On our first day we went to the town of Danshui and the fishermen's wharf. Most of our destinations would start by getting on the MRT (Mass Rapid Transit). Here is Stacey's first trip on the MRT.
One of our first stops was to a foot massage parlor. Before our foot massages we soaked our feet in warm yellow water which smelled like sulfur. Not sure exactly what it was.
Foot massages in Taiwan are not the traditional foot massages you would receive in the States when getting a pedicure or body massage. The goal of the massage is not to feel good but, to improve your health. Foot Reflexology involves pressing reflex areas on the feet. These areas correspond to organs and systems of the body (shown on diagram below). Would you like to learn more about Foot Reflexology? Please visit the following site: www.reflexology-research.com/whatis.htm
A few minutes into our foot massage we discovered that is was rather painful. When I asked Stacey how her massage was she responded with the following facial expression...
Nothing a little ice cream can't fix!
This is a very popular ice cream on the boardwalk. During peak business hours the ice cream vendor will try to make a tower of ice cream as high as they can without it collapsing onto itself.
Here is Stacey's first Taiwanese meal. It comes with chicken as the main dish, a side of cold noodles, cold pickled vegetables, rice, fish dumplings and sweet beans.
After lunch we walked to the Fisherman's Wharf. On the way, we ran into some pigs.
Aren't these little pigs cute?
Our walk to the Fisherman's Wharf was a bit longer than we had anticipated. When we arrived we discovered that the Wharf is pretty dead on Tuesdays in the middle of the afternoon. There was very little activity and it was a little disappointing.
This is Lovers Bridge. It is a local hang out for hormone raging teens. Just kidding, it received its name because construction of the bridge started on February 14, 2003.
Stacey found out that the moisture in the air did not bode well with her flip flops and we needed to stop to get some band aids for a temporary fix.
After her first day of walking in flip-flops Stacey would resort to my fashionable running shoes and socks touristy look for the remainder of her trip.
After our visit to Danshui, we headed back to the apartment. Since it was a relatively clear day we went to the top of Taipei 101 (currently the world's tallest building).
To get to the observation area, we were anticipating a very long elevator ride. However, Taipei 101 also has the world's fastest elevators. To climb 89 stories, we were in the elevator for 36 seconds.
Here is a view from the observation deck on the 91st floor.
Some people have commented that all of my pictures look a bit hazy. That is not haze or dirt on my lens, it is just that humid.
I was able to find our apartment from one of the viewing angles. I was trying to point it out to Stacey but, it was nearly impossible to explain... "See that building? Now look across the street to the other building and three buildings South of that... See it?"
Would you like to know more about the world's tallest sky scrapers? Please visit the following link to see a diagram of sky scrapers lined up against one another as well as those currently being built. http://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?1178316
Being on the 91st floor was pretty amazing but it did not sink in how high I was until I saw the following view:
This is the stair well down to the bottom of the building. It looks like an endless journey. Almost like I was inside a M.C. Escher painting (1941-1954 period) www.mcesher.com.
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