Our first stop on our tour today was the National Palace Museum. At this point, let me say that this museum is definitely one of those places that I would like to go again. I would pick my day though, and do research into what days have the least number of people. The museum itself was just fabulous, full of treasures! It was just such a shame that we couldn't get to see them as I would like.
The day had already started late because our tour guide had stuffed up. As a result of this, our timing was out, and we had arrived at the museum along with lots of other tours and tour guides, so the queues were like sardines packed in a tin. We were given instructions about leaving pack packs at the front desk. We didn't have one, but others did, including two Asian girls who clearly couldn't follow instructions. We were at the door of the lift , ready to go up when security spotted the back packs. As a result, we were all pulled aside to wait until the girls did what they were told. More time wasted!
Our guide had a red flag that he held up for us to follow. Nothing new here, but why would two tour guides in the same building be allowed to carry the same flag? This just made for more confusion and more time wasted waiting for people to find the correct tour guide.
Once inside and on our way, I was stunned at such beauty. There were scrolls in coloured inks, one approx 10 feet long which was on loan from China. There was a whole room of jade, where I learned that it came in different colours. The jade carvings and jewellery were nothing short of stunning. Then there was whole room on bronze, where there were tools, carved mirrors, vessels, flasks plates and so much more. All were beautiful.
There were people everywhere, and I mean everywhere! I was lucky to get a short glimpse at the beautiful treasures on display, and of course there were no photographs allowed.
Walking back to the entrance, someone spotted a poster about a porcelain display, and asked if we were going to see that? The answer was no, we were running late for out next stop. After making such a fuss, the guide gave this person 10 minutes to have a quick look, so then a few more jumped on the bandwagon and went for a look too. I would have loved to go have a look, but we were following instructions. The remainder of us were allowed rest stops and to look in the museum shop.
Needless to say, we were all still waiting for these people 30 minutes later, and everyone was getting a little stroppy, and the search party went out.
The photograph at the top of this post is a view of the rafters in the front foyer of the museum. I was just fascinated by the pattern.
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