After taking our midterms, Kleen & I decided it was time for a little vacation.
KLEEN&VIC'S ADVENTURES IN TAIWAN
DAY ONE : Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park, Taipei101, & Shilin Night Market
The first thing Kleen & I wanted to see was the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall - a national monument and landmark dedicated to the first President of the Republic of China, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek. He ruled Taiwan from 1950 until his death in 1975.
the memorial is red, blue and white - the colors of Taiwan's flag and is octagonal in shape (lucky #8)
two sets of 89 stairs lead up to the entrance (one step for every year of Chiang’s life)
on the ceiling is a mural made of marble of the Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang) emblem / the star of Taiwan
Afterwards, we spent an hour or two strolling through Songshan Cultural and Creative Park, which is not only a huge beautiful green recreational park but one of the city's largest creative arts spaces. Before becoming a park, this site was formerly a tobacco factory. Today with buildings filled with art and science exhibition halls, the park is now referred to as the "Creative hub of Taiwan".
We then made our way to Taipei 101, another famed national landmark. It's the tallest building in Taiwan and the 9th tallest building in the world (though it did hold the title of tallest building in the world for a number of years). It's shape is supposed to look like a bamboo stalk and it has (no surprise) 101 floors.
The observatory is on floors 89-91, and it only took 30 seconds for the elevator to bring us up. Other than the incredible 360 bird's eye-view of Taipei, we also got to see the massive steel pendulum hanging exposed in the middle of the tower. The ball offsets any wind/ground movement to keep the whole building steady.
We ended our night at Shilin Night Market, a very popular night market in Taiwan. I'd say it's best described as a maze of food stalls and little shops. Out of the two night markets we walked/ate through, this one was our favorite.
Another post purely on food in Taiwan is on it's way!!
DAY TWO: Jiufen, Raohe Night Market, Rainbow Bridge
We rode about an hour up northeast on a bus to the quaint, isolated mountain town, Jiufen, where we spent majority of our day wandering through their famous Old Street Market and enjoying the scenery. The Old Street Market is lined with snack shops, souvenirs, and alleyways leading to restaurants and teahouses.
This town actually inspired the works of Studio Ghibli, and Jiufen's Grand Tea House (the green building with the lanterns) inspired the grand bathhouse in Spirited Away. With cobblestone streets, vines growing over shop canopies adorned with lanterns, sleepy animals, and an extensive view of the mountains and ocean, Jiufen is the prettiest place I've seen yet.
We headed back into Taipei in the evening and went hunting for street food in the Raohe Night Market, stopping by the Songshan Ciyou Temple next door beforehand.
Behind the market and temple is the Keelung River, and over the river is Raohe's Rainbow Bridge. It was pouring by the time we made our way to the bridge but we walked along it anyway.
DAY THREE: Jianguo Jade Market, Jianguo Weekend Flower Market
Before heading to the airport, Kyleen and I walked through the Jianguo Jade Market and Flower Market. These expansive indoor markets were both tucked right underneath a highway.
There were dozens of vendors selling all sorts of jewelry, gems, stones, trinkets, pottery, souvenirs, flowers and other plants. We didn't buy much but it was nice to stroll through.
I'm so very in love with Taiwan and I can't wait to return.
<3,
vic