Jo W.
Yelp
Made it to the Taipei 101 observatory for the first time!
Despite being advised that the view wouldn't be very good due to inclement weather, I decided to go up anyway. After all, I've been looking forward to this during the whole trip, so I figured why not spend the $20 USD and go up to the top.
Before going into the observatory, they have you walk through security like you do when you're at the airport. There was a mural of art dedicated to the culture of Taiwan, which was lovely to see and learn from.
At the Taipei 101 observatory, and I found it beautiful despite the weather being foggy. I loved being able to get a birds' eye view of Taipei, and seeing how they marked the North, East, South, and Western directions of Taiwan. I thought it was so cool that there was a giant damper available for the public to see, and there were videos that showed how the dampers worked. They had mascots called Damper Babies, and they were so funny and cute. They made me think of different Hogwarts houses. I walked around for a couple of hours, enjoying my time, taking photos of the city view. When night came, the whole city was like stars beneath me.
Once I went back into the elevator to descend to the lower levels, I loved seeing the LED constellations on the ceiling above us, and watching how fast we were descending. It was such a smooth elevator ride, the beauty and technological advancements of Taipei 101 made me proud.
Despite the rainy and foggy weather, and everyone saying it's a tourist trap, I really enjoyed getting a bird's eye view of Taipei, learning more about some culture and history of Taiwan, seeing the exposed damper that keeps Taipei 101 stable, and enjoying the evening city lights. Next time, I want to try the 460 observatory deck!