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| Chiang Kai-shek Memorial |
If your ship is visiting a port for the very first time a fire boat spewing water guides you into port and settles you in your berth. You become a part of a parade. There is excitement and a sense of fun in the air.Taiwan...here is where all of our money goes. It seems everything sold in the USA made in Taiwan.... Having never been to Taiwan, we were excited it was on our itinerary.
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My first impression of Taiwan... it is somewhat Western, old in appearance, well worn, yet more modern then I had expected. The buildings in Keelung reminded me of China or Russia where you build a high rise then forget about it. Crowded. Taiwan is mountainous. Only 28% of the land can be used to build on. Because of scarcity of flat land, people are just piled on top of one another. There are 23 million people living in Taiwan. Official language, is Mandarin
Once we docked everyone n the ship had to go through a face to face immigration check. These folks are very organized. Deck by deck, one person at a time, we filed in while they took photos of us, looked at our picture, looked us up and down for 15 seconds, then stamped our passport. Since they don't take US dollars, I converted $20 to the Taiwan dollar. In return I received $400 and and change..... $1 USD = 29.62 TND. Play Money.
Our 5 hour tour of choice brought us into the very modern, clean and safe city of Taipei, about 50 minutes away. Our guide was excellent and very funny. He had a story and opinion about everything. His favorite expression to make a point was "Mamma Mia...!" He went to college in Minnesota. Taipei is a world apart from Keelung. Here we found the finest shopping, wide streets, and easy transportation. Cars are so expensive to buy and keep that most people use public transportation. Our first stop was Taipei 101. It was the tallest building in the world for a few years and proudly designed by a Taiwanese. There are 101 stores inside, very upscale. We did not have time to go in. |
| our guide taking our picture |
We toured the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial and then saw the changing of the guards at the Martyr's Shrine. Our guide was once one of these guards. They stand on guard on 2 hour shifts. While on duty they do not move. No eyes blink and you don't see their chest move to breathe. Our guide told us about the extensive training. Start out with 15 seconds and work up to two hours. You go inside yourself, stare at one spot, and count your heartbeats....45 or so a minute when you get in this state. It is a great honor to be one of these 6' hand selected guards. I was fascinated and took way too many pictures. Beautifully done. Worth seeing.
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| Martyr's Shrine |
Our last stop was the National Palace Museum. It is one of the top 4 museums in the world. Huge. We saw jade, ivory and pottery, a sliver of the museum at best. We visited on the day the whole of China bussed in. I wish we had more time and 5 billion less people in the museum. We got back to the ship as heavy rains converged on Taiwan. It always rains here. At 6PM we untied the ropes and headed for South Korea. I would definitely love to come back and spend more time in Taiwan.
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| National Palace Museum |
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| ewww was my first thought, 'Modern' toilets |
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