TWO years ago, my husband and I were at the PAL-Mactan counter, bound for Taipei.
That trip was a no-go. Some lady ticket issuer at the then PAL outlet in SM City did a lousy job. She repeatedly said we did not need a visa.
A month later, her Mactan colleagues disagreed. So Taipei had to wait for two years. Finally, at last month’s end, we crammed our three days with as much to see as could be.
At the National Palace Museum in Shilin District, the staff acted antsy before the tourists. Literally SRO, we waited in line every which way we looked.
The sensorized counters marked 3,570 tourists that day. Only five of us, including three Americans, were not from mainland China.
We’re told that the droves came mostly out of curiosity and jubilation about the historic election of the first woman president Tsai Ing-wen of this Chinese-speaking democracy.
It’s said that when Chinese military and political leader Chiang Kai-shek ran to Taiwan to live in exile from 1949 until his death, he brought 650,000 treasure pieces spanning many dynasties.
All considered possessions of the imperial family, the huge collection contains artifacts and artwork, including bronze castings, calligraphy, scroll paintings, carved statues of gods, porcelain, jade, rare books, cooking and dining utensils, and drinking vessels with bottoms with intricate etchings of characters.
Some carvings were so minute that we could see the design only through magnifying glasses.
Among my favorites was the ivory ball carved from the inside layer to the outer layer from a single solid piece of elephant ivory to form concentric circles. Each layer was wound around each level, yet moving freely inside.
Showing cloud and dragon motifs, the ivory ball reportedly has 21 levels, and took 110 years and three generations to complete from grandfather to the grandson-prince.
The full collection, however, could not be accommodated at the same time in the four-floor museum. Thus, only 1,700 pieces could be displayed at a time.
Besides, maneuvering through the crowds and treading softly and slowly into the hallowed dimly-lit display rooms were a supreme challenge.
The Longshan Temple in the Wanhua District, built in 1738, is another tourist spot. Entering the compound to the sound of flowing, vibrant water is akin to a mermaid’s call.
This temple is unique because it holds both the Buddhist Temple and the Taoist Temple. The original ones were destroyed four times by storm, fire, world war and earthquake. With not enough money to build a temple each, the authorities decided to build both temples in the same area.
Three things I don’t envy Taiwan for. First, 65 percent of the time, it rains in Taiwan. The temperature has an average of 14 degrees Celsius, and so you layer up twice or thrice, even in the hotel room.
Second, many old single men are a picture of desolateness and loneliness. Remnants of Chiang Kai-shek’s soldiers, they have no family in China to go home to, and no family in Taiwan. So they sit in the square, each cutting a lonely silhouette in the darkening afternoon.
Third, while we dread the three to four earthquakes that shake us, Taiwan has an average of 18,300 earthquakes a year.
(lelani.echaves@gmail.com)