Ridding the Gondola Up the Maokong Mountain in Taipei

On our visit to Taipei, we met up with Anita and Johnson at the Maokong station via the Tapie subway at 10;45am on a weekday. It was about a 45 minute ride from our area - Tian Mu to Maokong.

Victoria bought us each a subway card loaded with T$ 500.00 and we used it the whole time we were in Tapei. It was convenient and sped thingw up a lot while entering and exiting the subway as there was no payment of fares by cash, giving back changes or visa cards not working etc.

Taipei's transit system is efficent, clean and very affordable for the average resident. There is really no need to buy yur own vehicle as one can go pretty well everywhere via pubic transit. If one cannot get to where one wants, the taxi system is equally efficent and affordable.

We were surprised to find out that our transit metro card could also be used for the Maokong gondola rides taking us up to the mountain and allowing us to board the shuttle on the mountain as well. Very convenient indeed.

There was a long lineup at the Maokong Gondola. We were informed of two options; 1. Ride the regular gondola and the wait would be about 10 to 15 minutes, or 2. Ride the glass bottom gondola and the wait would be about 45 minutes

We chose to ride the galss bottom gondola from where we could see what would be under our feet on our ride up. It was worth the wait.

The Maokong gondola ride was pleasant and comfortable. Since we were in the glass bottom gondola we could see the trees and canopies beneath us. The ride was not merely a 5 minute ride but a good 15- 20 minute ride allowing us an excellent 360 degree view of the city of Taipei.

I never knew that Taipie has so many mountains and very green. Farmers actually grow their own teas right in this area. Lots of nice tea shops on this mountain.

I just wished that we had time to sample some of the local teas and spend more time to explore this lovely region.

It was a breathtaking view from the top of the mountain1! We had lunch in an open air patio of the restaurant commanding an excellent view below.

We enjoyed a western style lunch - a full roasted chicken, pizza and some delicious trimmings.

Most important of all, we had some great honest sharing, meaningful conversations and sincere fellowship with our church friends.

Prasie God for this great trip in Taipei and fellowship in Taipei.

Taipei, Taiwan July, 2023

A Fun Time at the National Palace Museum, Taipei, Taiwan

Travelling is always fun! We always love the opporunity of experiencing and seeing new things.

The next morning, we went out to explore the area where we were staying and ate breakfast at a nearby cafe. There were many restaurants and cafes with great ambience and cosy outdoor seatings shielded from the tropical sun.

We had our first Asian cafe latte and a bolgogi seaweed breakfast wrap. It was delicious and different!

After we filled our stomach, we call for a cab ride using Uber which took us to the National Palace Museum, Taipei.

The Palace Museum is a breathtaking oriental palace situated on a hill with a commanding view of the city of Taipei.

Before entering the building, we couldn't help but taking a stroll in the garden.

The garden was adorned with oriental style buildings, long covered walkways, winding garden paths and wooden bridges.

Since I substained a minor injury due to a fall a couple of days ago, I was advised to limit my walking for a few days.

We asked the museum guide for the highlights of the many exhibits and chose a few to visit insteading of trying to see all the displays. The one I liked the most was the Immersive Theatre.

Using digital techology, visitor of the exhibit could personally experience the change of the season in the paintings which we were viewing

l leanred a lot about the history and development of Chinese paintings, ceramic and pottery.

The most surprising part of the day was seeing how many young people were visiting the museum and showing great interest in the display items and being engaged in the interactive activities designed by museum staff.

This was a testament to the dedication and commitment of the staff to making the subjests and displays as interesting and explorative for the young people as much as possible.

The Palace Museum is a great place to visit in Taipei1

R.T. Taipei. Taiwan

Lunch with Friends at Taipei 101, Taipei

We started travelling again. After not being able to travel for four years, we felt confident enough to be on the road and visit all the places we want to see. After much planning and shopping around for our plane tickets to Asia since April, 2023, we finally bought our more affordable tickets and landed in Taipei, thanks to Rev. Victoria for her excellent suggestions of using the Taiwan route. We were grateful for her generosity and opening her home and inviting us to stay at her Taipei apartment. Having a local friend while visiting a new place made travelling so much more fun. Rev. Victoria not only hosted us, she arranged for a taxi to pick us up at the Taipei airport and welcome us upon our arrival after 10p.m. Travelling is even more fun when we can meet up with some friends at the place where we are visiting. Rev. Victoria even arranged a couple of gatherings for us with church friends during our stay in Taipei.

Our first reunion luncheon was at a restaruant at Taipei 101, a modern, beautiful building and meeting hub for Taiwanese. We met up with Anita, Johnson at Taipei 101, one of the many famous places to visit in Tapei.

Taipei 101 is a spectacular building with 101 floors. It is spacious, modern, sleek and clean offering many floors of office space, with a few floors of retail stores selling a host of brand names and fancy merchandizes

We had lunch at one of the well known restaurants enjoying the cuisine and specialties of Taiwan. As for foodies, the main floor of Taipei 101 offers food from around the world as well as every cuisine you could imagine from across the different regions of China.

I didn't think we could try all the different food even if we were eating there everyday three meals a day during our visit there. There were so much; it was incredible.

It was delightful meeting up with Anita and Johnson again and we had a great time catching up while enjoying the delicious food.

Our friends had planned to take us around to see some famous sites in Taipei. However, the weather didn't cooperate after lunch and it was raining the whole afternoon.

Consequently, we changed our plan and stayed indoor to enjoy what Taipei 101 has to offer to its visitors. We tried many different food that day including various appetizers, different kinds of dim sums, dumplings, 5 different desserts, a myraid of different dishes. We had a walking tour of this most famous Taipei building.

Taipei is more westernized than I thought. Besides many traditional Chinese restaurants, we have also discovered some nice cafes for coffee, lattes and aternoon teas. Later we enjoyed drinks, desserts and lattes at a cafe. Best of all excellent conversation and fellowship with our friends! R.T. Taipei .