taipei 101 – The Outlet Unplugged

HAPPY ONE YEAR to the blog

Today we landed in Taipei, Taiwan-our layover stop. Since we landed in a country we will probably never vacation again, my dad figured we might as well spend the day to explore the city.

racing the sunrise

This is my second trip to Taiwan; a beautifully green island with the best pineapples and kiwis I have ever tasted. I spent about ten days here on a mission trip; so it was cool to being able to recognize some of the places, and nice to have a little knowledge about where we were headed.

From Taoyuan International airport to the heart of Taipei was about a 45 minute taxi drive. We originally wanted to step into YongKang St., an area known for the sort of retro asian, antiquey kind of feel. It was difficult to communicate between the taxi driver and us, so while we got to enjoy the sights of the local streets and people from the car, we decided to venture into a more public area solely in fear of not being able to get a taxi back.

We stopped at the magnificent Taipei 101, the third tallest building in the world with 101 floors. It stands like a dinosaur among the other buildings. Inside holds the Taiwan Financial Center & Stock Exchange, but (more importantly) a gigantic mall, and fabulous food court.

We got there quite early, and enjoyed some traditional dried pork skin filled buns. The milk tea, and the beef noodles are a must try!

Then we took the Guinness World Records fastest elevator to the 89th floor of the building-89 floors in 32 seconds. It costs 500 Taiwanese currency to go up, which is about $20, but I’d say the view was well worth it. We were lucky enough to come on a sunny day, and we’re able to climb up to the 91st floor, where the outside viewing platform was. You can gaze over the whole city and beyond into the mountains and forest and all.
My dad’s sole goal of the whole day was to enjoy some dumplings at the infamous Din Tai Fung restaurant. Chains all across the world, the line was already piling up an hour before they opened. But I honestly think I could eat those dumplings for the rest of my life.