TAIWANder3 - Taipei 101

It's our last gala day today, so we are maximizing our day. After our visit to NTHU, we still have a lot of energy plus we haven't met Shawn yet, so today's blog is about our going around Taipei City and meeting Shawn. If you're curious, click the per day and look at our gala days in Taiwan: Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3 Morning. Now, here's Day 3 afternoon.....ENJOY!

we don't have double-decker buses in Manila, so it's good to try and see how fun it is to go around the City looking from the second deck from this hop-on-hop-off =) we also had a souvenir of this bus, we got a mini-version, and Dennis showed the choices of souvenirs

Some information for the Taipei double-decker bus tour; We booked it via Klook. There are 2 lines, Blue lines for the North such as the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, National Palace Museum, and Jian Tan; Red lines for travel west such as Taipei City Hall, Sun Yet Sen Memorial Hall, and the largest park in Taipei, Da'an Park. It's a Hop-off at any stop for sightseeing and Hop-on when the next bus arrives. You are provided with a headset that offers an introduction to Taipei (in English). Our first hop-off, Chiang Kai-shek (CKS) Memorial Hall, is free admission here.

our first hop-off is to meet Shawn and to see the popular attraction here in Chiang Kai-shek, the changing of the guard ceremony (I think I was able to watch the changing of guards also in Rizal monuments in Luneta Park in one of our Syanang Syalen trip)

here's what I got from Wikipedia, CKS Memorial Hall is a national monument erected in memory of Chiang Kai-shek, former President of Taiwan. This square had become Taipei's site for mass gatherings and tourist attractions.

Finally, meeting Shawn, Shawn was a visitor in Water Science sometime in 2012 (?) and whenever IRRI people visit Taiwan, he is part of the "what/who/where to visit in Taipei" ;) because even if he doesn't know you since you are from IRRI, he is very happy to meet you, he's even sending pasalubong for the Water Science group, so, imagine the happiness of visiting him, and meeting him in person in Taipei =) #nakakahappy indeed. Thank you for taking the time to meet us, Shawn.

last gala spot, a visit to Taipei 101; according to Taiwan Tourism Bureau, it is the largest engineering project ever in the history of the Taiwan construction business, and there's us with our "monay" faces, the largest also =P

We visited the Taipei 101 observatory, and we bought via Klook a priority pass, we were VIPs escorted by the guards as we took our elevator ride (just us) because apparently, the commoners will just wait for the elevator ride. As VIPs we have access to 88th floor for the multimedia corridor, 89th floor for the indoor observatory, and the 91st floor for the outdoor observatory. Oh well, I'm traveling with the madams, so the benefits!

that's me, a bit dizzy, not from the heights I'm looking at, but the payment to be made after this trip =P 

the damper babies, they are the cartoon representation of the Damper of Taipei 101 designed by the Sanrio Company, Damper babies come in black, red, yellow, silver, and green each with their own personality, and the faces subtly spell out 101 with the vertical lines for eyes in a circular mouth 

And since we are at it, let me share what I learned from this trip, Taipei 101 was erected in 2004 at 1,667 feet, designed by C.Y. Lee who wanted a tower that was distinctive, he envisioned a pagoda, vertically elongated and clad with green glass. The skyscraper was divided into 8 segments (a lucky number for the Chinese) with giant gold coins adorning the four sides at the base, and dragons and clouds decorating the building's corners. And Taipei is prone to storms and seismic activity, so it needed all the luck it could get. Because of that, Taipei 101 employs a tuned mass damper for both the flexibility to roll with the earth (seismic activity) but not to flexible when faces with strong winds (storms).

A tuned mass damper (TMD) is essentially a counterweight against wind and it can take various forms. In Taipei 101, the TMD is a gigantic pendulum, usually, it is hidden behind closed doors on locked floors but with Taipei 101 the enormous damper is the star attraction of the building. And there we are, in front of it.

photo with the TMD, and a photo at the multimedia corridor

We don't have good photos of the outdoor observatory but we enjoyed every parts and portion of Taipei 101 since we spent a considerable amount =P

and then to cap the day, we had dinner at Taipei 101 restaurant, we had Korean and Thai cuisine =)

Thank you Taiwan for a wonderful trip, thank Dennis and Shawn for meeting us there. Thank you to the madams, it was a good trip and thank you we pushed through with it even if others backed out. Onto our next travel? Where to? When?

Thanks to Wikipedia, Taiwan Tourism Bureau, 99% Invisible for the additional information of the places we visited.

TAIWANder3 - Tsing Hua Visit

Main event sa travel na 'to ang pagbisita sa Uni ni Tyogon, kaya naman eto na sya, for our 3rd day "Welcome to National Tsing Hua University"

first trip namin na hindi tour, public transport, kahit napaka-efficient ng kanilang public transport, nakakakaba pa din ang pag-byahe kasi lost in translation kami, kaya ayan, mag-pictorial na lang at umasang makakarating kami sa NTHU

at eto na nga, nakarating naman kami sa Uni ni Tyogon at nagiikot na at namamangha sa natural na ganda =) ang relaxing dito

dinalaw din namin ang dorm ni Tyogon, nakitambay ng konti bago ituloy ang ikot sa Uni

dinalaw din namin ang laboratory ni Tyogon at nagmistulang OJT nya si Thea

ayan, tuloy ang ikot at pictorial, anlawak ng NTHU at ang ganda, both the natural and the art installations

hindi din naman kami nagpatalo sa lugar, mga nag-maganda din naman sa pictorial =)

para syang forest, yung halaman kinakamkam na yung building, at may makikitang squirrel at timbalalak

ayan, dahil blurred ang kuha ko sa front ng campus, eto na ulit sya, we're back sa simula

at ang ending ng tour, kain sa cafeteria ng NTHU at nag-try ng masarap na milk tea at fruit tea ni Coco, ito daw ang sikat dito sa Uni ansabe =P masarap ang fruit tea, infairness, di ako mahilig sa milk tea eh kaya yan ang ni-try ko

Ayun, so pang 3rd day umaga ito, may pang hapon pa at last gala na namin kasi uwian na bukas. Next blog naman ang meeting Shawn and going around Taipei City, mag-Taipei 101 kami for the last day na. Para sa first two blogs, eto ang link in case interested ka: Day 1 and Day 2 thank you for reading =)

TAIWANder2

Day 2 na, and may I suggest or kung babalik ako dito, I would do an overnight stay sa Shifen and Juifen, bitin kasi ang group day tour. There's still a lot to visit at lalo sa Juifen, may nightlife =) Kaya kung paparyan ka, mag-stay ka at least overnight to explore more of the place...sabi nga "a traveler wants to experience life while a tourist wants to escape" and also "a traveler wants to try new things, meet new people and look beyond what's in front of you"...asyasya, mag-stay ng matagal, yun lang naman ang punto ko =P

Pre-booked tour ulit ito via KKDay naman, hindi ko alam ang mga yan, nalalaman na lang pag naggagawa na ng IT for a travel. Hindi ko pala nabanggit sa unang blog na kasama ang breakfast sa'ming hotel accommodation, light breakfast lang naman sya pero kung kagaya namin kayo na we take as much as we can, eh heavy na din sya =P eto pala yung blog for Day1.

So eto na, meeting place nito ay sa Taipei Main Station, malapit lang ang hotel namin dito, parang lakad away lang. Meeting Tyogon na din today, kasama sya sa trip na 'to. Ikot ikot ulit with group of we don't know who and it's for PhP 1, 115 per head, wala itong free meals, guide lang na maninita lang naman ng time at chicka chicka ng konti at ang importante yung sasakyan papunta sa places to visit. Tara!

grabe talaga ang mga art installation dito, kahit dito ka lang sa main station mabubusog na din ang mga mata mo at madami ng pwedeng photo op places

ayan, finally, anjan na si Dennis at kasama na syang gumala

Ang chicka sa Taiwan Tourism Bureau, ito daw aming 1st stop ay cape about 1,700 meters long by Datun Mountain reaching the sea, mukha daw itong giant turtle submerging into the sea pag ni-view from above, kaya ang another name nito ay Yehliu Turtle. The place is divided into 3 sections; 1st section - rocks like Queen's head, fairy shoe and candle; 2nd section - bean curd, dragon head naman and the 3rd section - sea-eroded caves,  seal shaped rock naman. Kailangan mong imaginin kung yan nga ba ang shape na makikita mo, may tama naman sila or baka na-mind setting na din gawa ng mga karatula =P 

buti hindi pa ako plantita nitong time na 'to, kung hindi, nasimplihan kong mandekwat ng seeds nitong mga magagandang flowers na 'to

ayan, may pa-preview sila ng "Queen's head" and cute princess along the way

ito ang first section, kung saan makikita mo ang mushrooms, candle rocks and the famous "Queen's head" jan din ang mga cute princess. Sa dami ng tao, kailangan mong ipaglaban ang spot for a good photo op hahaha lalo jan sa "Queen's head". At pwede ka ding magka-jowa photo, ka-back-to-back mo nga lang kagaya ko sa photo na kung saan tuwang-tuwa ako (HINDI nga lang sinama ni Tyogon ang ka-back-to-back ko =P sayang!) 

may ganyan namang signage kaya guided ka naman sa makikita mo =) unless may mas maganda kang imagination, mas madami kang mapo-form at makikita=)

hindi ko na nasubaybayan kung san ang section 2 and 3 pero naikot naman namin lahat ng sulok kaya malamang naman in no particular order eh nadalaw namin ang 2 and 3

Nag-agree ka ba sa "Queen's head"? Agree naman ako, yung pagkakapusod kasi ng hair at ang mahabang neck, ganun din sa mga princess. Nakita ko din ang fairy shoe (although mas mukha syang tsinelas sa paningin ko =P). Sabi sa isang website, ang pagdalaw daw dito ay isipin mong student ka ng Geology para namnamin mo ang bawat formation, pati na din yung mga fossils na hindi ko na napansin sa dami ng tao nga kasi. Pero mahaba naman ang allotted time jan, kaya may pagkakataon kang usisain silang lahat.

ito ang next destination at tinikman ko yang "awesome" boneless chicken wings stuffed with egg fried rice (glutinous rice kaya heavy sya) pero di naman sya awesome, but it's very filling

Next stop, Shifen, coal mining town daw ito before the 1950s sabi sa "The Travel Intern" and today dahil sa kanyang rustic vintage vibe at dahil famous sya sa releasing sky lanterns kaya popular destination na sya from Taipei. At kaya gusto ko itong balikan kasi di ko nakita ang falls at hindi ako naka-try sumakay ng Old Choo-choo train =( but we did what we came here to do at eto sya.

sinulat ang aming mga dalangin sa lantern for PhP 169.10

may pa-photo op muna bago mag-release, yan ang mga pa-posing ni Kuyang photographer (peace-sign hindi BBM, yung cute na cute ka sa sarili mo na napa-punch ka, heart siempre, at ayun, pa-cute na Mini Ms. U pose na ngayon)

may choreography din ang pag-release hindi basta bitaw lang, unti-unti at may photo op siempre

at ayun ang aming mga dalangin na ipinadala sa hangin at aasahang makakarating kay Papa G, I wonder natupad kaya ang mga sinulat namin jan?

siempre merong before release, meron din dapat na after release photo op

may mga areas din dito sa Pingxi District na dinalaw namin. Tuwang-tuwa ako dito kasi I love trains =) kaya naman kahit riles palang #nakakahappy na!

nakakahappy din ang hanging bridge, hindi naman halata sa kanila di ba?

And our last stop, I am not sure whether we went back to Main Station from Shifen to have another ride since I have this photo but anyway, our last stop is Jiufen.

An interesting thing I discovered while doing this blog, according to Wikipedia, Jiufen also Jioufen or Chiufen in Chinese when translated to English means "nine portions". It is because, a long time ago there were only 9 families living in Jiufen and before the road was built, all materials were transported by ships at the nearby wharf, and the village would request "nine portions" every time shipments arrived in town. 

If Shiefen is coal mining, Jiufen naman is for gold mining. According to chicka, Jiufen today is still untouched by modern-day high-rise buildings and I hope it will stay that way =). Ito naman ay parang Baguio, long and winding road na pataas, kasi mountain town din sya.

ito lang nagawa namin, ang mag-walk along the Jeifun Old street na narrow alleyway lined up with small food stalls; ito din lang ang natikman namin ang signature beef noodles ng Jiufen Old Noodle Shop

eto naman ang mga nakita namin sa mga small food stalls pero di na namin nagawang tumikim

must try din daw yang Taiwanese sausages at interesting ang squid at fish egg sausages; yung mga freeze dried na veggies and fruits, yan ang aming pasalubong

yang Taiwanese tea eggs, favorite ko na yan dun sa hotel na pinag-stayan namin

hindi din namin na try itong must-try na A-Zhu peanut ice cream roll, akala ko eh same lang sya ng panutsa or yung long playing natin dito =P yan daw ay peanut shavings from ground off huge block of compressed peanut (yang bloke na yan sa picture) then add 2 scoops of ice cream and cilantro then wrapped into a roll (may cilantro? hmmmm)

Bukod sa mga na-miss kong i-try na food eh madami din kaming hindi nadalaw dito, kasi kulang na ang time nagtatawag na si Kuyang guide at saka umuulan kasi, although normal naman daw talagang maulan dito. So kung babalik dito, maganda sigurong mag-stay even for 1 night at bisitahin ang mga ito:

Sheng-Ping Theatre, the first film theatre in Taiwan (photo from the online verse)

pwede ding mag-gala ng naka-Chinese costume, may Jiufen Chipao na nagpapa-rent ng qipaos/cheongsams (Mandarin gowns or traditional Chinese outfit), shoes and accessories for ladies/men/children (photo from online world)

at ang Amei Teahouse na hindi man lang namin nakita, kahit silip man lang; iconic landmark pa naman 'to (photo from the internet)

at kaya gusto kong mag-stay ng kahit 1 night, lookie, mukha syang Christmas village sa gabi although sabi sa mga websites eh close na ang town ng 7PM,maaga silang natutulog =P (thanks to the rightful owner of these photos)

And there you go, Day 2 seems to be the longest and the so nakakahappy gala day. thank you KKDay for the tour. Si Kuyang guide ay nakarating na daw sa Cebu at Boracay kaya chicka-chcika din nya kami nung nalaman nyang Pinoy kami. 

At bago bumalik si Dennis sa kanyang Uni, we had dinner muna, dahil nasa Taiwan kami, nag-Vietnamese food kami hahaha =P

ang cute!

at dahil jan, lights off na ulit, bukas naman bisita sa Uni ni Dennis at ikot sa Taipei at meeting Shawn.