Fun Taiwan Chapter 5 - Taipei 台北101

Taipei 101 (台北101) is one of the tallest building in the world; the tower has served as an icon of modern Taiwan ever since its opening. Due to it's popularity, we also visited the tower's observatory while we were there in Taipei.


Taipei 101 features an Indoor Observatory on the 89th floor and an Outdoor Observatory on the 91st floor. Both observatories provide tourists a 360-degree breathtaking views of Taipei city.


We only managed to enter the indoor observatory deck. The admission for the indoor observatory was NT$350 per person. A separate ticket of NT$100 is required for visiting the outdoor observation deck, which is touted as the world's highest outdoor deck.


The steel yellowish pendulum (I call it big ball) in the photos above serves as a tuned mass damper, the ball sways to offset movements in the building caused by strong wind (if you know that Taiwan is prone to high winds from typhoons as well as earthquakes). It is the largest damper sphere in the world, and it is also the one and only damper sphere which is visible to visitors (tall buildings like KLCC usually have a damper sphere installed to offset movements in the building). Therefore, the Taiwanese are very proud of it :)


Here's how to get to Taipei 101 Observatory by MRT:
1) Get off at City Hall Station (Blue Line).
2) You can either catch a Taxi to take to there which will usually costs less than NT$100 or you can walk from the MRT station to Taipei 101 following the google map attached. It is just 10-15 mins walk from the station.


View Larger Map

Here is the MRT map for your reference:


Click on the map to view the full size image.

Melbourne 3rd Revisit: St. Patrick's Cathedral

On the 1st day we arrived Melbourne, we visited one of the oldest church in the city - St. Patrick's Cathedral. It's Mother Church of the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne and one of the architectural glories of Melbourne. It is located in the CBD of Melbourne and is just 10 mins walk from the Parliament house of Melbourne.





As Melbourne is also known as the garden city, so after we visited St. Patrick's Cathedral, we also visited a garden close to the church - Fitzroy Garden. Here are some photos taken in Fitzroy Garden.

There is a very famous building in Fitzroy Garden - Cook's Cottage, a memorial to Captain James Cook.

But we did not go in as we have been there before, plus you need to pay AUD3 per entry. So we just shot some photos right next to it :-\


Traveling in Melbourne City is easy as the government of Melbourne provides very good and most importantly FREE shuttle city circle service (bus and tram).

How to get there:
1. Hop on to a free city circle tram (http://www.metlinkmelbourne.com.au/route/view/1112) and stop at the Parliament House at Spring Street.

2. Walk from Parliament House to St. Patrick's Cathedral. Please follow the map below:


View Larger Map


3. If you are interested in visiting Fitzroy Garden (http://www.fitzroygardens.com/), please follow the map below:


View Larger Map

Here is a map of Melbourne CBD for sharing. It highlights free city circle tram and bus routes.

Get well soon popo

It has been 5 days since the operation. The operation was successful but popo refuses to wake up (she is still unconscious). Wake up and get well popo, you are a great fighter, and we are so proud of you. God, may you bless our popo :(



Updated 16th Nov, 2010.
Popo is leaving us... and she leaves with a smile on her face. She is going to heaven, a place that is full of happiness and blessing. Thank you for everything you have done to us, epspecially for looking after me and bringing me up when I was little. We love you, we miss you popo and we will pray for you. RIP popo :'(