Discovering the Modern Wonders of Taipei

When I stand on the 89th floor observation deck of what was once the world’s tallest building, it is exhilarating, if not a little frightening. And whilst I look out on the city of Taipei, I cannot believe how easy it was to get here if I don’t count being chased by irate taxi drivers.

Our ship docks at Keelung port, some 28 kilometres from Taipei, the capital city of Taiwan. Since I have not booked any shore excursions for our day in Taiwan, we are going to wing it and see what we can do for the short hours we are in port.

Perhaps we can get a cab driver who will offer a tour, like we did in Vietnam.

The cab drivers we speak to must be on speed-dial with the Shore Excursion desk from the ship because the amounts quoted for a quick trip into town were eye-wateringly expensive, and they were charging per person.

It cannot be THAT hard to catch a train, could it? After all, we are not in Melbourne now.

Within a few minutes, we had return tickets to Taipei, and a map showing us not only the underground MRT system, but the attractions we can visit from each station. We have just one destination in mind as we run for our first train, which is already waiting at the platform.

From the windows of a spotlessly-clean train, we watch drab concrete residential buildings, schools, and playing fields flash by until we enter a tunnel and the outside view is no longer there. The display above the train doors show us the name of the stations in both the Chinese and English languages, making is especially easy to know when we are due to get off the train. Once through the barriers, station staff direct us to follow a red line that leads to the suburban train ticket office, and where we get blue tokens to tap on our way in and deposit on our way out at our destination station.

Again, the trains are spotlessly clean, automatic barrier doors on the platforms ensure there are no mishaps, and a display above the door clearly shows our progression through the vast tunnel system. At our last station, we come out from underground, and there it is. The Taipei 101 building.

I cannot see the top from where I am standing at the base of the building due to its unusual pagoda-like shape.

Before long, with tickets in hand, we arrive at the lift that will take us to the 89th floor, which is an observation deck. I watch a screen displaying the progress of the lift ascending from the fifth floor where we start from. The small red box in the centre of the building smoothly ascending to the 89th floor at a speed of 60km/hour in just 37 seconds. Then, before my ears could get blocked, we tumble out of the lift. From floor to ceiling windows, we are rewarded with our efforts with magnificent views of Taipei and beyond. Well, we are not able to see too far beyond as the weather has not been kind to us and there is a dank fog that has no intentions of lifting any time soon. It is what it is, and we will just have to enjoy what we have in front of us and not worry about what we are missing out on. On one side are treed mountains, which are not quite wilderness areas as I see a pair of tunnels that cars are disappearing into and appearing from. There is no point building a road that winds through mountains when you can build a double-lane highway straight through them. Far down below my feet where the city is, there are hundreds of yellow cabs lumbering in the traffic, distinctive by their bright colour. I see a temple and a stadium through one window and blocks and blocks of residential flats through another. As I complete my circuit and take another look at the buildings at my feet, I marvel at one that looks like it is twisted, a helipad on it roof. New ones like the one I am in, the tallest in Taipei, tower over the old buildings, dwarfing them significantly.

Ever conscious of the time, we reverse our steps; back to the MRT to buy tokens to get us back to the main station. That’s the easy part. Retracing our footsteps back to the local train platform takes more time and requires the assistance of a teacher with a bunch of students on a field trip. With her excellent English, she points to the signs we have to follow, and we are soon where we need to be.

After a short wait on the platform our train that will take us back to Keelung arrives and we seat ourselves in a middle carriage. We laugh as two elderly ladies almost come to blows over seat. Neither one will take it, but the least mobile of the two loses the argument and is soon pushed into the seat by the other lady who looks ancient. They are still grumbling at each other as the train lurches forward.

We arrive back with plenty of time to first look around at the area surrounding the port before returning to the ship. It’s time to spend the few Taipei New Dollars I have left after today’s excursion. Transportation and entrance into the Taipei 101 has cost about AUD$45 each, and when I do the sums, I realise that our transportation had cost a mere $12.

I think we learn a valuable lesson today. Sometimes it is better to blend in with the locals and travel with them on public transport. Yes, we are obviously tourists. but we are also surprised and delighted by the number of people who say the word ‘welcome’ as they pass us by. This is unexpected.

The people we meet, talk to, ask directions from, apart from the aggressive taxi drivers, have been delightful in their willingness to help and to welcome us to their country.