Taiwan 22-23 June 2013
In Hong Kong, a level 3 typhoon
signal was hoisted, meaning a typhoon may come so watch out. Fortunately,
planes, trains and automobiles still run at a level 3 signal. My flight
was running on time. (I can't decipher
the pattern, but the typhoon warning level progression is 1, 3, 8, 9 and 10
with 1 being "looks like rain" and 10 being "lock down".)
Getting Into the City
I landed in Taipei and went through
immigration without incident. Being
light on Taiwanese cash - New Taiwan Dollars - I decided an economical means of
transportation into the city was in order. Signs said there was a bus
going into the city. That has to be cheaper than the 45 minute taxi ride
for 1,200 NTD. Looking at a wall of brochures and schedules, I made sense
of none of it. A woman in some sort of official uniform ushered me to a
ticket counter in a hurry. Asking where the bus goes and how long the
ride takes just got me an impatient look of frustration. The woman behind
the ticket counter said it was an hour ride and costs 140 NTD. In the
spirit of following orders, paid for the ticket, but didn't receive further
instructions. I walked out to the bus
depot and started showing my ticket to people giving them my best questioning
shrug. I was finally pointed to queue
number 7.
Now to find out where I was
going. Taipei was a big city, but I was
pretty sure that if I could get to any part of the city connected to the Metro
(MRT) I could figure things out from there.
Standing in line, I studied my ticket for sake of appearances. All the writing was in Chinese
characters. Finally, I acquiesced and
took out my I'M A TOURIST banner - my handy Taipei Insights Guide book - and
opened it up to a city map. I called an
official looking guy over and started pointing to places on the map to inquire
of our destination. That was a
non-starter. He wasn't about to study a
detailed map for me. Fortunately, I
overheard someone say Taipei Station. This time I took out the MRT map
and pointed at the Taipei Main Station. He gave me an affirmative thumbs
up. I'm thinking of adding him to my Christmas cards list.
Taipei 101
The Taipei 101 building, named for
the 101 stories above ground (I guess Taipei 101+5 isn't as catchy of a name,
but there are in fact another five stories below ground), was the tallest in
the world in 2004 when it was built. It
has since been surpassed by two buildings in the Middle East, but it is still
quite a view from the observation deck at the top. I could see a complete panorama of the city,
and everything looks like a low-rise from atop the Taipei 101.
On the way from the Taipei 101, I
made a stop at Eslite, a massive 5 story bookstore open 24 hours a day. With that many books, there is a huge English
books selection. I heard they are
opening one in Hong Kong soon that should rival Page One. I'll be glad for the wider selection of
English books.
Chaing Kai-Shek
After a night in a small hotel, les suites taipei, and hitting
Starbucks I jumped on the MRT to head to the Chaing Kai-Shek Memorial. CKS was the political and military leader
when Mao rose to power in China and CKS's political party and supporters fled
to Taiwan. (Taiwan is still referred to
the "Republic of China (Taiwan)".)
The memorial was a large square with an ornate National Concert Hall and
National Theatre on the north and south sides, an arching gate to the west and
a memorial building closed off the square to the east. Think of the CKS Memorial as a Chinese
version of the Lincoln Memorial; a large statue of CKS seated in a Lincoln
pose. The walls had engravings
commemorating CKS, but they were all in Chinese so all I was able to learn was
what was intimated by the grandeur and the two soldiers standing guard.
2-28 Peace Park
From the CKS Memorial, it was a short
walk to the 2-28 Peace Park. Named for
the February 28, 1947 uprising that was halted by an over zealous military
crackdown resulting in severe civilian casualties, the park has a small
memorial, museum and an expansive green space with sculptures and
pavilions. On this Sunday morning,
people gathered to practice taichi, stroll through the park or sit in a
pavilion.
Hot Springs
After grabbing a quick bite for
lunch, I took a long MRT ride north to the Beitou Hot Springs. The geological cocktail provides a natural
flow of hot springs. During Japan's 50
year occupation of Taiwan, the Japanese built bath houses throughout the
area. With the Japanese affinity for hot
springs, the Japanese architecture is prevalent and still remains. After a tour of the museum, I walked down to
the creek to soak my feet. The water
looked like a cool Colorado stream, but it was like bath water that you made as
hot as you can stand. It was a nice
respite for my sore feet.
Rain Storm
As I was soaking my feet, I noticed
the sky going dark. I grabed my pack and
hustled to the MRT, making it just before the downpour. After the metro ride to the Taipei Main Station,
I wandered to find the bus terminal.
After going to two separate ticket windows, I deduced that I was in the
wrong terminal. The catch is that I had
to go outside in the torrential rain. By
providence, I did pack a rain jacket so it wasn't a disaster. I stumbled upon the right ticket window with
such a confused and helpless look that they decided to escort me to the right
bus. All for the equivilant of
US$3.
