Our awesome Taiwanese experience started in Vietnam, we were fortunate to be plucked out of a check in queue and directed straight to priority check in so we were processed very quickly. My backpack had done some dieting in SE Asia and luckily came in at 20.2kg. 200 grams over my allowance, it had been up to 2kg over!

 

A delayed flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Taipei was a slight blip but it was a good flight. We processed through customs in 25 minutes and found our bags were faster than us and were going round and round on the conveyer! 🙄 Money changed, SIM card purchased and we were on our way to the MRT that would take us to our apartment.

 

Unfortunately for us our Airbnb host got a bit mixed up because we headed for number 197, only to find a security person who said “no resident” via google translate. However he was so kind to us, letting us in anyway, giving us chairs and water to drink while I sent very firm emails to our host asking where the heck we were meant to be. The host was quite unhelpful and would not give us a phone number to call. The kind security guard then stated the obvious “wrong address” into his google translate. Eventually I scrolled back through our early communication with Airbnb host and he had said 179, so off I took with family with security guy tailing us to the correct place.

 

We checked in no problems, thanks to a 24 hour front desk, but then we got inside the apartment to find only one bed! 😫When booking I had had a conversation about the kids. More sharp emails to the host and we split the bed in half (it was two mattresses) found some linen, hoped it was clean, and put kids to bed!

 

The next morning I woke to a $80 refund on Airbnb, a kind gesture from the host.

 

That afternoon we met up with BK’s brother, John. He so kindly got us easy cards which meant tapping in and out of the train station was really simple and sped up the process through stations. We explored a market called Shinlin, had street food for dinner, a beef curry wrap for me, yum, then home to bed. 💤

 

The following day was a rest, laundry, supermarket kind of day. We looked for somewhere nice to eat for dinner but being Chinese New Year everything was shut. McDonald’s it was, and it was cheap!!

 

On Sunday we decided to visit a museum but by the time we got there and looked at the crowds we were like….nooooooo thanks! So relaxed in their gardens instead 😄

 

By this time we were over public transport and needing to meet John and his partner for dinner, so we Uber’d. Team Knowles loves Uber, apart from back in Bangkok!

 

A grand hotel buffet was the plan for dinner, we have been getting all our food cooked fresh for us for the last 7.5 weeks but thought that this flash hotel’s food would be ok, and it was. The buffet didn’t have time to have germs on it with a fast turn over. It was the best food we’ve had the entire trip!! Yum and yum and yum!

 

Monday was forecast to be a beaut day so I chose to take the fam out to the hinterland to a little village called Shifen where it’s the only place in Taiwan to set off a Chinese lantern. Being Chinese New Year it seemed fitting, however it turns out everyone else had the same idea and we stood very squashed in a few trains. Glad everyone had showered!

 

We explored Shifen, looked at a waterfall, which was nice but I can see why the Chinese LOVE New Zealand, we also have beautiful waterfalls but we lack the pile of people to squeeze past to see said waterfall!

 

The little village was all based around the railway. Lots of people were setting off their lanterns around the railway track. We hopped onto the train again and off at another village called Pingxi. We got some dinner, looked at the sunset then decided it was time to buy a lantern. We chose dark pink which apparently represents ‘happy marriage and family harmony!’

We decorated it then it was time to light it, the old man who owned the store picked up our lantern and off we marched after him to a perfect spot, not on the railway like a bunch of other people. We held it, he lit it, it filled with hot air and up it went! We watched it till it disappeared. A fantastic experience!

 

After that it was back to being packed in like sardines again for the train home. We had to transfer trains half way, I couldn’t stand anymore so R and I sat in a heap in the middle of an aisle in a carriage. You know how I said a few blogs ago people make the experience? Well let me recount that second half of the train trip for you…

 

Two ladies and a baby took us under their wing, got out their google translate and commented how beautiful R was, I translated back, “thank you it’s our first time in Taiwan” and so started this lovely conversation with the ladies all around us. A lady traveling with her two young girls joined in, she spoke English, a lady behind her joined in (found out right at the end of the trip her and her husband live in California and spoke perfect English) the old lady behind them stood and leaned over the seats to look at us. We were given a sweet rice cake to eat, the lady with two girls told me what it was when I gave her a ‘what the heck is this?!’ look, it turned out to be really nice!! R was also given a snack size pack of m&m’s to eat.

After photos were taken, more convo with Americans about what we were doing this year, we parted ways at Taipei station like old friends “Byyyyyyyyye!!!!” waving till we couldn’t see each other anymore.

 

So instead of shutting my eyes and thinking about my very sore hips and why was I sitting on the floor of a rail carriage and that I needed a hot shower and some sleep, it turned out to be a wonderful trip back to Taipei. Such a highlight.

 

I know you’re thinking, where were the boys? Well I had C with me, he was sitting on the floor behind me watching someone play their Nintendo. BK however was waaaaay down the carriage, I threw the kids on the train as soon as it stopped but he’s a bit more polite and let people board before him 😄

 

That evening there was a 5.3 earthquake, quite the experience being up 11 floors and swaying. I have since found out that if you want to build a building for business use, you build it then you have to leave it empty for an entire year before you can occupy it! Apparently this is mostly because of the amount of earthquakes Taiwan has and if after a year it’s had a good ol’ shake and it’s still standing you’ve built it well and you can use it!

 

Tuesday and Wednesday consisted of rest, laundry, supermarket, a trip IKEA on the bus (a kind lady gave our kids lollies!), schoolwork and BK working.

 

By Thursday we were ready to go again. It was a rainy day so I decided a hop on hop off bus tour would be good so we could sit and be driven around the sights of Taipei. We managed to get front row seats on the top level of a double decker bus. The kids were given a free magnet each by the kind guide on board (I don’t think she was meant to – no one else got one!!). Apart from Ruby having ants in her pants, it was a great trip and I was happy that we had seen a lot of the sights so I made a plan in my head how to execute the rest of them in the weekend.

 

Friday we went out for lunch at a local sandwich place and then it was off to see a temple, but when we got there, there was a service going so we had a look but felt like we were imposing so we left and walked to what I think would be C’s highlight, a restaurant called ‘Modern Toilet’ and yes, you guessed it, we sat on toilets, the menu was the shape of a toilet seat, the food came in mini toilets and the sprite came in a mini urinal, the garlic bread even looked like a pile of poop! 💩

Hilarious. Apparently it’s quite a popular Japanese chain. Following that delightful experience we decided to walk the streets to the main station and came across quite a nice modern market.

 

Saturday it was up early and off to the zoo. It was NZ$2.60 each to get in and R was free, so I didn’t have overly high hopes, but it was amazing, obviously not Singapore standard but just as good as the Auckland & Wellington Zoos. A highlight there was a panda coming to sit right in front of us to eat. Amazing. Lots and lots of animals in good enclosures and obviously well looked after. I walked 17k steps, so little R must have done 20k plus with her tiny legs, she gave up walking after a while and it was walk 5 minutes, carry 5 minutes for the last hour.

Unfortunately our plans were rained out on our last full day so it was a quiet rest day and dinner with BK’s bro at his house. That evening, well, 2 o’clock in the following morning, we were woken by sirens through our apartment block, then they stopped, then a few minutes later they started, then they stopped, then a few minutes later another earthquake! Cant quite decide if its related, I took video of the noise and words it was saying, so I am working on trying to get it translated!!

 

Taiwan, you’ve been wonderful, your people are so very very kind and generous. We can certainly see ourselves coming back, maybe we’ll tag on Philippines/Japan/China while we’re at it.

 

Till next time,

 

Claire

 

Budget update :

Taiwan – $53 over

Total budget – $246 under

It was a shock to leave cheap SE Asia and find normal prices again, had to work hard at the budget this week as our accommodation was 80% of our daily budget! We were helped a lot by all the things BK’s generous brother gave us!