DAY 1: In Taipei

Sunday morning, I went to church and attended the only mass in which I said only 2 words(loudly): Amen and Alleluia! After that, Benny officially became my tour guide as we went to see Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. 

We went up the stairs and saw the statue of the ROC previous president, Chiang Kai-shek, sitting on the chair. We were lucky because we entered just right at the performance (or ceremony?) time. This is what's inside:

The armed guards came to the center to give a salutation to the statue. After that, they played around with their bayonet rifles, rotating the rifles in very stiff manner. At some point, they rotated the rifles with only 1 hand and tremendous speed (considering the weight and size of the rifle), that was very cool! I should've recorded it. The show was also funny because they seemed to be the most inefficient walker I've ever seen! They took maybe 5 min to return to their original spots, trying their best to walk as stiff as robot and making loud noise by stamping their feet. 

So, what's in the ground floor??

There are cool old man cars, and a lot more of stuffs related to the president. Hmmm... I'm not going to replace wikipedia and google job by explained everything inside the museum but basically we can find out the history circulating the president here:)

Next, we went to the tallest tower in the world! (per November 2009). There are more than one "world ...-est" title given to this skyscraper, e.g. fastest elevator which can take 1 group of people to level 89 in less than 40 sec, largest mass damper which helps the tower to sustain strong wind like typhoon and earthquake. 

This golden ball is actually a giant pendulum that will counter the forces cause by wind or earthquake. In English, it helps the tower to be stable. 

On the left is the Taipei 101 photo taken from the shopping complex below with my phone camera. The design is like a bamboo to symbolize growth. In the new year eve, they shoot the fireworks from each side of the tower and it looks fabulous(i watched the video). Wish that I can see it later. ^0^.

In the late afternoon, we went to Hsinchu, the place where I'd be picked up the next day. We stayed in Benny's rented room and AIESEC people visited me there to brief me about the internship. They are very warm people. Hope too see you all soon!

I also saw their university which is a huge one. And in front of the uni, there is this thing:

Buy the "God" in this temple his favorite can drink from the vending machine beside, and you will do well in your exam. (that's only a story ok?)

DAY 0: Arrival

I arrived at the airport on Saturday night with some delay (as usual, airasia) and was welcomed by two guys. Benny and A...chung or tjung or qung, something like that, a muscular guy with a baby face(i didn't say that, someone else did). Both of them are AIESEC volunteer. Looking at them,st I think it's quite fun to do that kind of job, welcoming foreigner and share about our country. 

I stayed in Benny's appartment for 1 night. The house is modest, yet so homey, cozy, and aesthetic. I slept in a seemingly japanese style room. Too bad, i didn't manage to take any pic there.. and did not have the chance to know Benny's sister. Just kidding!