Taipei
April 28 - May 1, 8 - 13, 2002
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| Contrast between traditional and modern Taipei as seen from 2/28 Peace Park, so named to commemorate those who died in a military crackdown on Feb. 28, 1947. | Chiang Kaishek Memorial Hall in central Taipei. | The gaudy Grand Hotel. Looking more like a Chinese palace than a hotel, it is one of the finest in Taipei. | |
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| The guards marching along with the tourists during the changing of the guard at the Martyrs' Shrine. | A friendly reminder in an anonymous toilet in Taipei. | The National Palace Museum, a treasure chest of Chinese art. The museum holds a collection of around 720,000 pieces, although only 15,000 can be displayed at a time. | The Huahsi Night Market, or Snake Alley. If you're in the market for snake soup, snake bile, or snake-penis pills (reputed to be an aphrodisiac), this is the place to go. |
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| Looking down the street at the Huahsi Night Market. | Lungshan (Dragon Mountain) Temple, near Snake Alley. It is one of Taipei's busiest and most colorful temples. The original temple dates back to 1738, but has rebuilt several times after being destroyed by an earthquake, typhoon, and bombing during World War II. | Chiang Kaishek's official residence in the Shihlin district. This is where the Generalissimo (as he was affectionately known) and his family lived until 1975. | |
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| The scene in the trendy Hsimenting district. This is where Taipei's young and beautiful come to shop and be seen. | Baseball Taiwanese style: the Chinatrust Whales vs. the
Brother Elephants at Tienmu Stadium. To my great surprise, this was
the first pro-baseball game played at this venue and the first game in
Taipei all season (already one month old). This was due to a row
between the stadium's affluent neighbors and the city over noise and traffic
on game nights which managed to prevent any games from being played.
Finally, they reached an agreement, allowing them to play ball, with the
city asking the fans to keep quiet and imposing a 10PM curfew.
It turned out to be a good game (the Whales won 2-1). And the crowd (although I suppose somewhat subdued by the city's edict) was really into it, with one side of the stadium supporting each team (note the blue and yellow colors!). There is also a marvelous view from the outfield of the hills where rich Taiwanese and ex-pats live. And to top it off, I got to meet the Harvard educated mayor of Taipei, Ma Ying-jeou, who was signing autographs after the game. Here's a writeup on the game from the Taipei Times. |
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