This is a go-to place for people who want to understand in a brief time, the history and culture of Taiwan.  It is located at the City Hall.

The center’s first-floor Taipei Impressions Hall displays the scenes of someo f the best spots in the city to begin a sight-seeing tour.  The second floor Special Exhibitions Hall arranges occasional exhibits on topics of interest.  The City Discovery Hall, located on the third floor, includes a variety of displays on Taipei’s culture and ecology.  Last but not the least, my favorite floor is on the fourth!  It includes the Dialogue with Time Hall, which outlines Taipei’s history and the Discovery Theater.

I learned a few things about how Taiwan came about. The Portuguese sailed here first calling the land “Formosa” and like us in the Philippines, Taiwan was under the Japanese regime.

Taipei is a lush city mixed with skyscrapers, ocean, rivers and mountains all together. It is said that the city of Taipei was designed in accordance to Feng Shui beliefs.

Taipei has a water reservoir up in the mountains and is said to have the cleanest water in the world.

The Discovery center of Taipei also has a scheduled film showing at the Discovery Theater which boasts a 360-degree screen. Ask the information desk about the timing of the film. It lasts for 17 minutes. It has a 360 degree view of different interesting things Taipei has to offer. The seats rotate around for maximum viewing pleasure.

ART: A Wall of Bottles

I’m not that short after all, I’m 1/2 as tall as Taipei 101 (yeah right!)

Strike a pose!

They had a fortune-telling machine!

It said “Happiness is already at your hand” ^_^

I also got another one and it said “It will be a great year for you!”

(I just didn’t know which year it was talking about – 2012 or 2013)

Check it out! A spiral bookshelf!

The Discovery Center 360 degrees theater.

Back in the day, Taipei was a walled city.

The walled city had 4 gates.

They made a miniature city! I’m stepping on a glass floor.

But it looks like I’m sort-of flying!

An ancient map of Taiwan that is made upside down.  Down is North. Top part is South.

AirAsia flies to Taiwan four times a week, with fights departing Clark at 12:05 p.m. and arriving at Taoyuan airport at 2:00 p.m.

You can book your flights via AirAsia.com
Follow AirAsia on Twitter: @AirAsiaPH
Follow AirAsia on Facebook: facebook.com/AirAsiaPhilippines

For tours and hotel accommodations visit AirAsiaGo.com.
Follow AirAsiaGo on Twitter: @AirAsiaGoPH
Follow AirAsiaGo on Facebook: facebook.com/AirAsiaGo.ph

Location of the Discovery Center of Taipei

No. 1, Shifu Rd., Xinyi Dist., Taipei City 11008, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
West Entrance of Taipei City Hall (facing Renai Rd.)
Tel: 1999 (other countries and cities 02-27208889)
Fax: 02-27232793
Website: www.discovery.taipei.gov.tw

It was an awesome experience for me last year.  I love road tripping and we drove all the way to Clark as early as 3:30 am just to avoid traffic and lines in the ticketing area.  Believe me, there will be a lot of people – it will be a feast and watching these balloons is one thing that you must see especially if you are a photographer.

I spent Valentines day here last year… We went home early though at around 9am just to avoid traffic queue on the way out.

Anyway the Official Schedule of the Hot Air Balloon Festival at Clark can be found here.