101 Tower. ~

Since things all seem to be closed on Mondays we went to see the 101 tower instead of the zoo. At 508 meters (1,667 feet) high, the Tower is the second tallest building in the world! At the bottom of the mall theres even a five floor mall!

Saddly the weather was very smoggy and we couldnt see very far. Apparntly when the weather is clear you can see a huge chunk of Taiwan.

I still thought it was pretty amazing. This picture really dosnt give justice to how high up we were.

Designing a building this large presented unique challenges because Twaiwan is subject to typhoons and earthquakes. To counter movement, a tuned mass damper system has been incorporated into the structure. The 800-metric ton (1,764,000 lbs.), spherical steel mass. The system transfers the energy from the building to the swinging sphere, providing a stabilizing force.

Here is one of the "Damper babies," the mascot of the 101 tower. Not exactly the cutest things...

100 meters up. ~

With a diameter of 70meters, the Miramar Ferris wheel is the second largest in Taiwan. If that isnt large enough, it is posistioned on the top of a mall to give it an extra 30 ft!

We had the option to take a transparant buggy around the ferris wheel. I was so relieved I choose the opaque one! It was so scary being up so high! The tall building in the distance is the 101 tower.

This was the perfect way to end the night after long day.

Martyrs' Shrine: Changing of the Guards. ~

We woke up extra early today to go see Martyrs' Shrine, to see the changing of the guards. It was actually cold enough for me to wear jeans!

These beautiful building which was dedicated to the people who sacrificed their lives fighting the Republic of China.

Each of these plaques represents each man who fought.

Two military police officers stand guard at the front gate on Bei An Road.

Two other officers guard the main shrine inside. The guards are supposed to remain absolutely silent and still during their shift, but if you watch closely, you can occasionally see their eyes wander.

The changing of the guards occurs once every hour and starts with the two new guards marching up from the road towards the guards postioned at the main shrine. If you look at the ground you can see where the stone has worn down and turned colour because it is so often walked on.

The National Palace Museum. ~

We took the bus to the National Palace Museum after the peanut factory. The collection here had begun 1931 in the hinterland of China. With the civil war the Chinese government shipped about 600,000 treasured words to Taiwan for storage. This collection was not brought back into the public until 1965, 16 years later! With 660,000 items now displayed in The National Palace Museum, Taipei holds the greatest collection of Chinese art and culture in the world.
I would have loved to take some pictures but of course, there was no cameras allowed!

We spent 3 hours walking around the museum! By the time we got out Joey was so tuckered!

I was trying to mimic the faces all the old men were making when they were having their pictures taken. All of them refused to smile! Behind me is what used to be the gift shop, but presently it is a HUGE restaurant.

Although Taiwan is always smoggy you can see how this place is beautiful.

Peanuts! Get your peanuts! ~

Today we went to visit the Chang's a peanut factory in Taiwan's industrial area.

The peanuts arrive from different countries such as Vietnam and India. They are kept in these huge freezers to stop them from going bad.

Another product they make in the factory is roasted sesame seeds and also the sesame seed paste. It looks like tar but it tastes almost exactly like chocolate!

This is a huge mixer they use to make the peanut butter.

The peanuts and sesame seeds are somehow packaged with this scary device. I didn't get to see it work though.

This is a bag of cooked then ground up peanuts. Joey says its used to coat things like these jello popsicles made of blood! ick!

Confucius Temple. ~

Welcome to the Confucius Temple. The first Confucius Temple of Taipei had been built in 1879, but with the Sino-Japanese War (1894) the ruling Japanese had been torn down to make room for a Japanese school. In 1925 they the Temple began reconstruction and by 1939 the new building was made.
This is Dacheng Hall, the main building of the temple. An inscribed tablet hangs above the main altar representing the spirit of Confucius: "Education knows no class distinction." Inside Dacheng Hall instruments are kept for the during the Shidian Ceremony which is Confucius's' birthday.

We entered into the Temple through a side door because only well educated students can enter through the front gates. Because of this reason the front is always locked, except for one day of the year. On September 28th, Confucius' birthday the door are opened for the celebration.

With age the Temple has been slowly wearing away because it was made of wood. Many of the beams are being replaced with cement which can withstand the humid Taiwanese weather.

This is one of the old beams they have on display.

At the Confucius Temple there was this beautiful courtyard with trees like this one. Joey says that ribosomes in the trees here are much more complex than in BC, which allows them to grow winding branches, trunks and roots. Since the weather in Taiwan is always warm humid with constant rain they have they don't have to grow strait like the trees back home.

Since the weather in Taiwan is always humid wood is rarely used to construct buildings. Even in Joey's apartment the walls are cement because drywall would not last very long here, and probably because it is much easier to keep cool.

This is Joey's mom, shes very camera shy =P.

Rawr! =D

The rooftops are made to look like dragons swimming through the sea and making these huge waves. Although they are hard to see, along the trim of the rooftop are hundreds of tablets with the names of Confucius's most accomplished students.

Baoan, Budist Temple. ~

Yesterday, Joey's mom, Sue, took us to the Ba-oan Temple in Taipei. Dedicated to the God of Medicine, the Temple was built in 1830. Sue told us that the Baosheng Emperor had once been a renowned for his medical knowledge, and he was revered as a god after his death.

When people come here they buy one of these bags filled with items they need for their prayers and offerings to the different deities.

In the bag were these little red candles, we lit them up, made a wish and placed them on a little peg to burn down. It is like the opposite of a birthday candle :P. I forgot to make a wish though, oopes!

Next Joey lit the incense. It is the primary way of communication with the deities. When you hold the incense it allows you to basically talk to them through prayer. The incense made the place so smokey that I couldn't stop coughing.

After you are done talking to the deities, you place the incense in one of these big pots to keep burning. Like a penny you have wished on, it is basically the physical representation of what you have spoke to the deities about.

Sue then showed us around the rest of the temple. Even though it was a gloomy and rainy day the temple was so beautiful!

On a few of the walls there are these amazing murals illustrating some of the Buddhist stories. Sue said occasionally the repaint everything so the pictures don't fade away.

Considering that every inch of the temple was carved and decorated, it must have taken forever to create this building. I was amazed at how much gold was used even in small detailing.

Although most of the building is well preserved there were a few pieces that were corroding with age. This is one of the many polls which are carved out of single piece of stone (bird included!). They have turned black over the course of 200years from incense smoke.

The rooftops were amazing! If you look really close there are hundreds of little people carved into the wood as well as the dragons.

This was one of my favorite rooms. The deity who is worshiped here protects children, so mothers often come here and bring bouquets of flowers.

This is the deity is the one Joey and his family come to most often. Since he is the deity of agriculture, the Changs ask him for a good peanut harvest.

If your jobs on the line, if your sick, or if anything bad is happening in your life you come to see this deity. Each year, people pay to have their name written on a little slip of paper and it is attached to one of the thousands of lights that line this room. I'm fairly sure it is done to protect them against misfortune.

Before we left Joey and Sue showed me how they burn paper money as an offering to the different deities. The different pieces of paper are for each of the deities, and adds to their wealth in the afterlife.