Maokong Gondola and Taipei 101

The Maokong Gondola is the only cable car in Taipei's public transportation system.

After visiting the city zoo, my wife and I walked to the nearby station, bracing ourselves against the icy rain which had resumed in the early afternoon. We bought round-trip tickets and boarded our car up the mountain.

The city of Taipei fell away below us, and as we looked down through the trees, we could see verdant forest slopes, fields of tea, foot trails, and small villages, farms, and homesteads.

The rain and wind thrashed against our cable car, rocking it side to side as we slowly but steadily made our way up the mountainside to the first substation.

We stepped out into the chilly air at Zhinian Temple Station named for the large temple nestled in the slopes of Houshan, or "Monkey Mountain".

As we carefully made our way along the rain-slicked path towards the temple, we passed trees and bushes hanging with dozens of red and gold amulets from the branches wherever people could reach.

We saw more and more as we got closer to the temple and realized that this must be some sort of local ritual.

Zhinan Temple is a Taoist temple dedicated to Lü Dongbin, one of the Eight Immortals of Taoism.

Lü Dongbin is said to have been a scholar and poet who lived during the Tang Dynasty with a lifetime spanning 220 years. In Taoist legends, he is considered a master of "internal alchemy" or the spiritual practice of refining the body and mind to achieve immortality. Often depicted carrying a scholar's sword to dispel evil and ignorance, Lü Dongbin is both a patron of intellectuals and a reminder of the Taoist belief that true enlightenment comes not from worldly success, but from inner cultivation.

From the temple's big patio, we could see the towering spire of Taipei 101, once the tallest building in the world, far off in the distance, its bamboo-shaped spire obscured by the thick clouds.

We visited the temple's shop and purchases one of those amulets that we had seen hanging from the trees on our walk up to the temple.

Each amulet consisted of a red cord holding a golden card listing several categories of blessings you could pray for.

We asked the shopkeeper how many boxes we could check, and she said we could check all of them if we wanted, so that's what we did!

We hung our amulet from one of the nearby trees before leaving the temple compound and heading back to the gondola station.

A while later, we arrived at Maokong Station at the very top of the mountain. It was much colder here, mistier, and rainier too. We stepped inside a small local restaurant near the station for a simple, but filling lunch of rice with pork, stewed cabbage, and noodles.

We walked around the mountaintop for a while, exploring the shops, cafes, teahouses, and restaurants. The upper station of the Maokong Gondola was alive with day-trippers, street musicians, and food. After a while, it was time to head back down to Taipei.

For our return journey, Pinky and I booked the Crystal Cabin, a private glass-bottomed car that gave us an incredible view of the tea plantations far below as we slowly descended back to the city.

Back in Taipei, we took the MRT to visit the city's most iconic landmark.

The 101-story Taipei 101, designed to resemble a stalk of glass bamboo, became the world’s tallest building upon its completion in 2004, surpassing Malaysia's Petronas Towers. It held the title until 2009, when it was overtaken by the Burj Khalifa, which remains the tallest structure in the world today.

The lower floors house a luxury shopping mall while the upper levels are private businesses and offices.

We didn't end up going up the tower this time. We just didn't feel like spending the money to buy a ticket just to look out at a cloudy night sky. Maybe next time!