Chinese Proverb: He who returns from a journey is not the same as he who left.
My Photo Links
- Taipei by Day
- Most of a day in Taipei
- I-Lan Exploration
- A different kind of cold
- Taroko Gorge - Saturday
- Hualien - Friday
- I didn't want to leave
- Taitung
- Interactive Map
- Kenting is a good thing!
My Taiwan Adventure
Thursday, February 24, 2005
Taipei by Night
Greetings All,
A supplement to my earlier afternoon post. I found my hostel and while it was gritty and there were hundreds of dead mosquitos plastered to the walls of my room in various stages of decay I stayed anyway. At a fraction of the price of the YMCA I was willing to make the sacrifice of some peace of mind. Besides I thought that since I was going out to the evening's Lantern Festival festivities that I wouldn't be sleeping long anyway.
The festival is something else I will add to my "must see" list in Taiwan. The crowd was enormous by North American standards but so were the exhibits. They played a series of scenic films on the entire west side of city hall. Taipei's city hall is not small by any stretch of the imagination! It was really a magnificent feat of technology. There was a laser light show and spotlights from the top of the building pointing into the air and more cameras from people then I've ever seen! I like to think I got some good photos of city hall all covered in lights but am learning that my digital doesn't like low lighting conditions at all. That would account for all the other folk carrying tripods!
Heres some images from last year's festival that I found: http://www.pbase.com/adamslin/chiangkaishek
Additional Taiwan photos from the same photographer:
http://www.pbase.com/adamslin/root
I wish I could convey how huge this event was. There was a sea of people coursing through the streets to see the big lantern floats that had been lined up in down town Taipei. Traffic was blocked off for a large area around city hall. The people were all in a good mood but it was more subdued than I thought it would be. The overall sense of peaceful benevolence and enjoyment. It gave me a very calm feeling to be there in the middle of this huge crowd. I don't know how to describe the atmosphere other than a celebration of good naturedness. Even when I got frustrated at the crowds it only took a moment or two to catch the happy spirit again. The scope of the event took my breath away and to combine such a huge group of people with the sense of safety and security is something that I haven't experienced in Canada. Then again, I haven't experienced these kinds of crowds even at a concert.
The sights were dazzling, the mood was festive and the event was massive. It was certainly a fun time wandering around the downtown streets. They even had a whole section of lanterns devoted to "Stories from the Bible." The charictature of Moses and the parting of the sea was pretty humerous. But it was nice to see some Christian elements in the evening. There were massive inflated lanterns even up on the sides of the buildings downtown. And the largest tallest building in the world, Taipei 101, was all lit up with a variety of colours that changed every few minutes.
Picture of the 101 building dominating downtown: http://www.pbase.com/image/20847286
Website with more pics of the 101 Taiei: http://www.emporis.com/en/il/im/?id=329425
By the way "Taipei 101, whose pinnacle reached full height on Oct. 9, 2003, is currently the official world's tallest building in the categories of highest structurally, highest roof, and highest occupied floor. The Sears Tower in Chicago holds the fourth category of overall height."
And yes, it IS taller than the Petronas towers... I checked. Can I say neato without sounding geeky? *chuckling*
I got back to the hostel at midnight and I was correct I didn't sleep long. In fact I had the worst night ever. The air in the room was stale and there was one mosquito that buzzed me periodically throughout the night. The other mosquito I nailed with a bag over my hand and added another corpse to the ceiling in the room. The mattress has a plastic cover underneath the sheet presumably to shield from getting bedbugs or other nasty critters from the transient travellers these kind of places attract. Unfortunately the result is high heat from your body not being able to get away from its own sweat. I tossed and turned and tossed some more. I got an unrestful sleep but it resulted in an early start this morning.
Today I kind of wandered around doing nothing in particular. Without a place to store my luggage I didn't want to go to the Palace Museum and realize that it will always be there to go visit. They change the displays every three months or so because the collection is so huge. But because I haven't gone yet I don't feel like I'm missing out though I suspect it is going to be very impressive.
I decided to take a side trip to Keelung and was pleasantly surprised at the port town's easy navigating. I found a deliciously decadent hotel and splurged again just to have something so materially calming has done good things for my peace of mind. I enjoyed the piped in elevator easy listening music and took a good long bath and had a long afternoon nap. I woke to go poking about the town and having forgotten my umbrella in the room the front desk was gracious enough to provide one. I would like to just move into this hotel but the price is too steep *laughing*. I'm certainly enjoying the splurge though. Everything is tastefully decorated and wonderfully clean. I want my apartment to eventually look like this but I'm too much of a pack rat to keep it that simple.
I found a great restraunt in Keelung for supper and it had a wonderful salad bar. I'm afraid I overdid it just a little bit. I'm slightly on the side of over-full but am so satisfied and happy with the value (just under $8 CDN) that I'm eager to return there tomorrow if I'm still about. The salad bar comes with a sizzling hot main course of your choice served on an cast iron platter to keep it hot while you enjoy your meal. I had the hallibut and enjoyed every last bite. The meal also includes coffee, juice, tea and the dessert cart. A wonderful spread I must say.
I've been requested to attend an interview for a school in Taidung. I have a choice of either going down to the town itself or staying in the Taipei vicinity and going to attend an interview here. I'm not sure what I'll do. Perhaps I'll find a nice place just outside Taipei... like here and settle for a bit. We'll see what happens - Taidung is much cheaper to stay and it is only a few hours train ride and the price is not that steep - will be made up for in the cost of hotels. I have a plan to stay in Taipei for Saturday though. I want to check out the Adventist Hospital here.
That's all for another day folks. Tune in tomorrow for another installment of "I found a hotel and some food."
((HUGS))
T. Destiny
A supplement to my earlier afternoon post. I found my hostel and while it was gritty and there were hundreds of dead mosquitos plastered to the walls of my room in various stages of decay I stayed anyway. At a fraction of the price of the YMCA I was willing to make the sacrifice of some peace of mind. Besides I thought that since I was going out to the evening's Lantern Festival festivities that I wouldn't be sleeping long anyway.
The festival is something else I will add to my "must see" list in Taiwan. The crowd was enormous by North American standards but so were the exhibits. They played a series of scenic films on the entire west side of city hall. Taipei's city hall is not small by any stretch of the imagination! It was really a magnificent feat of technology. There was a laser light show and spotlights from the top of the building pointing into the air and more cameras from people then I've ever seen! I like to think I got some good photos of city hall all covered in lights but am learning that my digital doesn't like low lighting conditions at all. That would account for all the other folk carrying tripods!
Heres some images from last year's festival that I found: http://www.pbase.com/adamslin/chiangkaishek
Additional Taiwan photos from the same photographer:
http://www.pbase.com/adamslin/root
I wish I could convey how huge this event was. There was a sea of people coursing through the streets to see the big lantern floats that had been lined up in down town Taipei. Traffic was blocked off for a large area around city hall. The people were all in a good mood but it was more subdued than I thought it would be. The overall sense of peaceful benevolence and enjoyment. It gave me a very calm feeling to be there in the middle of this huge crowd. I don't know how to describe the atmosphere other than a celebration of good naturedness. Even when I got frustrated at the crowds it only took a moment or two to catch the happy spirit again. The scope of the event took my breath away and to combine such a huge group of people with the sense of safety and security is something that I haven't experienced in Canada. Then again, I haven't experienced these kinds of crowds even at a concert.
The sights were dazzling, the mood was festive and the event was massive. It was certainly a fun time wandering around the downtown streets. They even had a whole section of lanterns devoted to "Stories from the Bible." The charictature of Moses and the parting of the sea was pretty humerous. But it was nice to see some Christian elements in the evening. There were massive inflated lanterns even up on the sides of the buildings downtown. And the largest tallest building in the world, Taipei 101, was all lit up with a variety of colours that changed every few minutes.
Picture of the 101 building dominating downtown: http://www.pbase.com/image/20847286
Website with more pics of the 101 Taiei: http://www.emporis.com/en/il/im/?id=329425
By the way "Taipei 101, whose pinnacle reached full height on Oct. 9, 2003, is currently the official world's tallest building in the categories of highest structurally, highest roof, and highest occupied floor. The Sears Tower in Chicago holds the fourth category of overall height."
And yes, it IS taller than the Petronas towers... I checked. Can I say neato without sounding geeky? *chuckling*
I got back to the hostel at midnight and I was correct I didn't sleep long. In fact I had the worst night ever. The air in the room was stale and there was one mosquito that buzzed me periodically throughout the night. The other mosquito I nailed with a bag over my hand and added another corpse to the ceiling in the room. The mattress has a plastic cover underneath the sheet presumably to shield from getting bedbugs or other nasty critters from the transient travellers these kind of places attract. Unfortunately the result is high heat from your body not being able to get away from its own sweat. I tossed and turned and tossed some more. I got an unrestful sleep but it resulted in an early start this morning.
Today I kind of wandered around doing nothing in particular. Without a place to store my luggage I didn't want to go to the Palace Museum and realize that it will always be there to go visit. They change the displays every three months or so because the collection is so huge. But because I haven't gone yet I don't feel like I'm missing out though I suspect it is going to be very impressive.
I decided to take a side trip to Keelung and was pleasantly surprised at the port town's easy navigating. I found a deliciously decadent hotel and splurged again just to have something so materially calming has done good things for my peace of mind. I enjoyed the piped in elevator easy listening music and took a good long bath and had a long afternoon nap. I woke to go poking about the town and having forgotten my umbrella in the room the front desk was gracious enough to provide one. I would like to just move into this hotel but the price is too steep *laughing*. I'm certainly enjoying the splurge though. Everything is tastefully decorated and wonderfully clean. I want my apartment to eventually look like this but I'm too much of a pack rat to keep it that simple.
I found a great restraunt in Keelung for supper and it had a wonderful salad bar. I'm afraid I overdid it just a little bit. I'm slightly on the side of over-full but am so satisfied and happy with the value (just under $8 CDN) that I'm eager to return there tomorrow if I'm still about. The salad bar comes with a sizzling hot main course of your choice served on an cast iron platter to keep it hot while you enjoy your meal. I had the hallibut and enjoyed every last bite. The meal also includes coffee, juice, tea and the dessert cart. A wonderful spread I must say.
I've been requested to attend an interview for a school in Taidung. I have a choice of either going down to the town itself or staying in the Taipei vicinity and going to attend an interview here. I'm not sure what I'll do. Perhaps I'll find a nice place just outside Taipei... like here and settle for a bit. We'll see what happens - Taidung is much cheaper to stay and it is only a few hours train ride and the price is not that steep - will be made up for in the cost of hotels. I have a plan to stay in Taipei for Saturday though. I want to check out the Adventist Hospital here.
That's all for another day folks. Tune in tomorrow for another installment of "I found a hotel and some food."
((HUGS))
T. Destiny
Posted by T. Destiny in Taiwan at 9:23 PM 
