Sat. Jan. 21, 2012
We catch a noon flight from Naha, Okinawa to Taipei, Taiwan and my wonderful friends Venecia and Sam meet us at the airport and take us to Lin Family Mansion and Garden where we see beautiful trees with a maze of roots, horizon created rocks that give the garden dimension and a taste of wealthy living in Taipei.
Then we went to a famous dumpling restaurant where there were actually instructions on how to eat them!
Then we headed to see the Chinese lamp sculptures at the historic Grand Hotel in Taipei.
Then we checked into our hotel at the Sheraton Taipei Hotel which was a bit off the beaten path. For future note, the Grand Hyatt is much more central to key tourist spots such as Taipei 101 and shops.
Sun. Jan. 22
This is New Year’s Eve Day so while we’d signed up for a tour of Taipei a few of the sights were closed for the holiday.
With my birthday being on Jan. 1, it’s not surprising that my favorite holiday is New Year’s and I’ve celebrated New Year’s Eve celebrations all around the world from New York, to Paris, Sydney and Tokyo. What I was curious to experience was the celebration of the Chinese New Year (Lunar New Year) in The Republic of China. Since Venecia and Sam had moved to Taiwan, I was keen to visit their new home and experience Venecia’s new home country and to do this over Chinese New Year seemed ideal.
And while my parents have been to Beijing and Shanghai and my Mother to Hong Kong neither of them had ever been to Taiwan, but we’d all heard wonderful things from Uncle Eugene who’d lived in Taiwan for a time so we were all looking forward to the visit.
Our first stop was to Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall but it was unfortunately closed for the holiday and so we simply walked around it and took photos.
Then we headed to the National Palace Museum which was a tour highlight of my Mother as our guide spent considerable time showing us some of the oldest artifacts in Asia. When we’d seen Uncle Eugene in LA he made us promise that when we visited Taiwan we’d be sure to see the famous Jade Cabbage with a small grasshopper hidden in the leaves. You might ask, why all the fuss for a very small piece of carved jade that could fit in the palm of your hand – the beauty of the piece is that the artist took a very oddly shaped green and white and made it into something that took advantage of the natural color of the jade to create a very realistic cabbage and grasshopper.
We also saw beautiful porcelain, wood and bamboo carings, scrolls of calligraphy and jewelry. Then we headed to lunch at The Grand Palace Hotel. Afterwards we headed to the Martyr’s Shrine where those that fought in the various wars Taiwan had battled in were commemorated. Then onto the top of Taipei 101 where Papa found the “Damper Baby” that he just had to purchase at the gift shop.
Taipei 101 was the world’s tallest building back in 2004 at 1,440 ft with 101 floors until Dubai opened up one that was even taller. It’s won architectural designs and awards for being green and technologically with a “damper” that prevents the building from swaying during earthquakes and typhoons that are common in Taiwan.
It was a bit rainy but we could still appreciate the views from Taipei 101.
We did a quick stop at Hwashi Night Market where we saw snake alley which I unfortunately don’t have photos of as they’re not permitted but it’s quite easy to imagine large, long snakes waiting for those who have an appreciation for this delicacy to purchase them. Neither Papa or I could be tempted to even consider tasting a snake and Mom wouldn’t even think to consider it.
Our last stop was Longshan Temple where our guide told us of the customs of visiting the temple, doing something very similar to the Japanese fortune telling from Mikuji, but tossing these half moon shaped red blocks three times for a yes before drawing a stick with a number on it that indicated what drawer you were to pull your fortune from.
There were several Gods at the Temple each representing a different “wish” such as for good health, good luck in school studies, good fortune in romance/marriage and prosperity.
Papa and I were planning to come back for the actual observation of New Year’s Eve at the stroke of midnight, so we held off from visiting each “God” until later that night.
While our guide was there, thought, I did take advantage of her language skills to help me purchase a lantern for the Horiuchi Family that would hang in the Longshan Temple for 45 days for good luck and prosperity.
What was surprising to me was that when we arrived back at Longshan Temple at around 11:30 p.m. it was not at all crowded like it was at Times Square or any popular temple in Tokyo on New Year’s Eve. We were able to walk in, buy our incents and watch as temple-goers brought in food offerings for the Gods (that they later took home and served to their guests) and prayed and offered incents. As we neared midnight, the priests in the temple started to chant and say a prayer or reading and ring the gong over and over again. It was rather a melodic, repetitive chant that was soothing and constant. At midnight, Papa and I stepped in with the rest of the crown and following our guide’s earlier instruction we went to each of the “Gods” and paid our respects.
Lunar New Year Part 1
Lunar New Year Part 2
As we exited the temple there were a few folks lighting fire crackers on the streets but it certainly wasn’t anything like the massive fireworks that went on for 10 minutes in Thailand.
I did purchase a traditional New Year’s Eve treat from one of the vendors out front and brought it back to the hotel to share with Mom.
Mon. Jan. 23
On the actual Chinese New Year’s Day we headed to the hot springs in Beitao that really showed that the Taiwanese had taken the concept of Japanese hot springs and elevated to a Disney-land like experience. We went to Spring City Resort in Beitou which had numerous temperatures of hot baths, hot baths with reclining chairs and bubbles underneath so you felt like you were floating and the best yet was these tremendously powerful waterfalls that when you positioned yourself just right were great for sore necks, shoulders and even the top of your head. Mom spent a lot of time under these pounding waterfalls massaging her back and shoulders.
We spent a few hours enjoying this hot spring resort with a myriad of different springs.
Hot Springs Part 1
Hot Springs Part 2
We took local trains to get to the spa
Afterwards, we headed to these other markets for a late lunch. Only because of Mom’s great observation skills did we finally stumble on the massive food market that all the locals goto enjoy the best street food of Taipei.
We crammed our way in and enjoyed clam omelets and other sweet an-pan like treats.
We rested a bit at our hotel before heading to a restaurant known for serving traditional Chinese New Year’s dishes. We enjoyed Buddha Jumps Over the Wall which is a variety of shark fin soup, number of different meats, and vegetables. It got its name because evidently the soup was so enticing that it even tempted the vegetarian monks who’d jump over the wall to partake in this dish. We also had long leafy greens which can last a long time, cook a long time and thus symbolises long life.
Tues. Jan. 24
If we made a mistake in planning our trip to Taiwan, it was leaving all of the country-side sightseeing after Chinese New Year’s when every Taiwanese family is driving to visit the Father’s side or the Mother’s side of the family and a trip that typically takes 1.5 hours takes 5 hours by car! We should have flipped it and remained in Taipei where you had very reliable local trains and left the longer distance travel to non-holidays.
Not realizing that it’s tradition to visit the Father’s side of the family and then the Mother’s side of the family and then friends in the 2-3 days after Chinese New year’s, we consumed a lot of time driving in very heavy traffic to the outskirts of Taiwan - outside Taipei. It’s hard to believe, but highways were so congested that on some mornings during the holiday unless you had 3+ people in the car you couldn’t even enter the highway. So it wasn’t just one “carpool lane”, you weren’t even allowed on the highway unless you had 3+ people in the car! Imagine that not even being able to get onto Highway 101 or 280 in California unless you had 3+ people in the car!
This morning we took a 5 hour drive to Sun Moon Lake. When we finally arrived in the area we enjoyed a meal at a restaurant serves the food of the Tehua indigenous people of Taiwan and watched their cultural dancing and music.
Then Papa and I hiked to the top of this mountain with the promise we’ll see a pagoda that has amazing view of Sun Moon Lake – which has the shape of the sun on one side and the shape of the moon on the other – and to ring a bell for good luck. Little did we realize that to ring the bell, we’d have to climb a whole heap of more stairs!
More Sun Moon Lake
It was well worth it – and luckily we were blessed with fantastic sunny weather – as we had a panoramic 360 degree view of Sun Moon Lake.
When we got down from the mountain, the guide took us closer to the lake so Mom could get a better view, we could watch the sun set and Papa could play his shakuhachi.
We checked into the Del Lago Hotel where we stayed in a 2 story hotel room with loft beds and a spectacular view of Sun Moon Lake.
Wed. Jan. 25
Venecia and Sam arrived just after breakfast to pick us up and whisk us across the mountains the the East side of Taiwan. Yet we were unaware that there was a snow storm overnights so the mountain pass we closed.
Plan B was to check out one of the local sights – a Taiwanese wine/sake factory – where we did a wine tasting and checked out a few of the museum exhibits. Then we went to a tea-tasting place and then onto lunch where Sam did a fantastic job ordering a wonderful seafood and vegetable filled meal for us.
On our way out of town we purchased several bunches of different types of bananas. Side note: As a child growing up in Japan, Papa had always thought of Taiwan as the country of bananas and thus very warm. While it was actually very cold in January, Taiwan did have a number of different types, sizes and flavors of bananas (rose, berry). I must admit other than observing the different sizes and colors, I couldn’t quite distinguish much difference in taste. I must not have that discriminating a palette.
We also stopped by a famous place that sells Taiwanese chocolate called Feeling 18 or 18 Degrees Celsius Chocolate.
We headed back to Venecia and Sam’s place and rested a bit before heading out to get massages at a place local to where they live. After sitting in the SUV and the van before that, it felt so wonderful to have a soothing massage!
For dinner, we met Sam’s parents and enjoyed a lovely dinner at their favorite restaurant. I also learned Venecia’s code word for beware of what you’re eating when she says “This is my Father-in-law’s favorite dish, I love to just pick out the eggplant.” I’m not sure what I ate, but now I know that Venecia’s hints are very, very subtle…
That evening Sam took Venecia and I to his local bar where we met up with some of his friends and had a few drinks. They go there often so we got really good seats and there were a bunch of people that Sam knows.
On our way to the bar, Sam drove us down a street well known for “Beetlenut girls”. First you have to know that beetlenut is nut with some other powdery stuff wrapped up into a green leaf and when chewed turns your lips/tongue red and gives you an energy boost which is why so many truck drivers use it as a caffeine kick. And they’re sold by these young, scantily clad women who sit in these big shop windows (while I’ve never been to Amsterdam, I imagine it’s similar to prostitutes making themselves available in shop windows in the red light district) and when a car pulls up they come out to take your money and give you a plastic bag of beetlenuts.
I had asked about beetle nuts because earlier in the week while riding the train, one of the signs said no eating, drinking or chewing beetlenut on the train. And of course, I was like “why not just say no chewing gum, what’s beetlenut and what’s so special about it”.
In any case when you see this video, you’ll be shocked at just how red your mouth turns when you chew beetle nut. No wonder they don’t want people spitting out beetle nut on the train. It’d be just as bad as spitting out tobacco on the train.
Thursday, Jan. 26
We headed to Yilan which is in the Northeast side of Taiwan. When we arrived we explored a fishing village and had a wonderful seafood lunch. Then we drove to our hotel which took longer than usual due to the heavy holiday traffic. When we finally arrived, we rushed to check out the hot springs which was very relaxing.
That evening, with the recommendation of Sam’s friend we went to this amazing chicken restaurant where the chicken were roasted in these black kettles so had an amazing flavor. Sam did the honors when it came to taking the chicken apart which we were grateful for otherwise it would have been a much messier proposition.
Friday, Jan. 27
After breakfast, we took the challenge of dunking our fish into these pools of dead skin eating tiny fish.
It was incredibly hard to keep my feet in the water as it tickled my feet and I squirmed when I realized that all these fish were surrounding my feet and nibbling away. It was too much but after some time I could keep my feet in the water and let the fish eat away at the dead skin on my feet.
Then just before checking out we made one last dash to the hot springs.
On another recommendation from Sam’s friend we took a drive up to this famous coffee shop at the top of the mountain with a panoramic view of the ocean-side. We had morning tea/coffee and enjoyed the sunshine and warmth.
Then we arrived at Yehliu Geopark where there are a number of rock formations that have been given names that – much like when you look at clouds your imagination sees things – represent what people think the rock looks like. The most popular is know as “The Queen’s Head” but you’ll also see a gorilla, candles, a dragon head, a slipper and tofu.
Then we headed to a very special and spectacular restaurant that had the most amazing view of Taipei and its surrounding towns. We were outdoors but warmed by heating lamps and surprisingly there were random firework displays we could see taking place at various places around the city.
Here are some interesting statistics. Australia’s the size of the continental US or looked at another way the size of Western Europe. Taiwan’s 1/3 the size of California. Australia has about 22 million people. Taiwan has about 23 million people. And the US has 311 million people and France has 64 million.
As we were driven around Taiwan, I saw vast forests, well constructed highways, a train system that’s equal to if not better than Japan’s in terms of its’ organization, timeliness (unlike Japan, there was plenty of digital signs informing you when the next train was coming, news and other information) and directions (color-coded lines on the ground directed you to the right platforms in the train station). And I saw little poverty as the streets were clean, traffic flowed well, and there was plenty of commerce, restaurants and shops that looked to all be doing healthy businesses.
It was recently reported that while the rest of the world’s industrialised nations have seen asylum applications increase, Australia is the only country in the region to see a decrease. In fact it went down 9% in Australia. The US had 74,000 claims for asylum and France 51,000. Australia had 11,510. My view is that Australia can be doing a lot more to help the plight of suffering people seeking asylum around the world considering that its such a big, mature and industrialised country and done right has the capacity to support a more diverse population.
Sat. Jan. 28
In the morning Sam and Venecia gave us a quick driving tour of their home town of Hsinchu City which is the high tech hub of Taiwan. On our way back we stopped off at their favorite beef noodle soup and picked up the best pineapple cake.
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