A Wanderlust Blueprint for Taipei and Taiwan

capital of Taiwan is the capital city of Taiwan, and is known perhaps most prominently for its far-famed landmark skyscraper, Taipei 101. Theres a multi-level shopping mall adjoined to the tower, containing hundreds of fashionable stores, restaurants, and clubs. world the bookworm that I am, I picture Page One first, a huge bookstore with both Chinese and English books. After that, I decide to treat myself to a shopping spree after all, I am on vacation. When Im through, I decide to visit the observatory on the 89th floor.Id read somewhere that the observatory elevators here ar the fastest in the world, capable of traveling from the fifth floor to the 89th floor in except 37 seconds. I squeeze into a crowded elevator and toughened my stopwatch. Exactly 37 seconds later, the doors open with a ping. Wow. Maybe I preserve get one of these for my apartment. Then I hear the tour scout informing a group of Japanese tourists that each elevator cost US$2.4 million. On second thought , I think Ill scratch that idea. only put, the view is amazing. Theres no other way to say it. I amaze advantage of the fact that the observatory off-keyers a full, undivided, 360 degree view, and force several(prenominal)(prenominal) panorama pictures. I dally at the gift shop for a couple of minutes, inwardly debating whether or not I should spend NT$1500 on an IVE BEEN TO TAIPEI 101 t-shirt. In the end, I purchase it anyway, after managing to allure myself that NT$1500 is not that expensive for a souvenir shirt.I proceed to visit the National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. Its an incredible monument that was erected in the memory of Chiang Kai-shek, motive President of the Republic of China. The whole thing is surrounded by a park and a large square, in which both the National contrive Hall and the National Theater are located. I set off for the National Concert Hall, precisely to my dismay, am told by the lady at the ticket office there that there are no performances pl an today. Disappointed, I decide instead to walk the expanse of the park. There are large lakes with loads of fish in them, and I buy several handfuls of fish food from a nearby vending machine. Its fun to curb the food in and watch all the fish swarm unitedly uniform bees towards pollen.Afterwards, I decide to head to Shihlin Night mart. I take the MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) from Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Station, past Taipei Main Station, to Jiantan Station. The tour takes me about 20 minutes. I swear Im in love with the hug drug system here. Its fast, its cheap, and its so clear. There are English announcements and notices all over the place. Ive only been here for a couple of days, but the system is so easy to understand, I feel like an old-timer already.Its crowded at Shihlin Night Market, and I find myself travelling down what I would place as the main alley. Shops of every kind line the two sides, and there are minuscularer alleys that branch off. The sheer amount a nd variety of products universe sold are quite dazzling, as they range from clothes, novelties, and cosmetics, to toys, electronics, and food. I run a risk I shouldnt be surprised by the wide audience that Shihlin receives, but I am, sort of.Ive seen families with young children, big groups of laughing teenagers, middle-aged couples dimension hands, and older people shuffling around. Ive also spotted some foreigners, who, like me, probably just want to experience what the infamous Shihlin Night Market has to offer. I have to say, Im quite impressed. I didnt expect this place to present(a) any sort of entertainment for small children, but I mustve passed at least 20 games of miniature hoops, ring toss, small pinball machines, and enchant the turtles/ fishes by now.I sit down at a small table in a food stall, and tentatively order a plate of chou dou fu stinky tofu apparently its a Taiwanese specialty. Two minutes later, a plate of steaming hot tofu is set in front of me. To m y surprise, its actually pretty good.Maybe tomorrow, Ill shit up the nerve to try tian je frogs legs.