National Palace Museum

After saying goodbye to Audrey and Terrance in Taipei we had a day and a half to see a few sights on our own. The first night we visited the Taiwan Storyland, an underground town where it is supposed to still look like 1965. After an interesting visit there I went to the Shilin night market with an English girl I met in the hostel (Andrew was mercifully saved from more shopping-related activities). It was an excellent place for people watching and observing some unique fashions. I didn't buy anything, but I did enjoy the spectacle.We had almost a full day before our flight back to Bangkok the next day, so we decided to visit the famous National Palace Museum. There were artifacts all the way from the Neolithic age up to the final Q'ing dynasty. Archaeologist was one of longer lasting of the 20 or so professions I considered in college, and I loved wandering though the museum. It was incredible to see a beautifully carved cup or jade necklace or whatever and to think about the people who used it. . . and to still be able to appreciate its artistry 6,000 years later. There were some incredible pieces- my favorites were the elegant ceramics and jade. Andrew liked the calligraphy (I did not realize the extent to which calligraphy is not just a form of writing but a work of art).

We both also thought that these concentric ivory balls carved inside of each other where incredible. Seven concentric Ivory spheres were carved out of a single piece of ivory. The video below is a bit cheesy, but gives you an idea of what it looks like. The amount of work and attention to detail to create this piece is hard to imagine.

I found it pretty hilarious that among all this beauty one of the most famous and popular exhibits is the Meat-shaped stone, a masterfully rendered agate reproduction of a chunk of stewed pork (there is an even more famous jade head of bok choy cabbage with bugs on it).We are back in Bangkok now and plan to meet up with Chris in a few hours. This is our third time to Bangkok, but the other times we have just been traveling through. We are really looking forward to hanging out with Chris and getting a chance to see the city a little before we head to Hong Kong on Sunday.