I have a couple questions to pester you all with though.
Is it better to take the bus from Taipei Main Station like the museum website (juming.org.tw/juming-en/hotogo_en.htm) says? Or MRT to Danshui and take a bus from there? I kinda like riding the MRT, even if it means still having to ride the bus again later. But if it takes a lot more time then I guess a 90min bus trip is tolerable.
I read the weather forecast predicting rain all weekend. I don’t mind personally, but I’ve heard the museum is much nicer by sunlight. Not sure if it’s a big deal or not for my female friend. I guess I’m wondering whether it’s gonna be a stomp in the mud or stroll on the sidewalk? Also, if you recommend waiting for a sunny day, what alternatives do you suggest instead of Juming?
Oh, one more question, sorry!
Any restaurant recommendations while we’re up there? Lunch and/or dinner.
If you’re there in the rain, you’ll be muddy. I wouldn’t recommend the restaurant at the museum, but can’t recommend a better. Can’t suggest which bus to taken either… I took the scooter.
Head back to Jinshan for a meal. A row of restaurants north of town beside the beach. Surf Beach is very nice but NT600-800 for a set meal. To the left however is a cool little place with a nice deck and good set meals for NT200.
Is that the little port town, with all the seafood restaurants door to door, with their fishtanks lined up out front? That’s where we always go and it’s great food, very close to JuMing. That would be my recommendation.
But if you haven’t got wheels, I believe you’re SOL. The JuMing museum is terrific – I’ve been there 5 times and feel it’s the best museum in Taipei – but it’s way up in the hills, with no restaurants within walking distance. The museum cafeteria really sucks.
As for rain, I went there once in the rain and enjoyed it, but it’s a whole lot better in good weather as half the stuff (at least) is outside on the big, beautiful grass lawns overlooking the ocean.
Over the years I must have asked 20 local coworkers whether they had ever been to Juming Museum and I don’t recall a single person that responded affirmatively. Their loss.
My brother’s 21 year-old son is in town, so we took him to Juming, preceded by a great seafood lunch in Jinshan and a swim in the ocean. It doesn’t get much better than that. This was my 6th or 7th visit to Juming and it’s still pleasant, but it’s now an absolute must for us when we have a visitor. My nephew was thrilled with Juming and the rest of the day. In fact, I’ve now done basically the same outing with my mom, my brother and two different friends, all on separate occassions, and every one of them called Juming “fantastic,” a “highpoint” of their visit, etc.
So, if you haven’t been there yet, you really ought to get your butt out there. Here are some of the famous Taichi series of sculptures.
The many soldiers are pretty good too.
And there’s lots of other cool stuff, all on beautiful lawns high on the hillside over the ocean. . .
. . . which is a great way to top off a trip to the museum.
Neither. If you don’t have your own wheels, I can recommend the bus that leaves from outside the Taipei Fine Arts Museum (a block east of Yuanshan MRT station). It leaves twice a day (8:40 am or 1:10 pm), the trip there is via a pleasant leafy route across Yangmingshan, and the price is reasonable. And there’s plenty of time to cruise around the place at a leisurely pace.
Ditto; that bus is convenient. And pack a lunch; do avoid the restaurant.[/quote]
But, if you lack wheels, definitely see if you can wrangle a friend (with wheels) into going out there with you (ie., driving you), because it’s so much nicer if you can tag a seafood meal in Jinshang (row of shops with tanks of fish, shrimp, octopus, squid, etc., out front) onto the trip. Maybe you buy the meal if your friend drives.
I was there on Sunday. They’ve made some changes since I was last there:
[ul]There’s a kids’ activity area, the highlight of which has to be the big cement wall. It has buckets of water at the foot of it and rows of paint brushes (the kind you use to paint walls with) on hooks. The lifetime of your art depends on how hot the weather is. My 3yo was entranced by it. I had to drag her away - others in the party were more governed by their stomachs than artistic expression.
The food in the main restaurant - I saw piles of salad as I walked by - maybe things have improved.
The Big Mouth is a new restaurant near the kids’ activity area. Bright pastel design. Lots of light coming through plate glass (ideal for toddlers to run into!). Again, I didn’t eat there, but it didn’t look too bad. If I was there again around a mealtime, more independently, I’d be inclined to risk it.[/ul]
I’d recommend late afternoon as the best time to visit in spring/summer - there is shade, but there’s plenty of walking to do where there isn’t shade.
