Maokong, Taipei101, YingGe

Maokong Gondola

Maokong is a really popular destination for night-crawlers. It's best known for its tea and great view of the Taipei city at night. It's one of those experiences every Taipei person should have had in their younger days. Because it's in the mountains, the easiest way up nowadays is to take the gondola. After the gondola ride in Zhangjiajie, this ride was a breeze.
Since the gondola route runs through the metro zoo, all the cars have cute animals painted on the outside. Short on time, I didn't get to see the great pandas. And my dad being my dad, he took me to Maokong during the day, when it's basically empty and most of the teashops closed.

But I can see what everyone is talking about. Even during the day, the view was great. You can even see Taipei101 in the really far distance. The nightscape, I imagine, should be pretty spectacular.

The two cat statues greet you right outside of the gondola station. Maokong literally means "cat empty," hence the kitties. My plan was to go to the Maokong tourism centre to see if I can buy a replica of these kitties, but it was farther than expected and we had to turn back in order to be on time for lunch.



Cuteness is everywhere. On the way from the gondola to the MRT subway, I saw this little guy just sitting innocently outside a shop. Of course I had to take a picture.

And then, 10 steps away, I bumped into this guy - the largest "beckoning cat" I've ever seen. Of course I had to take another picture.

Cuteness overload.

Taipei 101

Impressive no?

It's part shopping mall, part offices, and the very top there is an observation deck.

It held the title of the world's tallest skyscraper just before the current title-holder in Dubai.

The food court in the basement is huge and full of great food. So far, I've only tried a few things down there due to the physical limitations of my stomach. But so far, all the things I've tried had been great. It's prob. understandably so since the rent must be astronomically high in a place like this and the competition extremely fierce. So if the food is sub-par, it gets weeded out pretty fast. 

So, here's something really neat that my parents pointed out to me. To wish for good fortune (i.e. customers), all the stores burn paper money to the gods on a specific day (I want to say the 15th?) every month. It's all based on the lunar calendar, of course. It was strange seeing a table full of offerings, incense, and whatnots right in front of an advertisement for Gucci. Well, I'm glad there are people who are still keeping these traditions alive. 

Interlude: This should really go in the food section, but oh well, it's here anyways. This beef noodle soup with knife-shaved noodles and red soup. We actually discovered this place entirely by accident. No one could decide what to eat that night so we walked around and ended up here. Has a little bit of a fast-food feel to the place. All in all, the food was yummy and the price reasonable. A good find!

YingGe
A ceramic town turned tourist destination. The entire old ceramic district has been renovated since the last time I visited. The roads are nicer and the storefronts more uniformed, all without losing that old town charm.


This is me next to one of the kilns they used to use in the old days. It's remarkable how well it has been preserved. You can walk all the way through. It goes pretty deep, about 150 m.

We stopped by for kiln noodles. They're served in these earthenware pots that keep the noodles nice and warm for a super long time. If only they let customers keep the pots afterward....

We went through a few of the shops, most of which carried high-end ceramic and porcelain. I got some great ideas for ceramic work that I can't wait to try. Our day was cut short by pouring rain. Note to self: invest in a light, collapsible umbrella next time in Taiwan.