We're starting our overseas rest area investigation! Our first stop: Taiwan!
Well, Taipei Main Station (台北車站), a hub in Taipei where many Japanese companies have set up shop, is bustling with people day and night.
Inside Taipei Main Station, on the way to the Zhongshan Underground Mall or the Taipei MRT, we found a mysterious object...

It's a bird-human! What's it doing here!?
And what's that in its right hand? A pencil?? Surreal...

The body seems slender, like a woman's, and it's wearing a bird headdress.
We thought it might be a Taipei mascot, but it turns out to be an art piece called "Youmeng (Daydream)."
It's a special exhibition brought over from the nearby Taipei Fine Arts Museum.
By the way, they also sell bird-human straps at the museum!?
The locals seemed used to it, and only Pen-ta was taking pictures; everyone else just walked right past.
But the Daydream statue is pretty eye-catching from afar, so you'll probably be surprised (haha)!
Let's take a look at how to get to the location of the bird-human (Youmeng).

It wasn't easy to take a photo because there were so many people, but we managed to get a shot of the sign.
Follow this sign to the Zhongshan Underground Mall, MRT, and bus station.

It's located right at the top of the stairs next to the interchange point between the MRT (Taipei Metro) and the Taiwan High Speed Rail (Taipei-Kaohsiung) and TRA (local lines).
On the map, it's before the Zhongshan Underground Mall, between the Taipei Metro station and Taipei Main Station.
It's near Civic Boulevard, and Exit M1 is nearby.

And of course, there was a place to sit and rest, which is the main point of this site!
There's a stone bench around the bird-human (Youmeng) that can accommodate about 10 people.
It's especially convenient as a meeting spot from the MRT (subway)!

Oh, and there's a fried egg on the wall...

The yolk of the fried egg had an explanation of the artwork "Youmeng (Daydream)."
H245... that means it's 245cm tall! And it's also described as a girl.
Just in case, here's the explanation.
Original Text
在一片喧鬧繁華的台北,“夢遊”(白日夢)提供了一個打破單調日常生活的短暫解放 。站立在一片草原之中, 帶著鳥頭的女孩手上握著鉛筆, 臉上流下的水覆蓋到他整個身體. 永遠長不大的女孩, 永遠寫不出字的鉛筆, 停留在靜止與流動, 現實與幻想之間 …這個超現實的雕塑邀請你停下腳步微笑, 停下腳步做夢…
English
Amidst the hustle and bustle of Taipei, Daydream offers a whimsical break from the monotony of everyday life. Standing in a field of grass, water flows from the bird head covering the young girl’s face, a girl that would never grow up, a pencil that will never write, caught between motion and stillness, fact and fiction, the surreal sculpture is an invitation to stop and smile, an invitation to dream…
In short, it's a girl wearing a bird headdress, sweating, holding a pencil that can't write, standing in a field. It's somehow fleeting.
Hmm, surreal... that's what they call modern art, right?
So, because it's such an impactful bird-human, please go and see it!
Since the Zhongshan Underground Mall is also nearby, it might be a good meeting spot for shopping in Taipei.
By the way, I used an LCC (Low Cost Carrier) for the first time on this trip to Taiwan, and it was more comfortable than I expected, and I was able to go to Taiwan at a low price!
Here's a report on the in-flight conditions of an LCC that you can go to even on a low budget, and what I learned from actually using it.
So, why not use it as a meeting spot or a rest area in Taipei Main Station?







