King Kong and 101

Taipei 101 was once ...and briefly  ..the tallest building in the world.  Now it is just one heck of a tall building...maybe number 2 or 3 in the world.  In Taipei it really stands out, in the middle of the basin in which Taipei sits.  Today we had Hsiu-ling's sister in law (Mei-ling) and her neice (Meng-shan) in town for the weekend so we took them to 101.   ZOOOOOM 45 seconds in a rocket fast elevator to the top...Made me think of the last scene of Willy Wonka where he shot out the top of the factory....  Given that Taipei is a bit earthquake prone the building has a giant damper in the middle around the 88th which helps the building compensate.  It's unique shape is said to mimic bamboo.

A room with a view

The Giant Damper

 We also took the kids to the Miramar mall where they rode on a giant Ferris Wheel...another great view of the city.

 Aileen's school also had an extreme reader contest....take your picture reading a book in a cool place.  Aileen's favorite books include Lord of the Rings so off we went to Middle Earth to get this picture