My morning habit of waking up at 6:00 wasn’t broken by the new day. Breakfast was more of the traditional meal, but in a more compact form. The green onion pancake was wrapped around the fried bread things, so eating was a little quicker, which was good since the day would be pretty full. We headed off with uncle Shin to the National Palace Museum for a taste of culture. They have exhibits on treasures from Taiwan and China, consisting of pottery from 6000 B.C., paintings and calligraphy, and carved ivory and jade. I’m sorry I couldn’t take pictures in the museum itself because the displays were amazing. First, the level of craftsmanship in the pieces of pottery from the times before the Ancient Egyptians were around was amazing. The carved ivory was so delicate, it looked like strands of thin gauze. There are three levels to the museum and we explored every room. Everyone calls Uncle Shin “lao shi” which means teacher in Chinese because that’s what he is. My Dad says that he was a teacher when he was younger, and now that he’s retired, he teaches other retired people at the community college. The guy knew more about the exhibits than some of the tour guides. Many of the other patrons were tourists from mainland China and at times, it got pretty crowded in there. I saw a few Caucasians so I think my count is up to ten or so.
After three floors of culture, a pleasant surprise awaited me on the fourth floor. There’s a nice little tea house restaurant that overlooked the front courtyard. There was great ambiance and the flavor and presentation of the food was spectacular. A great place to rest and recharge after a long day of mind expanding information. You might be asking why a trip to the museum would be so exhausting that I barely had the energy to make a quick post. Well if the day had ended there, I would have been okay, but there was still a little bit more left in store.
After the museum, we traveled around Taipei a little more, mostly riding the rail and seeing other parts of the city. There’s so much to see I doubt we’ll be able to fit it all in despite having three weeks to do it in. We made it as far as the Taipei zoo and were about to enter since they have a Panda exhibit, but my dad had previously made plans to pick up a pair of glasses in the area around my Aunt Ellens, so we had to cut the trip short and make the schlepp out there. The most unfortunate part about traveling at that time was that it was traffic hour. Around 17:00, some work places and all the schools get out and flood the railway. Sometimes the cars are so crowded that you can’t board, which is okay since another will be on the way in five to ten minutes. It’s a great time if you like people watching. Everyone pretty much minds their own business so I get to peek around get a taste of the current styles. I’ll dedicate a post to that once I collect enough pictures.
While we were at the eye doctor, my dad received a call from Ellen inviting us for dinner. She lived really close so it was a relief to attend a “no pressure” meal. Dinner was another home cooked meal, which is great after all the dining out, after which we descended into the subway for the ride home where I almost immediately collapsed in my rock hard bed.
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