If Day 1 of my three-day Taiwan trip was quite a relaxed one, Day 2 was meant for some strenuous exercise.
Recap: on Day 1, I had a relaxing hot springs bath at Beitou, a visit to the Raohe Night Market and then capped the day with a massage.The Elephant Mountain
The Elephant Mountain (Xiangshan) was the first destination in the morning. I took the MRT and then walked along a street leading to the mountain. Fancy apartment buildings on one side and hills on the other kept me company. The road went uphill, downhill and then uphill before we hit the Mountain.
The Elephant Mountain is 183m high above sea level and the trail - in fact steps and trails - are about 1.5km long.
The climb was strenuous and brought a good sweat out. One should wear comfortable shoes and clothing (I saw some climbing wearing branded clothing with fancy shoes and handbags and then show regrets). There are seats and vantage points at various intervals to give the panting hearts a break and also spots to snap some good shots.
At the 'top' of the mountain, I took some time to enjoy the view in front of me. While one could see buildings of all sizes, and some greenery, the eyes do not fail to get stuck in the predominant building in the entire city - the light blue Taipei 101 Tower. It is there, jutting out of earth and as if trying to touch the sky, and no other building in Taiwan comes closer to this human marvel.
The climb went further up, towards a shrine, but I decided to climb down.
From the Elephant Mountain, I walked back to the MRT station and my next destination was just one station away.
Taiwan Trip - The Taipei 101 Tower
The Taipei 101 Tower shoots into the sky like a bamboo stem establishing a symbolic connection between the earth and the heaven, and held the distinction being the tallest building in the world from 2004 till 2010 when the Burj Khalifa Tower in Dubai overtook it.
It houses restaurants, spas and offices. There is an indoor observation deck on the 89 th floor and a partially opened outdoor deck on the 91 st.
The 91 st floor is the highest the public can go; the floors from 91 to 100 are designated as communication floors and apparently host, well, communication equipment but no one is sure.
Equally mysterious is the 101 st floor which itself contains three floors and hosts Summit 101, a top notch exclusive and secretive club with very rare access to the public. Apparently, only foreign dignitaries and other equally important people are allowed into the floor.
The Damper at Taiwan 101
Between the 87 th and the 92 nd floors lies a giant mass damper to absorb the movement of the building due to high winds. Check this video of the damper moving during a typhoon.
With such notable features, the Tower is obviously one of the most popular destinations for visitors with hundreds waiting in line to get in after buying the tickets. The wait is too long, but the ride in the elevator to the top of the world takes literally seconds. In fact, the digital display inside the elevator even displays the seconds as it sped through the floors. It took just 34 seconds to reach the 89 th floor from the 5 th floor.
The 89 th floor deck is covered with glass to allow you a view of the city and beyond from all sides. It was a cloudy day when I went so that, along with the thick glass cover for the viewing areas, did not make it a day for good city photos.
But it is not just about photos - it is a sight not to be missed and marvelled. The 101 dwarfs all other high rises in the city. Roads of all sizes skirt through the densely packed buildings and here are there, there are patches of green. And then, in the distant, rise mountains covered by the clouds.
A walk up to the 91 st floor should not missed, either, provided the floor is opened to the public. One cannot miss the mass damper in the 88 th and then I came back to the 5 th floor.
Taiwan Trip - Lunch at Din Tai Fung Lunch
Earlier, on my way to the Tower's elevator I had noticed a large queue lined up outside a store; initially, I had assumed that to be the entrance to the Tower's ticketing office but after a closer look I realized it was the branch of the world-famous steam dumpling restaurant Din Tai Fung. This was on my bucket list because of its rich history and fame.
The restaurant was opened by a couple early seventies when it was forced to find a new way to survive after changing market conditions affected their cooking oil business.
Almost fifty years later, this has become a global empire with branches in the far flung corners of the earth and has earned such accolades as a 1 Michelin Star restaurant status for one of its branches in Hongkong, "one of the world's top ten restaurants" by the New York Times etc.
Fortunately for me, when I came down from my tour to the top of the Tower, I saw that the lineup had vanished and I could just walk into the restaurant. How lucky!
The Din Tai Fung Dining Experience
The first dish to be ordered was a no brainer: steamed dumplings. I also ordered spicy cucumbers and sticky rice.
Tasting the dumpling is a tricky affair - the gelatinized meat broth turns into liquid as it is steamed inside the fine wheat flour encasing and it will be piping hot.
One of the best things in this restaurant is the postcard sized guide on how to enjoy the steam dumplings. The card suggests to poke a hole in the dumpling to let the broth spill and cool down.
However, it appears that there is no one 'right' way to enjoy these steam dumplings. Another method often prescribed is to take the dumpling in a spoon and bite off the top. Once it has cooled down a little bit, suck the broth and then eat the rest.
I decided to go with the guidebook in the restaurant.
Needless to say, the dumplings were fantastic; the meat was of the right consistency and the broth, hot though it was, rightly delicious - all enclosed in a fine, thin wrapping that was a piece of artwork, with delicate folds.
The restaurant has a partial open kitchen concept for guests to see how the dumplings are made. A tireless work indeed.
The service was very friendly and professional and, to top it off, the bill was not that fat either.
It was time to return to the hotel.
In the evening I enjoyed the hotel lounge and its ample food to end my Day 2 of the Taiwan Trip.
Here is a video of my Day 2 of Taiwan Trip.
