Taipei Day 5

This was our last day in Taiwan, as our flight was scheduled at 0745 the next day. We both wanted to do some shopping as there wasn't much left to do in Taipei by then.

We slept in again before getting up for a late breakfast. We decided to have some dumplings from a shop that we walked pass everyday. Funny thing was, each time we walk pass, we'll tell ourselves - "Let's have it tonight"- for the last 4 nights. So, we decided to have it for breakfast on our last day :) coz otherwise we might never have it at all!

Dumplings

The dumplings were fantastic! It is boiled to cook with chicken/pork stock and then served dry in a bowl. There was several types of dumplings, but we got the prawn fillings for the morning. It was absolutely gorgeous! Now we know how the shop sustains on only selling dumplings. They sell nothing else, not even noodles with the dumplings. If you wanted any noodles or other food, you'll need to order it from the other shops nearby. The stall's just 5 minutes walk from Shuang Lian MRT Station, on the same row as Starbucks, between it and a bakery shop. They sell in tens, so bring a friend if y0u're not hungry! It's ranges about NTD 80 to NTD 120 for ten dumplings. *We ended up getting take away dumplings for dinner that night too, that's how good these dumplings are! :D*

She's like a machine - she wraps 1 every 3 seconds or so
*Certain dumplings were sold out by 830 p.m*

From here, we left for 2-28 Memorial Museum. The museum wasn't on my list of places to go in Taipei, but after reading through it again on LP the night before, I decided that it was worth a visit. Somehow, a friend's fascination with history when we were in Germany has rubbed off on me, and I'm starting to appreciate such museums.

2-28 Memorial Museum, located within the 2-28 Memorial Park, which is located above MRT NTU Station, was opened to public in 1997 to commemorate the victims of the 2-28 incident, a highly significant event in Taiwan's history.

How true....

The 2-28 Incident:

On 27th February 1947, a cigarette vendor was accused of selling contraband cigarettes by Monopoly Bereau Officials who then proceeded to confiscate her cigarettes, hitting her on the head with a pistol rendering her unconscious and bleeding when she begged for leniency. The peddler was a forty year old lady, Lin Chiang Mai. An angry crowd saw what happened, and already frustrated with the government at that time (when the Nationalist government took over Taiwan after the Japanese era - political corruption, economic depression and crime rates were increased by 28 folds within a year) , retaliated and fights were started. Alarmed, one of the guards shot and killed one of the locals, which angered the crowd even more.

The event is aka The Terrifying Inspection

The angry crowd then proceded to the police station and Taipei military headquarters and demanded for an explanation/solution but was given none. Fueled with anger and frustrations, fights broke out and a demonstration was held in front of the Taiwan's Provincial Administrative Executive Headquarters. Military guards present at that time fired with their weapons and killed dozens. This brought on more chaos and soon, the entire city was out of controlled with riots, fightings and the government declared martial law.

Picture of the demonstration as drawn by a student

Vicious killings of innocent people occured at this time, the picture above depicting the scenario at Keelung Harbour during the time. Prisoners were tied to each other on their ankles and hands with barb wires and were shot one by one before falling off into the sea. I think there was one survivor of that, where he was saved when the person in front of him, was shot and dragged him into the ocean.

That was a dark period in the Taiwanese history. To date, it is still difficult to make an accurate estimate of the number of deaths, but a rough figure of 200,000 bullets were fired allowing for a rough estimate.

A poet wrote of the incident:

"There... like a corpse on the street
I lay on the ground.
The sun scorched my life
The cold night froze my spirit.
Oh, I truly died a death that day."

There is a Mourning and Rememberance area on the 2nd floor of the museum to remember all those who fell victims in the incident.

*This is a recollection of what I have read in the museum plus brochures. Please feel free to correct me if there is any mistakes*

We spent more than an hour in the museum and yet, there was still so much to read. But we didn't have that much time, so we went and visit the park instead and took plenty of pictures :). I needed a bit of the sun to brighten up my day after that.

There were people practising Tai-Chi & Kung Fu there! :D

2-28 Memorial Monument

I am sure the hand prints at the 4 sides of the structure symbolises something :). It definitely is some piece of monument. Pretty, minimalist, stands out. I liked it.

@ 2-28 Peace Memorial Park Grounds

We decided to head towards one more spot before lunch & shopping and settled on Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall. I saw the hall when we were on the bus to Yehliu the other day and remembered telling myself that if I would visit it if I had the time. The opportunity arised :D.

We didn't spend that much time here, as the place was crowded and I think there was some sort of high school dance competition that was being held in the afternoon that day. Plus, my brain wasn't that cooperative in absorbing anymore information for that day.

I'll just let the pictures do the talking.

@ Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall

This was cute! :D

I suppose the guards aren't suppose to move at all while they're on duty. So this other gentleman would have to help him wipe off his sweat or something. Not something we'll see everyday. Hehehe

Sun Yat Sen statue

Taipei 101 at the background

Chung Shan Stone Tablets

We left not too long after that, but not before we had lunch at the basement of the hall. Not too bad for a small fast food shop. Itwas either that, or the buffet lunch on the 2nd floor.

Now, we're in for some shopping! :D We started off at Breeze Centre, 10-15 minutes walk from Zhongxiao Fuxing MRT station. Bought a few things, bummed at Starbucks, and left soon after as there wasn't that much to see. Headed back to Ximending for a different type of shopping, but not any less enjoyable.

Xi Men MRT Station

We were there till dinner time before deciding to give ourselves a treat and took a cab back to the hotel :). A great choice indeed! As we were passing by some shops on our way home, we were just commenting on how much restaurants and food stalls there was, and before we know it, our taxi driver started recommending all sorts of food and soon, he was driving us to the restaurant and waited while we got take away. He also found out that I was looking for a place to get good pineapple cakes, and recommended another shop for us which wasn't too far from the place where we got our takeaway dinner, and waited while we bought the cakes :D. All for no commission. And the cab fare wasn't that all expensive too at the end of everything! :)).

For anyone who wants a cab driver in Taipei, he can be contacted on tsairoger@hotmail.com or
+886-933-882-711. *No, he didn't pay us for any advertising but we just felt that he was a pretty nice person* Btw, he used to work in Hong Kong previously, so his Cantonese and English command is pretty decent too :).

Our take away dinner (s) :P
Dumplings, meat-filled bum, sticky rice & soup.

This was yummyss....

The stall that sold the dumpling, bun, sticky rice & soup was actually located down the road from our hotel. Perhaps a 20-30 minute walk I suppose. When we left in the morning the next day, the stall was still open!! *That was about 5 a.m*

Just for the fun of it, the picture below are of our breakfast the next day in the airport. At some teahouse, just to the left of the immigration.

My beef noodles

M's meal

Sweeten beancurd with groundnuts

That was the end of our 5 days in Taipei. Kaoshiung and Taichung will be my other places to go the next time :).