Home #reallyontheship Taipei and Keelung, Taiwan

Taipei and Keelung, Taiwan

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March 30, 2024

$1 US = 32 NTD

We were lucky that we visited a few days before the earthquake shook the island.

Taipei 101 (undamaged by earthquake). 1,667 feet high (including spire). It was the tallest building in the world from 2004-2009.
Brooklyn welcomed by a friendly dragon at our special tour of the tower.
A dance presentation explaining local legends entertained us on the observation deck.
Rich Gold (a “damper baby” character) in front of Taipei 101’s damper – a really interesting invention that balances the tower during high winds and earthquakes (and worked really well in the 7.4 earthquake).
View from 89th floor of Taipei 101
Taiwan National Palace (now a museum) (I was proud of myself for successfully buying the ticket at the kiosk without English instructions – I just picked the most expensive ticket and correctly picked the ticket for foreigners – NTD 350).
The Monk’s morning workout.
A statue in front of a random temple in Keelung (when walking around the market there were several of them with storefronts practically on their steps).
Keelung night market.
In Asia, you can get just about any food cooked on a stick
Haven bar and tasting room in Keelung about 4 blocks from cruise terminal in a side alley.
Night view of Keelung Harbor.

A Very Abbreviated History lesson:

In the 1500’s the island was called Isla Formosa – Beautiful island. In 1624, the Dutch East India Company established a base and then sugar plantations until 1662 when Ming loyalists fleeing mainland China took over for about twenty years until the Qing Dynasty invaded and claimed the island. It remained part of the Qing Dynasty until 1895, when it was ceded to Japan at the end of the Sino-Japanese war. At the end of WWII (1945) it was returned to China. The Republic of China fell to the Chinese Communist Party in 1948, and the members of the ROC retreated to Taiwan. China considers Taiwan part of China, Taiwan considers itself an independent state and part of the World Trade Organization in its own right.

One Comment:

  1. wjoellen3
    April 7, 2024 at 12:10 am

    That ‘damper’ must be pretty powerful to withstand a 7.5 earthquake!!
    All of that glass&steel,still intact!
    I love all the flags lining the streets…so festive ❤️

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