We were welcomed to Taiwan with a fireboat salute. In the evening we were treated to a performance by local entertainers. It was a traditional, local dragon dance.

What a privilege the following day to visit the renowned National Museum which houses about 700,000 items, many dating back over 4,000 years and stolen from China when Chiang Kai-Shek took the collection following his armies' defeat at the hands of Mao Tse Tung. The most impressive items were a bronze pot with Chinese writing inside, about 3,000 years old from the bronze age which came after the stone age, and an ivory ball which had about 12 balls within it, all hand-carved out of one piece of ivory. Each ball could be individually moved. You could see through each ball. Dick had been to Taipei about 15 times in the past negotiating and implementing a joint venture with a Taiwanese company, but he never had time to really sightsee. However, he had seen the National Museum and thought it important for Alida to see it.

National Museum

We visited the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial and the War Memorial where the guards were changing.

changing of the guard

Also, we visited a skyscraper called the 101 building because it has 101 floors. It was the tallest building in the world for about 5 years until the Burg Dubai surpassed it about 2 years ago.

101 building

We are now on our way to Seoul. We have been advised that it should not be a problem for us with the nuclear situation in Japan. Japan is far away from Seoul and the prevailing winds tend to be west to east.

written by  rcodel on March 15, 2011 from Taipei, Taiwan
from the travel blog: World Cruise - 2011
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The best wish to you.

written by  rain on March 17, 2011

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