Going Up Taipei 101

Taipei 101 - taken on a Thursday - so the lights
are green!

Taipei 101 was the tallest skyscraper in the world (until March 2010) at the height of 509.2 m. Despite no longer holding the world record as the tallest skyscraper, it is still worth it to go up the observation deck.

The design of Taipei 101 is made to withstand typhoon winds and earthquake tremors that are common in that area of Taiwan. The tower takes inspiration from the pliable but strong bamboo. The tower lights are coded according to the day of the week:

• Monday - Red
• Tuesday - Orange
• Wednesday - Yellow
• Thursday - Green
• Friday - Blue
• Saturday - Violet
• Sunday - Purple

The elevator travels at the speed of 60.6km/h, taking only 37 seconds to reach the observation deck at 89F. When you are in the elevator, keep an eye out on the timer on the display, and do notice how smooth and silent the ride is. The staff inside the elevator does a good job in guessing what language you comprehend and gives an intro about the tower in those languages. When we went up, he did Mandarin, English and Japanese, all by the same person! I guess we were easy as we were talking in English as we entered the elevator.

Once you reach 89F, you can get a good view of the surrounding area behind glass from this floor. Do not look straight down if you suffer from vertigo!

The elevator display shows you how long
the ride takes to the 89F.

The 91F outdoor deck will only open if weather conditions are good. If the 91F outdoor deck isn't open, go to the 88F and marvel at the 'Golden Ball', a 5.5m diameter, 660 ton weight (tuned mass damper) suspended within the building to offset the force of wind that frequently buffet Taipei 101. Under strong windy conditions you can actually see with your own eyes the ball moving to offset the sway of the building.

The tuned mass damper ball viewed from 89F onto the 88F.

Besides the tower, there is nothing much to do at Taipei 101, unless you are into shopping at high end designer branded shops (very much like KLCC, Malaysia). However, the lower floor has a decent food place that is worth your money and you can also do some shopping for Taiwan products there at a reasonable price. So do check it out down there.

The Streets of Jiu Fen - walking through Miyazaki's Inspiration

Jiu Fen is a popular tourist attraction located in the northeastern coast of Taiwan. As a little village on a windy road up the steep hillside, the old street of Jiu Fen is quaint cobblestone path that is lined with shops, temples, guesthouses and viewing platforms. Notably, there are a large number of food stalls, and you can get almost any kind of Taiwanese food here, from noodles to taro balls to grilled sausages.

Part of Jiu Fen's old street.

Jiu Fen rose to greater limelight after Miyazaki's Spirited Away was released, for scenes of the shop leading to Yubaba's bath house are supposedly inspired by the old street of Jiu Fen, and Ah Mei's tea house bears an uncanny semblance to Yubaba's bath house.

Most tours will drop you off at the 7-Eleven, where the entrance to the more popular section of the cobblestone path lined with shops starts. Depending on the time, it could be jam-packed with tourist or it could be an easy walk up the cobblestone path.

Houses and guest houses along the path.

Curio mask shop in the old street of
Jiu Fen.

Tea houses with lighted signboards
and lanterns.

There is a temple just below the 7-Eleven entry point to the old
street of Jiu Fen.

Do:

• Walk all the way to the top, there is a temple and school at the end of the street at the top of the hill.
• Explore the various parallel paths and side street. Do not be afraid to get lost, the locals will happily point out how to get back to the old street.
• Enjoy the view, it is free.

Negatives:

• Tea houses are a bit 'touristy'.
• Food here isn't as good as other places in Taiwan, in my opinion. Feels more like a touristy trap, but you can eat your way to the top.
• Can be a very muggy and sweaty experience if there are many bus loads of tourist all trying to get onto the cobblestone path.