Taipei 101

Yesterday I hit some of the local sights. First I went to Longshan Temple...here are a few photos of the place:

Note this business located across the street from the temple. I think it was a coffee shop, but I'm not 100% sure. I see many shops where I can't figure out what is bought/sold/done there.

Here is the Chaing Kai-shek Menorail. It looks like something you might make out of legos.

Finally, here is the approach to Taipei 101, the word's tallest building. At least at present; I think there is a building being constructed in Dubai that will be taller. The problem with playing the "word's tallest building" game is that you will eventually lose, sometimes in a suprisingly short amount of time.

I paid about $10 to zip up to the 89th floor in an elevator that travels at about 30 miles per hour. Here's a view from the top (the day was cloudy, and the windows a bit dirty, so the image isn't the clearest).

In the center of the 89th floor, they had this room where you can go and see the "damper baby" (their name), a giant passive damping system designed to reduce swaying in the building by about 40%. It's a giant steel spheroid suspended from the 91st floor, weighing in at about 660 tons.

There's a giant mall at the bottom of Taipei 101. As you go up in floor number, the stores become more exclusive. On the 5th floor they where showing off some Ferraris/Maseratis at some sort of sales show. Some of the cars where $400,000US, but I hear that they throw in the throbbing techno soundtrack they were playing at the show for free.

Outside, on the ground floor, Toyota was showing off a new model of the Corrola.

I ate dinner in the food court of Taipei 101 and paid about $5-6US, the most I've paid for a meal since I arrived. I also ate at Mister Donut again, eating a strange (but tasty) green donut. And, at the Night Market, I ate a shrimp pancake thing (covered in tomato sauce) that made up for it's lack of flavor by adding extreme sliminess.

I also played some more claw machines, winning a bunch of key chains and a few (small) stuffed animals.

Finally, here's what's dominating the news around here lately.....