Weekend 1: Sunday

What would I do without my trusty notepad? While it may just look like the rumbled writing of a crazy person. I assure you there IS a system in all that chaos. It shows all the stops planned for the day and the bus routes between them, plus any additional information that may be pertinent.


Stop#1: Maokong

While some of you may have already noticed that I've done Maokong already on my last trip but it's different going with friends. Plus, I wanted to try the new gondola cars with the glass floors (What can I say? I'm an acrophobe with suicidal tendencies!) Anywhoo, there was a huge promotion (the second person rides free) so tons of people and their kids were there. While we were waiting in the station, the sprinkler will turn on and spray mist to keep everyone nice and cool. By the way, the gondola is right next to the Metrozoo MRT station, hence the picture of cute pandas riding the MRT.

 

How cute is this? Everyone and everything is so happy. 

Look! Night market diorama!



Stop #2: Lin Family (no relation!) Garden
The Lin family in Banqiao was (and still is?) one of the richest families in Taiwan. They built a huge manor in Banqiao, which became famous as the paradigm of the architectural style of that time. I've been wanting to visit for ages but other things just kept coming up. The main house was closed for renovations (darn! what's with all the renos?) and a section of the manor remains unavailable to the public because it still belongs to the Lin family (it houses the plaques of their ancestors.

From what we saw, the place was complex. Passages and hallways intersect with one another, leading to side rooms or small ponds and gazebos.

Some more pretty scenery for ya! Towards the end of the journey, we were greeted by this little dude. Poor guy, he must be boiling hot with all those feathers.

Finally, the exit! I was starting to fear that we may never get out. And what did we do after we found the exit? We immediately went and sat in the 7-11 across the road to cool down for a bit. While we were cooling down, we had a CELLPHONE FACE-OFF!!!

And of course I won! Just look at it! My phone display is BLACK-AND-WHITE for pity's sake. AND it's bulkier than all the other phones. Awesome reception though.


Stop #3: Taipei 101
Technically, we didn't go to Taipei 101. We went to a mall next next to Taipei 101. There are at least half a dozen department stores/malls within an 1-km radius of Taipei101. I am not making this up. Google it! I dare you. The B1 foodcourt was so busy. People were like vultures looking for tables, ready to swoop down on anyone who gives off even a remote vibe that they're getting ready to leave. We were lucky we didn't had wait too long for a table. But while my friends went off to order, there were at least 6-7 people asking whether the table was available. Some just sat right down without even checking first. Pure insanity.

This is what I ordered. Seafood risotto(?) with cheese and soup. Yum!