by Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.
We are walking through the Yu Garden in Old Shanghai. The buildings of the Yu Garden are all of vintage Chinese style with dark brown tile-like, fancy roofs, white sides, and perched on stones. Most overlook small pools of large, golden carp, and the pools are outlined in rocks of various sizes and shapes, brought down from the surrounding mountains. Some rocks, our tour guide said, were taken from the mountains then put into lakes for 200-300 years so that the weaker soil and rock would be eroded away and an artistic limestone shape was left that revealed holes and crevices that made them especially attractive and unique. Some of these are massive in size, and the garden area is absolutely, breathtakingly beautiful — a clear reason why the crowds of tourists are here.
In one area of the Yu Garden, there is an elevated stage where the royal family occupying the home would bring in special entertainment just for the family and friends seated in the courtyard or at tables and chairs in protected (from the hot sun or rain) porch areas under the surrounding buildings. Along the top of one wall, a full-length dragon (as mentioned in the previous essay) is displayed. The dragon, in China, represents royalty.
As we left Yu Garden we were given 20 minutes to shop in the little snack and souvenir shops just outside the Garden walls in Old Shanghai. There we bought a Shanghai tee-shirt and observed the hoards of tourists. The young lady selling tee-shirts started telling us the cost of the shirt in Yuen, then converted it to U.S. dollars, and $20.00 was her beginning price. We bought the shirt for $11.00, but could have had it for $10.00 as we were about the leave her store. All of these stores accepted credit cards or U.S. currency since this is a tourist mecca.
From the Yu Garden we proceeded to the Ju Long Silk Store in the Old City, which is the drop-off point for all the shuttle buses to the ship. Since we had toured a silk factory recently on a previous excursion in another city, we chose to end our excursion here.
One thing you notice as you are bussed around this very large city are the many rivers, canals, streams, and lakes. One website, “China Travel.com,” talks about the water under the heading, “Shanghai Travel Guide”: “Indeed, the entire region of Shanghai - Hangzhou is characterized by water, with several larger and smaller rivers as well as ponds and lakes, of which West Lake is the most renowned.”
There are always regrets when you have a limited amount of time in a port or you must choose between a number of attractive shore-excursion options. For example, we had to miss the Shanghai Museum of Art and History. It has, according to one Internet website, “one of the best collections of Chinese historical artifacts in the world, including important archaeological finds since 1949.”
We had to miss, as well, the Shanghai Art Museum, located near the People’s Square (which we viewed ever-so-briefly from the bus window) which is “a major art museum holding both permanent and temporary exhibitions,” and the Shanghai Natural History Museum, which is a large-scale natural history museum.
There were several areas of the city, too, that we had to miss. For example, a visit to Suzhou, which others who went said was a wonderful visit to a small fishing village where they had an opportunity to cruise on the Grand Canal, view the Humble Administrators Garden, and visit the Suzhou Embroidery Research Institute where they could see artists working. Those taking this excursion said they viewed classic Chinese architecture and saw (up close and personal) the lifestyle of people living along the banks.
We missed seeing ancient Zhujiajio (Shanghai’s Venice) too, the home of 36 moss-covered bridges and canal-side boats. The TravelChinaGuide.com website describes this little water town as follows: “Located in a suburb of Shanghai city, Zhujiajiao is an ancient water town well-known throughout the country, with a history of more than 1700 years. Covering an area of 47 square kilometers, the little fan-shaped town glimmers like a bright pearl in the landscape of lakes and mountains.”
There were other things we missed seeing in Shanghai, too. We missed touring the Bund, the financial hub of colonial Shanghai, although we saw it from floor 88 of the Jin Mao Building (discussed in the first essay on Shanghai). At China 2001, the Bund is briefly discussed: “ . . . The Bund parallels the western bank of the Juangpu Jiang River. It was here that the European, American and Japanese built their banks, trading houses, consulates and hotels. Renovated by the Chinese as a tourist attraction and brightly lit at night it is a spectacular sight when viewed from the promenade across the Bund and adjacent to the river.”
We missed seeing the Maglev train. Ron Gluckman in an essay, “Is it a bird? A plane?” describes the Maglev train like this: “Indeed, the Maglev is faster than any speeding locomotive precisely because it's as much like a plane as any railroad we've known. True, the train has no wings, but no wheels or engine, either. Transrapid, the German firm that developed the system, describes the Maglev as ‘the first fundamental innovation in the field of railway technology since the invention of the railway.’ Magnets are the attraction. First, powerful magnets lift the entire train about 10 millimeters above the special track, called a guideway, since it mainly directs the passage of the train. Other magnets provide propulsion, and braking, and the speeds - up to 500 kph in test runs; a good 60 percent faster than the renowned Bullet Trains - are attained largely due to the reduction of friction.”
Even though we missed a great deal, we had a valuable and worthwhile opportunity to see downtown Shanghai and where it is heading as well as various parts of Old Town. This was not just an adventure but a real look at contrasting cultures where a city treasures and preserves its past while moving rapidly into the future.
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At Lonely Planet, the essay, “Modern meets tradition in China’s dynamic cities,” includes this paragraph: “'The slick and futuristic parts of Shanghai are impressive but the gritty and down-to-earth areas are even more captivating. The city’s li(long alleyways, lòngtáng architecture and shíkùmén houses are gorgeous and capture the community feel of Shanghai. And a walk around the Old Town can pop you back into the past,' said author Damian Harper.”
At IndependentTraveler.com, Aida M. Garcia-Toledo describes the “Tradition” in her essay on “Impressive Shanghai.” She writes about the area around the Yu Garden: “The area around Yu Yuan Gardens is a touristy shopping district that used to be the 'Chinese City' in colonial times. Here traditional Chinese architecture creates a huge, although welcomed, contrast with the rest of the city's modern sites. Red balconies are carved in traditional Chinese style, complimenting the white facades and topped off with traditional Chinese 4-point tiled roofs. The streets are cobblestone and red lanterns hang from most of the balconies. Downstairs different stores line the streets; here you can find everything from tea sets and kites to exotic herbs and exotic medicinal rarities (for westerners). Be warned: this area is full of tourists, and thus best to visit early in the morning or later in the afternoon.”
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Copyright May, 2011, by And Then Some Publishing, LLC.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Okinawa: Unexplored, undiscovered, and unexperienced
by Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.
You do not get a fair view of the main island of the Okinawa Prefecture, Okinawa, with just a half-day stay and no excursion, but that is what we did. Some could probably argue that you can’t even get a fair view of anywhere without an extended stay — and that is probably an accurate point of view. We did not exchange enough money (we had just 2,000 Japanese yen — $22.6 U.S.) which was not enough for a taxi ride to and from Shuri Castle or the World War II Memorial. They are both a fair distance from the downtown area of Naha, the capital, where our shuttle from the ship dropped us off (a mere 15-20-minute drive), and the time to get there (to the castle or the memorial) and back could have prevented a walk down the main shopping street.
The Okinawa Prefecture consists of hundreds of the Ryukyu Islands. They stretch southwest for about 600 miles from the Japanese island of Kyu-shu — to within 75 miles of the island of Taiwan. Okinawa lies about half way between Japan’s mainland and Taiwan.
Instead of being dropped at a high-end mall we were left off in front of a government building, and even the guides at the drop-off (we had no tour guide on our bus) spoke poor, broken English. Also, the main tourist information area was a 15-20 minute walk from our drop-off point. The guide at our drop-off point suggested we walk to the information booth before deciding to go to any other destination points.
Shuri Castle, one of our potential destinations, was used as a palace by the Ryukyu Kingdom, and it was completely destroyed in the Battle of Okinawa. From original photographs and historical records, it was reconstructed in 1992, and it remains today as a huge tourist attraction. You can see 20 images of Shuri Castle at the Google website of the same name.
In addition to the Shuri Castle, there is a memorial on the island to the many people who died when the U.S. bombed it/destroyed it in World War II. We did not visit the memorial, although we wanted to, because of the distance from our drop-off point, and the cost for hiring a taxi (more than we had exchanged).
We did walk the main shopping street in Naha to make positive use of the short time we had, and I have several observations regarding our walk along the main shopping street. First, it was very busy with lots of people. Second, there are no hawkers, few sidewalk vendors, and streets are clear of litter and refuse. When we stopped to have our lunch on one of the benches along the sidewalk, we stopped opposite the “salesroom” (sidewalk) of a local street vendor. Not only did she sport dreadlocks, she wore the clothes of a San Francisco hippie from the 1960s. Her products were bracelets, necklaces, pendants, and various other crystals and jewelry-like items (all looked very homemade) — just exactly what you would expect from a person dressed like this.
We turned into “the covered Heiwa-do-ri Shopping Arcade and Makishi Public Market, a massive shotengai [a style of Japanese commercial district running along a certain street] filled with fresh fish, meat, and produce stands, restaurants, tourist goods shops, and liquor shops . . . ,” according to Wikipedia, and we knew we were in a place of special interest because of the number of people from our ship, the Diamond Princess, taking excursions there. (Excursions are often revealed when you see a tour guide leading a group of people with his or her “Princess” sign held high for all those on the tour to see and follow.)
What I found most interesting about this shotengai was the mix of stores. You could have a small shop selling various kinds of grains, for example, right next to a high-end clothing shop, or a place that sold only lotions and perfumes, next to a market, a souvenir shop, or a place that sold only umbrellas or liquor — or fresh fish.
My wife was looking for a “smart casual” top she could wear for the evening on board ship, and she tried on a couple. In one place, to try on the top, she had to go to the back of a darkly lit, little, single-cubical store, where only one person could squeeze through the main aisle to the back where there was barely enough space to try it on. It was already warm and humid; thus, going into this small, dark, poorly ventilated place was “an experience.” (She purchased no top.)
One of the problems we discovered with clothes in this shotengai was that they were not specifically designed for tourists. Clothes stores catered, as you might expect, to the local population. What you may not realize about local Okinawan people is that they tend to be small. The tops my wife tried on (despite trying on the largest size available) were all small and tight, and store clerks had none in her size (and my wife is not a “large.”)
We found a silver souvenir trinket with Okinawan letters on one side (we were told), and Japanese letters on the other, that we could use on our Christmas tree (we collect tree ornaments from the places we visit), and I found a tee-shirt at a store along the street that accepted credit cards. Although we walked for eight or ten blocks, we bought nothing else.
The shops and streets were clean, people were nicely dressed, and we felt entirely safe wherever we walked in Okinawa. People were friendly, but none of the vendors (or other store personnel) spoke any English at all. Although there is a heavy U.S. presence on the island — the 14 U.S. bases here occupy 90 square miles or 18% of the main island — we saw no military personnel and few other tourists except those from our ship.
For all of the immigration papers we had to fill out, the fingerprinting, pictures, and thermal scanning (all before going ashore), you would think we had planned to stay on the island for some time. It is too bad that we did not have a chance to see their pottery, textiles, or glass making (products they are known for).
Even though we got but a meager glimpse of Okinawa, the lack of big high-rise buildings, the palms along the streets, the modern bridge connecting the port with the city, made this an interesting place to visit, but for us, it remains undiscovered, unexplored, and unexperienced.
-----
Okinawa.com is a delightful website where you can get a wide variety of information and links to even more. Also, there is a photo gallery at the bottom of the first page (you must scroll all the way down) that highlights many of the special features you can see on the island. This is one of the main tourist destinations for many of the Japanese people, and it is a place we would gladly return to based on what we saw in our brief sojourn there.
A gallery of outstanding photographs can be found at HDR Japan, where all of the various areas of Okinawa are shown and discussed.
From food to entertainment and from culture to nature, you can find it all — and written conversationally by someone who lives there — at Okinawa Hai. If you’ve been there, plan to go, or are just interested in all that is Okinawa, then this website is a great place to begin.
-----
Copyright May, 2011, by And Then Some Publishing, LLC.
You do not get a fair view of the main island of the Okinawa Prefecture, Okinawa, with just a half-day stay and no excursion, but that is what we did. Some could probably argue that you can’t even get a fair view of anywhere without an extended stay — and that is probably an accurate point of view. We did not exchange enough money (we had just 2,000 Japanese yen — $22.6 U.S.) which was not enough for a taxi ride to and from Shuri Castle or the World War II Memorial. They are both a fair distance from the downtown area of Naha, the capital, where our shuttle from the ship dropped us off (a mere 15-20-minute drive), and the time to get there (to the castle or the memorial) and back could have prevented a walk down the main shopping street.
The Okinawa Prefecture consists of hundreds of the Ryukyu Islands. They stretch southwest for about 600 miles from the Japanese island of Kyu-shu — to within 75 miles of the island of Taiwan. Okinawa lies about half way between Japan’s mainland and Taiwan.
Instead of being dropped at a high-end mall we were left off in front of a government building, and even the guides at the drop-off (we had no tour guide on our bus) spoke poor, broken English. Also, the main tourist information area was a 15-20 minute walk from our drop-off point. The guide at our drop-off point suggested we walk to the information booth before deciding to go to any other destination points.
Shuri Castle, one of our potential destinations, was used as a palace by the Ryukyu Kingdom, and it was completely destroyed in the Battle of Okinawa. From original photographs and historical records, it was reconstructed in 1992, and it remains today as a huge tourist attraction. You can see 20 images of Shuri Castle at the Google website of the same name.
In addition to the Shuri Castle, there is a memorial on the island to the many people who died when the U.S. bombed it/destroyed it in World War II. We did not visit the memorial, although we wanted to, because of the distance from our drop-off point, and the cost for hiring a taxi (more than we had exchanged).
We did walk the main shopping street in Naha to make positive use of the short time we had, and I have several observations regarding our walk along the main shopping street. First, it was very busy with lots of people. Second, there are no hawkers, few sidewalk vendors, and streets are clear of litter and refuse. When we stopped to have our lunch on one of the benches along the sidewalk, we stopped opposite the “salesroom” (sidewalk) of a local street vendor. Not only did she sport dreadlocks, she wore the clothes of a San Francisco hippie from the 1960s. Her products were bracelets, necklaces, pendants, and various other crystals and jewelry-like items (all looked very homemade) — just exactly what you would expect from a person dressed like this.
We turned into “the covered Heiwa-do-ri Shopping Arcade and Makishi Public Market, a massive shotengai [a style of Japanese commercial district running along a certain street] filled with fresh fish, meat, and produce stands, restaurants, tourist goods shops, and liquor shops . . . ,” according to Wikipedia, and we knew we were in a place of special interest because of the number of people from our ship, the Diamond Princess, taking excursions there. (Excursions are often revealed when you see a tour guide leading a group of people with his or her “Princess” sign held high for all those on the tour to see and follow.)
What I found most interesting about this shotengai was the mix of stores. You could have a small shop selling various kinds of grains, for example, right next to a high-end clothing shop, or a place that sold only lotions and perfumes, next to a market, a souvenir shop, or a place that sold only umbrellas or liquor — or fresh fish.
My wife was looking for a “smart casual” top she could wear for the evening on board ship, and she tried on a couple. In one place, to try on the top, she had to go to the back of a darkly lit, little, single-cubical store, where only one person could squeeze through the main aisle to the back where there was barely enough space to try it on. It was already warm and humid; thus, going into this small, dark, poorly ventilated place was “an experience.” (She purchased no top.)
One of the problems we discovered with clothes in this shotengai was that they were not specifically designed for tourists. Clothes stores catered, as you might expect, to the local population. What you may not realize about local Okinawan people is that they tend to be small. The tops my wife tried on (despite trying on the largest size available) were all small and tight, and store clerks had none in her size (and my wife is not a “large.”)
We found a silver souvenir trinket with Okinawan letters on one side (we were told), and Japanese letters on the other, that we could use on our Christmas tree (we collect tree ornaments from the places we visit), and I found a tee-shirt at a store along the street that accepted credit cards. Although we walked for eight or ten blocks, we bought nothing else.
The shops and streets were clean, people were nicely dressed, and we felt entirely safe wherever we walked in Okinawa. People were friendly, but none of the vendors (or other store personnel) spoke any English at all. Although there is a heavy U.S. presence on the island — the 14 U.S. bases here occupy 90 square miles or 18% of the main island — we saw no military personnel and few other tourists except those from our ship.
For all of the immigration papers we had to fill out, the fingerprinting, pictures, and thermal scanning (all before going ashore), you would think we had planned to stay on the island for some time. It is too bad that we did not have a chance to see their pottery, textiles, or glass making (products they are known for).
Even though we got but a meager glimpse of Okinawa, the lack of big high-rise buildings, the palms along the streets, the modern bridge connecting the port with the city, made this an interesting place to visit, but for us, it remains undiscovered, unexplored, and unexperienced.
-----
Okinawa.com is a delightful website where you can get a wide variety of information and links to even more. Also, there is a photo gallery at the bottom of the first page (you must scroll all the way down) that highlights many of the special features you can see on the island. This is one of the main tourist destinations for many of the Japanese people, and it is a place we would gladly return to based on what we saw in our brief sojourn there.
A gallery of outstanding photographs can be found at HDR Japan, where all of the various areas of Okinawa are shown and discussed.
From food to entertainment and from culture to nature, you can find it all — and written conversationally by someone who lives there — at Okinawa Hai. If you’ve been there, plan to go, or are just interested in all that is Okinawa, then this website is a great place to begin.
-----
Copyright May, 2011, by And Then Some Publishing, LLC.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Taiwan II: Undiscovered Jewel
by Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.
We’re in Taipei, Taiwan, the capital of the country. TAIPEI is mnemonic for Technology, Art, Innovation, People, Environment — something I only discovered after I Googled it when I was writing this essay back at home.
Tour with me for a moment. Pretend you are standing in the middle of a large esplanade (courtyard) — open space. At one end there are massive white gates, and if you’re looking at those, behind you there is the white and blue mausoleum containing a bronze statue of Chiang Kai Shek.. The mausoleum stands like a modern block-house on a huge raised pedestal. The pictures at the Taiwan Taipei website “Chiang Kai Shek Memorial,” are outstanding.
If you are in the middle of the courtyard of this 60-acre piece of property, then on either side of you are two large buildings (mirrors of each other) with red columns and bright, yellow-orange (the color of Tibetan-monk robes) tiled roofs. One is the National Concert Hall, and the other is the National Theatre, and all buildings (including the Memorial Hall and the gates) are within sight of the Republic of China’s Presidential Building in Taipei’s Zhongzheng District.
You may wonder why I even mention the Presidential Building. It is the office of the President of the Republic of China and is one of the most visited tourist attractions in Taipei. The reason it is heavily visited is its location. Wikipedia explains the importance of its location: “The Presidential Office Building stands within walking distance of 228 Memorial Park, the National Taiwan Museum, the original hospital of the National Taiwan University, the original East Gate of the City of Taipei, the Chang Yung Fa Foundation Building (formerly Kuomintang Party Headquarters) and the National Theater and Concert Hall at Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. A few blocks to the west is Taipei's popular Ximending shopping district with its historic cinema and Jhongshan Concert Hall. A few blocks to the north is Taipei Main Station and Shin Kong Life Tower.” Talk about an important location!
We are on a walking tour with Jan de Vries, our Princess excursion tour guide, and just as we had observed in the Sun Yat-sen Memorial, we arrived at the Memorial to President Chiang to watch the changing of the guard. (We had observed a similar activity at the tomb of the unknown soldier in Washington, D.C., and the similarities were startling.) The red carpet, twirling of the guns with bayonets extended, the calling out of signals (as if to get President Chiang’s attention!), stiff, regimented, precision marching, and the pageantry of spit-shined shoes, polished guns, and bright colors were eye-catching; many people observed from behind the red, velvet-rope barrier.
Again, we briefly toured the museum, then we headed back to the MRT to return to the Town Hall and “101.” Taipei’s 101 (1,671 feet) is a 101-floor, landmark skyscraper in which over 10,000 people work. Taipei 101, whose pinnacle reached full height on Oct. 9, 2003, and opened in 2004, was the world's tallest building until surpassed by the Dubai, United Arab Emirates, tower, Burj Khalifa at 2,717 feet tall which opened January 4, 2010. At SkyscraperPage.com a great deal more information on the 101 tower can be found.
A large mall is located at the base of the tower, so it was no wonder our shuttle dropped us off and picked us up there. It has, thus far, been consistent. Because we returned close to the time we were to be picked up, we followed Jan, our guide, to a McDonald’s where I had my afternoon coffee, and we were finally able to have our cinnamon roll, bran muffin, and hard roll, plus water, too, we carried from the ship. With no lunch, we were starving and tired.
There were a number of reasons why Taiwan is a jewel. First, it is clean and safe. Second, it is easy for tourists to navigate, and the public transportation system is terrific. Third, it has some wonderful, picturesque sites for tourists. There are the two palaces, a fine arts museum, National Palace Museum, National Taiwan Museum, and Museum of Contemporary Art (all of which we did not have time to see on this short visit), and some of these museums house artifacts much older than any that can be found in Europe, our guide told us. At Yahoo Travel, “Things to do in Taiwan,” there are 25 destinations, with reviews, and all sound terrific.
The fourth reason why Taiwan is a jewel is that the mountains are beautiful. Some of those on Taiwan, too, are higher than those found in Switzerland.
The fifth reason is the people. They are kind, friendly, honest, and helpful. Although most do not speak English, they are more than willing to stop and try to help tourists. They find tourists interesting and love to interact.
The sixth reason why Taiwan is a jewel is that there is a great deal of shopping and entertainment, and the Shilin Night Market (we did not visit it) gets extremely crowded during the evening and operates until well past midnight. At Taiwanfun.com, the description of the Shilin Night Market reads like this: “Since it's such a huge market, almost any product imaginable, not to mention any kind of food, can be found there. The products are of good quality and quite inexpensive, so that you're sure to get your money's worth. In fact, the deals are so good that they draw large crowds even on weekdays. On weekends and holidays, however, the market becomes a veritable ocean of people, best described by the Chinese expression, ‘people mountain, people sea.’”
The seventh reason Taiwan is a jewel is its extensive system of parks, green spaces, and nature preserves. There is a popular National Park and a Taipei Zoo. Taiwan's northern regions offer waterfalls, volcanic pasts, beaches, paddy fields, villages, and temples. In addition, because of its volcanic origin, there are hot springs, and there is boating and other water sports as well.
There is no question that Taiwan is a jewel just waiting for greater discovery. It’s especially nice, too, when you get a proud, knowledgeable, well-informed excursion guide who not only points out the sights along a walking tour of the city but, too, talks about all the other things that make Taiwan the jewel that it is.
-----
At Asian Info.org there is a great summary of my essay, under the heading, “Taiwan Tourist Information,” that reads: “Fascinating culture, breathtaking scenery, artistic masterpieces, delicious cuisines, and friendly people make Taiwan an ideal destination for tourists. In addition, the island's convenient transportation, excellent hotels, and outstanding restaurants allow travelers to explore these many attractions in comfort.”
At WorldTravelGuide some unusual things (some are not unusual) to do are discussed at “Things to do in Taiwan.”
-----
Copyright May, 2011, by And Then Some Publishing, LLC.
We’re in Taipei, Taiwan, the capital of the country. TAIPEI is mnemonic for Technology, Art, Innovation, People, Environment — something I only discovered after I Googled it when I was writing this essay back at home.
Tour with me for a moment. Pretend you are standing in the middle of a large esplanade (courtyard) — open space. At one end there are massive white gates, and if you’re looking at those, behind you there is the white and blue mausoleum containing a bronze statue of Chiang Kai Shek.. The mausoleum stands like a modern block-house on a huge raised pedestal. The pictures at the Taiwan Taipei website “Chiang Kai Shek Memorial,” are outstanding.
If you are in the middle of the courtyard of this 60-acre piece of property, then on either side of you are two large buildings (mirrors of each other) with red columns and bright, yellow-orange (the color of Tibetan-monk robes) tiled roofs. One is the National Concert Hall, and the other is the National Theatre, and all buildings (including the Memorial Hall and the gates) are within sight of the Republic of China’s Presidential Building in Taipei’s Zhongzheng District.
You may wonder why I even mention the Presidential Building. It is the office of the President of the Republic of China and is one of the most visited tourist attractions in Taipei. The reason it is heavily visited is its location. Wikipedia explains the importance of its location: “The Presidential Office Building stands within walking distance of 228 Memorial Park, the National Taiwan Museum, the original hospital of the National Taiwan University, the original East Gate of the City of Taipei, the Chang Yung Fa Foundation Building (formerly Kuomintang Party Headquarters) and the National Theater and Concert Hall at Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. A few blocks to the west is Taipei's popular Ximending shopping district with its historic cinema and Jhongshan Concert Hall. A few blocks to the north is Taipei Main Station and Shin Kong Life Tower.” Talk about an important location!
We are on a walking tour with Jan de Vries, our Princess excursion tour guide, and just as we had observed in the Sun Yat-sen Memorial, we arrived at the Memorial to President Chiang to watch the changing of the guard. (We had observed a similar activity at the tomb of the unknown soldier in Washington, D.C., and the similarities were startling.) The red carpet, twirling of the guns with bayonets extended, the calling out of signals (as if to get President Chiang’s attention!), stiff, regimented, precision marching, and the pageantry of spit-shined shoes, polished guns, and bright colors were eye-catching; many people observed from behind the red, velvet-rope barrier.
Again, we briefly toured the museum, then we headed back to the MRT to return to the Town Hall and “101.” Taipei’s 101 (1,671 feet) is a 101-floor, landmark skyscraper in which over 10,000 people work. Taipei 101, whose pinnacle reached full height on Oct. 9, 2003, and opened in 2004, was the world's tallest building until surpassed by the Dubai, United Arab Emirates, tower, Burj Khalifa at 2,717 feet tall which opened January 4, 2010. At SkyscraperPage.com a great deal more information on the 101 tower can be found.
A large mall is located at the base of the tower, so it was no wonder our shuttle dropped us off and picked us up there. It has, thus far, been consistent. Because we returned close to the time we were to be picked up, we followed Jan, our guide, to a McDonald’s where I had my afternoon coffee, and we were finally able to have our cinnamon roll, bran muffin, and hard roll, plus water, too, we carried from the ship. With no lunch, we were starving and tired.
There were a number of reasons why Taiwan is a jewel. First, it is clean and safe. Second, it is easy for tourists to navigate, and the public transportation system is terrific. Third, it has some wonderful, picturesque sites for tourists. There are the two palaces, a fine arts museum, National Palace Museum, National Taiwan Museum, and Museum of Contemporary Art (all of which we did not have time to see on this short visit), and some of these museums house artifacts much older than any that can be found in Europe, our guide told us. At Yahoo Travel, “Things to do in Taiwan,” there are 25 destinations, with reviews, and all sound terrific.
The fourth reason why Taiwan is a jewel is that the mountains are beautiful. Some of those on Taiwan, too, are higher than those found in Switzerland.
The fifth reason is the people. They are kind, friendly, honest, and helpful. Although most do not speak English, they are more than willing to stop and try to help tourists. They find tourists interesting and love to interact.
The sixth reason why Taiwan is a jewel is that there is a great deal of shopping and entertainment, and the Shilin Night Market (we did not visit it) gets extremely crowded during the evening and operates until well past midnight. At Taiwanfun.com, the description of the Shilin Night Market reads like this: “Since it's such a huge market, almost any product imaginable, not to mention any kind of food, can be found there. The products are of good quality and quite inexpensive, so that you're sure to get your money's worth. In fact, the deals are so good that they draw large crowds even on weekdays. On weekends and holidays, however, the market becomes a veritable ocean of people, best described by the Chinese expression, ‘people mountain, people sea.’”
The seventh reason Taiwan is a jewel is its extensive system of parks, green spaces, and nature preserves. There is a popular National Park and a Taipei Zoo. Taiwan's northern regions offer waterfalls, volcanic pasts, beaches, paddy fields, villages, and temples. In addition, because of its volcanic origin, there are hot springs, and there is boating and other water sports as well.
There is no question that Taiwan is a jewel just waiting for greater discovery. It’s especially nice, too, when you get a proud, knowledgeable, well-informed excursion guide who not only points out the sights along a walking tour of the city but, too, talks about all the other things that make Taiwan the jewel that it is.
-----
At Asian Info.org there is a great summary of my essay, under the heading, “Taiwan Tourist Information,” that reads: “Fascinating culture, breathtaking scenery, artistic masterpieces, delicious cuisines, and friendly people make Taiwan an ideal destination for tourists. In addition, the island's convenient transportation, excellent hotels, and outstanding restaurants allow travelers to explore these many attractions in comfort.”
At WorldTravelGuide some unusual things (some are not unusual) to do are discussed at “Things to do in Taiwan.”
-----
Copyright May, 2011, by And Then Some Publishing, LLC.
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