Roaming Potato: National Palace Museum, Xi Men Ding

Panoramic view of the majestic National Palace Museum

Oooo..woke up with sore feet. We kinda got tired with fish ball noodles and decided to settle for burgers instead. After a satisfying breakfast, we headed off to the National Palace Museum. One of the five best museums in the world, with a collection that totals more than 700,000 bronzes, jades, shell-and-bone writings, paintings, and calligraphy works ranging from the Neolithic Age through the end of the Qing Dynasty. Opening hours: 8:30AM - 6:30PM (365 days). Entrance fee: Regular admission is NTD160, foreign student with valid international ID is NTD 80.

To get there: Alight at Shilin Station (Tamsui Line), then take bus Red 30, 304, 255, 815, Little 18 or Little 19, to the museum.

Oh, don't forget to pack some lunch with you, just in case you'll get really, terribly, extremely hungry during the tour. Miss madame here is a perfect example.

Grabbed some lunch at Sushi Take-out. Don't worry, they are everywhere in Taipei.

Map of the National Palace Museum. I suggest you dump the map and follow the crowd. Hah!! ^ ^

Main gate to the museum. See those people covering their faces with bags, darn sunny O.O''

We've got tickets!!

Upon entrance to the building, we saw people with ear plugs and small hand-held devices. Apparently the museum provides audio tour services, available in Mandarin Chinese, English, Japanese and Korean versions. Cost of rental is NTD100. There are also free guided tours in Chinese and English at certain times.

Photography is prohibited in the exhibition hall. Apologies for not posting photos of the exhibits. Don't cry :(((

Ok, some of the notable, treasured items include: the "Jadeite Cabbage", "Meat-shaped Stone", "Palace version"of the Along the River During the Qingming Festival, and the "Carved Olive-stone Boat".

There were two down sides during this tour. 1) The whole museum was mobbed by loud Chinese tourist, tour groups just came flooding in one after another. 2) My feet was darn sore, literally dragged them across the floor. Had to kneel down to admire those exhibits. Opps, not very lady like then.

In a nutshell, the artistic masterpieces displayed are simply one of its kind. The best and most treasured collection of Chinese artifacts and artworks in the world.

View of Tianxiaweigong Archway from the main building

Wow, it did not occurred to us that time passed so fast, spent four hours touring the four-storey building. If it hadn't been for my growling stomach, we would have stayed longer.

Had sushi at this nearby park

Next, we collected our tickets to Hualien at Taipei Main Train Station, then adjourned to Wufenpu. To get there: Alight at Houshanpi Metro Station, then take Exit 1 (Wufenpu Commercial Zone) and walk north along Jhongpo N. Road to the intersection of Jhongpo N. Rd and Yongji Rd.

Wufenpu 五分埔

This is the so-called "shopping heaven" where people could buy clothing at a very low price. From my experience, most of the goods are made in China, some cloths have no price tags, I have no idea how to get about bargaining and the prices appeared to be as costly as ZARA's. Although Raohe Night Market 饶河夜市 is 2km away, we decided to adjourn to Ximending 西门町, the biggest shopping district in Taipei.

To get there: Take MRT to Ximen Metro Station, then follow exit 6.

This is the first thing you'll see upon exit, people flocking into every store, even on a Monday night

I'm don't know the exact name in English, but this is basically stuffing (e.g. maze, cheese, pork floss etc.) wrapped in roti cannai. It sure is yummy~ ~ ~

Beware of this lady. Notice the absence of a price label?

I'm not a fan of roasted maze, but decided to try one since it's so popular in Taiwan. The next thing I knew, it costed us NTD140 for two. *Jaw dropped* First bite was dry, salty and burned, had to force myself to finish the whole stick. I do not hold any grudge on this lady, but please think twice before you buy any maze from her.