I have three brothers and I always think of them. Alvin is a mechanical engineer and is now working. Steve is the most intelligent and he graduated in a science high school but got tired of going to college thinking that he is smart enough to survive this world. Patrick is the youngest and although not gifted with the intelligent brains that his big brothers have he has a dream to finish college . I wonder what they are doing now. Just like my parents they were happy when I left home for Taiwan. I have never returned since then but living on this island nation for more than two years I did not know that I still have two other brothers and they are Mrinal and Swamy.
They were the funniest and craziest Travel Buddies that I ever had. Mrinal came from Bangladesh and he was my classmate in a Data Mining class. He was a family man and he even showed a photo of his six year old son. Swamy is an Indian and had a vertical red line in the middle of his forehead that runs up to his neck. I really thought that it was real blood. The back of his hair was also braided and he wore earrings. “This is guy is so cool. He has a unique fashion sense”, I told myself. The three of us laughed loudly when I found out that he was like that because of his religion not because it was his fashion style.
They were the funniest and craziest Travel Buddies that I ever had. Mrinal came from Bangladesh and he was my classmate in a Data Mining class. He was a family man and he even showed a photo of his six year old son. Swamy is an Indian and had a vertical red line in the middle of his forehead that runs up to his neck. I really thought that it was real blood. The back of his hair was also braided and he wore earrings. “This is guy is so cool. He has a unique fashion sense”, I told myself. The three of us laughed loudly when I found out that he was like that because of his religion not because it was his fashion style.
My two Travel Buddies were excited to see Keelung for the first time. I remembered one my trips in Keelung which was in Taiwan Day 624 (The Five Senses in Keelung) when I brought Filipino summer interns in Academia Sinica for an exciting tour in Northern Taiwan's harbor city. My intern friends were very happy after the trip and I was very expecting the same kind of fun on this travel adventure. We arrived at the new train station of Keelung which was very modern and far away from the classic train station residents of the city used to have. The old train tracks we saw walking from the footbridge were already removed and I've heard that the place was being redeveloped.
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| Mrinal |
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| Swamy |
Mrinal was quick to pose for a shot behind the “Cute Keelung” decoration of Keelung Station. My new friend from Bangladesh was very fond of taking pictures like what I always do in my travel adventures. He even gave instructions on how to do it! I brought them to Keeling Maritime Plaza and the two were mesmerized by the scenery. Swamy brought his selfie stick with his Microsoft phone on it. He took selfie pictures and videos in the plaza and I was amazed with the wonders with what a selfie stick can do.
We went back to Keelung Station to board Bus 103. We waited for a few minutes at the Keelung Bus Station which was the gateway for many of Keelung's tourist destinations. The bus came and we paid only NTD 9 for the entire trip to Badouzi stop. I have visited the National Museum of Marine Science and Technology (NMMST) before in Taiwan Day 749 (The Home of the Sea) and I told them about the structure of the museum building that it was a power plant during the Japanese colonial period of Taiwan. Mrinal and Swamy wanted to get inside but I told them that were no real fishes inside and the museum mainly talks about techniques in fishing and marine aquaculture technologies. I saw excitement in their eyes when I mentioned that Asia's largest aquarium was currently being built in the premises of NMMST and is expected to be finished in 2017.
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| Mrinal wanted to have a photo with a big wave behind him. |
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| Oh yes! The big wave came and Mrinal got the photo that he wanted but Swamy and I got wet with seawater. lol. My printed travel plan also got wet. haha! |
The 48-hectare NMMST complex includes the Chaojing Ocean Center and the Chaojing Park and we walked along the road beside the shoreline to take good pictures. Mrinal was so happy to see the sea that he wanted to have a photo with a big splash of wave behind him. We were standing on a breakwater with powerful waves crashing to Taiwan's Northeastern coastline. A big wave suddenly came and surprised us. Mrinal got the photo that he wanted while Swamy and I got wet with seawater. It was actually dangerous to stand on top of a breakwater. The powerful giant waves could push us and we might fall into the East China Sea.
I did not expect Chaojoing Park to be an amazing place and I first thought that it was a boring place. It was a park but it was situated on a cliff beside the sea. The striking structure of the Chaojing Ocean Center was also nearby while a portion of the park was a former landfill. It was a fun walk while we enjoy the view of big waves arriving in the island of Taiwan. The Keelung Islet was also very visible from Chaojing Park. It became cooler at noontime and we ate our lunch while sitting comfortably in a good area in the park. We watched the locals visiting the area while we ate our lunch and we saw a woman looking at the sea. My Travel Buddies and I laughed with the idea that the woman was going through something emotional. We suddenly saw a group of four young Taiwanese women and a few minutes later was a separate group of young Taiwanese men. Oh! Chaojing Park was really great place to meet someone new. haha!
The English-speaking driver of the service shuttle of NMMST gave us a free ride back to the museum where we walked for a few meters to reach the bus stop for Bus 103. While waiting for the bus I saw Swamy's “blood” on his forehead suddenly disappeared like magic. The bus came and we reached Keelung Station where we boarded a train going to Badu Station for our next destination. Vincent van Gogh's Starry Night was alive in Keelung's Embrace Cultural and Creative Park (擁恆文創園區).
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| Looking at Badu Station from the bus stop |
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| the shuttle bus schedule |
The Embrace Cultural and Creative Park park provided a free shuttle bus which stops in front of the Badu Staion. I included on my travel plan the arrival times of the bus so my friends have lots of time to bought a cup of hot coffee. The shuttle bus arrived and it took us up to the gate of the park where visitors were immediately required to pay for the ticket. Regular adult tickets in the park costs NTD 100 but we only paid NTD 50 since we were presented our student IDs in Taiwan.
Unison group spent NTD 90 million to recreate Van gogh's Starry Night painting. It was an amazing work of art looking from afar but coming closer would reveal that it was made up of thousands of colored plastic bottles. Mrinal shared his ideas of great photos with the colorful scenery while Swamy opened his camera for a selfie video. There were also a lot of lights that were set up in the area to provide a range of colors at night.
We got curious about how the Embrace Cultural and Creative Park was developed. The rolling hills were like an open pit mining with a pond at its bottom. What was more surprising were the variety of other attractions on the top of the hills. We climbed the stairs until we found golden fishes with water squirting out of its mouth. There were also large tiles painted with different images. I appreciated the painted tiles more when I put my camera on my tripod and lifted it up.
There was an observation deck with a giant bell near the top of hill and the East China Sea was visible with the Keelung Islet on our view. At our left side was a harbor and it must be the Keelung Harbor. Mrinal and Swamy shared some things about Buddhism when we reached a Buddha Temple. They knew a lot of things about Buddhism because Bangladesh and India shared a common culture since Bangladesh was a former part of India. I listened to their stories of the man named 'Buddha'.
It was already dark when raindrops started to fall. We went down hill and we saw the thousand bottle artwork was now glowing with lights. A fountain laser show was happening and accompanied with light and sound effects making the place a real “Starry Night”. After the show, we decided to go home and we passed by different giant snow globes where visitors can rent and stay at.
Mrinal and Swamy were a perfect set of Travel Buddies. The former loves his photos taken and also contributed to the decision making during the trip while the latter enjoys wandering in Taiwan and had already visited a lot of places like when I was still a first year PhD student. They are now an unbeatable duo in my Taiwan Day Adventures. I feel so blessed to have Mrinal and Swamy as my friends. Life in this island will never be the same again because I have finally found my long-lost brothers.
Sakura Series - Taiwan
2024 Forecast
Taipei 101 first flowers
Tianyuan Palace backyard
Taipei Flower Test Center
Pingjing St. Lane 42
Broadwood Park
Sunshine Sports Park kawazu sakura
Wuling Farm (武陵農場)
SYS kawazu sakura
Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village
CKS Memorial Hall
Shibafen Yoshino Sakura
Hope River
Dongfang Temple
Tianyuan Palace
Neicou Stream Trail
Orange Garden Cafe
Yangming Park Visitor Information Center
Yangming Park Service Center Bus Stop
Huashan Road
Qianshan Park
Zhongshan Hall Entrance
Tenglong Sakura Farm
Flower Test Center Shōwa Sakura
Neihu Creek Trail
Shulin Land Office
Xióng Kōng Cherry Blossom Forest
Lung Yen Sakura Forest
Yangming Park cherry stream
Yangming Park fountain
CKS Memorial Hall Tairyō sakura
Wugu District Tianyi Road
CKS Memorial Hall yaesakura
Loving Farm
Yong Long Farm
Zhongbaling Sakura Road
Sun Link Sea
Tai'an Police Station
Cherry Hill Slope
Hsinchu Park
Taipei 101
Kāng Gào Kēng Creek
New Garden City
Broadwood Park
Tianyuan Palace backyard
Pingjing St. Lane 42
Alishan Ranger Station
Alishan House
Alishan Police Station
Alishan Forest Railway
Alishan Station
Alishan Entrance
Alishan Gou Hotel
Alishan Magnolia Garden
Wulai tour
Wun Chang Elementary School
Bishanyan
Sanzhi Sansei Trail
Sakura Series - Taiwan
Nei Cuo Stream
Orange Garden Cafe
Sansei Trail
Tenglong Sakura Farm
Yangming Park Cherry Stream
Yangming Park Fountain
Flower Test Center
Broadwood Park
New Garden City
Yinghua Park
Pingjing St. Lane 42
Yangmingshan Visitor Center
Taipei 101
Tianyuan Palace backyard
Sakura Series - Japan
Kamonyama Park
Near the Nippon Maru Memorial Park
Shinko Park
Minato-mirai 21 area
Tokyo Tech Suzukakedai Campus
Onda River
Tenryuji
Byodoin
Kiyomizudera
Himuro shrine and Yakushi-ji Temple
Hōryū-ji Temple
Nara Park attractions
Tokyo Tech Ookayama Campus
Sumida River
Tsuruma Park
Gion
Maple Series
Taipei Aowanda
Shimen Dam
Alishan
Aowanda
Shanlinxi
Taoyuan Valley Garden
Fushoushan Farm
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| Yehliu to Jiufen? Yehliu to Shifen? Cheaper than yellow taxis |
The "Taipei kong mahal" (My beloved Taipei)
Always in my heart
MRT birdman
Valentine's Day
Tulips Festival
2018 Taipei Lantern Festival
City of Azaleas
Linji Huguo Temple
Nanjichang Night Market
Gudetama Chef restaurant
Dalongdong Bao'an Temple
Shilin hollyhocks
Ningxia Night Market
Ximending graffiti
Discovery Center of Taipei
Chunghwa Postal Museum
Double-Decker Bus
Shilin Cold Balls
Jingimoo
GomanMango
mud volcanic ice
Fire and Ice Dumpling
Opium Fen-Yuan
Ichiran Ramen
Liu Shandong Beef Noodles
hydrangea flowers
National Palace Museum
Other attractions in Taipei
Taipei on a budget
Japanese buildings
Dāoxiāomiàn beef noodles
Presidential Office Building
Yongkang St. and Elephant Mountain
CKS and SYS Hall
City tour
Beitou ramen
MRT Monopoly Game
Winter city tour
Zhicheng Park
Shilin Plum Blossom
Art museums
Shopping in Taipei
Summer desserts
Qingtiangang
Qixingshan hiking
2015 Calla lily
2016 Calla lily
Beitou tour
Beitou-Zhuzihu tour
NTU
Confucius Temple
2015 Dadaocheng Festival
Puppet Museum
Fantasy Ice World
2016 Bread Show
Strawberry picking
2015 Rose Garden
Modern Toilet
Shilin Night Market
NASA Exhibit
Raohe Night Market
Longshan Temple
2013 Taipei Zoo
Maokong Gondola
Lupin flowers
Taipei 101 day visit
Taipei 101 night visit
Tiger Mountain
Din Tai Fung
Taipei Story House
2014 Flower Show
Chrysanthemum Show
Miramar Ferris wheel
Miniatures Museum
Archery
1600 Pandas
Wulaoguo hot pot
Upside Down House
2016 101 Fireworks
New Taipei
Tamsui Pumpkin Tunnel
Shifen Waterfall
2017 Sand Sculpture
Dragon Caves
New Taipei tour
2016 Kite Festival
Pingxi Crags
Bitou Cape
2016 Sand Sculpture
2015 Christmasland
Juming - Jinshan
Houtong - Pingxi
Sandiaoling Waterfall
Jiufen foodtrip
Guanyinshan hike
Yehliu Ocean World
2014 Kite Festival
Pingxi Rail tour
Jinguashi tour
Vigor Kobo Pineapple
British Consulate
Yehliu Geopark
2014 Sand Sculpture
Paragliding
2014 Christmasland
2014 Pingxi Lantern
firefly watching
Yingge Ceramics Street
Jiufen tour
Hello! I am planning a trip to Taiwan and saw this blog entry. I do not speak any Chinese, so would it be okay to interpret the free shuttle from Badu to Keelung Embrace schedule? Thank you!
ReplyDeleteUpper half: weekday schedule
DeleteLower half: Saturday, Sunday and holiday
Left half: bus departure times at Badu Station
Right half: bus departure times at Keelung Embrace.
The Starry Night outdoor exhibit is currently undergoing a facelift until Dec. 20. It is better to go there after that date.