Taipei Finale: Snippets

I see that I never quite finished our family vacation to Taiwan last January. So here are some final snippets.

Quick scene: She squatted, face down, just outside the labyrinth of airline passengers waiting for boarding passes.  The woman, wearing a wide-brimmed hat and a long, dark, star-spangled coat, waited for her (apparent) husband to reach the ticket counter,where she quickly moved to join him. We wondered how it was possible for the airline agent to match her passport photo to the face hidden under all the plastic surgeon’s bandages.

A panoramic view of Liberty Plaza, with memorials for former Taiwan leader Chaing Kai Shek.

The stately buildings around Liberty Plaza were populated with small groups of students
practicing dances and doing other arts.  No adults were apparent.

Our Park City Hotel room featured a large picture window between the bedroom and bathroom.
Nick is pictured in the bathroom here; Elisabeth and I are reflected in the window.  Very glad there was a shade.

This cart with plastic greeters warmly welcomed us to the hotel's elevator lobby.

Lovely painted details; similar colors as Korean temple but a different style.

Giant plastic reindeer on a see-saw.  Call it art.

Taiwanese money is gorgeous.

Watch out for accidents! 

That is one creepy face.  And really old artwork.

Funny Place Names: How to Get Teenagers to Read Map.  

Lovely black sand castles.  In January.  

We dug faster than this sand crab and got his picture as a reward.  

Even tiny villages had elaborate temples.  This one also had a modern, scrolling text sign above its door .

Now that we've visited Taiwan, I have officially been to 4% of the countries in the world (Nick scores in the 22% range). Look at your own map here: http://www.travbuddy.com/maps/6821483.  :)