by I know the title sounds a little too melodramatic but that’s exactly what happened — we were was drenched and cold when we visited the National Palace Museum in Taipei, Taiwan. It’s not that it was anyone’s fault, really. To be clear, it just so happened that it was raining cats and dogs that day, so our planned leisurely visit to this famous museum turned out to be quite a challenge. (I had to explain. Haha!)
Torrential Rain
Our visit to Taipei’s National Palace Museum was part of our hop-on-hop-off bus tour of the city via the ever-reliable KKDay (we booked HERE). Based on our itinerary, we would visit various areas in the city. Obviously, Ian and I were just so excited. This was our very first time in Taipei and everything seemed so interesting and electrifying. So, we were really looking forward to this tour (especially when we learned that we were going to be on a double-decker. Haha.)
But to cut the long story short, yes, it started to rain the moment our bus started running. Initially, we thought that it wouldn’t really matter since we were visiting museums and other important structures that day and we both had our umbrellas with us. Why would we care about a bit of rain, right? Wrong! Before we even reached our first stop, the rain had elevated to the torrential level. In case you’re wondering what that is, it’s the type where no one would be able to get on or off the bus without getting wet (even with an umbrella.)
Several blocks later, and just minutes before our scheduled stop, the rain slowed down. Amazing!
And then, when it was time to get off the bus, the sky fell upon all of us once again. Haha.
Taipei National Palace Museum
By the way, that, my dear friends, is the National Palace Museum. If it looks grand from afar, that’s because it really is grand and spectacular and beautiful up close.
Taiwan’s National Palace Museum is very similar to the Palace Museum situated inside the Forbidden City in China. Just like the National Palace in Beijing, the National Palace Museum in Taipei houses almost a million high quality ancient Chinese imperial artifacts and artworks. These pieces were collected by China’s emperors themselves.
The museum occupies a huge tract of land. In fact, the walk from the bus stop all the way to the main doors is enough to dissolve a heavy and hearty breakfast.
By the way, I won’t pretend to know much about Chinese art and artifacts so I’m going to just go ahead and say that these symbols on the terrace very exactly like the figures I see in a lot of animated films (read: Naruto). What are they exactly? Does anybody know?
A Worthwhile Stop
Here is a complete view of the main facade of the National Palace Museum. Capturing this shot was rather tricky because of the heavy rain, the existence of my umbrella, and the fact that I only have two hands. Haha.
If you look closely, you will notice that my pants are wet. Imagine the feeling inside my shoes. Haha.
After a quick photo, we decided to finally enter the museum. Inside, it was as though the entire Taipei had gathered to greet us. It turned out that because of the rain, all the other busloads of tourists were also trapped inside. It was total chaos. Haha.
Below is the peaceful and beautiful statue of Sun Yat-sen, the first ever President of the Republic of China.
With the number of people inside the museum, it was very difficult to take decent shots. Also, we’d spent so much time trying to dry ourselves that by the time we were ready to explore the museum, our guide had already announced that it was time to move on to our next stop. Oh no!
One more shot of these beautiful structures before heading back to our bus.
While waiting for the bus, it rained so hard that even my leather jacket had become soggy. And guess what happened as soon as the bus arrived?
Anyway, that’s it for now. I will be talking about my other stops in the next blogs. Thank you guys for reading!
Book a Trip to the Taipei National Museum
Book your accommodation at 夾腳拖的家 FlipFlopHostel – Garden here: https://goo.gl/wQkYZ7
Also, check out the helpful links below:
ESSENTIALS
Taiwan tour via KKDay here:
Book a flight to Taiwan via AirAsia here: https://goo.gl/SFnhZM
TOURS
Yehliu Geopark Tour HERE
SunMoon Lake Tour HERE
Jiufen (Spirited Away) Day Tour HERE
Shifen (Sky Lantern) Day Tour HERE
Ticket to the Taipei 101 Observatory HERE
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