Established in 1988, the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts houses collections and works by Taiwanese artists. The artwork ranges from traditional Taiwanese art, contemporary art to modern art. It was temporarily closed for renovation in 1999 due to the damage caused by the 921 earthquake and reopened in July 2004. Since then the museum began to showcase digital art related exhibitions, events and forums. Below are videos of place from my IG story.
Upon visiting the art museum, you’ll chance upon two shops that sells mostly art related supplies, books, trinkets, and a lot more. The choices were endless. The one that I wanted to purchase was a Van Gogh merch and an Alphonse Mucha item but it was so pricey so I didn’t bother to get it but when I visit again. I might.
The Alphonse Mucha items on display in the NMoFA store.
The Museum also has an art library, cafeteria and areas for kids and teachers. The whole area measures 102,000 square meters making it the largest art museum in Asia. It’s a great place to visit and explore because of the endless display of artworks that were definitely a feast to the eyes.
Take note, I did not show too much photos of the artworks displayed in the museum since for some collections, the artist would not allow to take a photo of it. I believe it is because many people take photos of artworks for social media when they visit a museum and never fully grasp the meaning and some would just read the description then take a photo. Artwork whether traditional or digital takes long hours to do and some artists would finish their work for as long as two years so I guess it’s also a sign of disrespect if you just take a photo of works of art and think it’s aesthetically pleasing. I remember back in college when I took a life drawing class, we were going to imitate my professor’s work. He neatly displayed it in-front but we can’t all see it especially at the back row. It’s like a dot to us so we all started taking a photo of the artwork and he just go really angry and said that if we want to draw it. We should come forward.. yeah.. I guess my prof was a camera hater loljk but I would always vividly remember that scene so I was always careful if I would take a photo of artworks in museum.
Either way, it’s 2020 and we are in a technologically driven world. We’re stuck in quarantine and some museums are having virtual tours. Maybe soon it won’t be a big thing taking photos of works of art. Anyway, It is better to visit the place, it’s definitely worth it.
Address No.2, Sec. 1, Wuquan W. Rd., West Dist., Taichung City
Transportation:
From Taipei, you can ride a bus or Train (TRA) going to Taichung. For more information, you can check this link here. Taxi is also a good option if you’re crunch for time. Note that it’ll be too expensive though.
If you’re in Taichung:
Travel to TRA Taichung Station → Taichung City Bus (No. 71, 75, or 89) to National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts
As if my blog posts did not need any more topics about Taiwan. I realized I frequently travel to this country a lot because it’s near the Philippines and it’s one of my favorite places to visit but I noticed that I’ve been experiencing some strange events in my travels lately. Months ago I went to Hong Kong where we almost bumped into a group of rallyists and now I traveled to another country during a pandemic.
I figured I would share my experience when I travelled to Taiwan back in March 2020. Let’s jump back to before the lockdown happened. I was fortunate enough to travel to Taiwan aside from a few stressful hotel and flight reschedules here and there. Me and my friends booked our flight to Taiwan last September 2019 and then we booked our hotel in January 2020– months before the Coronavirus outbreak happened.
When the Coronavirus outbreak became critical back in late February our flight inevitably had multiple reschedules and cancellations from the airline. I cannot even count how many reschedules we had and cancellations we faced. Due to this one of our friends gave up because she was scared to fly not only because of the virus but also because her employer is requiring her to be self-quarantined for 14 days if she returns back to Manila. Stress added when the Philippine government issued a travel ban to Taiwan and if we had to leave the country we needed to be quarantined for 14-days. Thankfully the travel ban to Taiwan has been lifted since they only had few cases of the virus compared to other countries.
Originally we booked our flight on March 17th, 2020 and the date was fast approaching. We thought that it was all well and done until my friend checked our flight days before and found out that it was cancelled, without announcements from the airline! Because on the date of our flight the government was issuing a lockdown and many people are scrambling to book airlines on or before that date. We panicked and had to thoroughly check airlines that had available flights for that date and well, there was none.
It was intense.
We wanted to leave the country and just travel for pleasure because we were stressed at work and wanted to enjoy and just have good food and see the best places. And yes, what we were doing was risking our lives, our family and friends were stopping us and sending us news about the virus and lockdown. It was an ‘Us against world’ kind of moment but since it’s already booked and me and my friend, knowing each other for so long doing the craziest things ever since high school, we decided to push through with it.
Before, doing this was stress-free but now what we were going through was utter hell. I had to cancel a hotel booking for the second time and me, being superstitious, thought that traveling there might not be meant to be with all the cancellations we were facing and stress we were going through with refunds but we got through it with teamwork. We both agreed to reschedule the flight as early as March 15th, 2020 as with a sheer amount of luck my friend saw an available flight for that date. We finally departed from Manila and flew to Taiwan on the morning of March 15th, 2020.
Taiwan’s Preparedness:
Traveling with masks has become all new to me. The plane we were on had fewer people and what I found different was we were not only given an arrival card but also a health slip with questions such as, if you’ve been sick for the past few days. And if you don’t wear a mask throughout your travel in Taiwan you’ll be fined a big amount.
After arriving in Taiwan we headed towards the immigration and the first thing that greeted us was a team of airport security checking temperatures, asking questions about people’s travel history and if they had been sick for the last few months. They were all wearing face masks, had sanitizers on their table, and wore protective gear. The level of precautions taken in Taiwan is nothing like what I saw back in Manila. After giving the health slip to one of the officers, we had to go pass through a temperature check area then the immigration.
I noticed these signs on the elevators everywhere in the airport. They are really taking precautions in a whole other level.
Using Resources Such As Tech & Digital Platforms As Well As Learning From Past Experience:
Once we got out of the airport and rode a train to the city everybody was wearing face masks. From the hotel we stayed in, to the bus drivers, all of the citizens were wearing it.
In the MRT they were practicing social distancing, yeah, they would be close to each other in trains because of the seating but they would create a little gap especially in crowded areas.
And I was surprised that Taiwan had these cute posters of Shiba Inu’s being sick. One poster had a Shiba Inu sneezing and two of its friends are covering their faces with masks.
Even buildings in Taiwan are sanitized. This is in Taipei 101 I didn’t get to take a photo on the entrance which says “This building is sanitized every 2 hours” or somewhere along those lines.
Throughout my stay in Taiwan I got to learn why they handled the virus very well. I was always checking the news since there were rumors that Metro Manila is banning local and international flights.
Which means there’s a possibility for us to be stuck in Taiwan still, it remained very unclear to us as the news outlets were giving different kinds of information to the point that it got confusing as hell. So me, being anxious AF had to tune in to the news about Manila and Taiwan from time to time.
Anyway, I learned that the reason why Taiwan efficiently managed the Coronavirus was because they learned hard lessons from the 2003 SARS epidemic, from this experience the Taiwanese established a central command centre called the Centers for Disease Control (Taiwan) or in-short CECC for epidemics in case another outbreak might happen in the future.
Taiwan informed the World Health Organization (WHO) when they first learned that there had been a mysterious case of pneumonia emerging in Wuhan. They informed WHO through the International Health Regulations (IHR) a framework coordinated by WHO to let countries be informed of possible public health events but as WHO doesn’t consider Taiwan as a country since they’re part of the “One-China” principle they dismissed the claim. Oooof ~*Politics*~ i’m not going to further explain that my blog post will get longer…moving on~ 😜
Another fact is that Taiwan is also well known for its impressive health care system. All of these reasons are why they were able to proactively inform their citizens of measurements to take to prevent the virus using online platforms and digital media ads. You’ll definitely be informed no doubt. That cute Shiba Inu poster definitely made me remember to wear a mask, use alcohol every now and then, and cover my mouth when I sneeze. Due to their preparedness and urgency in handling the crisis they’re ahead of other countries in preventing the virus which is why as of this writing they currently have 429 cases.
Teamwork & Collaborative Effort:
You also have to notice their citizens participation. At the hotel we were staying at I noticed the front lobby was frequently watching the news, well I notice most of the Taiwanese were. Not many people go out and the buses in the city were mostly empty except for the train station though. Throughout all this the Taiwanese citizens are well informed and follow executive orders. Think about it. If citizens won’t listen then what would happen? Despite the measurements Taiwan is doing, it will be worthless if their people aren’t following orders to help combat the virus. So yeah, teamwork, collaborative effort and fighting the Coronavirus as a nation is what I’ve noticed also. And their President, Tsai Ing-wen is very hands-on.
Side note: Now I just noticed this but I find President Tsai Ing-wen’s name very interesting. Her name in Chinese characters is read as 蔡英文 the last two Chinese characters 英文 (yīng wén) literally translates to English, correct me if i’m wrong. So her last name would mean ‘English’? I guess? I just find it very cool and amusing.
While we were on one of our trips to Shifen surprisingly there were other nationals taking the tour and the bus was full. In the middle of the tour our Klook tour guide announced that Malaysia and Singapore had already issued a lockdown at that time since we were traveling with Malaysian nationals. We were worried ourselves as there were rumors that Taiwan is banning foreign nationals from entering the country due to the impact of the virus and people are not allowed to leave the country. It was also at that day where it was announced that travel to and from Metro Manila is suspended.
My anxiety was rising through the roof with all the news we’ve been reading so we decided to reschedule our flight back to Manila on March 19th, 2020. Me and my friend were worried because what if we were stuck there until the ban had been lifted? We did have two options if that were to happen but I was still having second thoughts as while it was okay with me being stuck there because I’m unemployed I was worried for my friend who has a job. What if she gets fired because she couldn’t travel back to Manila?
There was a time where we had accepted our fate of staying for a month if that would ever happen. Another thing happened, by another sheer amount of luck our hotel room was upgraded. We each get our own room it was then that we were at the point where we were enjoying yummy Taiwanese food, the cold weather and a tour that we wanted to stay a little longer so me and my friend decided to have a serious talk before deciding to reschedule our flight back to the original departure date which was March 22nd. With that being a sudden decision we couldn’t change the rescheduled flight as it’s already departing on the day we decided to change it. We had no choice but to travel back to Manila.
Right now at Taouyan, Taiwan 🇹🇼 airport before immigration. Just being here now makes you want to self-quarantine 😨😨😨 #COVID19 Tip: if you have a Taiwanese mobile number you can skip the massive queue by registering online via special app. pic.twitter.com/uQupSPPKlq
— Sky (TPE 🇹🇼, SG 🇸🇬, TKO 🇯🇵) (@famouslabs) March 18, 2020
At Taoyuan International Airport we encountered a long line at the arrivals area with airport security holding a sign that emphasized “Quarantine for 14 days”. Coincidentally it was the date where Taiwan announced that foreigners were banned from entering the country so people who just arrived in Taiwan were all scheduled to be self-quarantined. Out of curiosity when I got back to Manila, I ended up researching what happened to the people at the airport. Since we had difficulty getting transport back to our house as we landed early in the morning, the Philippine government wasn’t allowing transportations from 8 PM until 8 AM. So we had to excruciatingly wait at the airport tired and hungry.
Apparently, the Taiwan government partnered with hotels so that people who just arrived in Taiwan will stay there for quarantine, they have also partnered with private taxi’s to transport the visitors back to their house/their hotel. Along with this they’ve created a mobile phone-based “electronic fence” that uses location-tracking to help them track citizens who are quarantined and ensure that they stay in their homes. This does pose a privacy threat for other people as it feels like you’re every move is being watched but it’s the only thing that prevents the virus from spreading as of now.
Me and my friend at Taipei 101 ❤️
Well aside from that, we did have a lot of fun during our travel to Taiwan. It was my friend’s first international flight which is the reason why we went through with the flight. She loved Taiwan and is willing to go back again someday.
Leaving this cute little Corgi I found in a mall at Ximending. And another poster of Shiba Inus I took at their MRT station. Their obsession with Shiba Inus izzz reallll~~~
What about you guys how are you and how have you been coping during this quarantine period? I’ve heard that traveling this year won’t be possible and will merely be just a dream but that won’t stop travel bugs like us from preparing travel plans for the future. Any plans on where you want to travel in 2021? 🐱
Visiting Mao Kong was like the cherry on top for our Taiwan trip. You get to ride a Gondola heading towards the top of the Mountain. It reminds me of the Victoria Peak in Hong Kong.
Mao Kong is a quaint village located at the top of the Mountain, its spectacular view is perfect for drinking locally made tea which the place is widely known for.
I had to let someone take a photo of it because I literally didn’t want to look down.
You take a Gondola heading towards Mao Kong and there are two options Regular Cabins or the Crystal Cabins. The difference between the two is that the Crystal Cabin offers a 48mm thick glass sheet that could accommodate a maximum capacity of 5 passengers. The description itself brings a shiver down my spine. We ended up choosing the Crystal Cabin but I was super against it because the floor was transparent and I have a fear of heights but I had no choice.
As you ascend you get to admire a beautiful view of Taipei and you can spot the Taipei 101 tower too!
It was super cold once we got to the top, weirdly my phone connected to a Japanese wi-fi and I ended up on Google Japan while I was using it which was super outrageous since I’m in Taiwan. Coming from a tropical country, I was definitely not used to the cold. We were freezing and couldn’t take a proper photo so we had to buy those gloves that looked like they were for Motorcycles or something. Our breaths got foggy there too, amaze balls!
A photo of me freezing..also look at my sick gloves! :p
Since we got there at around lunch time we checked the area nearby where there was a place full of food stalls. There was one stall selling ice cream. This was outrageous for me well I guess since most people here are used to the cold they eat ice cream like a boss. Anyway, We ended up having noodles, the one that was similar to Ximending. After that we decided to explore the area more, we noticed that there was a mountain trail and they had a sign on where the trail starts but I didn’t take a photo of it since I know that we’re aren’t going to finish it anyway.
As you walk through Mao Kong village I was surprised by the endless array of Tea shops you could try. I wanted to visit one but most of it was wayyy expensive so we just walked around while enjoying the fresh air.
The Tianen Temple
You can find The Taipei Tea Promotion Center, this is a very interesting place to visit especially if you love Tea…like me! You can learn more about Tea production process here and they also offer free Tea. Though since we just learned about the building while we were there we decided to visit it next time. And that goes for the Taipei Zoo since we spent so much time walking around that it was already late so we decided to visit it next time with our friends maybe.
Beautiful views you’ll encounter while hiking Mao Kong
View while descending from Mao Kong
After MaoKong we then had dinner at Rainbow Hotel and this time we tried a buffet since it’s our last day. This was recommended by J.
We weren’t suppose to try it since it was a little expensive but we gave in because hey, it’s our last day in Taiwan. The menu isn’t limited to meat and seafood you can also have Häagen-Dazs Ice cream, cakes, fruits, also coffee and tea. Not bad.
Sexy meat being grilled…sorry I got hungry from blogging this
That’s it for our Taiwan 2017 Trip! I had a really fun time in Taiwan, I fell in love with the exciting night markets and the never-ending food adventures. I went back here on May 2018 stay tuned for more Taiwan posts! I’ll be ending this with Hello Kitty from Eva Air’s cute Sanrio lounge!
Can you spot Gudetama? The horrifyingly weirdly cute and lazy egg. lol
If you’re a nature lover, Yehliu Geopark is a must-visit! It’s located at the Wanli District of New Taipei. We took a bus from our hostel to Yehliu Geopark, we reached the place in an hour and a half. Before reaching the entrance you’ll be greeted with Taiwan’s majestic ocean and you’ll also be surprised at the endless seafood restaurants in every corner! I’d definitely go back here and try some of their seafood dishes.
We ate at one of the restaurants near Yehliu Geopark. We got a free big bowl of soup here just because the owner said they had excess soup of it so they gave it to us. The Taiwanese are really generous with their serving and are very kind.
Yehliu Geopark is famous for its eroded rock formations and also a very popular tourist spot in Taiwan. It was jam packed when we got there and I can see why as I have fallen in love with the place, It’s pretty magnificent. Did you know that this was previously covered by an ocean? I first saw this tourist spot on KBS’ Battle Trip where Shindong and Kim Senyeong were the contestants for the Taiwan vacation, they showed a different side of Taiwan that I never knew and after that I badly wanted to visit the country. I also got to watch Bolin Chen’s vlogs about Taiwan and it made me want to go even more!
It was a little rainy when we visited here so it got difficult to take some photos. The best time to visit this place is around September – November where the weather is pleasant, not too hot and not too cold. I’d avoid visiting here in the Summer as my co-worker went here during that time and he didn’t enjoy it because it was so hot and humid that he wanted to just get back on the bus.
We planned to go to Jiufen but due to the rain we had second thoughts about it but in the end we took a taxi going there since we couldn’t fit in our relatives’ car. Take note, it’s expensive going to Jiufen by taxi if you’re coming from Yehliu Geopark it will cost NT 1200 but since we had no choice we had to take one. I didn’t put Jiufen on my blog title because well…we didn’t last long as there were many tourists and it was raining so it was pretty much a hassle. We also had a hard time looking for the Ah Mei Teahouse, fret not though I’ll be posting about Jiufen in my future blog posts.
Once we arrived at Jiufen, we were greeted with this view. Look at that fog!
We were so obsessed with this! These are Taiwanese Tea Eggs and can be bought at 7-eleven and are perfect snacks for the the cold!
So cute!
There are a lot of Dogs guarding the stores in Jiufen, partly because it attracts customers.
Next up is Shilin Night Market, we got there at 9:30 pm and met up with our Taiwanese friend, J. He was able to help us tour around as he lives in Taipei and knows the place inside out. A good tip if you’re travelling is you have to know someone in the country you’re planning to travel. 😉
So I also knew how to go to Shilin Night Market because of Bolin’s vlog. LOLOL.
If you’re coming from Ximenting, from Ximen Station take the Bannan Line heading towards Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center Station then head towards the Taipei Main Station. From there, take the Tamsui-Xinyi Line towards Beitou Station then alight at Jiantan Station.
Keep in mind that Taipei has a train station that says “Shilin Station” do not go down there as it’s the back part.
Once you exit Jiantan Station, go to Exit 1 then diagonally cross the street to the left and you’ll be greeted by the entrance to the night market.
This big giant ball thing surprised us!
There are a lot of foods to try out at Shilin Night Market. The famous delicacy that can be found here is the Prince Cheese Potato, Interestingly they also have Oyster Vermicelli & Hot Star Fried Chicken which Ximending also has. I do recommend trying these food out and your tastebuds are gonna have the time of their life!
I see these things everywhere in Taiwan!
I usually binge watch Bolin Chen’s vlog and I saw this delicacy! This is similar to a fishball on a stick but once eaten you can taste that rich milky texture! Surprisingly, it’s not that sweet which is good.
Strawberry Hard Candy
They look so picture perfect but is too sweet, definitely not for me. If you have a sweet tooth though you can try it out.
Story time: So I couldn’t find a trash can after eating this and while we were walking around this lady offered to take the stick from me just to throw it away. They’re so nice!
There’s a lot of things to see and do at Shilin Night Market especially if you’re a foodie! Do check it out if you’re travelling to Taipei! 🙂
We were so obsessed with this! These are Taiwanese Tea Eggs and can be bought at 7-eleven and are perfect snacks for the the cold!
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