Taipei 101

Once upon a time, a city by the name of Taipei  decided to build the tallest completed skyscraper in the world.  It was 101 stories high and an unbelievably lengthy display of human craftsmanship, even hailed as one of the seven new wonders of the world in 2006.  That is, until 2007 when Dubai superceded it with an even taller skyscraper.  

Nevertheless, this Taiwanese trademark is still a must-see for travelers. I even went twice! But I only rode to the top once.  The first time, we went on a bright and early morning and got to take in some pretty unique art pieces surrounding the building. Chess men! On the streets!

I literally fell in love with this "love" sculpture by Robert Indiana.  Famed pop artist Indiana had infamously forgot to copyright his "love" image and so this sculpture is installed in many cities around the world.  Someday, I hope to visit all the cities that contain this sculpture!

The second time, we actually rode to the top of the building and overlooked an amazing view of the city.

The interior of the building was pretty cool too. It had a mall, office buildings, grocery stores and this one trippy level with all these interesting glowing lights.

We also got to snap shots with the thing that was pretty much keeping us all alive, the building's tuned mass damper that helps balances the tower during times of high winds (and oh boy were those winds ever high...)

Thanks Damper! You rock!