Howard Plaza Hotel

Hotel Howard Plaza

by sheriwong about Hotel Howard Plaza

Think is 5* No complains about Hotel
Rather a quiet area around the hotel.
There are 2 or 3 level of shops at the Hotel itself upmarket though.
Easily accessible from the airport . Take a bus which is US$5/- (NT145)
which stops exactly at the Hotel. Also same pickup point for your return trip to the airport.
Outside there are shops for meals around US$3 for American Breakfast
is walking distance to Zhongshan MRT station where Sogo Departmental stores are located
there is a food court and mall linked to the MRT station.
From Fuxing MRT take 2 train stations to the Taipei 101 US$0.60 Good location from airport
and also walking distance to MRT.
Also food & convenience stalls around the hotel.

My Taiwan.ne.jp

by Sakura_Kobe

"Taipei in 2001"

URL with photos:
http://sakura_kobe.tripod.com/taipei-story/taipei-story.html

About Taiwan

Taiwan is an interesting country. Its position as a country is very complicated. It seems to be politically located between main Land of China and the U.S. So, you can see Chinese old tradition in the modern American culture. This is definitely one of the charms of this country. People are very kind to foreign tourists. Food is amazing.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

About Taipei

The Taiwanese and the Japanese have many things in common. I don?ft feel the aggressiveness in them, which I often feel in Chinese people in Hong Kong or main land of China. Shyness of young people is also the same as Japan. They have a hard time studying English and sharing the worst ranking. Although my mind is full of ease in Taipei, the city itself is hectic. It is crowded, noisy and polluted under the rapid development. I always get a comfort when I come across friendly warm-hearted local people.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In April, 2001

National Palace Museum
This is the most precious museum in Taiwan, having a large collection of elaborate Chinese art masterpieces. You will be fascinated by the skillful artworks in very much detail. I like their porcelain and jade collections. There is a cozy tearoom on the 4th floor. It 's a nice place to rest, if you tired with appreciating so many breathtaking art treasures in the museum.

Confucius Temple
I like the Chinese style roof of this temple. It is beautifully curved. The main hall is notable for its fabulous carvings. The Confucius who is the god of learning is worshiped. The guidebook says there many students come and pray for their success at the entrance examination season. When I visited it was a very calm place, which made me forget I was just step away from the noisy city.

Presidential Building
A huge plaza and very wide road are in front of the building. I was very impressed with this huge area. It would be useful if they should need emergency army attempts. The building is fascinating. It was beautifully made of red bricks.

Shihlin Official Residence
It was the former home of the late President Chiang Kai-shek. It was not allowed the public to enter until recently. Now a part of flower garden opens to the public. The rich green plants reminded me Taiwan belongs to the subtropical climate. It is pretty place but if you are on a tight schedule, you can skip it.

Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall
The grand Chinese style architecture stands in the huge land. It commemorates Chiang Kai-Shek. When the weather is beautiful, the white marble building looks vibrant in the blue sky. The statue of Chiang Kai-Shek is put on the 2nd floor of the octangle roof building. When I saw two soldiers on guard standing very still in front of the statue, I felt nervous and wanted to go. But their changing every hour is a favorite sight for tourists. You can see the well-cared Chinese garden from the building. The memorial hall is also home to the National Theater and Concert Hall.

Finger pressure therapy
There is a pebbled narrow path (left picture) in Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall site. This is the place to analyze your health condition. In Chinese medical science, human body has many vital spots called "TSUBOs". When we get ill, the reactions are appeared on the surface of our body,TSUBO. Because It is related with the internal parts of our body. If you feel ache on the spot of the soles of your feet, when you walk on the pebbled path. You have disease symptoms. You should read the explanation on the stone (right picture) to check the TSUBO you ached. Then it will show you what internal part you have to cure. I sincerely hope they add the explanation in English for the tourist!!!

Finger pressure therapy is very easy to do. In its principle, only push well the TSUBO and you can treat yourselves. It has no side effect. Chinese medicine is great indeed. Please be sure to take off your shoes when you walk on the path!!!

Flower Market
On Saturdays and Sundays, Flower market is held near Howard Plaza Hotel. They sell colorful flowers, plants and all the trimmings. It might be a nice start of the day looking around the beautiful flowers in the morning. I love many kinds tropical flowers, particularly orchid. They were much cheaper than my country. Without quarantine, I would have bought some and brought them back.

Lungshan Temple
This is very colorful and beautiful Chinese style temple. The precinct is full of smoke from burning incense, which matches the atmosphere of this very traditional old temple. It is the most popular temple in Taipei. You can see lots of artistic treasures and learn about the Chinese gods. It is worth to visit. The area adjacent to the temple is lowbrow. There is a McDonald near the temple. You will see many young people around. Last time I went to the movie theater and saw Harrison Ford's movie after visiting the temple. Then I ate ice cream at the shop nearby as young people around did.

MRT ((Metropolitan Rapid Transit)
MRT is planned to solve the serious traffic congestion in Taipei. I like this rail mass transit system. Although buses cover widely and are cheaper than MRT, I don't know how to use it. I hate taxi. So I hope MRT will develop as soon as possible. When the whole system is completed, it would be the best transportation in Taipei.

Martyrs Shrine
This is the place to respect those who died fighting for the country in the past wars. I hear the main structure is designed on Forbidden City in Beijing, China. It is classical Ming dynasty architecture. Many tourists visit to see the rigid guards and their hourly changing ceremony at the entrance. It is fun to see the tourist is marching with them.

Taipei Railway Station & Traffic
The station was larger and cleaner than I had expected. I like its huge Chinese-style roof. The Hsin Kong Life Tower is across the street from the station. It looked great. There were motor bikes, scooters and taxes everywhere on the road. I am afraid the traffic manner is not very good in this city.

Shihlin Night Market
I liked this market, because there were no snake restaurants, which were popular in other markets. The atmosphere of the place was good for women anyway. It had scores of stalls that sell many things, and you could bargain. They were mostly clothes for the young people and children. The quality was not good, though. It's a very nice place to stroll at night. It came really alive after 8:00 pm. As it is close to the Chienten MRT station, it might be a good chance to try MRT.

A Suburb of Taipei

Wulai Waterfall
This aborigine village is in the suburbs of Taipei, 1 hour and 20 min. ride by bus. Atayal tribe shows their traditional dance and songs. When I visited, there was not much water of Wulai Waterfall. They might have had little rain at that time. Kids may like the tram ride. If you have much spare time in your itinerary, this is the place to go.

Thank you for reading my page!!!