I wonder how many Americans can say this...
Trip Start
Jan 01, 2011
1
3
5
Trip End
Jan 17, 2011
Tanshui, Taiwan
Friday, January 7, 2011
- Jan. 7th, Day 5, Danshui Seawall, Fort Antonio + Governor's House, and the National Palace Museum
My one complaint about Danshui is that I was not able to do anything different from the last time I visited the town on my previous trip. If anything, I feel like I did less. This is often a problem I find that occurs with group trips - either too much gets done too quickly, or nothing at all. Granted this was a school trip, so it makes sense that the sites visited were primarily of an academic nature, hence the historical venues of Fort Antonio and its accompanying Governor's House. On the plus side, I still got excited from seeing the giant pair of Dutch clogs!
Differently this visit around was the visiting of a Christian church that we did not get to see last time. There was also the visit to the nearby Christian university.
Ultimately though, the highlight of my day was getting a second chance to visit the National Palace Museum. I mean, come on - how many Americans gets to claim that they've visited such a prestigious museum TWICE?! That's right folks - I saw the jade cabbage not once, but twice. Yeah, I think I have the right to brag. Jade cabbages aside, this really is one of the top places to visit in all of Taiwan, hands down. If you go to Taiwan (especially if you're in Taipei) and you don't get to NPM, shame on you! You really don't know what you're missing. The museum is filled to the brim with Chinese artifacts dating back thousands of years, majority from the mainland, and majority brought over by the KMT when they relocated (thank Heaven. Who knows what would have happened otherwise).
In short, GO SEE IT. Plan to spend a good day there and enjoy the artifacts and the sight of the mountains and forest surrounding the museum. Treat it as if you were going to the Smithsonian, the Guggenheim, or the Louvre. It deserves the respect.
