Asia Trip - Day 2

Monday, 10/6 -

I couldn't arrange departure for Hong Kong on the Sunday I arrived. This kind of sucked because it was a wonky way to break up the trip. I figured I would use the morning and afternoon to visit the National Palace Museum. First, I looked for breakfast, but had to settle for McDonald's (blech!). There is so much shopping in Taipei, but the pickings were slim in the area I was staying. Mostly junky Forever 21-ish clothes. Since I'm not into gold lame shoes and white plastic hoop earrings, there was nothing really of interest to me. I did pop into a store after seeing something I liked on the mannequin from outside, and ended up buying a nice sweater. Next, it was on to the National Palace Museum.

The National Palace Museum is really a miracle in the making. Most of the artifacts come from China and were carried into Taiwan for safety during the Chinese Civil War. When China turned communist, Taiwan kept the items. It's an easy museum to navigate, and the exhibits are quite small compared to the Met, considering you are only seeing a very small percentage of what they have in their possession. My favorite exhibit focused on the curios. I didn't care for the print room. I saw the jadeite cabbage and the meat shaped stone made from jasper; both items are supposed to be highlights of the museum.

A curious thing happened to me here. I stumbled upon a stamping station, which delighted me to no end. I looked up, startled, to see a young Japanese man who asked me where I was from. I told him and he immediately explained that he was from Japan and was learning English. The thing is, his English was terrible, but I totally understood his dilemma. The poor lamb is busting ass learning another language and works up the nerve to finally try it out on an native English speaker, only to realize right then and there that it's not up to snuff. I felt for him and tried my best to communicate, asking the most basic questions and giving the most basic answers, but it was futile. He went on his way and I was relieved to rid of the embarrassment between us two.

The gift shop was nothing to write home about. I like to collect a postcard or two of the exhibits I enjoy, and NPM doesn't really "do" this in terms of souvenirs. I chose a magnet and called it a day. I would have to retrieve my luggage back at the hostel and head off to Hong Kong.

My flight to Hong Kong was for 7pm. The journey went off without a hitch. After customs and traveling to my destination, I didn't arrive at my hotel on Kowloon side until about 11pm.