Travel writing - Taipei is the capital city of Taiwan, and is known perhaps most prominently for its famous landmark skyscraper, Taipei 101.

Authors Avatar

1) Writing to Inform: Create a Wanderlust Blueprint for Taipei or Taiwan

Taipei is the capital city of Taiwan, and is known perhaps most prominently for its famous landmark skyscraper, Taipei 101. There’s a multi-level shopping mall adjoined to the tower, containing hundreds of fashionable stores, restaurants, and clubs. Being the bookworm that I am, I visit Page One first, a huge bookstore with both Chinese and English books. After that, I decide to treat myself to a shopping spree - after all, I am on vacation. When I’m through, I decide to visit the observatory on the 89th floor. I’d read somewhere that the observatory elevators here are the fastest in the world, capable of traveling from the fifth floor to the 89th floor in just 37 seconds. I squeeze into a crowded elevator and set my stopwatch. Exactly 37 seconds later, the doors open with a ping. Wow. Maybe I can get one of these for my apartment. Then I hear the tour guide informing a group of Japanese tourists that each elevator costs US$2.4 million. On second thought, I think I’ll scratch that idea.

Join now!

Simply put, the view is amazing. There’s no other way to say it. I take advantage of the fact that the observatory offers a full, undivided, 360 degree view, and take several panorama pictures. I dally at the gift shop for a couple of minutes, inwardly debating whether or not I should spend NT$1500 on an I’VE BEEN TO TAIPEI 101 t-shirt. In the end, I purchase it anyway, after managing to convince myself that NT$1500 is not that expensive for a souvenir shirt.

I proceed to visit the National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. It’s an incredible monument that was erected in ...

This is a preview of the whole essay