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台北之旅
Taipei Trip - 03.2005
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Taipei Trip - 03.2005
Yes I know it's been more than a year but I didn't get a chance to really organize my pictures until now. Also I doubt that much has changed in the past year except for the opening of Taipei 101
During the week I spent in Taiwan happened to be the week of the 2004 ROC presidential election. Needless to say that made my trip all the more interesting...
Anyway, I hope you enjoy my pictures
第一天
Day 1
Day 1
We got up at 4 AM to catch a flight from Houston to L.A. since back then the direct flight from Houston to Taipei hasn't started yet. Usually we take 中華航空 China Airline but this time we're trying 長榮航空 EVA Airline, these two are the only Taiwanese airlines that fly to the U.S. I believe.
EVA Airline
China Airline
After a 14 hour flight, we finally arrived in CSK International Airport. The flight was pretty pleasant but having spent 14 hours in one spot simply wore me out. I didn't get to take many pictures except for this one.
第二天
Day 2
Day 2
My brother and I stayed with our cousins in Guishan and every morning we take the train to Taipei.
A Taipei MRT station
The Taipei Zoo MRT Station in Muzha. I like how they painted the chimney with a cartoon giraffe.
The Taipei Zoo MRT Station entrance.
My first sighting of Taipei 101, you can pretty much see it anywhere in Taipei as the city's physical size isn't that big and Taipei 101 is just simply extremely tall.
Leaving Muzha on the MRT
The Muzha MRT Station. I noticed that Taipei started using Hanyu Pinyin for all the public signs, which I thought was wonderful. Before, all the signs were using a bastardized version of the Wade-Giles Chinese romanization system, which made no sense. For example, "Kuting" could've been Guting, Guding, Kuting, or Kuding, no one would know for sure.
The outside of the Muzha MRT Station. The whole Muzha MRT line has stations that look like that.
If I remember correctly, this is the 忠孝東路站 Dongxiao East Road Station.
One of the many things that really impressed me was how orderly people in Taiwan have become. There has been much improvement since the last time I went back to Taiwan which was in 1997. For example, when taking the escalator, anyone who isn't in a hurry would stay on the right side. In contrast... here in Houston, TX, it's not uncommon to see people taking up both sides of the escalator or just the wrong side, making it impossible to pass people up.
It was toward the end of the day and my brother and I were heading back to Guishan. Here is a picture of the inside of the Taipei Train Station, which is also directly connected to the MRT underground.
An interesting robot I found in the Taipei Train Station. Its shield has the symbol of the Taiwan Railroad Commission, which is a 台 with a rail in the middle.
I also noticed that 桃園 Taoyuan has also become more lively. This is right outside the Taoyuan Train Station.
