costs, the Toronto Zoo becomes a pricey outing for a family. 

As an animal lover, I did enjoy my time at the zoo - if I had known the price, I probably would've visited even earlier on one of the free days so I could spend more time there. I won't go through the animals one by one, but there is a slideshow below with lots of pictures. Highlights included the Penguins (which aren't at the Toronto Zoo =/) and of course, I went to go see the tigers! The Taipei Zoo features the Bengal Tiger; I haven't seen one of those in a while since the Toronto Zoo has Siberians and Sumatrans tigers instead.

My last stop was to see the zoo's famous pandas, a gift from Taiwan's neighbour. Mr. Ma accepted these two pandas from China in '08, named Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan (meaning "union"), while we sent them macaques. It seemed that the unity spirit wasn't very alive today though, as this was the best shot I could take:

Poor guy. Should return home.

Shenkeng Old Street.

Anyways, we left the zoo at around five, and headed to our last dinner in "touring" mode. We stopped at a restaurant, and sat at our respective tables (Table 7!). After some food and some guava, we were dropped off at another night market, this time at the Shenkeng Old Street. We weren't given any descriptions or anything, but some post-visit research tells me that the area is most famous for its remodeled old-style buildings, and stinky tofu! Unfortunately, with the sun already down, I didn't take much note of its architecture, but we could definitely smell the stinky tofu throughout the street!

Late at night, we were back at Jiantan. Needless to say, we were quite tired, and we collapsed in bed in no time. 

Day 25 (Aug 2): Exploring Taipei, Day 1

Back in Taipei after our down south trip, we continued to explore the city in a similar fashion as we had explored the rest of Taiwan. Soon after breakfast, we boarded the tour buses, this time on the way to the Presidential Office Building (yep, no fancy English name like the White House or Parliament Hill... just "Presidential Office Building).

Our visit took place shortly after a state visit from the King of Swaziland, so we as we approached, we sailed through streets lined with flags of the Republic of China along with the flag of Swaziland. We drove by the front facade of the building, before making our way to the back, where we deboarded. We were each given a visitor tag and passed through a security check on the outside perimeter of the building. In the distance, we could hear yelling on a speakerphone - a protest somewhere, though I never did spot them. I have no pictures because we were told that we could have no photography in the building, and I figured that I didn't need to bring my camera. Instead, here's a picture courtesy of Wikicommons:

The Presidential Office Building

The building is shaped as the word "日", a part of "日本" - also known as Japan. Facing East, towards the Land of the Rising Sun, it shouldn't be too hard to guess that the six-story building was constructed during Japanese occupation on Taiwan - specifically in 1919. The building was originally for Japan's Governor-General of Taiwan, but became the office for the President in 1949. Major restorations were done around the same time, as the building was significantly damaged by bombing from the US during WWII.

We entered through one of the back doors (out of six possible ground floor entrances) and passed through a second security checkpoint. My travel guide says that "English-speaking guides are provided free of charge - it's not possible to tour the place without one and many exhibits have Chinese-only captions" - but our camp decided to opt for the Mandarin speaking guides, one per bus. English pamphlets did help, and the diagrams and pictures coupled with our previous knowledge did allow us to piece things together. FYI, we were kept safety away from third floor at all times (I didn't even see a staircase going up) - home to Mr. Ma and the Vice-President.

The first floor is essentially a museum, with rooms displaying information regarding the building's history, the Japanese governor-generals, Taiwan's past and present presidents, and a timeline of past events. The hallways also featured a gallery focussed on Taiwanese art, as well as a section with children's drawings anticipating next year's 100th year celebration for the ROC. 

About after an hour's time (with the guide - no wandering alone in the President's building), we were led to the gift shop, and guided out the door. We were picked up by the buses, and sent back to the Jiantan Youth Activity Center for lunch, also allowing us to grab our cameras (and wallets) as we prepared for the afternoon's trip to Taipei's most iconic landmark in recent years: Taipei 101. 


Before the tower and mall, we were first dropped off at the neighbouring Taipei World Trade Center. I'm still unsure of the exact purpose of the stop, but we were directed to a seminar room, given orange drink, and shown an introduction video to the TWTC complex and its services. I guess, assuming that we were graduating students/entrepreneurs, looking for a place to invest/start out, the staff were just making sure that we would remember Taiwan as an option. However, most people were fidgeting throughout the film, wanting to duck out to the mall next door to invest in a pair of shoes. 

Shots of the outside of the TWTC buildings.

Left: Apparently, there was some comic-con like convention on the bottom floor. Didn't take a look though, but the line seems crazy anyways. Right: Bridge to Taipei 101!

Luckily, the video wasn't too long, and in no time, we were crossing a bridge over to Taipei 101, the tallest building in the world from 2004 to 2009, ending its reign with the completion of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. We were given free time until eight pm, giving us lots of time to shops, and potentially visit the observation deck. I had hoped (almost assumed) that they would bring us to the top (technically the 89th floor - everything above is communications), but perhaps the logistics would be difficult, while the $400 NT ($13.05 CAD) per person cost could have been a little costly. Ultimately, I didn't go - mainly because I've been before four years ago. 


A brief summary of the experience though - going up from the 5th to 89th floor involves the world's second fastest elevators (yes, surpassed by the Burj Khalifa as well), at a speed greater than 60 km/hr (16.8 m/s). At the top, you'll have an amazing view of Taipei, along with a view of the building's huge wind damper. The damper reduces the building's sway, and being in an earthquake zone (ring of fire!), Taipei 101 needs to be quake-proof!

The fourth floor featured a ring of international cities! We were on a lookout for Canadian cities. 

We didn't see Toronto =(... but we say Hamilton! I doubt it's my Hamilton though =/

The Book Store! We spent a lot of time there.

We mainly just did a lot of shopping/browsing in the Taipei 101 Mall (first five floors plus some basement floors), and the surrounding malls, with crowds getting busier as the sun went down. For dinner, I finally had one of those MOS burgers (the one earlier still used regular buns) - this one featured the rice buns. At a cost of $65 NT (just over two dollars), the burger was okay - interesting to try, but not a personal favourite. Oh well. Still awesome.

MOS Burger! A Japanese Burger Chain, but also available in Taiwan...

famous for its soy-sauce rice buns!

Taipei 101 at night

At eight we boarded the bus, and returned to Jiantan. Still early, we went to the Shilin night market, mainly for some night time snacks and drinks, while bringing back some potstickers for those too lazy to leave their rooms. Bed check took place at 11, but our day would go on quite a bit longer. Sneaking out, especially during the last week, with counselor security more slack, was not a problem, with a few of us (party of five), making it out to the Holiday KTV at the Shilin Night Market. 

We booked a room, costing us $440 NT per person (around $14.31 CAD) for the night. That would include a moderately spacious room with its own bathroom, and a food bar outside. Options weren't great, and we weren't too hungry. Music options came mostly in Mandarin, though Taiwanese, English, and Japanese songs were available too. We sang for quite a while - well, they did - I sang just a few; most of the singers were in the level seven class (I'm in level four) so they had a wide range of Mandarin songs to chose from - but we all had a good time. We wandered out at 5:30, surprised to see the sun already up, and streets starting to fill with morning commuters. We made a stop at the 7-11, and went back to Jiantan to catch whatever sleep we could before our visit to Yangmingsan National Park in just a few hours. *Yawn*