We had a delightful and enchanting day in Taiwan. There was something very special about this lovely country and its people. I've been trying to figure out what made me like this port so much. I've decided that it was the juxtaposition of the old and the new sharing the same space, fitting comfortably together. Many of the countries we've visited had "old" and "new" sections of towns and there were tremendous differences between the two areas. However, in Taipei, there were very old buildings setting next to new modern buildings. Yet, each of them commanded their own dignity and appeared comfortable in their surroundings. It was a really lovely sight. Although it was overcast and cool the entire day, with short periods of light rain, it didn't dampen our spirits or keep us from enjoying our adventures.
Our tour in Taipei was rather lengthy and we covered all of the major tourist attractions in less than nine hours!!! Good thing today is a "sea" day because both of us are exhausted and sore from touring yesterday. However, we had a great time. We started our day with a visit to the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Park, which included a huge hall dedicated to the life of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek. The museum included paintings and exhibits showcasing his life, as well as a huge monument of Chiang Kai-shek. We watched the changing of the guard in a ceremony that takes 15 minutes, and happens every hour. It's quite a spectacle as the soldiers strut, stomp, salute and twirl their rifles. Evidently, only the top soldiers are selected to guard the monument, so it is considered a high honor. Although some of the flowers in the park were not yet in bloom there were many beautiful azaleas and camellias which lined the gracefully meandering pathways.
Our next stop included a visit to the Martyr's Shrine, which honors the fallen heroes of the China's wars. The shine and temple grounds are located within an enormous park set in a beautiful and peaceful location placed against a mountain backdrop. We witnessed a changing of the guard at this monument as well, but it was not as elaborate as the ceremony at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial.
We climbed back on the bus and went to the fabulous National Palace Museum. Before we arrived, Bob and I were thinking "great, another museum filled with broken and cracked furniture and pottery." Until now, the museums have not been show stoppers. However the moment we walked in we knew this place was different. The museum's antique collection is comprised of over 700,000 pieces and spans almost all of China's entire 5,000 year history. Evidently, when Chiang Kai-shek fled China for Taiwan he took all of the greatest antiquities and treasures with him. For many years China tried to retrieve them, but in recent years has given up, since the Chinese people can now view these priceless pieces in such a majestic setting. It is the world's largest treasure house of Chinese art. The National Palace Museum is one of the most visited museums in the world and welcomes 100,000 visitors each day. It certainly felt like it when we were touring. Our guide kept repeating how lucky we were that we got tickets for lunch time, since it was by far the least busy time of day to visit. We certainly didn't notice the crowds being low! There were people everywhere. I couldn't couldn't count the number of tour buses that were there and there were lines for all of the exhibits. Still, it was a beautiful museum and we thoroughly enjoyed our time there.
We stopped for lunch at the magnificent Grand Hotel which opened its doors in 1952. Numerous world dignitaries have been served lunch in the elegant and beautiful restaurant. Ever since Bob and I visited Beijing in 2008 I have been searching for a place that offered Chinese food as delicious as we had in our hotel there. I finally found it at the Grand Hotel. Food was served on a lazy susan and I'll say that our table turned Susan around so much she must have been quite dizzy!!! The dumplings and potstickers were exquisite and the chicken and fish melted in your mouth. I probably could have sat there the rest of the afternoon and eaten until I exploded but thankfully it was time to move on and continue our tour. Nice that our time in china ended with the best Chinese food we have had on the entire trip.
After slowly waddling back to the bus we headed for the Confucius Temple. The origin of the temple dates back to 1875, when Taipei was established as a prefecture for northern Taiwan. Construction workers were very busy enlarging the stage, since the president is coming to visit the temple tomorrow. Evidently, dignitaries and the people gather two days a year to worship together at this temple. There were many altars where incense was burning and people were bringing gifts of fruit as they prayed. We did notice some crescent shaped wood pieces in a basket next to each altar. When we asked about them our guide told us that people take two pieces from the basket. Each piece has a bottom and a top side. The person asks a yes or no question, then drops the pieces on the ground. If two tops are up your answer is yes. It two bottoms are up the answer is no. If one top and one bottom are up, you must ask your question again. It was the same idea as the lucky sticks we saw at the temple in Shanghai. The Chinese are definitely a very superstitious people.
Since we had a couple of extra minutes we visited another nearby temple. It was the Longshon Temple, and is a place where Taipei's faithful come to honor their ancestors, mediate their disagreements, and seek guidance. There were elaborate and colorful offerings, as well as small groups of people sitting around discussing spiritual matters, and a small area where soft music played while people came to pray. This temple is used on a daily basis while the Confucius Temple is used mainly for ceremonial purposes a couple of times a year.
Our final stop for the day was at the Taipei 101. This building is 1667 feet high and is billed as one of the tallest buildings in the world. Inside there are at least nine stories of VERY high end stores (Gucci, Prada, Cartier, Tiffany, etc.). We had hoped to buy a couple of souvenirs there but we saw immediately that we wouldn't be buying anything. We could take a ride on a high speed elevator to the top floor for a great view of the city but decided that since it was so cloudy we wouldn't have much of a view so we spent our time window shopping. We did go into Tiffany where they got a knot out of my necklace and cleaned my cross so it sparkles! So, at least it was a productive visit to this high end mall :)
Finally, it was time to return to the ship. We had an extremely enjoyable but hectic day. When we returned to our stateroom our wonderful butler had, once again, prepared a hot bath, complete with rose petals! What a guy!! Loved it!!! We have two sea days then we'll be spending a few days in Vietnam. We understand the weather will improve as we sail south and it should be quite warm in future ports. Evidently the shopping is great in Vietnam so we're looking forward to buying items for our kids and grandkids!!!
What an amazing experience!!!
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