Saturday, December 31, 2016

Macao and Qianshan Park at Yangmingshan, Shilin, Taipei (陽明山馬槽,前山公園)

 The mountains are covered in mist.

      Yangmingshan's Macao Hot Spring is a hot spring spot. Macao Bridge, the symbol of Macao, is surrounded by mountains. Just think about walking into the foggy mountains, and soaking in the hot spring, you feel relaxing already.  
     
      This is Quanshan Park.

      You can have some snacks if you are hungry. The food street is across from the park.  

      We order fried sweet potatoes, stinky tofu, and turnip soup from the snack stall. Those are all typical Taiwanese snacks, but honestly, the food here doesn't taste as good as you think they should. 

      If you just want to soak your feet in the hot spring, Quinshan Park is a great place to go.

     Unbelievably, a hot spring area is inside the park; and it is exclusively designed for foot soaks.

      This is what the hot spring looks like when nobody is there.

     This is a hot spring stream!

      Yangmingshan National Park is one of the 9 national parks in Taiwan, and  it is sooo big. You can visit it as many times as you can, and then you will have the chance to see the diversity of beautiful views in different seasons.   


Sunday, December 25, 2016

Miniatures Museum of Taiwan (袖珍博物館)

 
Everything here is SMALL!  
 
      Rose Masion: This gorgeous house was built in Los Angeles in 1885. Let's take a look at rich people's mansion. 

     The inside of the mansion:     
 
     One of the rooms:
 
      Venetian House, Italy:  

       Japanese Tudor Style House:
 
      The inside of the house:
 
      A room with a lot of paintings:
 
      Alice in Wonderland:
 
      A close look:
 
      Gulliver's Travels:
 
      The Phantom of the Opera:
 
      The phantom sometimes shows up (see above), and sometimes disappears (see below).
 
      Santa Claus:

       A close look at Santa:
 
      An Egyptian Palace:
 
 
      English Castle:
                                           
 
      Roman Ruins:



 
      Nostalgic Japan: This street represents old good Japanese time.

 
      Buckingham Palace: It is a must-see in London. 
 
     Luxurious interior decorations:

      Everything you see is so exquisite.

      Palace of Versailles: It is the famous tourist attraction in France. The structure is strickly symmetrical.
  
    Hall of Mirrors: It is the most famous room at Palace of Versailles. Of course, there are so many mirrors inside it. 

      We stayed here for nearly 2 hours. It is a great place for adults and children!









Monday, December 19, 2016

Taiwan Insect Center + Fuyang Eco Park, Taipei (台灣昆蟲館+富陽生態公園)

 
What an interesting and educational insect center! 

      It is a free and educational insect center, though it is small! We stayed here for only 2 hours, but already knew the insects, reptiles, and some animals roughly .

      The photo above is the display walls for stick insects, hercules beetles, etc. The photo below is the display box of fossils and specimens.

      An ostrich fossil, a living quail, and 2 parrots are placed in a row.

    This is a cute house for 2 cute bunnies. 

      This tortoise shell is huge. I saw the inside of a tortoise shell for the 1st time.


      This room is full of reptiles, tortoises, and some animals.

      If you want to experience "learning by TOUCHING," some paid courses are provided for you. In class, we got the chance to touch the beetle, the cockroach, and the tortoise. The instructor is very informative, energetic, and talkative, so I'll definately come back for her class again. 

      A hercules beetle: 

      A hissing cockroach:

      A European tortoise:

      The clerks are very helpful to customers. They teach you how to take care of larvas.


http://taiwan.insectweb.org/


      After that, we went for a walk at Fuyang Eco Park. You rarely see an eco park reachable by MRT, but it is.

     It is a historic military tunnel.


       It won't take you too much time to stay there since it is small.

      There are trails going to different directions.

     If walking for 1 hour is what you want, you will be satisfied with this park.


Taipei Astronomical Museum(台北天文館)

      I have  been to Taipei Astronomical Museum many times, but I have never been to Cosmic Adventure, one of the exhibits in this museum. ...