Seeing some Taipai Taiwan sites

In addition to our training and visiting humanitarian projects during our five days in Taiwan, we also took time to view a few sites. We were housed in a nice hotel, the Howard Plaza. From our 12th floor window, we could view the beautiful pool above and the cascading waterfall below.

We even could see a US type parking lot. Land is so scarce in Hong Kong that you would never see a lot like this. Parking is all in underground garages in the urban area. Another interesting feature was that in Taiwan, they drive on the right as we do in the United States. Every other city we have visited follows the British system of driving on the left. We had to be alert because now the left seems normal.

There are many Bhuddist temples in Taipei. This is one of the largest. It is known as the Lungshan Temple. There were scores of worshippers with candles, burning brands, food set out for Bhudda etc. They seemed very devout. There were only a few tourists like us. The Bhudda was seated inside a chamber.

The seated statue is of Dr. Sun Yat-Sen, a patriot for freedom in China who lived in the early 20th Century. A memorial has been built in his honor that also houses a museum. The unique thing about this memorial is that two military guards stand guard at all times at the side of the statue. They stand perfectly still for one hour and then guards from a different military branch enter for the changing of the guard on the hour. Everything is in perfect motion as the old guards "come to life" and come down from their platform to turn their command over to the new guards. All four go through an intricate set of maneuvers with their rifles and then the new ones step on the two platforms and face each other and the old ones march off. It takes about 10 minutes to change the guards.

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High-stepping guards.

> Premier Chiang Kai Shek was the Chinese Nationalist leader who led his people out of mainland China to what was then Formosa. His reign did not include much democracy, but his son who followed him opened up the country to more reforms. This huge building and park is dedicated to his memory. The building houses a large statue of the World War II leader. The Sparrow's were our tour guide.

The gardens in front of the Memorial Building

The memorial hall honoring Premier Chiang Kai Shek.

Taipei had lots of motorcycles like Jakarta.

Taiwan will host an international flower show in 2010. Outside the train station they have cute displays with flowers and figures to advertise the event.

Tower 101, one of tallest buildings in the world. it has 101 stories.

More flower show advertising. 513 days until the show starts. (See time sign)

Orchids on display in the hotel restaurant area. We had a delicious full buffet breakfast each morning.

The high speed train viewed from our hotel window.

The country-side is beautiful. We are on the way to the airport. Taipei is on the northern tip of the Taiwan. The island is about 200 miles long and 50 miles wide.