Keelung

Keelung is the only port I had any reservations about because this was the location of the tour that I had arranged. We started out well with everyone of the group arriving on time. But as we got outside, we had trouble finding the bus. Then we had to wait for the van for those with mobility problems because their driver had to take the random breathalyzer test while that group stood in the light drizzle waiting for him. But finally, we got started with Li-Lin as the guide for the bus and Andy as the guide for the van. Immediately, it was apparent that we were going to have problems with Li-Lin’s English. She was cute and enthusiastic, but not really at home with the language. Andy was much better and I had arranged that we would go to all of the sites and then two of our groups would join Andy (who’s English was much better) so that everyone could hear. But it just didn’t work out that way. The van would get to a site much faster and then the other group was always waiting for us. Finally, the entire bus group just stayed with Li-Lin. I had adopted the Shepherd system that had worked so well on the Nha Trang tour with each shepherd looking after a group of 4 other couples. But even so, we managed to lose a couple at one site.




My Bus

Before that, though, we made our first stop at a Confucius Temple. This temple was very utilitarian looking with no incense burning and very simple, uncluttered lines. While we were there, a musical group came out and was getting ready to perform a concert. They were very amiable and explained their instruments as well as they could and were happy to pose for pictures. Unfortunately, we had to move on to the next temple before they started to play.



Confucius Temple



Chinese Instruments

After leaving the Confucius Temple, we only had to walk kitty-corner to the Taoist Temple. Here everything was elaborately carved and painted with lots of gold leaf in view. People were presenting their gifts of flowers, incense or candles and then choosing a pair of curved blocks which looked different on each side. If you wanted an answer to a Yes or No question, you throw the two blocks down on the ground and if they land with different sides up, that is a Yes and the same sides up would be a No. Then there were sticks with numbers on them that you would use for determining the answer to a more detailed question. Somehow the numbers on the sticks related to papers with that number and you got three tries to get the right answer by throwing the stick on the ground, but I got lost in that explanation.



Pao-an Temple




Pao-an Interior

The Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall was our next stop. This is a very open building that seemed to be built just to house a huge statue of Chiang Kai-Shek. Since Bill & I made a “Happy Room” visit before we joined the group, we missed the Changing of the Guard ceremony. But if the crowds that were there when we arrived were any indication of what it was like for the ceremony, it wasn’t likely that we would have seen much of it even if we had been there in time.



Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall



Looking Toward One of the Exits

I had the cash for the tour in my backpack and I was getting very nervous about carrying all that money (almost $3000), so I was relieved when we walked from the Memorial Hall over to an arts and crafts market that had a money exchange inside. I paid off the guide and thought I could relax. Unfortunately, even though we had been warned that from the Memorial Hall there were 4 exits that all looked exactly alike, one couple was found to be missing when we were ready to leave the arts & crafts store. In the rain, everyone had their hoods or umbrellas up and it was next to impossible to see faces, so their shepherd did not notice they weren’t with us as we left the Memorial Hall. I had that terrible sinking feeling in my stomach when someone told me they were missing and one of the guides and the couple’s friend had gone back to the Memorial Hall to find them. But luckily, the couple had seen the bus and flagged it down and they were waiting for us when we all got on – what a relief!

One of the most anticipated sites on the tour was a visit to Taipei 101, the second tallest building in the world. The building was designed to look like a piece of bamboo rising in sections. At night, there are lights which shine between the sections with a different color for each day of the week. Bill and one of the guys we were sitting with decided that the Food Court of much more interest than the view from the top, so I was on my own. To get to the Observation Deck, we had to take the fastest elevator in the world. It took 35 seconds to arrive at the 89th floor. The building has 101 floors but we never found out was above the Observation Deck. Our ticket included use of the audible headphone sets for descriptions in every direction, but with the time at hand, I only listened to the first minute or two of each description then moved to the next window. Located on the next floor down was a fantastic display of carved coral and some jade that was sponsored by the jewelry store located there. I took pictures there until it was almost time to meet for the bus. The elevator ride took longer coming down – 45 seconds. And then the huge shopping mall located on the lower floors had to be navigated before I could get back to the meeting place. I had just enough time to grab a Haagen-Dazs ice cream cone with 4 different scoops of ice cream, strawberries, kiwi and cantaloupe for my lunch.



Taipei 101



Elevator Indicator



View



Carved Coral

After driving through the crowded city streets, we arrived at the Martyrs’ Shrine. This is a memorial to those who had died in conflicts from The Ching Dynasty, WWII and what they called the Civil War, which I assume means their relocation from the Mainland. The temples and also this building all had an ornate entry gate, an entry garden or courtyard, the main building with its own courtyard and then wings surrounding it with additional worship areas, or in this case with the names of the deceased on plaques on the wall according to the conflict. At this location, the entry garden had a lovely pavilion with a spiral staircase that I wished we had time to explore.



Pavilion in Entry Garden



Martyrs’ Shrine



Martyrs’ Shrine Interior



Memorial Plaques

Our next stop was to be the National Palace Museum with all the art treasures that Chiang Kai-Shek brought over to Taiwan before the Japanese invaded China and then remained after the Red Chinese takeover. But since it was a holiday week in Japan, the museum was an absolute circus where you could hardly move, let alone see exhibits. We saw a few rooms with more people getting separated from our group in every room. Finally, we gave up and just went back to the ship. We had certainly seen enough to justify our $58 investment for the day.
We got back to the ship with ½ hour to spare and while some of the group stood outside to watch the youth drum corps who were entertaining for the passengers, I ran across the street to the 7-11 to get some Taiwanese beer. So far I had tasted Thai beer, Saigon beer, and Qingdao beer but I wanted to add another beer flavor to my collection. Usually, I like to taste different wines of the region but there doesn’t seem to be anything produced here but beer and then each country’s version of hard liquor, which I don’t drink.