I finished my contract back in May of this year, but am now getting the opportunity to update my pictures. My goal was to visit New Zealand in order to find the town I wanted to live in after I finish in S. Korea. On my way down south, I learned that it was cheaper to stop over at several countries rather than take a direct flight to NZ! My buddy, Josh, happens to live in Taipai, which I've been wanting to visit for a long time. After all, this is where I originally thought I was going to live when I was first considering living overseas. So, it was great to see my traveling buddy from last year, a great friend & also see the place I thought I was going to live!
Taoist temple on the way to the beach.
Yilan Daxi's Honeymoon Bay, about an hour outside of Taipai, where I tried surfing for the first time!
After a beautiful day, & even a little rain, the beach became fairly silent.
The train ride back was fun, & we were able to meet some of the local surfers. I believe my buddy, Josh, still keeps in touch with them.
From time to time, the train would start pouring water from the air vent above; all of us got a little wet on the train ride home. However, despite the leaking roof, this guy was happy to put on a show for the whole train. Here's he's getting warmed up for his acrobatic debut.After several times of these train talents, another guy from the train next to us had to come over & make an attempt of showing him up. He couldn't compete at the same level as you see here.
Changing of the guards at the National Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall.
Josh lives right next to the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall. They're currently changing the name to the National Taiwan Democracy Hall.
Here's a view of the hall at night. They were doing some restorative work in the whole area while I was there.
National Concert Hall near the National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall.
Behind The Concert Hall.
Viewing the The National Theater & The National Concert Hall.
Entrance of the National Taiwan Democracy Hall.
Same entrance, viewing the opposite direction.
On all sides of the National Concert Hall are beautifully landscaped areas.
The whole Memorial Hall area is surrounded by this long walkway wall. It separates the busy noise from of the city & allows a relaxing region inside this park. Some of the public want this wall removed because it reminds them of the past, when walls kept the common public out of closed areas.
A friendly, hungry bird I was able to capture with my camera.
A view of Taipai 101, the world's tallest building in three of the main four categories. It towers over Taipai!
While the camera doesn't do it's height justice, it's quite an industrial marvel.
Here's a view from the top of Taipai 101! Quite a polluted day, but you can gather how much taller this building is than anything else around it.
This is the dampening weight, tuned mass damper, allows the Taipai 101 to withstand earthquakes, typhoons or any other high wind storms that may attack it's integrity .
An Iris I found in the National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall area.
