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| Views of Taipei in the distance from the Maokong Gondolas |
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
It took a few days but I finally got a good nights sleep and felt refreshed in the morning. Hurray! I had some breakfast in the apartment and then Steph and I headed to Taipei 101 to get some city views from the top of the tower, enjoying the warmest weather of the trip so far. While in one of the metro stations on our way, we saw one of the most significant technological advances to ever hit the bathroom industry: an electronic, color-coded display located outside of the bathrooms that show in real-time which toilet stalls are being used, which are free, and which stalls are undergoing an "investigation alert." I look forward to this necessary invention making its way to subway stations throughout the United States in the near future.
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| Views of Taipei from the 89th floor of Taipei 101 |
Taipei 101 was a really cool with some spectacular views of the city, although the name was a bit misleading. The observation tower is actually only on the 89th floor. To get there, we took the world's fastest elevator, reaching a top speed of 1,010 meters/minute. According to people we talked to later, we got really lucky with the views from the top this morning because normally there is heavy cloud coverage that high up. At noon we met up with the rest of the family for a fancy buffet at Le Méridien Taipei hotel. I was told that these reservations were made three months in advance, so it seems some thought was put into this week. Fantastic food all around, featuring cuisine from all around the world. After the meal, we digested by watching baby William run all around the hotel's lobby and art exhibits.
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| A rainy ride on the gondolas |
After leaving the hotel, Steph and I broke away from the group to head to the Maokong Gondolas, the #1 rated thing to do in Taipei by tripadvisor.com. This heavily trafficked gondola lift transportation system carries passengers a little over 2.5 miles from the Taipei Zoo metro station to Maokong, which is up in the mountains near a lot of tea plantations, and features great views of the city and the jungle/forest below. We rode in the "crystal cabin" which meant they had a glass bottom, for easier views of the landscape directly below. The ride was fun itself, and the views were great. When we reached Maokong, we hiked a bit to get to a tea house which was recommended to us, stopping briefly at a Buddhist temple on our way. The tea house was very nice and service was very friendly. We hung out there for awhile before taking a bus back to the station and then the gandolas back to the metro. The return ride wasn't quite as fun since it was dark and rainier out which limited the views, and there was a young couple sharing the cabin with us that was getting uncomfortably frisky with each other throughout the ride.
When we got back closer to home we picked up some food and a DVD and returned to the apartment, where we ate and watch Cowboys and Aliens with some of the family. The movie was just as terrible as you may imagine. But whatever the food was, of course, was yummy.
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| Coming soon to an LIRR or Metro station near you |
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