I know most people hate going on tours. It's sort of restrictive in terms of mobility and time. However, I booked for three (3) organized tours for my Taipei trip so I could maximize my time there. If I'd be roaming the city of Taipei by myself, for sure I'd be sidetracked gazing at everything beautiful: a work of art, or an engaging edifice, a lovely temple, mountains, trees, flowers, clouds, and of course, a banging dress or absolutely adorable shoes. I'd waste my time being in awe of everything.
So, for my second tour, I picked a city tour, and we passed by the usual sights: the Presidential building, the Martyrs' Shrine, CKS Hall, and the National Palace Museum, among others, and got scorched by the burning sun. Well, of course we had a van but we had to alight from it to see the sights up close. Nope, umbrellas were no good. It was both hot and humid. But I was grateful for the natural rosy, cheeks.
For this tour, I had the same tour guide and the same American tourist as companion, plus two German couples, and a nice-looking Chinese lady from Shanghai. Well, aside from the fact that the Chinese lady and I were the only Asians, we were also the only ones who were younger. Since we're Asians, we looked really, really young compared to our tour companions who were definitely middle-aged already. See, I believe group touring is usually for families with small children, and people who are older or not physically fit. Me? I had so little time and perhaps, I was just lazy, I guess.
Our first stop: the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall. I love the color blue so I absolutely loved this building, but the walk from the gates to the building? Not so much. Heh. Again, I found something to rave about touring with a guide; they know what you should see and how to get there the easiest. We entered not through the main entrance, but from a smaller entrance; it was at the back, I guess. This saved us the agony of climbing the monumental stairs to Chiang Kai Shek's colossal statue. Why? There's an elevator in the lobby going up to the statue. I'm not sure if there's one at the main entrance. So, yay tour guide!
Afterwards, we proceeded to the Martyrs' Shrine, and thanks again for the tour guide, we were just in time for the changing of the guards. I was so lucky that I was able to take a video, a repository of how handsome the soldiers were. They were so tall; I'm 5'6 and they were towering over me. Ah...I so wanted to get a date from any of them.
Aside from the dashing soldiers, I was so engrossed with the vivid colors of the hall. The reds, the greens and the oranges were popping amidst the green mountains. So picturesque. I loved the gigantic red doors the most. In fact, it's one of the pictures in my banner above.
Ogling too much can be criminal, so we left and headed for a small temple, the name of which I forgot. The tour guide gave us some quick information regarding their way of worship, and how they do it.
Then, it was time for the highlight of our tour, at least for me: the National Palace Museum. I could stay inside it for a whole day and not complain. Too bad that picture taking is not allowed inside the museum, but it's for good reasons. They have to preserve the artifacts and works of art. .
Honestly, I wanted to smack people left and right inside the museum. Tourists in droves were generally noisy. This, despite the fact that the tour guides and their packs were given radios to minimize loud explanations to the group. We were tuned in to a certain frequency so we could hear our guide. It also helped us not to get lost. Anyway, bring your own earphones if you're concerned with sanitation. I happened to bring mine that time, so yay for me.
Since the tour guide already knew which treasures or art pieces we should not miss, our tour inside the museum, though short, was full of information and we were able to see what we wanted to see. Again, we took the elevator and started from the top going down. But as the elevator was tiny, he politely asked the younger peeps, meaning me and the cute Chinese lady, to use the stairs. We obliged, of course. Ah, it's so good to be young; at least younger than our tour companions.
The remarkable things we saw includes the jade cabbage, the miniature ivories, the emperor's toy boxes and many more.
Somewhere in the middle of our city tour, the guide brought us to a gift shop, and I knew it was coming. Good thing we stopped by the shop because the buttons of my blouse kept popping out and I kept flashing my brassiere to unsuspecting people; poor them. The shop assistants helped me look for safety pins and they helped me temporarily solve my button-problem. Oh, I bought some Oriental tea from them. I know, tea in Taiwan is expensive; they do have discerning tastes after all, but I wanted to try their tea.
Here are some of the photos I took during our city tour:
Presidential Building:
CKS Memorial Hall
A rather long corridor.
The big man.
I'll call this photo, "From here to eternity."
I'll take an eternity to reach the top the memorial hall from the gates.
Martyrs' Shrine
The gorgeous officers that I was talking about? Not in picture.
I have their video, though.
The small temple we paid a visit to.
National Palace Museum
CKS Memorial Hall
A rather long corridor.
The big man.
I'll call this photo, "From here to eternity."
I'll take an eternity to reach the top the memorial hall from the gates.
Martyrs' Shrine
The gorgeous officers that I was talking about? Not in picture.
I have their video, though.
The small temple we paid a visit to.
National Palace Museum
N.B.
I made a mistake in labeling. It's the Martyrs' Shrine, and not the Dr. Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall. Sorry for the mistake; I realized it only when I was rechecking my entries.
