November 29, 2005 - Sightseeing 101
We saw a different side of Taipei today. Our uncle (Dah Jo-Jo aka Oldest uncle) took the day off to shuttle us around today. Our aunts (Jo-Ma aka wife of uncle and Ah-Yi aka mother’s sister) were our other guides.
The day started with a stop at a war veterans’ memorial. We arrived just at the changing of the guards which was outstanding. When we got there, it started becoming obvious what a kind gesture our relatives were making. Uncle was not going to be joining us at the sites. Parking at most of these areas is just horrendous and his plan was to stay with the car while we enjoyed the sites.
We then headed off to the National Palace Museum. Most of the museum is closed due to renovations which left only a large instead of a humongous collection on display. Everything looked somewhat familiar. I had taken oriental art history at college where I spent hours and hours studying and memorizing facts, names, and dates. Now, I couldn’t put a sentence together beyond “nice vase”. Guess there’s another Princeton education gone to waste. Oh well…it was a “nice vase”. As soon as I had entered the museum, I was kindly informed that I could not take photos. I felt like I had lost one of my eyes but I guess like I’ve said before (but only a few times), “I’ve got to put down the camera sometime”.
Outside of the museum, I was allowed to turn my camera back on. Which was a good thing since the garden next door was beautiful. It is place where many school children take field trips. Ahh, the field trip. What a wonderful creation. A special day away from our banal existence in the classroom. It was always a great time as long as you remembered your permission slip and souvenir money. These kids at least remembered their money for fish food and the fish appreciated it.
My uncle turned the car away from civilization and we headed for the mountains. Who would have thought that Taiwan could be cold. It certainly was chilly which made us hike that much faster. We made a few stops including this very strange “Milk Lake”. The source of its albino nature is apparently large mineral deposits but we couldn’t get close enough to confirm that. Minerals play an important roll up there which we were going to discover later on.
A quick stroll through Yangming Park was our next step. I was disappointed to learn that this place was not named after a famous basketball player. Yup, there was no Yao Ming there. Stupid me. But, what do I know about American Basketball and Asian culture. There was a very large clock with a face composed of different flowers. My sister reminded me that we had our photo taken here when we were very, very young. And for some strange reason, I remember that.
So, why are minerals so important? Well, the Taiwanese take there relaxing very seriously. Perhaps, it is because they usually work so very hard, when it is time to relax, one has to do it right. An indication of this is the existence of a museum dedicated to the history of hot springs. Apparently, soaking in these warm natural mineral baths is quite popular. With the efficient train system, one can get to these hot springs quite easily. From what I could decipher from the museum, the springs in this particular area were developed by the Japanese. I guess foreign occupation doesn’t have to be ALL bad.
It was entertaining to take a walk down to one of the boiling sulfur pools. I was equally entertained by the sign that stated that cooking eggs in the pool was forbidden.
Just as the hot springs are supposed to be good for the health, apparently so is stretching your calf muscles. There was this man selling these backward shoes right by the baths. They looked like wooden sandals with the high heal on the wrong side. According to the man, the position should improve your posture and energy flow to make the wearer more beautiful. Well, sign me up if it will make me taller.
Tomorrow, the plan is to hang with Jo-Ma (aka wife of our second-oldest uncle). The itinerary is still a mystery but I’m sure it certainly won’t be dull.
The day started with a stop at a war veterans’ memorial. We arrived just at the changing of the guards which was outstanding. When we got there, it started becoming obvious what a kind gesture our relatives were making. Uncle was not going to be joining us at the sites. Parking at most of these areas is just horrendous and his plan was to stay with the car while we enjoyed the sites.
We then headed off to the National Palace Museum. Most of the museum is closed due to renovations which left only a large instead of a humongous collection on display. Everything looked somewhat familiar. I had taken oriental art history at college where I spent hours and hours studying and memorizing facts, names, and dates. Now, I couldn’t put a sentence together beyond “nice vase”. Guess there’s another Princeton education gone to waste. Oh well…it was a “nice vase”. As soon as I had entered the museum, I was kindly informed that I could not take photos. I felt like I had lost one of my eyes but I guess like I’ve said before (but only a few times), “I’ve got to put down the camera sometime”.
Outside of the museum, I was allowed to turn my camera back on. Which was a good thing since the garden next door was beautiful. It is place where many school children take field trips. Ahh, the field trip. What a wonderful creation. A special day away from our banal existence in the classroom. It was always a great time as long as you remembered your permission slip and souvenir money. These kids at least remembered their money for fish food and the fish appreciated it.
My uncle turned the car away from civilization and we headed for the mountains. Who would have thought that Taiwan could be cold. It certainly was chilly which made us hike that much faster. We made a few stops including this very strange “Milk Lake”. The source of its albino nature is apparently large mineral deposits but we couldn’t get close enough to confirm that. Minerals play an important roll up there which we were going to discover later on.
A quick stroll through Yangming Park was our next step. I was disappointed to learn that this place was not named after a famous basketball player. Yup, there was no Yao Ming there. Stupid me. But, what do I know about American Basketball and Asian culture. There was a very large clock with a face composed of different flowers. My sister reminded me that we had our photo taken here when we were very, very young. And for some strange reason, I remember that.
So, why are minerals so important? Well, the Taiwanese take there relaxing very seriously. Perhaps, it is because they usually work so very hard, when it is time to relax, one has to do it right. An indication of this is the existence of a museum dedicated to the history of hot springs. Apparently, soaking in these warm natural mineral baths is quite popular. With the efficient train system, one can get to these hot springs quite easily. From what I could decipher from the museum, the springs in this particular area were developed by the Japanese. I guess foreign occupation doesn’t have to be ALL bad.
It was entertaining to take a walk down to one of the boiling sulfur pools. I was equally entertained by the sign that stated that cooking eggs in the pool was forbidden.
Just as the hot springs are supposed to be good for the health, apparently so is stretching your calf muscles. There was this man selling these backward shoes right by the baths. They looked like wooden sandals with the high heal on the wrong side. According to the man, the position should improve your posture and energy flow to make the wearer more beautiful. Well, sign me up if it will make me taller.
Tomorrow, the plan is to hang with Jo-Ma (aka wife of our second-oldest uncle). The itinerary is still a mystery but I’m sure it certainly won’t be dull.
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