SunYatSen Memorial, Eslite, WuFengPu & Beitou

day 8 : 20th Dec 2012

It's the last day for us to explore Taipei. We've covered top Taipei spots but still there are more places to see. Unlike the past two gloomy days, today was bright and cheery. Here's the Sun Yat Sen's memorial - first President of Republic of China. He was the predecessor of Chiang Kai-shek. Lesser did I know, Dr Sun Yat Sen was married to one of the Soong Sister - Soong Chingling, while his successor Chiang Kai-shek was married to the youngest Soong Sister - Soong Mayling. This made them brothers-in-law.

Though covering a mass area, the exterior of Sun Yat Sen memorial looks simpler than the Chiang Kai Shek memorial. This building was built earlier back in the days under the orders of Chiang Kai-shek who was a his close ally and of course brother-in-law.

While admiring the giant statue, I heard some clunking noises. Is there a horse coming?

Then, three guards come marching in. Oh! It's that time again! Every hour, there will be a changing of guards. The on the beat marching and rifle spinning stuff pulled all the visitors to the main hall. This event is a must see! It was really impressive. 

Ooo...this guard had to stand like this motionless for 1 hour. What if he has an itch? Or he thought of something funny? Or need to sneeze? Arrgh...must be tough.

? 

The Sun Yat Sen memorial provides one of the best views of Taipei 101. 

We had our late lunch at one of the underground food arena.

We headed to the Eslite Bookstore. There are several Eslite Bookstore/Shopping center in Taiwan. Some were even open for 24 hours for those insomniacs. List of Eslite stores

I am not really sure which Eslite Bookstore was this as we stumbled across it around Taipei City Hall MRT. So I guess it could be Eslite Xinyi Store. 

I could have hang out in this place any time. I love books and they have lots of books. Sometimes, I can't sleep. I could come here too. On top of that, they have several floors to explore. Three of us split up and decided to meet an hour later (wrong move). Walking into one of the floor, I felt like I stepped into the whimsical world of Alice in Wonderland. Everything was soooo pretty. Pretty journals, pretty calendar, pretty passport holders, pretty cups, crystals, cute stuff of all sorts, cozy cafes...omg ... I was really awed by everything

An hour later, I remembered we need to meet up at Level 1 near the escalator. I haven't seen everything yet. So, we extended another hour there. An hour later, I went down again but Fumi & Hobs were nowhere in sight. Waited awhile and decided, meh, they are not coming. So, I went up again to feast my eyes. Then, I saw a glimpse of Fumi from a far as he's a tall dude. Passing through the crowd, I went to his direction but dude...he's gone. Then, I think we spent the next hour looking like 3 stooges trying to find each other.

By the time we got out of Eslite, it's almost dark. I think we spent a good 3 hours there!
We headed to another shopping district at Wu Fen Pu. Again, endless cross roads of stores selling clothes. Suddenly the amount of choices were simply overwhelming. On top of that, we also have a plan to visit Raohe night market. I was beginning to feel like a punctured tyre. Told Fumi that Hobs & I will skip Raohe and slowly make our way back to Shih Lin. Besides, I haven't get a chance to really explore Shih Lin's shops.





This was taken by Fumi. Apparently, he also had a short stroll in Raohe after meeting up with his friend nearby.




Hobs & I walked back to the MRT and decided to check out Sogo. It was rush hour and the MRT was jammed packed. But we made it there any how and had our dinner there.

Fuelled by Taiwan stamps collections, we rode around different stops to collect more stamps from the MRT stations. Crazy?

We even took the train to Beitou. The far end of the train route.

Beitou is famous for its hot springs, which we didn't have the time to visit. Look even the trains are so cute.
So we decided, the night is still young and hop into the train.

The train started to move. 5 minutes later, it's still travelling at a speed of what feels like 10kmph (actually at 25kmph) It's the slowest train ever and we kept laughing at how slow it is. Maybe it's time to relax. 

Beitou train station

We went outside just to see what's there...

Aww too bad, we don't have anymore time to explore Beitou

It's getting late and cold outside. Our feet are also sore. It's time to head back to Shih Lin. When Fumi came back, we were so excited to tell him about our little adventure. That's when he told us that's exactly what he did too. HAHA!

Don't everything look so cute in Taiwan?

National Palace, Chiang Kai Shek Memorial & Long Shan Temple

day 6 : 18th Dec 2012

The following three days were reserved for Taipei. No more chauffeur :(
But fret not as in the city, train & buses are ever so convenient in Taipei.

There are so many types of passes to purchase. We got a 3 Day Taipei pass (NT$440) . I forgot what's the reason but I guess it's the most value for money pass as we can have unlimited rides on the MRT & Metro buses around Taipei. We got the attractive looking pass and got excited. It is prettier than the EasyCard. 

We have a pretty ambitious agenda in Taipei. First stop, the National Palace Museum. 

The museum houses precious artifacts. With our audio guide, we spent several hours in the museum alone. The darkened rooms, the cool atmosphere and the soothing voice of my audio guide, pieces of paintings, shining ornaments, twinkling with the room's ambient lightings .......

快 快，我们这里有著名书画  !!!

I was startled by an army of tourists. Hustling their way into the room and the tour guide's voice boomed across the hall giving chop-chop explanations. I looked over at the helpless museum personnel holding the "Quiet" sign. Bla bla bla....then they went as fast as they came. Ahh...back to where I was...

It's past 3PM. We need to get out of here. Fumi? Where's Fumi?

With bad phone signal we kind of lost Fumi. We waited at the lobby, then down at the tourist congregation area. Often, we were asked to step aside by the museum personnels. Group tourists were everywhere. Not sure where to stand and nowhere to sit. Then, we found Fumi or he found us. Yipee...Let's get out of here!

Some snacks from the bakery. Yums...

Finally, we made it to the second stop of the day. The Chiang Kai-shek memorial. Sky was gloomy. Under the drizzling rain, we managed to see the national flag brought down by the guards for safe keep until the next day. Wait a minute...are you saying you're closing already?

Half running and half snapping pictures of what's left of day light, we scurried into the main building. We only have 25 minutes left before closure. All attractions aside, we hopped into the closest elevator and press on the button to bring us to the Chiang Kai-shek statue. The elevator door opened and we were giggling with excitement as we made it into the Chiang Kai-shek hall just in time. There was no one else in the hall (of course) but us. Chatting, posing and taking pictures from every corner of the hall. It's so much better when no one is around to block us.

I went to the far corner to get a better shot and then I heard some ruffling sound behind me. There he was, the museum personnel sitting behind a small podium guarding the hall. Oh dear! And we thought we were alone. *Embarrased*

Oh no, the museum is closing. Halls began to empty and we still have not see everything.

With the speed of Amazing Race, we scoured the late president's memorial rooms. Saw his car and got startled by a life like Chiang Kai-shek sitting on his desk.

Time's up! The museum doors are closing. We squeezed our way out of the door before we were locked inside. Inside with Mr Presiden Chiang Kai-shek, that will be creepy.



Outside, the Chiang Kai-shek entrance, National Concert Hall & Theatre flanking the memorial lit up. With the drizzle of rain, people subsiding and the glimmer or Taipei 101 at the far distance, the view and feel are just simply spectacular.

Attractions in most cities would have been closed by now. But the night is still young in Taipei. 

There were long lines of chairs towards the place where we're heading. 

The Long Shan temple

One of the oldest temple that was built more than 2 centuries ago. Through World War II, the temple had gone through multiple restoration efforts and it stands grand and tall today as a proof of strong hearted Taiwanese believers.

We haven't really had a proper meal today. Nearby the temple was a night market. Sat down for some street style meals before calling it as another eventful day.

Captured By Hobs, Fumi & QQ