Today we ventured more around Taipei. It was a bit chillier than yesterday and a constant mist/drizzle would continue all day long. We took the subway to the end of the line to Xiangshan and did a hiking trail that was really more of a stair climb to get to a vantage point overlooking the city. We could see the mist roll by into the lush hillside below. As you can see, the Taipei 101 building (the tall one) is a very prominent feature in the skyline and towers over everything around it.
After hiking back down, we took the subway to the end of the line at another station to the southeast. A relatively recent addition to Taipei are the gondolas that climb into the surrounding hills. The total distance they travel is about 5km or so. Some have glass bottoms and the line for them was significantly longer, so Nicole and I got a regular bottom one and cut the line. We were shortly on our way. Other than an occasional wind gust, they seemed very stable and safe. The biggest issue was the chill I got as we climbed higher into the misty mountains. At the top, at Maokong station, we disembarked and I was pushing to stop at one of the tea houses for a bit of a warm up. While I was sweating during the hike an hour or so earlier, I was now quite cold in just my t-shirt. The hillsides are dotted with tea plantations, so we were close to the source. Partially as a result of the weather, this very popular attraction was not so popular today, so we got a nice seat at one of the tea houses next to a window overlooking the entire valley.
We sat there for a while sipping our tea and eating rice. The waiter was very confused by our order of plain rice and kept returning to see if we wanted meat or something to add to it. I guess we are just strange Americans. After finishing our tea, which was kept nice and warm by sitting on a constant flame, we took the gondola one stop to the Zhinan Temple. It would have been very photogenic if it wasn't for the mass of scaffolding covering the front of the temple.
After that, we went down another stop to the Taipei zoo. Nicole was very keen on seeing some pandas. Unlike American zoos which are quite expensive, the two of use each paid the equivalent of $2 for entry. Not too bad.
We saw elephants and giraffes roaming about, but a lot of the other animals were laying low. I suppose the weather didn't help. We did ultimately see a couple pandas, but my pictures weren't very good because I was shooting through dark glass, so you'll have to settle for this one of Nicole blending in among a family of pandas.
After the zoo, we took the subway back toward the Taipei 101 building. I was hoping to track down a bar on the rooftop of a nearby mall so I could get some good pictures of the building. Unfortunately, the shopping mall in question was jam packed with people and navigating it was impossible. The escalators only went up to floor 6, the elevators were molasses, and we gave up on trying to get to the 10th floor. We plotted our escape and got back on the subway to head back to the neighborhood of our hotel. We ended up eating our last dinner of the trip at a Thai restaurant. I suppose it's not the most authentic Taiwanese meal we could have, but it seems there are more ethnic restaurants here than in Tokyo, so maybe it's fitting. We braved the mist one last time as we walked back to our hotel after a long day out. I listed us for a United flight to San Francisco on the only flight to the U.S. by an American carrier. By the looks of things, we will be in economy seats with the commoners. It would have helped to be able to nap, but that doesn't look too promising. On the brightside, we will at least get seats.
After the zoo, we took the subway back toward the Taipei 101 building. I was hoping to track down a bar on the rooftop of a nearby mall so I could get some good pictures of the building. Unfortunately, the shopping mall in question was jam packed with people and navigating it was impossible. The escalators only went up to floor 6, the elevators were molasses, and we gave up on trying to get to the 10th floor. We plotted our escape and got back on the subway to head back to the neighborhood of our hotel. We ended up eating our last dinner of the trip at a Thai restaurant. I suppose it's not the most authentic Taiwanese meal we could have, but it seems there are more ethnic restaurants here than in Tokyo, so maybe it's fitting. We braved the mist one last time as we walked back to our hotel after a long day out. I listed us for a United flight to San Francisco on the only flight to the U.S. by an American carrier. By the looks of things, we will be in economy seats with the commoners. It would have helped to be able to nap, but that doesn't look too promising. On the brightside, we will at least get seats.
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