Taipei, Taiwan

And we’re off!  New day and new country!  Today it’s Taipei, Taiwan where we boarded our frilly motor coach to see the city.  

Our first stop was the National Chiang Kai-she Memorial Hall which was built in 1980 to honor the republic’s former president who led the nationalists out of Mainland China during the 1949 Communist takeover.  It is surrounded by a green park with twin pagoda-like structures that house the National Theater and the National Concert Hall.

Taipei 101

Our next stop was Taipei101, the skyscraper with 101 stories and a height, including the spire, of 1,667 feet . At the time of its official opening in October 2004, it was the world’s tallest building and held that record only until the 2009 completion of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, UAE. Upon completion, it became the world's first skyscraper to exceed a height of half a kilometer. Taipei 101 is the tallest building in Taiwan. 

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It also held the Guinness World Record for the fastest elevator that transports passengers from the 5th to the 89th floor in 37 seconds (attaining 37.7 mph).

The observation deck was on the 89th floor and decorated with photo opportunities at every turn (in addition to the view of the city

below).