Downtown Taipei

Not one to miss a travel opportunity, I just returned from a visit to Taipei, where Pelle had a few business meetings. The weather forecast gave me goosebumps -- it would be in the low 60s and rainy! Just like Portland! 

I was ridiculously excited. So I packed whatever cold-weather jeans, sweaters and shoes I had had the foresight to pack back in December when visions of 80-degree days had danced before me. I should have really been paying more attention back then because I ended up looking like a scarecrow in Taipei, wearing a mishmash of light jacket, heavy scarf and layers of shirts. With socks on under my flats. In tropical colors. In a city of people wearing puffy parka fluffernutter coats in shades of black and grey. My outfits made me an obvious stand out far more than being one of a handful of Westerners touring about Taipei.

But the vibrant streets and intimate neighborhoods to explore made me quickly forget my wardrobe malfunctions. My first stop was Taipei 101 the tallest building in the world until Burj al Khalifa. And no mean feat, this, in a city where most buildings only go 20 or 30 stories. Despite limited visibility, I loved it. Getting there early ensured no line and few loud groups of tourists crushing against the windows.

There is a huge, very high end mall at the base of the 101. In the basement is an excellent food court, where I tucked into a hot bowl of Korean bibimbap. It was a delicious pile of yumsties with a fried egg on top.

I next wandered over to the Dr. Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall. It sits on huge plaza and park.

Sun Yat Sen, the founder of modern-day China, is a monumental figure in Taipei and on the mainland. Despite everything inside the hall being in Taiwanese, I enjoyed a moving exhibit about his relationship with his second wife, Soong Ching-ling, a powerful and important figure in her own right.

Tourists and locals alike loved the place. Everyone went crazy with their cameras when some sort of anthem started playing and a fountain started shooting water in time with the music. But these guys were oblivious, deep into the 'strategery' of their game of checkers. They looked like they have been coming here every day for decades.

Another stop on my tour was the Longshan Temple, the oldest in the city. Preparations for the Qingming Festival were just beginning, so the temple was packed with people, spring flowers and offerings to ancestors. With incense heavy in the air, it was a quiet, restful spot in the city.

Nearby Longshan Temple was a pocket of preserved old streets. Filled with shops and food stalls, the Bopilao area was charming but a bit touristy.

I then joined Pelle and a couple of his coworkers on a visit to the National Palace Museum. The place was huge, displaying mainland art and artifacts that spanned thousands of years. The craftsmanship and artistic detail in bronze,  stone, ceramic and painted pieces, some of which were more than 6,000 years old, was awesome to see. We made a quick tour, however, as hordes of tour groups, dutifully following their flag-waving guides, streamed along behind us.