Trip
to Taiwan!
- November 2-7 (2002), Republic of China
| Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 |
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| While the communist Mao-worshippers on the mainland have managed to destroy almost every cultural artifact in the country, Taiwan has preserved everything acquired from the mainland following the Chinese civil war. In this picture, Yuka stands in front of the magnificent National Palace Museum in Taipei. | In front of the Martyrs' Shrine in Taipei, the changing of the guards occurs every hour. It was an interesting spectacle, but unfortunately, the shrine itself turned out to be closed due to renovations. From the outside, however, it looked quite pretty. |
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| Okay, I certainly did not stay at Grand Hotel while in Taipei, but it certainly has an impressive facade. I will go back there as soon as I get really rich, and then burn the place down - It should make for a great barbeque. | Taiwanese people are in general very friendly, at least when compared to the population of Beijing. However, try to avoid all Chinese people when they are eating. It does not seem like they actually eat anything, as most of the food ends up either on the ground or on the table. |
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| Food stalls is the way to go in Taipei, and the cuisine served is usually very good. Of course, it helps not to think too much about the general hygiene standards of these places. | Okay, as Taipei is a fairly polluted and noisy city, it is nice to get out for a few days. Hualien is a fairly soulless city situated a 4-hours train ride from Taipei, but the town is also situated next to Taroko Gorge (above picture). |
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| Taroko Gorge is known as the jewel of Taiwan's national park system, and is probably the country's top tourist attraction next to the National Palace Museum. Featuring towering cliffs, a whitewater river, and hiking trails - it makes for an interesting trip. This picture, and the following two, are from the Eternal Spring Shrine. | Due to limited time, we only partook in a guided daytrip from Hualien. A big disappointment is that most of the rivers/waterfalls are dammed in one way or another, a fairly familiar concept from Japan. |
