Taipei

[mare s.]

I am emailing a private tour guide in Taipei regarding our 7-5 port day on Diamond Princess this Fall. They are saying that, due to Keelung's distance from Taipei and need to be back to port by 4:30 latest, and our desire to spend additional time at the National Palace Museum, we have to choose between Confucius/PaoAn Temple and Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall/Taipei 101. (We see Martyr's Shrine on the way to the Museum in the a.m.) Any thoughts or ideas on these itineraries?

Thanks.

[pchen0]

Definitely C.K.S. Memorial Hall + Taipei 101. Taipei 101 is now world's tallest building and C.K.S. is nice for a couple of hour visit. Ask the tour guide/driver to drive by the Presidential Palace (equivalent to our White House) which is near C.K.S.

[realproperty]

Taipei 101 is just a huge modern Western office building with a shopping mall of very high end stores down below. Take a look at it on a website and that is all you need. It is worth a picture from the bottom at best. Why go half way around the world to see something that you can see in any big city in North America. CKS is an sort of interesting memorial (better from the outside than inside) but you could do that quickly too and still see the Pao-An Temple which is unusual and beautiful and authentic. When we were there, the Confucious temple was being renovated and there was not a lot to see. None of these stops take a lot of time. You are right to spend time at the Museum. It is world class. Make sure you get your guide to talk about the politics of Taiwan v. Mainland. That is fascinating.

[DonahCBrown]

I am emailing a private tour guide in Taipei regarding our 7-5 port day on Diamond Princess this Fall. They are saying that, due to Keelung's distance from Taipei and need to be back to port by 4:30 latest, and our desire to spend additional time at the National Palace Museum, we have to choose between Confucius/PaoAn Temple and Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall/Taipei 101. (We see Martyr's Shrine on the way to the Museum in the a.m.) Any thoughts or ideas on these itineraries?

Thanks.

 

More time in the National Museum is good - you don't need the guide to do extensive commentary, though, as the exhibits are clearly and extensively signed in English - and the PaoAn Temple and the Confucius Shrine. You'll most likely do Shanghai as well and I'd do the Pearl tower there over Taipei 101. Chaing Kai-Shek Memorial is okay, but not as interesting or photogenic as the temples.

 

We also enjoyed a tour of the North Coast around Keelung itself, and the Yeliau Ecopark and Chifauen (something like that, anyway) - the gold rush town up in the hills - very pretty and a good market that was fun to wander around in.

 

But the National Museum was worth the trip into Taipei.

[filadin]

I think that if I had that limited amount of time that I would focus on the temple and the National Palace Museum. The CKS Memorial is quite picturesque, but I think that the temple beats it.

 

 

By the way, the CKS Memorial is now called the "Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall." The main room of the hall has traditionally been empty, except for a giant statue of CKS and his sayings on the surrounding walls. With the present change to TDMH, the hall is now full of pictures and the story of the rise of democracy in Taiwan in the 70's, 80's, and 90's. It is now a bit of a flashpoint in local politics - downplaying CKS and highlighting the DPP's democratic movement. By the time that you get here in the fall, the KMT is likely to have regained power and the place name changed back to CKS Memorial. We will see.

[mare s.]

Thanks all...Doug...do you think it's possible (time and distance) to see National Palace Museum and Martyr's shrine in am and then head back towards Keelung and see Chiufen in the afternoon? Would love to see everything, but our traveling companions are interested in seeing some of the scenery and history and might want to skip CKS and Taipei 101.

[99collector]

How long of a drive is it from Keelung to Taipei? Also, how far away is the National Museum from Taipei 101? Thank you.

[ca-cruiser]

I am emailing a private tour guide in Taipei regarding our 7-5 port day on Diamond Princess this Fall. They are saying that, due to Keelung's distance from Taipei and need to be back to port by 4:30 latest, and our desire to spend additional time at the National Palace Museum, we have to choose between Confucius/PaoAn Temple and Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall/Taipei 101. (We see Martyr's Shrine on the way to the Museum in the a.m.) Any thoughts or ideas on these itineraries?

Thanks.

 

I just came back from a 7-day vacation in Taipei. Definitely go for the museum and PaoAn Temple. You can ask the driver to take you to Taipei 101 for a "photo opportunity". It is an interesting building, but the upscale stores inside are over-priced, and not too different from the upscale shopping mall in the US. The CKS memorial is worth a quick stop if you have time, but you won't be too upset if you missed it this time.

 

Also keep in mind that temperature in Fall could still be quite hot and humid in Taipei, so you might want to do the temple in the early morning, and the museum (air cond.) in the late morning/ early afternoon.

 

Have fun,

Alicia