Taipei, Taiwan

Kevin and Karen (Clare's sister) and George (Clare's dad)

We had arranged to meet our Taiwanese friend Clare and her husband Graham in Taiwan. Unfortunately Graham ruptured his tendon and was unable to fly. We had met Clare's family at their wedding in Rotorua so were keen to catch up with them in Taiwan.

We stayed at a lovely hostel and George, Karen and Kevin took us sightseeing. We have been on the go since we arrived and Karen and Clare organised an itinerary for us with hotel, train and bus bookings. It has been wonderful to have our own travel agents!

We haven't been able to do any postings on our blog as we have been on the go or haven't found places that have the internet or that can load pictures to the site. I have only been able to load one picture here but will load more at a later stage.

It took us longer to get to Taipei City from the airport than the flight took from Hanoi. Taiwan is the second most densely populated country per capita after Bangladesh! We also arrived at Moon festival time. Many businesses gave their workers a four day weekend to enjoy the festivities and to travel to their families. Consequently, the trains and buses out of the city were fully booked. We stayed and visited the sights in the city and it was easy to get around on the MRT underground train and the local buses.

Grand hotel

We visited the famous Grand Hotel, the Giant Ferris Wheel and Taipei 101 building. 101 refers to the number of floors and it was the tallest building in the world until recently. The views at night were spectacular. It took a very smooth 36 seconds to get to the 69th floor and 46 seconds to return to the ground floor!

We spent a day at the Royal Palace Museum and it was incredible. Some of the treasures were over 5,000 years old. The treasures were shipped to Taiwan from China for safekeeping when the Nationalist fled the mainland. It was the best thing that could have happened as they may well have been lost forever if the youth had got a hold of them and destroyed them during the "Cultural Revolution".

We spent an afternoon at The Aboriginal Museum which showcased the culture and customs of the various tribes of Taiwan. It was very interesting to see experts espouse the theory that Taiwanese and Maoris had common ancestors!