Our taxi ride from Ruifang Station took us about 30 minutes and from afar, we could already see the tall Taipei 101 building standing out from Taipei city. We were told to start taking photos of it while on our way because we would not be able to fit the entire building into a photograph when we reached there; that would be how tall Taipei 101 was.

Upon entering Taipei 101, our first objective was to find a place for dinner, since we were already getting hungry after a long day at Pingxi Line. We settled for an eatery serving Japanese steamboat in a food court there. (now no longer in operation)

About Taipei 101, although it is a building with 101 floors, the indoor observatory is on the 89th floor. There was one outdoor one on the 91st floor but it is opened only at certain times. It was the tallest building in Taiwan and in 2012, was the second tallest building (from ground to pinnacle) in the world after the building in Dubai.

Arriving at the ticket counters, we promptly bought the tickets and joined in the queue towards the lift. According to the signboards, backpacks were not allowed at the observatory but when I checked with the staff, they were alright with our backpack.

The queue was short, since it was already near closing time. Before we got to the lift, there was a cameraman standing by to help take a photo of us. They would photoshop it with the Taipei 101 background and we could view them before leaving the observatory later. We could decide then if we wanted to buy one for memento. (We did buy one later)

We were ushered into the elevator, with a staff explaining how fast this elevator would go and how little time it would take to reach the top. True enough, with a screen showing the current position of our lift, it took merely 45 seconds for us to reach the 89th floor! Except for slight blockage of the ears, which we need to swallow our saliva to equalize the pressure, it was quite enjoyable with dim lighting and soothing music.

As the door opened, the iconic Taipei 101 mascot was in front of us, with the breathtaking night view of Taipei city unveiling behind it.

We had been to observatories in other countries before Dar was born, so it was not such a new experience to us. It was Dar’s first time but he seemed to be more interested in moving around the place and checking out the various exhibits.

There was a Taiwan Dollars design exhibit in a part of the place and other artistic/cultural exhibits around so visitors could also learn a little of Taiwanese culture or history.

Cat: We kept looking at the different parts of the observatory which was a huge place and even bought an ice-cream (not cheap but delicious!) to eat while resting on the benches provided. It was a nice place to relax, looking at the city below us. Our initial thought of checking out the shopping areas of Taipei 101 was thrown away as we were too tired after the whole day of train travel (Pingxi Line Railway Tour).

Soon, an announcement was made, informing the visitors that the observatory was closing. We did not really mind since we had already taken a good look of the night views and had photos taken. We were also dead tired after a long day, so we flagged a cab and returned to our hotel for a good night’s rest.

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Travel Period : 30th Oct – 6th Nov 2012

Taiwan 2012: Day 5 Taipei Itinerary

• Taipei Railway Station to Ruifang (瑞芳) on PingXi 平溪 line
• Houtong (侯硐)
• Shifen (十分)
• Pingxi (平溪)
• Taipei 101

Read More on Taiwan Itinerary 2012: 8-day Taiwan Itinerary (Chiayi, Taipei, Hualien, Nantou)

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