Taipei 101

The Taipei 101, what else is there to say other than WOW. The trip here was one I was looking forward to from the beginning of the trip, and it surpased my expectations. The building is not only magnificent to look at, but it also helps Taiwan's economy as it is a major tourist attraction. Inside the first 6 floors are a mall with only top stores such as Armani, D & G, and Diesel to name a few. The ride to the top of the elevator was extremely fast. We made it to the 88 floor in around 37 seconds which is very fast. Once on the top the view was amazing offering a full view of Taipei and beyond. A great experience that anyone visiting Taiwan must see.

Global Economic Development by Dr. Yea-Mow Chen

Dr. Yea-Mow Chen gave us a guest lecture on global economics and the current developments in the world. According to his outlook the economy is functioning but their are still some problems. Europe has been through some major issues, especially with Greece back in May, but the EU came in to save Greece in order of preventing a domino effect throughout Europe. However, Greece is not the only problem area in Europe as Spain is facing around 20% unemployment and 40% unemployment amongst young adults. Overall, in the first half of 2010 there has been a 5% increase in global GDP, but most of this increase is from developing countries and less from the advanced economies. This is mostly due to the amount of debt by advanced economies, and now many of the bigger countries are de-leveraging by attempting to cut government spending.

One of the other issues he talked about was if the economy was recovered from its recession, if it was going to have a double dip and enter into another recession, or if the world is entering a Great Depression. Dr. Chen believed we were going to have a double dip and enter another recession. He believed this would occur because of inadequate spending by the governments. As the focus has been to cut spending consumption has decreased which brings in the threat of deflation. Some other signs he pointed to was that 96 small commerical banks have closed this year, property values have decreased around 40%, and loans in foreclosure are still rising. In listening to Dr. Chen I do think we are at risk of entering another recession as opposed to a Great Depression. I also believe that as the economy continues to plod along the idea of free trade may drastically change because I see more tariffs placed on imports in order to boost domestic markets.

Tourism Industry

The tourism industry plays a big role as a strong figure in the world's economy based on GDP. Although, tourism is currently only a small part of Taiwan's economy, it is projected to continue to grow. The big thing for Taiwan it seems is to compete with other countries such as Japan and China to draw tourist here. For the future I believe Taiwan is positioned well due to what Taiwan has to offer such as good food, friendly accommodating people, and tourist attractions such as Taipei 101 and National Palace Museum. Prices being cheap I also think play a vital role as most goods compared to other countries are more affordable.

National Palace Museum

We were able to go to the National Palace Museum, and it was one of the places I was looking forward to the most. It has been ranked as one of the best museums in the world, and it lived up to the expectations. I haven't been to a museum in a long time, and I think being older played a big role in my enjoyment. As a kid I would run through and pay little attention to the displays, but this time I was able to actually appreciate it more.

Inside the museum there were many artifacts, paintings, and other anciet items from China's cutlture. We saw many items that were over 15,000 years old. I was suprised at how many wine holders there were, but I guess they enjoyed a drink everyone once in a while. It was also amazing to see paintings of what the cities and people were like a long time ago. Seeing those moments captured really allowed me to get a good understanding of how people lived back then.

Valentine's Bridge

On our first trip to Taipei we ended up the night by going to Valentine's/Lover's Bridge in Danshui. It is located right on the ocean, and in the background on both sides you can see the mountains. This spot is very popular because being right on the ocean it offers great sunsets. There was even a couple having some wedding photos shot on the bridge. Both the bridge and the view were rather magnificent. After watching the sunset we then took a boat ride through the ocean and back to the train station.

Trip to Taipei

This was our first trip to Taipei and the bus on the way in allowed me to see a great deal of the city and surrounding scenery. Taipei was a very impressive city with many high rises. I haven't been to that many big cities, but it reminded me a lot of a previous trip to Chicago. The MRT Station seemed very innovative, and they could control the whole track from the control center. In the Taipei area alone it had around 90 stops, almost one every km. We also were able to ride on the MRT, and I was amazed at the cleaniness. Neither food nor drink is allowed on the MRT which seems to play a vital role in keeping it in prestine condition. On the MRT we were really able to take in the scenery of Taipei and really able to see how mountaineous Taiwan is. Dr. Chin said Taiwan is about 60% mountains.

Hanging Out and Cooking With Dr. Chin.

On Saturday July 10 Dr. Chin invited us over to his home to cook dumplings and hangout. It was the first time I ever made dumplings and it was a lot of fun. He already had the inside part mixed up when we got there and it consisted mostly of beer and some seasonings. Then he would take little dough balls and roll them out so they were flat. It was actually really easy to make the dumpling once everything was in place. All I had to do was scoop the filing on the middle of the dough and then close it around forming a shape almost like a taco. Then in the kitchen Liddee would drop them in hot water and let them cook for a few minutes. It was really good and I had a lot of fun hanging out with everyone and Dr. Chin. He took really good care of us and was extrememly welcoming. He also prepared some cucumber salad and cut up a fresh pineapple for us.

The first picture on the left is me and Dr. Chin from opening ceremony, and the other picture was taking at Dr. Chins house after we were all full from dumplings. Going from left to right the people are Rick (my roommate), Ari, Matt, Dr. Chin, myself, Becky, Ankit, Nick, Paulina, and Ivan. Ivan and Matt are from Pittsburg State and all the other students are from MTSU.