Taiwan 2: Taipei 101 (16. Jan. '18)

Taipei 101

Now, off to the main attraction I want to see in Taipei: Taipei 101.

If you saw my post when I went up Macau Tower or Sky100 or Fukuoka Tower, you should know that I like heights. So there was no way I was going to visit Taipei WITHOUT going to Taipei 101!

Just to think this was the tallest building in the world from 2004 - 2010.
What makes that more special to me is that those were the years I was a college student (yes, it took me 6 years to graduate--with a triple major and double minor)!

I decided to take the MRT if anything to get a feel for how to use it and how to transfer trains in it (See, my hostel was on the green line, and Taipei 101 is on the red line).

Go out the Taipei 101 exit, and look up.

This building is not just a tower, but also a mall with all kinds of luxury brands, as well as restaurants, cafes, and a grocery store.

I don't know much about that since I had tunnel-vision aimed towards getting to the observatory deck.

There is a bit of a wait and nowhere to sit (unless you're ok with the floor), so keep that in mind. The elevators (there are 2) are quite fast! The ride was very smooth, but I felt strange because of how quickly my ears were popping.

Here's the elevator ride, from about half-way through.

Now on the observation deck (on the 89th floor), time to check out the view...

Whoa . . . See the mountains in the background?

Sorry for the lousy quality of the southwest...

Some mirrors on the ground and ceiling to play with.

So play along I did--with the glass wall.

Not gonna lie, that was fun.

This time, I wanted to accomplish something I hadn't before (except on Fukuoka Tower): get a day and night view.

I honestly don't know which direction these were in nor which buildings they are, but here are the least-bad pictures.

From the uppermost observatory open to the public.

This is how high (and which floor) the previous picture was taken from.

Looking down 91 floors of stairs...

Did you know Taipei sees seismic activity? Why not, Taipei 101 itself lies about 600 ft (183 meters) from a fault line. So, does this mean Taipei 101 will come crashing down at any given moment?
Not really.

Taipei 101 has a damper--a 730-ton steel ball 18 ft (5.5 meters) in diameter--that can reduce the shaking of the building by around 40%. You can check out the article (and a video) here.

The damper, from above.

Now from a level angle.

As much as I like heights and being up there, the weight of my trip and lack of sufficient sleep had started falling hard on me, so I knew it was time to go.

Time to go through all sorts of shops (not a coincidence) to get to the line for the elevator down.

Lights above the line to go down.

They changed colors.

The elevator ride down (again, towards the end of the descent).

When you buy your ticket up Taipei 101 (600 Taiwanese Dollars/ 20.65 USD), you get plenty of coupons. I decided to use one for a mango shop on the exit floor of the tower (5th Floor).

About 30% off on this Mango shaved ice.

That mango shaved ice was brilliant!

The ice was made from actual mango juice that was frozen. How could I tell? As a lady working there told me, you get a sticky feeling in the back of your mouth, and you get thirsty (even though you're not) when you eat something with sugar, preservatives, and other stuff. When it's all natural, like this one, it just goes down, smoothly. The way it should be.

Before I leave to go back to my hostel, let me take one more look at this tower.

Whoa. Pictures don't do it justice.

Pitstop at Raohe Night Market

Coming back to my hostel via MRT, I noticed a night market. My stomach also grumbled. 

I'm with you, buddy. Let's go see what we can eat.

Colossal temple beside the night market entrance.

Entrance to Raohe Night Market (from Songshan Station, Exit 3)

Sorry guys, I did not take any pictures here. I was too busy looking at everything that was around me. There were all kinds of shops, with familiar brands and local stores. And the food! All kinds for all taste buds. I had a chicken roll, a bowl of 3 different types of deep-fried mushrooms, stinky tofu "fries," and (the most random thing I saw in the entire market) a Polish cake(!) baked by a Pole who's been living there for 6 years. I did not expect that, but it was nice!

Sign at the other end of the night market/street.

Alright, so I overate. Now I needed to walk it off or do something. I needed to go to bed 'cause I was quite tired.
Anywho, it was a pretty good day. I arrived, figured out how to get around on my own, made it to my hostel, and got to go up to Taipei 101 and see both day- and nighttime views.
I'd say it was a successful day.
Now, to get some much-needed rest.