Lovin' Taipei 101

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Our visit to Taipei wouldn’t be complete without going to the famous Taipei 101. We drove for about an hour from Hsinchu and reached Taipei at around 11:00 am. There was a slight drizzle but that didn’t dampen our excitement. Taipei 101 is a construction wonder and currently holds the title of being the World’s tallest building. That record stays until the works for the tower in Shanghai and Dubai are complete.

The ground floor of the building is actually a mall and a nirvana for shoppers. The mall is spacious and filled with designer-label clothing stores. We looked around and check on some items but didn’t really buy anything. After a few minutes of strolling, we went to the ticket counter to get our pass for the trip upstairs. We paid NT$ 350 each and waited on a queue for an elevator ride. The elevator in Taipei 101 is the world’s fastest lift with speed reaching up to 1,010 meters per minute. The ride was smooth and it only took 37 seconds to reach the 89th floor. The elevator also has an air-pressure control system which prevents ear-popping on the way up or down. Cool!

The 89th floor is called the observatory deck and offers a 360 degree view of the city. We borrowed an audio-pack from the customer service which served as our guide. The view that day wasn’t really that good because it was raining. Nevertheless, the astonishing feeling of height was enough to make us feel that the trip was worth it.

On the walls of the deck are facts and information about the building. There are pictures, graphics and video about the construction and facilities. It would take us the whole day if we read all of it so we just selected to read a few.

We walked further and that led us to a room that has an air-suspended ball in the middle called the “mass-damper”. We learned that this huge ball is part of the building’s support structure and is a safety device to protect it from damage brought by earthquakes and super typhoons.

Another attraction there is the “air-walk”. We were thrilled thinking that it would be similar to the air-walk in the Macau Tower. However, 101’s version of the air-walk was only a graphic rendering of the actual view which was projected on the floor using an LCD. What a bummer! Other things to see at the observatory deck are the souvenir shop, the photo corner (where you can get a postcard picture of yourself in front of the tower) and a café.

After two hours of walking and viewing, we knew we had enough and decided to go down. We went to the food court at the basement and ordered noodles, tofu with chili, egg with oysters and steamed vegetables for lunch. Yum! We feasted on the food knowing that we have a long drive ahead going to our next destination - Hualien County...

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Photos

Reach for the Sky
Taipei 101 is so high that the top floors touches the rain clouds.

Where the streets have no name ...
The look of a typical street in Taipei

Traffic Sign
No what? There are a number of traffic signs that need some deciphering.

Chinese Lanterns
Chinese lanterns are everywhere since it is the Chinese New Year

Tower Base
Fountains and artworks are found at the ground floor of the building.

A Taiwanese landmark
Despite being new, Taipei 101 is already a part of the Taiwan landscape.

Tall Order
Taipei 101 is a construction wonder. The building's design was patterned from the bamboo tree which signifies strength and flexibility.

Where are we?
You'll never get lost because there are signs everywhere inside the building.

1010 ...
1010 meters/min is the maximum speed of the tower's elevator.

View from the top
The clouds distort our view of the city.

This building has balls!
One of the Balls that form as the support structure of the building.

Food 101
Some of the stuff that we ordered at the Food Court in Taipei 101.