Taipei Take 2

On my second weekend here I decided to travel into Taipei again. Since none of my roommates seem to wake up before 1pm, I went alone so I could have some daylight for my exploring. I started the day off at the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall, a shrine kind of resembling the Lincoln Memorial with a giant statue in a big building. It is on a large grounds with a lot of pretty gardens and ponds, and the National Theater and National Concert Hall. Inside the memorial hall was a museum with lots of artifacts from Chiang Kai Sheks life. There was really random stuff like his handkerchief and his socks, but also a lot of really neat pictures of him with all different world leaders. There was also a gallery of Taiwanese watercolors that I loved. There was some high school cheer leading competition going on in the National Concert Hall, so the mall outside the memorial was crowded with different groups practicing their routines. They all started with a "ready, OK!" and then busted their moves. I sat and watched for a while, one group came over to talk to me, and they all looked really excited when I told them I liked their routine. They even had little pom-poms!

Next I walked to the National Museum of History and the Botanical Gardens. The museum had a lot of ancient art, and was pretty cool. The gardens were a nice break from the crowds of people. Overall another successful day wandering the streets of Taiwan.

First picture of me in Taiwan! In front of the CSK Memorial Hall

The gate out front of the CSK Memorial Hall. There is a wall that runs all the way around the grounds.

The ceiling in the CSK Memorial Hall

Guard and the CSK Memorial. Even on the platform he is probably still shorter than me.

Me and CSK are buddies.

View from the top of the memorial.

I love the english translations here.

Biore add on the subway.