å°åŒ—二二八紀念館 Taipei 228 Memorial Museum
Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On October 21, 2009
å°åŒ—二二八紀念館 Taipei 228 Memorial Museum
#3 Ketagalan Blvd., Taipei, Taiwan
886 (02) 23897228
Entrance: 20NT
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å°åŒ—二二八紀念館 Taipei 228 Memorial Museum was built to remember the historical tragedy that happened on February 28, 1947. It was established to educate the people about the massacre that happened on that day, and to allow the people to be conscious of Taiwan’s history thus helping us heal old wounds and look forward to a brighter future.
I’ll try my best to share with you what I learned about how the 2-28 massacre contributed to Taiwan’s transformation from dicatorship to democracy. The experience was just heartwarming. I’m close to tears already just remembering my visit there. I can feel the love of country the people of Taiwan have just by browsing through the museum pieces.
Taiwan was a Japanese colony for 50 years. The Japanese government had established financial systems, constructed infrastructures that resulted in Taiwanese modernization. After the 2nd World War, people from Mainland China regarded Taiwan’s identification with Japan as a form of slavery. That misinterpretation caused friction and set the stage for cultural conflict preceding the 2-28 massacre.
After Japan surrendered in 1945, Taiwan welcomed the Chinese government with great enthusiasm not knowing that their expectation of a better new era would be the start of a tragic period.
Taiwan experienced all sorts of hardships after the arrival of the Nationalist government: political corruption, increase in crime rate, living standards where lowered. The growing resentment erupted when a 40-y/o woman was arrested over selling cigarettes illegally. The woman knelt and begged for mercy as it was her only means to make a living. But the agent didn’t care and beat up the woman on her head using his pistol, leaving the woman bloody & unconscious.
Today, Taiwan had already walked out of this tragedy & martial law. As countless lives were lost, democracy came with cost. The museaum’s Hall of remembrance honors lives that were lost durning 2-28.
I’m pretty sure most of us who visited the å°åŒ—二二八紀念館 Taipei 228 Memorial Museum learned a lot about the history and felt the extraordinary love of country by its people. I can’t help but leave a message on their cork board showing how much I appreciated the purpose of putting up the place & how I felt their history.
You can find the rest of the pictures here.
Battle for Terra Movie Review
Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On October 20, 2009
Last night was the premiere of Battle for Terra at SM North Edsa. I’d like to thank Jonel for giving me his tickets! It was the 1st time for me to watch a movie in full 3D! Wohoo great job SM Cinemas!
Now I know the feeling of watching a movie that makes you feel like you’re not watching a movie per se. Watching a movie in 3D, IMHO draws you closer to the film. To add to that, the movie had amazingly clear images & cool surround sound! That made the experience even more awesome!
Battle for Terra was a 2007 animated film that won the Grand Prize for best animated feature at the 2008 Ottawa International Animation Festival. It was originally shown as 2D but was rendered in full digital 3D. The movie is currently and exclusively shown at all SM Digital theater branches nationwide (regular showing will begin on October 21, 2009).
me in the movie house wearing the 3D glasses 😛
The story had a different twist into the human-alien movie. This time it is the humans who invaded a peaceful alien planet (Terra). Will an unlikely friendship between a human and an alien help the 2 races stop a war & help them coexist before it is too late?
I really liked how they turned the tables & gave us a different perspective on aliens experiencing invasion. I liked how the twist is the aliens are the ones being invaded; truly unique and i find that makes the movie more interesting. I will not share the story, but I suggest you watch it. Winning the best animation award isn’t for nothing right?
with some of the movie bloggers
Other pictures can be found here.
My Rating for Battle for Terra: 4 out of 5 stars.
二二八人文咖啡館 Relax 228 Coffee Shop
Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On October 20, 2009
二二八人文咖啡館 Relax 228 Coffee Shop
#3 Ketagalan Blvd., Taipei, Taiwan
886 (02) 23897228
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My mom and I had our merienda here. Relax Coffee Shop is located at the 2-2-8 Memorial Museum. We ordered some desserts and rested here before we started touring the place.
True to its name, the coffee shop’s ambiance really gives this relaxing feeling. That’s why we opted to have desserts there before touring, right? There were lots of mature (hehe!) men and women hanging out there. I also saw a big group of officemates dining together. Some of their visitors seemed to be there for hours just talking about stuff. Relax 228 Coffee Shop just has this welcoming feeling that guests would want to stay and have coffee in.
I ordered their cake+nai cha bundle (99NT). The Nai Cha is just normal. Nothing special, but I surely prefer this over the iced teas served here in Manila hehehe 😛 The cake is lemon-flavored, very unique.
My mom, on the other hand ordered 2 scoops of Movenpick Ice Cream (79NT per scoop). The ice cream was just too expensive!! My mom said that Movenpick is an expensive brand of iced cream (I guess the same as Haagen Dazs here?). It was nice to see my mom’s face lighten up when she saw that the coffee shop has Movenpick 🙂
Rest of the pictures here.
Azadi Persian Kabab
Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On October 20, 2009
Azadi Persian Kabab
95 Bungad, West Avenue, Quezon City, Philippines
(02) 481-6244
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Azadi Persian Kabab is a restaurant that is similar to World Class Persian Kabab and Mister Kabab. A cheaper alternative for Persian and Mediterranean food lovers.
Was looking for a place to eat for dinner last night and saw this accidentally on our way back home. Ambiance is just the same as other Persian restaurants. I was hoping that this could be better than the other cheap persian restaurants. So i ordered the same menu item I usually do.
Here are what we ordered:
- Ripe Mango Shake (Php 30)
I’m really glad theat these restaurants serve cheap fresh fruit juices. I love those! For Php30, I was in for a treat! You won’t feel guilty if you want to order one more! 😛
- Chelo Kabab (Php 155)
This is usually what I order when I go to a Persian Restaurant. I was very disappointed because I couldn’t mix the butter well with the rice. The rice wasn’t hot enough, so the butter wouldn’t melt!!! The kabab itself was very dry too. I know, I can’t expect too much as this is a cheap version.
- Shawarma Rice (Php 75)
Instead of having the ingredients wrapped, they served it with rice instead. That’s basically it for this dish. Nothing special. My friend preferred this over the one I ordered, so I guess, if ever I do go back to Azadi Persian Kabab, I’ll order this instead.
I’ve tried and reviewed many restaurants that I started to have high expectations of this one. This is also added to the list of restaurants I don’t plan to go back to. Sad 🙁
國家圖書館 National Central Library
Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On October 19, 2009
國家圖書館 National Central Library
No.20, Zhongshan S. Rd., Zhongzheng District, Taipei City 10001, Taiwan
886-2-2361913
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Located just across the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, this library is the only National Library in Taiwan.
To enter, you’ll either have to leave your ID to get temporary pass for the day or you can also get a permanent card by showing your passport & submitting a photo.
As I was just a tourist, I took the temporary pass to get in. When I entered the library, I started taking pictures (no flash). One of the personnel approached me and asked me to stop taking pictures as it is not allowed in the library. They’re very strict but I understand why there is such a rule.
In 國家圖書館 National Central Library, we’ll be able to find extensive collection of magazines, books, newspapers, art & a lot more.
Highlights are the ff:
- Chinese Studies Resources
- Microform Materials
- General Books & Periodicals
- Electronic Resources
- Chinese Rare Books/Special Collection
- Government Publications & Law Collection
This 6-floor library, would you believe, has internet access available. It offered a number of computers for free use & also provide DSL ports for those who came with their laptop. Cool, isn’t it? A high-tech National Library! 🙂
More pictures here.