Paradox Blog

On our last trip to Taipei, we visited quite a lot of places in the two-week period. More than half the time we were there, it rained. We still manage to cover a lot of ground. Among the places we visited, some are familiar attractions like the National Palace Museum. Some are brand new like the Gardens in the Presidential Residence. Some are simply a delightful chance encounter, like the cafe on the shore of the Dan Suei River. Besides sight seeing, we went shopping, of course. Two weeks seemed awfully short when you were on the move all the time.

Old Glories: National Palace Museum, Hsin Tien Temple, and Tau Yuen Historical Streets

Last time I visited the National Palace Museum was more than ten years ago. I remember enjoying the trip as well as the souvenirs very much. This time when we visited, it did not seem as grand any more, perhaps because the exhibits hadn't changed much in ten-year's time. Still, it has a magnificent Jade collection that we hadn't find anywhere else. Besides, it is still a pleasant walk around the neighborhood.

On the corner of Ming Chuan East Road and Song Kiang Road stands the red tile-roofed Hsin Tien Temple. Beyond the stone lion guarded red gates, it's a world of chanting, wooden fish clicking and incense smoke snarling up into heaven. Because of its urban location, it is a popular place for people to seek a favor from heaven. I remembered my grandmother came here ever so often. My mother took my brother here before his college entrance exam to seek blessing. I came here a few times to seek peace of mind for whatever was troubling me at the time.

The City of Tau Yuen is about an hour's bus or car ride away from Taipei. We went on a tour to the nearby theme park and stopped in the so-called "historical streets" district of Tau Yuen. It is not very impressive because it is not very well preserved. But any effort to leave a record of the past should be applauded as the rest of city has already undergone the inevitable change in its appearance. Even though behind the preserved stone facade lay a concrete building, the similarity can still be drawn with the lower east side of New York City where buildings maintain its iron facade from the past.

Modern Marvels: Rapid Transportation Systems, Changing of Guards at the Sun Yet San Memorial, Shi Lin Presidential Gardens, and Road Side Delights

The Rapid Transit Systems may not be a tourist attraction all by itself but it facilitates your visit around Taipei, shortens your trips considerably and brought many places to within your reach that you otherwise would not have planned to visit. Since it is quite new, it is clean and convenient and it well exceeds our expectation. One day, on a wimp, we went to Dan Suei. The rapid transit took us there in about twenty minutes from Yuen Shan. At the end of the line, we found this Coastline Cafe, which served the best Blue Mountain brew we ever had.

The Sun Yet San Memorial has long been the favorite of the early risers, walking, jogging or dancing to folk music in the park. The changing of guards is a new addition and draws kindergarteners from all over making it a field trip destination. We watched as the guards making the robotic movements amidst swarms of children. All eyes were fixed on the precision exchange, the twirling of their rifles, and the impeccable postures and uniforms. There are many chances to see it since the guards change shifts every hour on the hour when the memorial hall is open to the public.

This vast oasis in Taipei was the residence of Chiang Kai Sheik and his wife when he ruled over Taiwan for nearly three decades. After Taiwan adopted democracy, the presidential residency was turned into a public park. With its many gardens, it is a green haven in the vast sprawling metropolitan. Compared to the garden landscapes, the few simple buildings stood dwarfed to their surroundings. There are an English rose garden, a Chinese Suchou garden with stone bridge and a pond, an European court garden and a marsh area with zigzagging walk bridge over it which is now an insect preservation garden. Both young and old can enjoy this newfound paradise. A lot of elderly and not so elderly took their morning walks here. From elementary school to high school students came on a field trip to explore the different gardens and especially the insect garden.

The City of Taipei made a lot of effort to improve the quality of life of its citizens. The changes are impressive, especially the effort to add road side parks and plant trees to beatify the city's landscape. While walking toward the national palace museum alongside a heavy-traffic major roadway, I encountered a roadside jewel complete with a lily pond, a stone bridge, stone steps and stone walkways flanked by tall oak trees. It was simply a treat. The neighborhood surrounding the new city hall has the best planning, new buildings flanked with a lot of open space, making it a pleasant area for pedestrians.

Go Shopping: Whole Sale Alleys by the Song Shan Train Station, Tung Hwa Night Market, and Department Stores

Alley after alley, store after store, the area directly across the street from the Song Shan train station is filled with clothing from the trendy nylon jog pants and abstract painting tee shirts to the old fashion suits and skirts of all length. An afternoon was easily passed in the browsing from store to store. There are plenty of colors and designs to choose from though the quality of the materials may not be the best. You sure can find some really bargains provided you know your size since most stores do not have a changing area. As the afternoon wore on, motorcycles and small trucks pulled up in front of different shops and bundles of clothing loaded onto them, their catches of the day. Those were the roadside vendors taking the merchandise to wherever they could laid them out on the side of the streets, selling them hit-and-run style, to make a few quick bucks for the day.

I hadn't been to the Tung Hwa Night Market much before so I don't know if it has always been or this is the new trend that the area of the night market has become a popular bargain retail district. Cosmetics counters and brand name factory outlets lined the streets along side food stands. I bought Disney character underpants from a children clothing booth for my daughter and a Chinese chess set from a "dollar store".

We live in Sunnyvale, which is suburban compared to San Francisco or Taipei. The department stores in Taipei have some many types of merchandise that we will have to go to Macy's in Union Square to find their equal. We had seen people visited Taiwan and came back with the cutest children's sneakers so we went shopping for them in a department store. The children's shoes section has rack after rack of shoes on display filling an area of several hundred square feet. In comparison, I used to find meager three or four styles to choose from when I shopped for my daughter's footwear. It was overwhelming as there were too many to choose from. The problem was solved when a pair of red sneakers caught our eyes. The heels of the shoes lit up when they are pressed upon. My daughter took an instant liking to it. According to my brother, this kind of sneakers was in style for a while already and was gradually falling out of favors. That's way we got a bargain for it.

As expected our luggage was heavier coming back. Not a whole lot heavier, we practiced our restrain when it comes to shopping. We did not need to restrain our satisfaction over what we had seen in Taipei. All the improvements we have observed have given the city the charm of a modern metro center in the making.