Taipei 101

A must visit if you come to Taipei.

Standing at from "Ground to highest architectural structure (spire): 509.2 metres (1,670.60 ft)," Taipei 101 is still currently the world's tallest building, at least until September 2009 when the Burj Dubai is expected to reach completion.

Getting to Taipei 101 from the MRT station is fairly easy. A free bus runs directly between the MRT station and the tower.

Taipei 101 is a strong symbol for many Taiwanese. It is a symbol of technological achievements (named one of the seven wonders of engineering by Discovery Channel), financial security (as it houses many financial institutions, including the Taiwan Stock Exchange), and world presence (it was named one of the new seven wonders of the world by Newsweek Magazine).

Taipei 101 is named for its 101 floors (although tourists can only reach the 91st floor), and its international mailing code, 101. There are 8 sections of what looks like Chinese take-out boxes. 8 is a superstitious number bringing prosperity and good luck in the Chinese culture. You may remember the Beijing Olympics started on 8/8/08.

The tower is very popular, many Taiwanese and foreigners travel from all over to visit. We visited the tower in the morning and had no wait. We came down in the afternoon to see lines were backed up to ride the elevator to the observatory level on the 89th floor. The free bus was also very crowded, but there is a ride every 20 minutes.

At the base of the tower is a upper scale-only mall. Every store in the mall is a designer brand. The mall was not very crowded, maybe because everything in the mall was too expensive. The real attraction was riding the elevator to the top. To do so costs about $450NT, about $15US.

The elevator is the world's fastest, Climbing 89 floors to the observatory level in under 40 seconds. The elevator is specially designed to reduce wind drag.

Once the elevator reaches the 89th floor, the view stepping out from the elevator immediately opens to see the entire horizon of Taipei. Looking out, you can see as far as your eye can see. Air planes take off, climb slowly, and then meet your eye line. Objects below are like a miniature scale of Taipei. Building in all directions are dwarfed.

Being on the observatory deck reminded me of the story of Icarus. Imagine yourself high above the world below, outside looking up - the sky is in arms grasp. Now, of course, Taipei 101 is not the highest point on this planet. But, it is the tallest stationary man-made point. Getting back to the story, I am not saying Taipei 101 will melt and fall to the ground, like Icarus. Simply, human ambition and ingenuity has brought us to staggering new heights, and we're bound to see more.

- Ryan