Joseph & Paul | photo j

February 5, 2024 by JiaYing

Taiwan Day 14: Chiayi

Some sightseeing around Chiayi, the one place I don't have to explain how to pronounce my name! Then to a decadent 10-course dinner and the most luxurious hotel experience of my life.

A cookie factory! We could smell the good smells as soon as we pulled into the parking lot.

The cookie factory encourages visitors: it's all decked out in photo ops and has a giant tasting room with alllll the cookie flavors to sample. Banana was Paul's favorite.

More unexpected body parts: fish head soup.

And the interior styled like a fruit bar.

Detail from the temple. It's covered with these little figures.

I'm told all the hotels on Alishan are run-down and overpriced… not this one! Our hotel just built a year ago, and it was GORGEOUS.

I'm a shower and run kind of person; can't remember the last time I filled a bath. But this soaking tub I could not resist.

Fruit drinks on the rooftop bar next to the hot tub.

The beginning of our 10-course dinner. The appetizers alone would have been great, but the food kept coming… and coming… and coming…

February 5, 2024 by JiaYing

Taiwan Day 13: Yehliu, Jiufen and Shifen

This route is a popular day trip from Taipei. Our driver, Mr. Yang, said he's driven this route nearly every day for the past 8 years, but it was my first time (unless I went as a baby?). Soggy, fantastic day.

Yehliu Geopark features bizarre rock formations. It looks like you landed on another planet, one inhibited by Teletubbies. This is not an artistically blurred photo; I just had a really wet camera.

The most famous rock formation, Queen's Head, looks like the profile of a queen.

A nice security uncle stands by the famous Queen's Head, helping keeping the line moving and guiding each group to the designated photo spot (marked by footprints on the boardwalk). The line was long, but the setup was efficient.

Vendors outside the park gates sell these brightly colored raincoats for $3 USD. They were quite nice; the zippers alone would cost more than $3!

It alternated between raining and sprinkling the entire day.

Jiufen is built onto a steep mountainside. I'm glad I didn't have to drive / look for parking.

The famous Ah Mei tea shop, said to be inspiration for Hayao Miyazaki’s "Spirited Away."

Jiufen Old Street is a tiny, narrow street packed with tea shops, eateries, and souvenir shops. It was very crowded, very wet and very DELICIOUS.

You can write whatever you want on your lantern. Someone people wrote a lot, another person just drew a smiley face. Be careful not to get the ink on your clothes because it won't come out.

You can choose a single colored lantern ($200 NTD) or one with four different colors ($250 NTD). Each color has a different meaning. Each store is the same price, so don't bother price shopping.

The sifu is a pro at shooting photos and videos for everyone. (Also, If you need to use the restroom, make sure you ask the sifu whose shop you visit, because no one else will let you.)

The train tracks are an active route, but the train travels slowly and there's lots of advance warning before it reaches the station. Everyone has time to clear off the tracks.

Rolled ice cream with cilantro and crushed peanuts! You wouldn't think these flavors go together but it was delicious.

The stall immediately to the right of the train station is the original deboned and marinated chicken wing stuffed with fried rice. (There are copycats along the street.)

No idea how they stuff the chicken wing with rice without breaking the skin! It was hot and tasty.

February 5, 2024 by JiaYing

Taiwan Day 12: Back to Taipei

MRT Sanchong exit playground, family meetup, Shilin night market

You can take a roller slide out of the subway station! Exit 1A at Sanchong. A friend in Seattle told me about this subway stop, and testing out this slide was as much a priority for us as Taipei 101.

The roller slide leads down to the most incredible playground, New Taipei Metropolitan Park. It's HUGE. We counted 29 slides, plus there are a whole bunch of slopes that you can use as slides.

The play structures are adorable animal themed.

There's food trucks parked alongside, nursing pods for privacy, restrooms, a spray park and the coolest zipline that operates in a loop.

The park was busy and absolutely pristine.

Shilin night market is the biggest night market in Taipei, and it's a wonderful maze of winding little streets filled with endless snacks, drinks and games. Kids LOVED it.

You're not going to find these treats in the ID.

My tip is always to look for the stalls with the longest lines, that's where you'll find the best food. Though I did ask one person in line what the wait was for, and she said, "I dunno, I saw everyone in line so I got in line too."

Hard-won prizes!! The stuffies were named "Shilin" and "Ye Shi."

A grudge I've been carrying around for nearly 40 years: When my sister and I were little, we played a game at the market where you could scoop up tiny little turtles with paper nets. We had to share one net. My sister had HER turn, the net broke, and that was the end of it.

I finally got to right that wrong at the Shilin night market. Now you scoop up fish with nets that DON'T break, an unlimited turn for $100 NTD. Joseph had a turn, Paul had a turn, even I had a turn. Four decades of bitterness, resolved.

February 5, 2024 by JiaYing

Taiwan Day 11: Kenting, east

"Kissing Rock" is a coastal reef eroded by ocean waves, leaving a cut-out in the shape of Taiwan.

A sandy area next to the parking lot with a ton of hermit crabs. Locals leave food scraps for the little guys.

A stretch of pristine white sand beach that is strictly OFF LIMITS. A posted sign at Shadao (砂島) Ecological Reserve warns trespassers must pay a $3,000 NTD fine. Paul: "Ok, I'll just pay it so I can go on the beach." This child of mine.

Shadao is protected because its sand is 97.7 percent shell, the highest concentration anywhere in Taiwan. There's a bin of the sand inside a small visitor's center you can scoop up and examine. The sand is made up of tiny shells and shell fragments.

The wall behind these guys is coral from the bottom the sea, pushed inland by the movement of the tectonic plates.

A monument marking the southernmost tip of Taiwan. Driving the entire island, tip to tip, would takes 5.5 hours.

The trails in the national park are nice, paved paths. Not too much roughing it.

The view from Sea Pavilion. The tall pointy peak is Mt. Dajian. In the water is a big boulder, called Sail Rock, that rolled down the mountain a long time ago.

Sail Rock, close up. Locals say it looks like Richard Nixon's profile. The big nose?

Mystery Cave, which was formed by coral reefs that were pushed up and then collapsed.

Bluff with a view of the Pacific Ocean. It was so crazy windy I was actually afraid for Paul, who only weighs 50-something pounds.

Tea ice cream, made with tea leaves grown in the area.

February 5, 2024 by JiaYing

Taiwan Day 10: Kenting, west

Kenting National Park is one of the most beautiful places in Taiwan, with sandy beaches, caves, coral reefs, oodles of coastal scenery.

We caught the Kenting Express bus from the Zuoying HSR station. It's a two-hour ride on a comfy coach bus, and the driver presented each of us with bottles of water and packets of tissue. Cost: Less than $6, paid with EasyCard. Public transportation in Taiwan is UNBELIEVABLE.

Baisha (白沙), the beach where Ang Lee filmed "Life of Pi."

The semi-submersible boat ride through the coral reef was the highlight of our Kenting experience. It was like we were at the aquarium, but this was a real life coral reef teeming with pretty tropical fish. And my favorite way to experience nature: staying dry and comfortable behind a pane of glass.

So much 7-11 love. We got a bit addicted to the pork floss onigiri. 7-11s in Taiwan are a wonder. You can top your EasyCard, buy a delicious hot lunch and giant jugs of bottled water, print out homework… 7-11s are literally everywhere, a beacon of cleanliness and reliability.

Maobitou (貓鼻頭), or Cat Rock, is a limestone block that extends out to sea at Hengchun. Wind and wave erosion carved it into the shape of a crouching cat, hence its name. See it?

Famous sunset lookout point, but the clouds had other ideas.

We stayed right on Kenting's main road, with the night market out the front steps. 墾丁大街 definitely has more of a bar/nightlife vibe, with cocktail stalls dotted along the main drag. We're more of a bubble tea crowd; this is from the stall our driver recommended.

The boys LOVED the games at the night market.

February 5, 2024 by JiaYing

Taiwan Day 9: Kaohsiung

Onward to Kaohsiung. Wild monkeys! Kaohsiung is the major city in Taiwan's south. Like Seattle, it's a bustling port city with wide avenues and a beautiful waterfront. Unlike Seattle, it's home to wild monkeys that run around like squirrels.

We went to the Shoushan Zoo, which was really nice. Admission cost 50 cents for adults, 20 cents for kids. But the real attraction was just OUTSIDE the zoo gates, where we found wild formosan macaques in a park popular with hikers. They are completely unafraid of people, and we got SO CLOSE. The more I watched them, the more I thought, we're not so different.

The sign points to the zoo entrance, haha.

View of Kaohsiung, along with some non-monkey pictures…

Love these little breakfast stands. Made-to-order, delicious and filling, for less than $3.

A moment of appreciation for the 7-11s and their excellent hot food selection.

Just like the Hogwarts Express, a lady pushes a snack cart on the train.

The front of a home, completely covered with stag ferns.

Every house has laundry hanging out to dry, because no one has driers.

Fresh coconut water from a roadside vendor.

Another baby on a scooter, in a little clip-on seat.

February 5, 2024 by JiaYing

Taiwan Day 8: Tainan

HSR to Tainan! Tian Gong temple, National Museum of Taiwan Literature, Confucius temple and Koxinga shrine

Tian Gong temple, complete with sleepy old guys.

Don't mind us, just photo bombing this young couple.

The Confucius temple was way prettier than Longshan temple, with way fewer people. We met a visitor all the way from Sammamish.

Paul found a little slide, aka the side of a stair.

Learned something new: Koxinga kicked the Dutch out of Taiwan in 1661 and there's a shrine for him in Tainan.

This is how families schlep around! The kid saw my camera and struck a pose.

February 5, 2024 by JiaYing

Taiwan Day 7: Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial, Longshan temple, Shulin

The Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial is immense and grand, I guess that's the point. I left Taiwan when I was 4 and it's one of the few childhood memories I have. *Chiang Kai-Shek is basically the George Washington of Taiwan.

A flock of pigeons rose up and startled us.

Changing of the guards takes place every hour.

The MRT: so organized, clean and efficient. 58 cents a ride.

Lunch with my aunt at Caesar Metro Hotel where I had the best fatty pork belly of life.

Taiwan in one picture. Scooters, scooters, everywhere.

Children are an increasingly rare sight. Taiwan has one of the world's lowest birth rates.

Taiwanese makeup, which comes in only three shades! The standard of beauty is light, lighter and lightest skin.

Bars on all the windows is the prevailing aesthetic.

All the topping options for tofu pudding!! $1.28 a bowl.

My uncle stuffed us silly with the BEST street food outside his house in Shulin.

February 5, 2024 by JiaYing

Taiwan Day 6: National Palace Museum, Taipei Children’s Amusement Park, Tamsui

National Palace Museum, Taipei Children's Amusement Park, Tamsui.

With my fabulous cousin in front of the National Palace Museum.

The famous jadeite cabbage! It's the one thing you MUST see. (It's like the Mona Lisa of Taiwan.)

Everyone politely waited in line for their closeup with the jadeite cabbage.

Basically when Chiang Kai-Shek left mainland China in 1949, he brought allllllll the good stuff with him. So the top Chinese treasures are in Taiwan (and nope, not giving it back).

These were a big deal because they'd never been displayed before.

Found the item pictured on Paul's ticket! Revolving vase with swimming fish in cobalt blue glaze

Caught a bus directly to the Taipei Children's Amusement Park. You pay for each ride with your EasyCard, so convenient.

The swings are so cute. They're planets orbiting the sun.

Get the most delicious red bean cake for 50 cents here.

We took the MRT to the waterfront, Tamsui. My cousin is an expert at the claw machines!

January 12, 2024 by JiaYing

Taiwan Day 5: Leofoo Village

If your goal is to make your kids fall in love with your birth country, take them to an amusement park! Leofoo Village is part zoo, part amusement park, a whole lot of fun.

Leofoo Village is split off into different themed areas. The big waterpark was closed for the season, but there was more than enough to do in the other four areas: South Pacific, African Safari, Arabian Nights and the Wild West. The boys INHALED cheeseburgers and fries in the American Wild West restaurant. (Easy guys, it's only day 5 in Taiwan.)

*Pictures by my awesome cousin and cousin-in-law!