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Published: March 21st 2011
Taipei 101.
The highest building in the world – almost. It has been surpassed by the Burj Khalifa (by 300 meters) recently. Designed to resemble a bamboo stalk. And it is huge. In the basement is a giant food court. All kinds and prices; a great place to eat. Birgitte and I had a huge Indian dinner for 250NT$. We spent 1½-2 hours until closing time at the top level (floor 90 or something like that). The rain had stopped and the views were of the whole city. Half a kilometer down. The outdoor level was unfortunately closed, but there was the views, the café, an exhibition of pictures from the last 50 years and the giant balancing ‘pendulum’ spanning several floors to counterbalance earthquakes and high winds. Before being thrown out at 22:00, we had to pass a couple of levels with Jade and other expensive things to buy. I love high buildings.
Beitou Outdoor public bath.
Surprised what a small place it actually is with the hot pools. A small park in the middle of high rises in the suburb of Taipei, Xinbeitou. Different schedules for letting people in. We arrived just to the 16:30 time frame.
It consists of 3 pools, the upper 45+ and the lower of the three is 37-41 degrees. It was only locals, mostly elderly who seemed to be here every day. A strict code of conduct was in place. Too much. Anders was sent away from the warmest pool, when we tried it. There were other things as well. They are quite Chinese in some aspects, even rude some times. We also saw the man mentioned in LP that harasses people who is not fully emerged with their body or sitting on the pool sides – what an idiot. But a good experience, the water was great and we were all feeling very well afterwards.
Taroko gorge
The Taroko gorge is marble cliffs for 30 kilometers and the road winds up through narrow tunnels and ledges to the highland. Our taxi driver, Pong, made stops as long as we wanted and 3 places we went for walks between 1 and 2 kilometers. The Lushui-Holiu trail made Anders say that it was a wonderful walk – and he is always difficult to get to tag along. It included a dark tunnel, where you have to turn midways before you can see
the light of the exit. The end of the tour is at the village of Tienhsiang where the Buddhist Hsiangte Temple is scenic situated above the river. This is of course the most famous sight in Taiwan, so many tour busses were here. We did not see more than 2-3 on our way, but going back, there was maybe 20 waiting for a roadwork and 15 more entering the valley (at 17:00! Just before sunset!). Chinese tourist, most of them. They are allowed to enter Taiwan on group tours. And this is Monday – weekends draw ten times as many.
I'm not quite sure what to compare it with; maybe the narrows of Zion or Sumidero in Mexico.
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