Leaving The House...

After the fun with the security system and emergency button in the apartment we were staying in (see last post), it was time to get out and start seeing things. If you haven't navigated public transportation before being to Taipei, then it would be a good place to start. Even not knowing Chinese it isn't usually difficult. If you've experienced public transportation in the U.S., than you'll find Taipei's system for getting around most excellent.

There are some subtle things you might want to be aware of if you opt for the bus/train/subway that I'll cover in more detail with my last post on Taiwan. You can always take a taxi and in Taipei it will cost around 200 NT to get you from one end of the city to the other end. If you travel by taxi on a Holiday, such as Chinese New Year they'll tack on an extra 20 NT during the day and 40 NT in the later hours. The Taxi trips we made were from Taipei Main Station to get to the place we rented and for later hours since the MRT (subway) and most buses stop running after midnight, but oddly the city is still very much alive at night. I'll get into Night Markets my next post.

   
After leaving from the apartment and catching a 36 bus to the MRT we met up with some of Meg's friends (Rachelle, Amy, and Matt), which I later got to know a lot better myself, and bought some TRA (train, but not the bullet trains (HSR)) tickets for a trip we'd be going on the next week. Buying tickets from agents isn't difficult. Almost all of the service I've experienced is superb. We had some difficulties due to the language gap but over coming those usually just take time and patience.

After the tickets, we had dinner at an Indian place. I enjoyed the food, but the butter chicken was of a style that wouldn't be my first choice. I've had the style once before and all other times I've ordered butter chicken it has been more creamy and exciting for my taste buds. After the dinner Rachelle went home because she had to work in the morning and the four of us went to a near by night market (more on the next post). After the night market getting home was a breeze and we caught the last bus home from the MRT.

The next day Meg and I went to the National Palace Museum. I didn't know a lot of Taiwan's history walking into the elegant and daunting palace. I walked out of the awe-inspiring palace with more new knowledge than I could hold for long. I'd say I remember about as much detailed information as the average person is able to recall of things learned from high school—about a quarter.

 

We didn't visit the Exhibition Hall 2 because it was in transition from the last rotating exhibit to the next. We also skipped on the National Palace Library because we didn't expect much for us to dive into. After the Exhibition Hall 1 I'd looked at plenty of the Chinese language and didn't care to see more things I couldn't understand for that day at the library.

Exhibition Hall 1 had a vast amount of historical items and documents from China. The reason for so many items from China is during the transition in China to a Communist political system there were many that fled to Taiwan and they took many historical items with them. From what I'm told people from China weren't even allowed to visit the National Palace Museum for a time. We opted for the audio tour. I've never done an audio tour in the states because of the cost. At the Palace it was only 100 NT (New Taiwan) and the price of admittance was 160 NT per-person, and at the time the exchange rate was about 30:1 in favor of the U.S. Dollar. The Palace admission also gave you a pass to the Zhishan Garden, which I believe is normally 50 NT per-person.

I saw a lot of artifacts and art work in the Exhibition Hall. I sadly wasn't allowed any pictures. One thing I'd find more useful would be to walk in with a basic understanding of the Taiwan's history because this would make things a easier to put into perspective with the first level of items. The first level has a lot of treaties and such for both Taiwan and China. What I learned from the second floor was Taiwan originally had indigenous people on it before Chinese, Dutch, Japanese, and any others made settlements there. In the 1700s the Dutch established a presence in Taiwan. China gained control during the Ming Dynasty and in the later 1900s the Japanese occupied for a while. Taiwan is now still considered apart of China, as is Puerto Rico is to the U.S. China considers it theirs more than the people of Taiwan considered themselves apart of China. In the southeastern area there is a stronger presence of people pro-independence than in the north, which is why in places like Tainan (first capital of Taiwan, before Taipei was made the capital) you'll find larger portions of the population speaking Taiwanese rather than Mandarin Chinese, but note they both use the same characters to write in.

With a little history lesson, I can look back on my visit and construct my stay with more relevance. The first floor had a lot of documents and old Chinese religious artifacts. The second floor had a mix of very early age items and up to the middle of China's history. Taiwan's historical documents and artifacts were in the mix of everything as well. After you've seen a few old urns or pots they start to blend unless you're into the history or archeological side of things. The third and final floor was very interesting as it got up to some modern stuff and had some really awesome displays and art work. Take away points for me: the Mayan Empire lasted a very, very long time (they had a time line of most of the major empires and it was by far the longest); Jade is a remarkable rock, crossbows have a long and rich history; Chinese art has a long and rich history and I don't grow weary looking at it easily; and if you don't like museums than this one won't be any different for you but it was worth the trip for me...if you're in the area put it on the bucket list.

The garden was quite remarkable as well. Take a look at the pictures and most that have text can be clicked on and are then readable. After visiting the Palace and the Garden it made me feel a little more knowledgeable, in touch with world history, and Taiwan's history.

   

I've already hinted my next post will have details on the night markets I've visited, some basic photos of things you'll see while using the public transportation, receipts (they just look different), random photos, and some places I've eaten...and more if I change my mind later.

Below is a basic world map I ripped from an Image search and placed my paths of travel, including some future plans. I started from Seattle. I haven't put the city names in yet, but will when I have the time.

Some more photos of the Palace and the garden: