Our Life in Taiwan: Recent Episodes
Our Life in Taiwan
Day 2 - December 18, 2006
Chiang Kai Shek Memorial
We had to take Ryan into the hospital for some tests this morning. Since we did not really have an appointment, the wait was going to be a few hours. Anting graciously offered to see the Doctor with Ryan while I took Mom and Dad to the CKS memorial.
Looking towards the Main gate from the Memorial
Changing of the Guard
Proof they went somewhere other than Hooters
Riding the Big Escalator in on the Metro
More Metro Shots
Taipei 101
We met Anting and Ryan at the TGI Friday's near the Hospital and had some lunch before heading to Taipei 101, the world's tallest Building (for now). The elevator is also pretty fast, getting us up to the top in about 30 seconds. Not only is it worth it to go up to the top and look at Taipei from above, but there is also very nice shopping on the lower floors and nice to have a coffee and lounge in the giant atrium on the 5th floor.
Taipei 101
Scenes from the Top
Din Tai Feng
After spending several hours in 101, we drove over to the world famous Din Tai Feng, where we had their xiao long bao (soup and meat filled dumplings), kong xin cai (fried green vegetable), chao fan (fried rice), and for dessert some red bean and some sesame dumplings.
Making the world famous dumplings
How "Big Nose" eats Chinese Food
Grandma pitching in
Making Grandma Laugh
Day 1 - December 17, 2006
Taoyuan
My Parents arrived at the Taoyuan-Taiwan Airport at about 6:45 am and Anting, Ryan and I were there to pick them up. Of course the first order of business was to check out their new grandson.
Happy Grandma
Happy Grandpa
Since the best way to avoid jet lag is to quickly adapt to the local time, I thought a nice brisk walk through Taoyuan's traffic would be just the thing to keep them awake in the afternoon. While the exhaust fumes might have slowed them down a bit, dodging the scooters, taxi drivers, and stinky tofu vendors, kept them on their toes.
Sunny Winter Walk
Street outside the Train Station - Taoyuan
Uncontrolled intersections are the best
Tasty
We let Mom and Dad have a shower and a nap in the afternoon and then we had a nice meal at the Tasty Restaurant, just down the street from our house and a few steps away from their hotel.
View from Hotel Room
Anting's Aunt and Uncle and my Mom and Dad
enjoy the ambiance of Tasty
Day 3 December 19, 2006
Danshui
We started the day with some Christmas errands, namely having a picture of Gibsons framed for Anting's parents. We were originally heading for Danshui, or at least the part of Danshui where we thought we were supposed to go for touristy things, but followed the signs to fisherman's wharf. That took us to a different, but worthwhile place. Unfortunately, it was very windy and spraying rain, so not ideal for touristy things. In warmer and dryer weather, it seems like a very nice place to hang out.
At the bridge at fisherman's Wharf
Weathering the storm
Around the Harbour
Dad's Lighthouse Shot
Another good shot on Dad's 3 mega pixel on "Auto"
Fort San Domingo
There is an old fort near Danshui, which is on the north west corner of Taiwan, that was originally built by the Dutch. It was inhabited by the Dutch, the Spanish, the English, and most recently has been given back to the government and made into a tourist spot. It is very nice to see some European style architecture where old buildings look pretty good.
Not only was looking around the fort pretty good, the lunch was excellent and reasonably priced, and the restaurant had a beautiful view.
Wooden Shoes in the Background sponsored by ING
Baby out for a sling
Ryan
It is very comfortable in here
Our View from the Restaurant
Happy to see some Western food
After our late lunch we finally made it to the Danshui part we know and love. Unfortunately it was quite cold and rainy. After a quick walk down the street and along the dock, we headed back to Taipei for some good old fashioned rush hour traffic in the rain.
Some scenes from the Danshui seaside walk and night market.
Costco
What better thing to do in the rain than check out what Costco is like in Taiwan. Also good for some last minute Christmas shopping. After Costco, we went to one of our favourite restaurants - Kiki, where they serve excellent Szechuan Chinese Food. Unfortunately no pictures, but it was delicious as always.
What's a vacation without Costco?
Day 4 - December 20, 2006
Road Trip
In the morning of December 20th we started out on our road trip down south. Our planned destination was Sun Moon Lake. Anting and I had been in there in the summer and it was quite beautiful, so we decided to take Mom and Dad there to see what it's like in the winter. Driving on the Highways in Taiwan is quite the joy. Several lanes of very well maintained roadway, usually elevated, help you get from North to South with no problems.My Dad likes to take pictures while traveling 100km/h. Surprisingly some turn out OK
Our first stop was at the rest stop. Taiwan takes the idea of the highway rest stop to a whole new level. At this rest stop, built as an overpass, several stores, restaurants, and arcades all do quite a good business.
Outside the rest stop
Some scenes from inside the rest stop
Mom and I try out one of Taiwan's national pastimes
I tried to prepare Mom and Dad with the fact that as we went south the Western - style restaurants would become fewer and fewer. Unfortunately I was proven wrong; We stayed at the Hotel Del Lago at Sun Moon Lake and had a nice steak dinner.
At the Hotel Restaurant
Impressed with the facilities
I think they meant "Booty"
Ass; Telling it like it is since 1978. Come down for a piece.
Well I guess... if you like your ipod that much. But, any damage is
not covered under the warranty.
Day 5 - December 21, 2006
Sun Moon Lake
We woke up this morning and decided to go on the boat cruise around the Lake. The first stop was a floating Island. Due to a dam upstream, the floating island is quite a bit smaller than it was before. Most of it is now floating on a man made dock-like structure. There is one very small non-floating part. The next stop was the other side of the island where there is a tourist trap street where one can get some shopping done.
Morning Lake view from the Hotel
Sun Moon Lake Blues
Waiting for our Cruise to Begin
Christmas Scenes Around Sun Moon Lake
On the Floating Island
After the boat cruise, which really was only for an hour and a half, including the two stops, we drove up to the Tsen Pagoda, that overlooks the lake. The pagoda was built by Chiang Kai Shek, or at least at his request, for his wife. To get there one must first hike up steps for 600 metres and then seven flights of stairs to get to the top of the Pagoda. At the top the view is quite nice and you can ring the bell.
Tsen Pagoda
Mom, Anting, and Ryan outside the Pagoda
Scenes from the Top
Where's the Elevator?
Too Much Exercise
Inside a Chinese painting
Climbing Back Down the Mountain
Sun Moon Lake
After Hanging out at Sun Moon Lake for most of the day, we hit the road again, heading further south to Tainan. There, after driving around for a while, we found a hotel run by Eva Airlines.
Day 6 - December 22, 2007
Meinong
We had stayed the night in an Evergreen Hotel and woke up to a very nice all you could eat buffet breakfast. All you can eat breakfast is not very appetizing if it is Taiwan style, but if it is American Style, it is quite good. Fortunately for all concerned, our's was a combo. The best of both worlds: Anting could have her intestine and seaweed congee and we could have some eggs and toast.
Our plan was to drive to Meinong, the famous place for hand-made paper umbrellas. Although the umbrellas there are made from wood and paper, they have a thick lacquer on them and they can actually be used. So,not only are they decorative, but also useful. After an hour or so drive, we arrived at Meinong, but could not see any umbrella makers. We did, however, find a nice lake with a pagoda, where Ryan had his lunch and we enjoyed the scenery. After Ryan's lunch we followed some tourist signs to a Hakka people centre, where Ryan managed to have the biggest puke we have seen to date. The Hakka Centre was also pretty boring so we left it quite quickly on our quest to find some umbrella makers. After driving through town back and forth, we got hungry and had some lunch. Finally, down the road we found the most famous umbrella shop and stopped in. It was quite nice, but perhaps not worth coming all the way down south for.
Moonscape on the Way to Meinong
So tell us how you like the food?
Stopping for Ryan's Lunch
The Lake Pagoda
Scenes around the Pagoda
BillBoard in Meinong
Making an Umbrella
The Umbrella Store
Mountain Highway
We had a decision to make. We were in the lower middle part of Taiwan, but on the west side. Our next major destination was in the North East. How to get there? If we drove south down to the nearly the southern tip, we could then drive north along the East side, but this would take quite a bit of time. Our other option was to go straight (on a winding road) through the mountains, but this involved some risk. We did not know if the road was very good and had heard that it was closed in the winter. In the spirit of living dangerously, we chose the latter and headed off towards the east coast. Three hours later, after driving about 80 kms we started regretting our decision. The road wound its way through the mountains. In many places it was only one lane and in many other places it was under construction, leaving an open cliff only a few feet away from our tires. Things got more interesting when we lost visibility due to a very thick mountain fog. Then it got dark and foggy. We pressed on and finally started seeing the mileage signs for the town at the end of the mountain road. Another couple of hours and we finally made it out the other end, but then had another 2 hours of driving to get to Hualian, our destination for the night. As such, we found a restaurant nearby, had some dinner, and then continued on our journey. We were all happy to arrive in Hualian in one piece.
Interesting foothills
Mountain Highway
Temple on the Mountain
Above the Clouds
After that drive, we'll eat anything!
Here are some pictures from the last 2 months:
Anting has found a new hobby that she really loves--soap making. This particular soap is made
through a marbling process. Every bar has a different and surprising pattern.
This toy is the first thing that ever scared Ryan, and boy did it ever scare him. He was calmly having a nice bath when it was introduced to him. He screamed, had such a scared look on his face, and nearly jumped right out of the tub. It might have been the noise it made after pulling the string. He continued to hate it for several weeks, but now has gotten used to it.
May 10, 2005
In May Ryan was able to start sucking his toes. He even likes his toes better than his thumb.
Mother's Day - May 12, 2007
May 19, 2007
May 21, 2007
Ryan rolls around a lot in his sleep now and can wind up in some interesting positions.
May 23, 2007
He likes to take pictures of himself now.
June 7, 2007
Ryan is able to now sit up unassisted
June 9, 2007
June 9, 2007
Jeff and Jean's Ivan. Three baldies (1 shaved)
June 10, 2007
Ryan's Auntie had some fun with stickers
June 10, 2007
Here's some genetic modificaion for you. 2 for one Bananas.
June 14, 2007
June 14, 2007
June 18, 2007
While Ryan can sit up, he does fall down sometimes so Anting made a towel helmet for him.
June 18, 2007
Ryan really loves his "a-ma"
June 18, 2007
June 27, 2007
The Podcast is now in High Definition and widescreen!
In this episode we attend a Traditional Hakka style wedding.
For the best quality, you should download Quicktime (if you do not already have it). If you are having difficulties watching or downloading, please click on the link under "Podcast Episodes" on the right or write a comment.
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For a smaller file, faster download, and worse quality use this player:
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The Day before Mother's day everything was set. We had a nice restaurant to go to, we knew where it was, and we knew who was going. Then, on Mother's day, it all changed. Ted, the favourite son, did not want to go all the way into Taipei to celebrate his mother's day. So, like on every other day besides mother's day, his mom had to accommodate his wishes. Since Mother's day is celebrated here, most of the restaurants were booked, but Anting's mom was able to make a reservation at a Thai restaurant she remembered going to a few months ago.
We all piled into two cars heading in the direction of where Anting's mom thought the Thai restaurant was. She forgot, however, to bring along any information about the proposed restaurant. She also forgot the name of the restaurant. After driving around for three quarters of an hour hoping divine intervention might allow Anting's mom to find the restaurant, we decided it might be best to call directory assistance. Of course directory assistance works much better when one has a name, or an address, or even a phone number.
Here was the original conversation with directory assistance in the morning:
Mom: Can I get the number of a Thai restaurant?
411: What's the name?
Mom: I don't know, but I think its on Zhuang Jin Road?
411: I'm sorry, there's no Thai restaurants on that road. Do you know the name?
Mom: I think its Golden something.
411: Is it Golden Coast?
Mom: Yeah, that's it.
411: Please hold for the number.
As we were driving around Anting's mom again called directory assistance:
Mom: Can I get the number of the Thai restaurant on Zhuang Jin Road?
411: There is no Thai restaurant on Zhuang Jin Road
Mom: But I called there this morning and the other lady gave me a number. Can I get that number?
After some more time on the phone explaining that directory assistance gets more than two calls a day, we finally got the number of the restaurant we thought we had a reservation for. Although we were now almost an hour late, we called and got the address. Upon arrival, Anting's mom realized that this was not the restaurant she went to those months ago. Plus, it was definitely not a Thai restaurant.
Plan B was to call Anting's dad who was the one other person who went to the Thai restaurant, but he was flying back to China that day. Fortunately, he was in the Hong Kong airport, had his phone on, and remembered the restaurant.
Now with address in hand, or at least rudimentary directions on how to get there, we were able to find the fabled Thai restaurant with little difficulty. But, we were told we'd have to wait an hour and a half for a table. Even though we were all frazzled and hungry, we decided to wait it out.
Luckily we waited as the food was very good, probably the best Thai food I've had in Taiwan. In addition, it was a very nice place for a photo shoot with all the moms and the newest son:
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Just in time for Chinese New Year, here is a podcast about the other New Year. We went with some friends to Danshui, hopped on a boat, had a barbeque, and sailed to a point where we could watch the fireworks on Taipei 101 at midnight.
Fortunately for all involved, no narration.
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In this latest video installment, we visit Taipei's Grand Hotel and discuss some of its surprising history.
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In this episode Anting takes my dad out for a scooter ride through the mean streets of Taoyuan
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It has been a while since I posted some pictures of Ryan, so here are some recent ones. He is doing very well now and is getting more and more interactive with us. He loves to smile and laugh. He now has a few new tricks. He can roll over onto his tummy, he can suck on his toes, and he is now onto some solid (or mushy) food.
March 22, 2007
March 22, 2007
March 24, 2007
April 1, 2007
April 14, 2007
April 14, 2007
April 21, 2007
April 22, 2007
April 24, 2007
April 24, 2007
April 30, 2007
Sing Home Styrofoam Factory
It has been more than 3 months since my parents left, but here is the final installment of their trip here. Christmas was a Monday and is no longer a holiday in Taiwan. I therefore had to take the day off work. That meant from boxing day to the 28th, before my parents went on their 2 week trip to New Zealand, Anting was their tour guide. They took a break on Boxing day and loafed around, but on the 27th, went with Anting to her dad's Styrofoam factory.
Inside the Factory
National Palace Museum
After visiting the Factory, the next stop was to Visit Taiwan's most famous museum-The National Palace Museum. When Chiang Kai Shek left the Mainland and annexed Taiwan, he took with him many of China's national treasures. The collection is so large that only a small percentage of the works are on display at any given time. The building is quite large too so it requires several visits to see even the small percentage of displayed art. Unfortunately you are not allowed to take pictures inside. I was very jealous since I had to work and I had never been to the museum before. Fortunately, I have since been and it is well worth seeing, but probably needs several visits to truly appreciate it.
National Palace Museum
Tepanyaki
After the museum, and after my work, we all met for a Japanese style tepanyaki dinner in Taipei. This restaurant is quite expensive, but in most malls they have little tepanyaki places that serve very good and freshly cooked meals.
It is nice to have the food cooked fresh right in front of you.
The Grand Hotel
December 28th - With their first leg of the trip winding to a close, My parents and Anting just went and visited the Grand Hotel in Taipei. The Grand Hotel is quite the beautiful landmark in Taipei as you can see from the pictures below. They had a buffet lunch there and then picked me up after work and we all went to the airport to see them off on their next leg of the journey--New Zealand.
Scooting About Town
January 11, 2007 - After spending a few weeks touring New Zealand, my parents were back in Taiwan to refresh for 2 days before heading back to Vancouver. Fortunately, there is not much of a time difference so not too much jet lag, but they needed to have a rest before returning. This morning, since my dad has been obsessed with the scooters zipping in and out of traffic, Anting gave him a ride around Taoyuan and up our local mountain to the temple.
That evening we returned to Taoyuan's best barbecue with some friends.
Checking out Taiwan's most convenient form of transportation
Taoyuan's Confucius Temple
It's Just Like Camping!
High Speed Rail
I took the day off for my parents' last day in Taiwan. They were scheduled on an evening flight and we decided to test out Taiwan's brand new high speed rail. The high speed rail had already been delayed 14 months when it finally opened for testing in January. There were many news reports about the massive bird slaughter that the train was causing, but it turns out the reports were somewhat exaggerated.
During the testing period the fares were half price. We were only able to get return tickets from Taoyuan to the next stop near Taipei, but it was a fun ride and it was nice to see the high speed rail in action. Even though the different components of the HSR system were built by different countries, it appeared and felt like everything fit together naturally. The ride was smooth and fast, the cars were clean and bright, and the stations were architectural wonders. The stations at Banqiao and Taipei connect with the regular train and the MRT, making it even more convenient.
After our high speed adventure, it was off to the airport to say goodbye again. It was really great having my parents here, not only so that they could see Ryan, but we got to experience plenty of Taiwan's greatest attractions. I hope we have more visitors.
Too much excitement
Last meal at the airport before flying home
Saying bye to little Ryan
T'was the Morning of the Night before Christmas
In the morning of the night before Christmas we woke up with a fright. I was changing Ryan's diaper and he was just looking at me. Now, normally it would be quite pleasant to have your son looking quite adoringly directly into your eyes, but on on this occasion I knew something was wrong. Every other morning when I change his diaper, he gets cranky. He kicks and screams, jerks his arms around, and alternates between changing red and light purple. I called Anting over to the crib to get her expert opinion. Although we had just been on the road with my parents for a few days, there had been no major incidents and no one had been sick. Anting came over and performed the "lift up arm and drop it test". Ryan failed miserably; his arm flopped onto the crib like a warm sausage link. We both knew something was wrong at that point, but decided that maybe he was just tired and needed to wake up a bit. We also took his temperature and found him to be cooler than normal. We waited 5 minutes. His situation did not improve so we started packing for a hospital visit.
It was early in the morning and we were looking forward to heading back to sleep for a few hours after feeding Ryan. Going to the hospital was going to put a damper on that. We were very tired, worried, and now feeling immeasurable pains of guilt. Prior to heading off with my parents for our short trip around Taiwan, every Taiwanese person who knew of our plans told us not to go. If we were to go, we shouldn't take the baby. Chief among our advisers was Anting's mom, who is a wonderful source of "information" on how to raise a baby. In addition to worrying about Ryan's well-being, I had to face the prospect that the person who says you can't whistle lest evil spirits will be attracted, who tells me I shouldn't drink ice water, even when it's 40 degrees Celsius outside, and who maintains that babies can't be outside when its dark, or they'll get possessed, was right.We arrived at the hospital tired, worried, and feeling guilty. Fortunately, we walked right in and Ryan was examined and had blood test right away. The emergency ward was quite busy so we had to wait for Ryan's test results. The weather was a little cold (and there are no indoor heating systems) so we wrapped him in a blanket and began the long wait for results. Ryan lay limply on my shoulder the whole time and had not even reacted when he was stuck with a needle for the blood test.
Finally the tests came back and it was determined that he had a urinary tract infection. He had to be admitted to the hospital for further tests and to treat the infection. Ryan was admitted to the newborn's ward and hooked up to an IV. For the next week he was in hospital and we visited during the posted hours. It was quite sad to have him back in the hospital as he had already spent more time than normal in the hospital after his birth and then was re-admitted after his first weekend out. It also meant that he missed his first Christmas at home. Fortunately they found that his UTI was not of the chronic type and cleared up after a few days of medicine.
Not being the types to let a loved-one's hospitalization get in the way of our celebrations, we carried on as normal, as you can see below:
Oh Christmas Tree
Opening Presents
The Buffet at The Grand Formosa Regent
(Cheaper on Christmas Day!)
Group Shot
In Front of the Giant Tree Outside the Restaurant
Group Shot
For the folks back at home, here are some recent pictures of our cute little buddy. Ryan is learning some good new tricks like grabbing things, trying to talk, and crying for an hour at the top of his lungs when we want to go to sleep. While he is having some health issues, he seems to be developing normally and is a happy baby. The doctors have finally figured out why he had jaundice for so long--he has hypothyroidism and is now on medication. The medication should also ensure that he develops normally. There are still several tests to perform, but ever since he's been on the meds, his colour and energy levels have improved. We hope March is the start of the end of extended hospital stays.
Feb 1, 2007
Feb 4, 2007
Crying Cousins - Feb 5, 2007
Feb 7, 2007
Feb 7, 2007
Feb 8, 2007
Feb 16, 2007
Feb 16, 2007
Feb 21, 2007
Mar 1, 2007
Mar 2, 2007
Mar 3, 2007
Mar 4, 2007
Mar 4, 2007
Day 7 - December 23, 2006
Taroko Gorge
Welcome back to our series documenting my parents' trip to Taiwan. No, they have not been here all this time, but are safely back in Gibsons--it has just taken me this long to get these things posted. A few more parts to post and then I will consolidate the whole trip into a giant post. Please also note that more pictures of our adventure can be seen on our flickr site.
We spent the night in Hualian after our mountain highway driving adventure. In the morning we had another hotel buffet breakfast and then made our way to Taroko Gorge. I had never been there before and was looking forward to seeing it. It sure did not disappoint. The area is probably one of the most beautiful areas in Taiwan. Running along a stretch of about 16 Kilometers, the mountain views, clean air, and luxurious resort was somewhat reminiscent of Banff. We spent several hours looking around, taking pictures, and eating at the Grand Formosa Regent Hotel. If you ever come to Taiwan, this has to be on the top of the list for must see places.
After spending most of the afternoon at the Gorge, we were finally at the end of our road trip and started making our way back to Taoyuan. The government had just recently finished building a massive series of tunnels that cut about 2 hours off the drive time from Ilan to Taipei. We got to experience driving for about 30 minutes through a mountain.
When we arrived home, we went to one of our favourite restaurants in Taoyuan and barbecued our own delicious meals.
View from the Hotel in Hualian
Small Town on the way to the Gorge
Christmas at the Formosa Regent
Outside the Hotel Resort
Entrance way to Mountain Temple
Enjoying the View on Taiwan's East Coast
Driving through the new Tunnel
Enjoying some Barbeque
"Go Long!" Mom and Christmas Baby
Trying on New Clothes"More Milk Dammit!"
" Who's That Watching Me Burp?"Grandparents Looking On
Click To Play Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of our friends and Family. We hope you are all enjoying a special holiday season. Best wishes for the New Year.