Trip to Taipei on July 10-11

On July 10-11, San Sin High School was being used for standardized testing administration.   So the four American teachers traveled to the capital city of Taipei with Jerry and Ellie Fussell as their tour guides.  They boarded the High Speed Rail at Zuoying, and reached Taipei at 10:00 a.m. after a 90-minute train ride (a 4-5 hour ride by car!). Their time was planned wisely for the two-day trip to maximize their opportunities to see the very best tourist sites in Taipei.  

They took the MRT to Tamsui, just outside of Taipei.  They walked up to the British Consulate building. Then, they walked to nearby Aletheia University.  When they were walking back to the MRT, they came across a building with a sign that said "Fish Bite Foot."

Wanting a new cultural experience, the teachers removed their shoes and put their feet into a large tank containing many little fish. The fish immediately began nibbling on all of their feet. The fish actually nibble the dead skin off of human feet---a type of exfoliation!  And it certainly did tickle!

The teachers went to a Night Market in Taipei, and also visited the beautiful Grand Hotel.
  

The next morning, they visited the remarkable Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, a tribute to a great leader who led the wars against the Chinese Communist Party.  This beautiful Memorial Hall was inaugurated in 1980, five years after his death, to acknowledge Chiang and his efforts to modernize the Republic of China.  The teachers watched the impressive changing on the Taiwanese military guard at the memorial, and they visited the chambers of the history museum on the bottom floor. 

                       
The inscriptions on the side walls describe Chiang Kai-shek's philosophy:  "The purpose of life is to improve the general life of humanity", and "The meaning of life is to create and sustain subsequent lives in the universe." 

While at the Memorial Hall, they met up with David McCulley, a previous teacher in the Summer English Program.  David has now officially moved from Florida to Taipei to teach English full-time! 

The group also visited the Taipei 101 Observatory, one of the tallest buildings in the world.  They went up to the 89th floor in the world's fastest high-speed elevator, enabling them to see the city of Taipei in all directions. The Observatory holds the world's largest wind damper, and is built to resist the strongest earthquakes and gale-force winds. Of course, the visit to Taipei 101 wouldn't be complete without a stop at the Grand Market (a huge food court that seats 1,200 people) and shopping in the huge multi-level mall surrounding the Observatory!

  

No trip to Taipei would be complete without a stop at the Chinese Handicraft Mart. This four-story building provides great shopping for Taiwanese souvenirs and gifts to bring home for very reasonable prices!