Taiwan March 24

OK, I guess we’re just total adrenaline junkies. Just two days after riding the fastest train in the world in Shanghai, we tackled the fastest elevator in the world, climbing some 400 meters in less than 37 seconds at the Taipei 101 building in Taipei. Now we’re looking for the world’s fastest escalator.

When we arrived in Keelung, the port city for Taipei, it was completely overcast, with a forecast for rain the entire day. Since we had already stowed all of our cold weather and rain gear, we dug out our umbrellas and jackets, and headed off for Taipei, some 25Km to the South. Amazingly, when we arrived in Taipei, after about a one hour bus ride, the sky was clear, and the temperature was in the 70s. We were dropped off by the bus in front of the Taipei 101 tower, which until the recent opening of the new building in Dubai, was the tallest building in the world. It’s a beautiful structure, designed to give the appearance of a stalk of bamboo. Luckily, we stumbled upon a bank of lockers on the main floor, and were able to store our foul weather gear until we headed back to the ship.

We took the elevator to the 89th floor, which is the floor on which the observation deck is located. The view from the top was spectacular, even though there was a lot of dust particles in the air, from the large dust storm that hit Beijing last week. Most of the major landmarks in the city were visible from the observation deck.

The first five floors of the 101 Tower are build around an atrium, and contain numerous designer shops and upscale restaurants. The basement floor is the location of a food court, totally unlike any food court we might see in the US, with restaurants ranging from Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Indian, and even the obligatory McDonalds. With the help of our guide, we were able to order a bowl of the Taiwan beef noodle soup, which was outstanding.

During the day we learned that Taiwan is about the size of Switzerland, with about ten times the population, and, surprisingly, is more mountainous that Switzerland.

Arriving back at the ship at about 4:30, we discovered that the weather in Keelung had not changed during the day. It was still raining. A good day in Taipei.

This morning, we were invited by the Captain to visit the navigational bridge, where the Senior Watch Officer gave us a tour and explained all the instruments and controls. Very interesting, and what a great view! Meeting some friends for cocktails tonight before dinner. Hong Kong tomorrow.