Posts tagged Taiwan
Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial in Taipei, Taiwan. When I was there in 2007, it was going through renovations so I couldn’t go in, but the outside was just as amazing to see. Chiang Kai-Shek has kind of a shakey history with the Taiwanese, so the stormy background in the photo made a perfect backdrop.
post by Sematastic
Okay, well it’s 4am and I can’t sleep (My back hurts, but less when I’m sitting I guess. Was rear-ended! Lady squooshed my cupcakes! Grr.) so I thought I’d do this.
Mom thought that since we were in Taiwan we’d pop over to China for a week to see some sights. We took a tour (a Taiwanese tour, in Mandarin. I understood nothing.) which was a bit of a drag (okay, a lot of a drag, I hate tours, the guides talked too much, were pushy and made us spend ridiculous amounts of time at places where they would shove merchandise in front of us). But what I got to enjoy was beautiful.
We went to three cities - Hangzhou, Suzhou and Shanghai. Actually, I was absolutely miserable for a lot of the trip (my fault, being stubborn and I’d had enough. heh! I am ridiculous) so I didn’t take as many pictures as I maybe should have, but I’ll share my favourites.
My Mom chose this tour because she really wanted to see the Chinese gardens she had read about at school and while she was growing up. In Suzhou there are four major ones; we went to the Lingering Garden only. It was so beautiful (minus the screaming tour guides), everything was arranged like a painting, and every window framed a scene.
A performance of traditional music on the water. We enjoyed a lovely, peaceful moment…until another tour came by behind us. I really think megaphones should be banned at places like this!
We were taken to a very crowded shopping avenue, to get away we went up to a teahouse and looked down (in my case, up) at the bustle beneath us.
This was in Wuzhen, which was really interesting because it’s still inhabited (though not very much anymore). I understood that a group of investors wanted to preserve the town and make it a tourist attraction and were allowed to do so on the condition that some of the income was shared with the townspeople. Apparently they were overjoyed at the beginning, and very proud to show off their home but as the years pass the amount of tourists is becoming tiresome.
And I completely understand why! My goodness, and we were trying to go against the flow. I got pushed quite a bit. Awesome…(oh, also I should point out that a lot of the girls were wearing heels. On cobblestones.)
But life carries on I guess. Even if people watch you do laundry.
This was in 1933 (website in Chinese only, but if you google 1933 Shanghai you’ll get some articles) and English built abbatoir named for the year it was constructed. It was a really great space, a bit haunting but very hip. We were there pretty early in the morning so not much was open. But I got my coffee, and hung out with some cuddly bears.
A smaller villa sitting on Hangzhou’s West Lake, I was so mad that we were rushed through here, it was so peaceful (we were there so early that there was no one else. MY FAVOURITE).
Oh yeah, Mom wanted me to take a picture of her sitting in her “living room.” This hotel was brand new, just open for a test run. It was amazing (a tub and everything too). Actually, they put us up in nice hotels our entire stay which was great.
The last thing we did in Hangzhou was hang around a very touristy shopping area. It was in an older part of the city which is being restored, and was pretty, though of course overpriced and more of a facade than anything else. But there were lots of things to look at (Mom even haggled down a paper umbrella for me! 70 yuan from 180, she’s awesome). Like this!:
At a small stand there was a young gentleman doing these sugar animals. For 10 yuan (about $2 USD) you could spin the spinner and where it landed was what you got. Lucky me got one of the large ones! A dragon! Mom got a sparrow.
They were just caramelized sugar, but still yummy! But I couldn’t eat it all. Also, a bug flew into mine and stuck there.
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I think I would go back, but definitely without a tour…could definitely do without the forceful buying of silk, jade and tea. (Silk brocade for CAD45$?! It’s like $25 on Queen St. Ridiculous.) But, I’m glad I went. It was nice to see some of China with my own eyes.
Hm, I guess time for bed. But, good morning early risers!
This was really interesting, hope your cupcakes are feeling better ;)
