Last year we had a great family vacation at Perth, Australia. It was such fun that we all agree to do it again this year. The venue this year is Taiwan, it is my mum's choice as she had not been there before. Because it was close to CNY which is the main celebration there too, we decide to confine our holiday to just staying in Taipei to avoid long travel on the road.
And so after checking online, I had booked the air tickets from China Airlines which had a promotional return airfare of RM1,100.00. There are 7 of us and I had booked the travel date from 30.1.16 to 3.2.16. After that, I had to look for a good place to stay, and because it is a family holiday, we prefer home stay for better family interaction. Hotel rooms are not ideal as we do not want to be separated and confine to rooms of two each. After much research, Airbnb have some good options and I narrow down to a spacious apartment of 4 rooms just right opposite Taipei 101. In the listing, there is also a fantastic penthouse just outside Taipei at the coastal town of Tamsui. It looks so inviting and luxurious that I decided the family must experience the stay in that penthouse for at least one night. I promptly book that penthouse for our final night stay in Taiwan..
Shortly after booking, Tina, my sister from the States called and said she is supposed to come over to Singapore, Manila and Malacca on her company's official trip. She was not part of the Taiwan trip, but since the timing of holiday coincides with her trip here, she decides to take a few days leave after her work and join the family getaway holiday. We decided to keep it quiet and surprised the family again..
And so on the very day when everyone was in the van waiting to leave for the airport, she just appear with me and coolly boarded the van to the pleasant surprised of all.
After all the "hooha", all settled down to a smile.
"M" even though surprised had earlier sense that Tina would join the trip.
At KLIA, we had a lot of time after checking in.
she enjoys the hot curry there.
We boarded the plane CI 722 etd 2.25pm.
Stephen and Jo settling in.
Lilian always happy on a holiday.
At the belt waiting for our luggage upon arrival at Taoyuan Airport.
It was a long wait for the bags to appear.
By the time we collected all our luggage, it is almost 8.00 pm, an hour wait.
Temperature is about 14 C outside.
They had to don thick clothing because of the cold.
I felt that we would be in the van and then onto the apartment, no thick clothing is necessary as I am already in long sleeves.
We just need to wait for him to pull the van over.
Taoyuan airport is well connected to various public transportation.
Here comes our van.
It is a nine seater with adequate luggage space at the back for all our bags.
The journey to our apartment took about 30 minutes as there are not much cars on the road at this hour. This van is recommended by Aden Chen, the apartment owner and so there was no problem locating the place. Aden was waiting for us when we arrive and when we got into the apartment, he gave us a rundown on the things that we might need in his apartment. He also took it upon himself to recommend us the places to go to, see and eat. These are useful tips as none of us are familiar with Taiwan. My first and only other visit was probably about 25 years ago! We thank him and he left his beautiful spacious apartment for us to stay for the next three days.
It was late, almost 10.00 pm, but we could not let the day slip by without a quick visit to the night market. Aden had told us that the Linjiang Street night market is just a 10 minutes walk from our apartment. We headed straight there after dropping our bags. Only both mum and dad wants a rest in the apartment.
At the night market, we saw the restaurant called " Formosa Chang". I had to eat the traditional Taiwanese fare called "Lu Rou Fan" and that was the first shop we went to upon arrival.
After leaving Formosa Chang, we went to another restaurant opposite.
Guess what was the lure.
No, it's not the fishball soup.
Yes, it's the must eat "Gua Pau" if you are in Taiwan.
A quick drink to quench their thirst.
This is what we came for.
The "Siu Long Pau" here is disappointing.
But the "gua pau" is delicious.
This one has more lean meat.
Lilian is loving it.
Both Jo and Stephen savouring the buns.
We also ordered some porridge and soup.
This is the lady that prepares all the food.
We took a walk at the night market to sample some of "xiao chi".
Frankly, it's the same as our "pasar malam"
Still, it has some local delights.
One of it is the pancake ice cream with peanut.
Even the fruit stall has servings that are very creative.
All the fruits are tempting.
We had too much and thought we'll come back for this another day.
More of the fruit stalls.
Portuguese tarts and other egg tarts.
Boba for bubble drinks.
Tea leave eggs.
By the time we got back to our apartment, it was almost midnight. Everyone hit the sack instantly. It had been a long day.
The next day, we decided to check around the neighbourhood for some good breakfast. Just at the end of our block, we came across a stall selling buns and all the local fares. But the seating was limited and we decided to take away and eat at our apartment.
The morning after.
Taipei is very much neater and cleaner than when I saw it 25 years ago.
Down the block, we came across this stall.
It seems popular with the locals.
And we can see why.
All our favourites are here, especially the "yu tiaw" .
We decided to pack as there was not enough seats.
There, happy with what we bought.
Everyone stroll back to the apartment.
Lilian and Stephen are in front.
And "F" decide to do some brisk walk.
"M" is accompanied by the rest at the back.
Back at the apartment.
All the fares are spread out.
There, breakfast is ready.
It all taste good with coffee.
Everything "finito".
Relaxing after breakfast as we are still early.
Notice how we interact nowadays.
A view of the last room.
This is the 2nd room.
This is the Master bedroom. "M" and Keh before going out.
The front room is queer, it has wall glass.
Lilian acting as if she is a fish in an aquarium.
Shifen Fall.
The driver came exactly on time, 9.30 am. Today we are spending the whole day outside the city. We will be touring some popular places. First stop is a Shifen Falls.
There's a wooden bridge for us to cross on foot.
It's a hanging bridge.
At the other end, there's a rapid which flows into the river. Jessie and Lilian have a photo together.
This is not the main draw card here, but merely a side attraction.
Nevertheless, a group photo to start off with.
Stephen fiddling with his selfie stick. A photo with "F".
Then with Lilian and Jo.
Jo with mum.
Here's the one we came for.
The Shifen Falls.
It's a miniature version Niagara Falls.
Not as dramatic, but nevertheless a sight to behold.
Yes, that's a good shot for all with the stick.
After the waterfall, the driver took us to Shifen Old Street, less than 5 minutes drive from here.
There's a hanging bridge linking the other side part of the village.
This is Shifen Old Street.
The railway line runs between the two row of shop houses.
This is where we came in from, near the hanging bridge.
This is a unique place, it was once a coal mining town.
Now it's a popular tourist place quite unrelated to coal mining.
Many flock here to let go lanterns.
Yes, put your wishes on the lanterns.
It does look ridiculous, but once you're at it, it is all fun.
Suddenly, everyone gets excited.
Wishes are a plenty.
See what I mean.
And who doesn't want this ?
I had something to add, even though space is running out.
There, "semua ada".
The girl is the cheerful shopkeeper.
Opening up the lantern.
The blue piece is for good career,
The red page is for health, peace.
Yellow page represents wealth, money.
and lastly the pink good for studies..
We got all that mixed up.
I'm sure the man upstairs will be confuse when he receive our Shifen "What's App" to heaven.
Up, up and away.
Higher and higher.
Rest assured, it's in god's hands now.
The flying lantern lifted our spirits as well.
This charming place is a photographer's delight.
It is certainly Lilian's delight too.
They too love it here.
Charming.
This place have many souveniers for tourists, miniature lanterns like these are aplenty.
If you are a foodie like my younger sister,
everywhere she goes, she use her nose.
And it brings her to stalls like this,
they call it boba tea ( bubble tea )
More snick and snacks.
Deep fried sweet potatoes.
Ice Cream puff.
Plenty to see
Making of boba ?
This is boba.
Bamboo with blessing words.
That's the bridge
to the other side of the village.
Shifen is one place you must visit.
The name Shifen means "Chap Hun" in Hokkien which means 10 portion. The next village we are visiting is "Kau Hun", 9 portion in Hokkien, officially Jiufen. The name derives from the 9 original homes who would request nine portions of everything they order if someone goes to town. This is necessitated by the lack of logistics in those early days, and so the village came to be called Jiufen. By inference, I guess the same goes to Shifen.
Jiufen.
While Shifen had it's coal mining legacy, Jiufen's early richness came from gold mining.
As in every town or villages, the old streets are the lure for the tourists.
It's already noon when we reach Jiufen.
The driver is keen to show us some of the favourite shops
The narrow street is lined with shops selling a wide array of food and souveniers
It's impossible to stay in groups as each have their own likes.
The winding street goes up the slope as Jiufen is perched on a hillside.
It is drizzling but the street are mostly protected with shed.
It is full of tourists, from Japan, Korea and China.
You see this ice cream pancake everywhere in Taipei.
Souveniers...
more of them...
all very local items.
Candys
Taiwan sausages
soft candies in multitude of colours
Ice Cream puff
"Lingyun" pau.
Very Taiwanese bakes
pre packed for takeaways.
Sweet potatoes
Fishballs
Fried mushrooms
some creative foodstuff , grilled sea snails.
bitter guord of a different skin
more foodstuff.
IDK what this is ?
Our driver recommended this dessert place.
"Or Ee Tng"
Don't know why it's so popular. Just sweet drinks with all the starchy stuff !
Pleasing to the eye and nice to look at, but more sweet stuff.
Step away from the main street and there are more avenues and alleyways.
It even lead us to an old tunnel.
This tunnel is used for gold mining during it's heydays.
This statue is not prominently displayed to reflect the village legacy.
View of Jiufen. Can be seen the village is build on the hillslope.
The Grand Tea House of Jiufen has a rich history.
It is the inspiration of the Japanese anime " Spirited Away".
The "Kuan Yin" spirit is never far away for the majority of the local populace
Inside the tea house entrance.
Back to the staircase of the back alley that leads to the tea house.
That's what we like about family holidays.
It's in the air.
The mood and spirit is uplifting.
This is what holiday is meant to be
What is soothing for the soul radiates outwards and is reflected on the outside.
On the way out from the Old Street, the driver wanted to show us some peculiar spot around the area.
The Gold Waterfall off Jinshen Road, ( at the other side of the hill from Jiufen ) is a result of rainwater seeping into copper mineshafts.
The reaction of acidic rain and iron creates oxidation that emerges to form an astonishing golden like liquid. The name Gold Waterfall came from this phenomena.
The water flows down the coast below and the two distinct blue sea and oxidised water at the bay is termed "Yin Yang" sea.
Towards left from where we stood viewing the Ying Yang Sea stood a mountain that resembles an ape sitting majestically looking skywards. The driver called this the Sun Wu Kong Mountain.
I must admit, I had to imagine hard to figure out that monkey as mentioned in the signage.
Down below at the Nanya scenic coastline there stood some rock outcrops that had been shaped by the many years of wind and rain and sea probably million of years ago.
As explain by the signage.
Some very interesting rock formation can be seen here.
These are very distinct wave actions that cuts on the rocks.
The formation is quite extra ordinary.
A circular formation.
More on this high outcrop.
This is the most peculiar piece
It is not only nicely shaped,
but the head seems to be resting on to the "body"with nothing holding it down.
We are glad the driver took us here. He need not have to as this was not part of our itinerary, but he was passionate about his unique Taiwan.
Back to Linjiang Street Night Market.
Both "M" and "F" have not visited the night market yesterday and because of it's close proximity, we all took a walk to the Linjiang Street Night Market again.
The Gua Pau we had last night was so good that we went back to the same shop again.
This time we know the ones that we really want.
Each ordered what they like.
And yummy, everyone enjoying their tasty meal.
Stephen with the owner of the shop.
After that, a stroll through all the stalls. "F" could not resist the fruits being sold by this stall.
The smell brought us to this shop.
This is one food you must not leave Taiwan without tasting it.
And guess what are we waiting for ?
Yes, "Chau Tau Foo", fermented beancurd. You can see it's all mouldy before cooking.
Into the deep fryer.
And out as our meal, the smell all there. It's akin to our durian, it smells awful if you are not eating it, but taste good when you sink your teeth in it.
We had a good second day and was fast snoring when we lie down on our bed at our apartment.
Day 3 - Exploring the city in the rain.
Today, we discharge Siow Tin Tang, our driver as we wanted to explore the city on our own,
Taipei 101 is just next door and only 5 minutes walk away. That's what we did, but unfortunately, it had been raining since we work up. The rain is not heavy like ours back home. It's light drizzle and you could walk outdoor if your cold wear comes with a hood.
"F" is all ready for the day, come rain or shine.
At the World Trade Center, we pass by a big crowd of teenagers.
They had all gathered here for a competition.
Gamers competition and hosted in Taipei.
These are hand phone games according to my son, Sherman.
It's a world competition.
Because of the crowd,we actually went into the World Trade Center by mistake.
That's how you brave the rain.
and it's only light drizzle, but it continues the whole day.
It's at the next block after the trade center.
There you have it, all of 101 storey.
We came across this group praying in the rain.
They look like the Falong Gong Cult that we read about. After seeing them up close, you can say these are mad people.
On the ground floor of 101. It was not opened yet when we arrived.
At the basement level, some stalls are already open for business.
We headed in to the food court which was the only eatery opened at that time.
There were not many people, but during lunch hour, it was packed to the brim with tourists and office workers, just like KLCC.
I wonder to the upper floors and noted the stark contrast.
It's mostly luxury watch shops with nobody.
Classy
Fashionable
High end
Branded
Glitters
Expensive
Wearing one of these is like wearing a car on your wrist.
Flashy
Nobody
Big names
Yes, for the bosses
Diamonds are forever
Devoid of human
Don't mind one of these as a present.
MK by comparison is affordable
About five floors are dedicated to branded items and only the ground level and basement are the normal shops, mostly eateries and cafes. Wonder who 101 is targeting when the people who comes here are tourists and office workers. A pretentious mall.
Outside, the drizzle continues but we wanted to go over to Ximending. The rapid transit entrance is just a few steps away at the lower ground floor and we took the train from there.
Jo helping mum when walking over to the train station at Taipei 101.
It would take a few stops to Ximen Station.
Lilian and Jo all smiles.
Dad and Mum happy even though tired.
We need to take another line to Ximen.
And need not wait long before the train comes along.
This time, there were more seats available.
Jo found herself a seat just opposite.
When you have a chance to be seated, tiredness takes over.
Exiting the train at Ximen Station.
The drizzles continue. This is the view of Ximending as we come out from the station.
The pedestrian mall at Ximen.
Umbrellas everywhere.
Ximen is a favourite hangout place for teenagers in Taipei.
It also has that sleazy side to it.
Perhaps, night time would be more vibrant.
The Red House is being preserved by the Taipei Council as a Cultural place.
The information about the Red House.
We spent about more than an hour at Ximen before we decide to leave, and by train again.
Exiting from the train platform.
The elevator makes it effortless to go up the steep flight of stairs.
It's a 10 minutes walk to our apartment from the station.
And it has been drizzling the whole day.
We passed by the stall that sells the local stuff. This is the hot urn that cooks the sweet potatoes.
The lady recognised us.
We must buy some as we love it and we would not be coming back this way again.
It was late evening when we got back to our apartment. With the rain continuing and both Mum and Dad tired, we decided to have dinner nearby.
Just behind our apartment, we noticed a couple of small shops and went to check out. The first stall was selling hot dumpling soup with noodles. With this kind of weather, it is the perfect choice and we decided to eat here.
At the small shop behind our apartment.
Eagerly waiting for our food to arrive.
Small but cozy shop,
And when the food comes,
nothing goes to waste. We wanted more, but they ran out of stocks.
After that, we took a walk around at the nearby streets.
Yvonne had told me to try their MOS Burger and try we did. This Rice Burger is good.
We decided to pack back some.
These are unique to Taiwanese outlet
It is meat coated like sausage and taste good too.
We got back home at about 10.00 pm and did some packing as we are checking out from this apartment tomorrow.
Tamsui - the coastal town.
Three days in the city is adequate for a feel of Taipei. Before coming, I had booked a luxurious penthouse at Tamsui just to have some family time in style for the last day.
We were up early after a good night rest. Jo showing mum some photos taken the day before.
Lilian browsing through the magazine in the apartment.
Dad going through some of the photos in the family group chat.
The van was here sharp on time at 9.00 am.
We wanted to visit the National Palace Museum which is along the way.
Arrival at the museum.
At the compound near the entrance.
On the way in.
Jo accompanying mum.
It is a huge complex.
There are two flight of steps at the compound.
At the ground floor level.
Waiting for the tickets to be purchased.
The museum has a permanent collection of almost 700,000 Chinese arts and artifacts.
They all belong to the ancient imperial family of China.
The collection encompasses more than 10,000 years of Chinese history starting from the neolitic age to the Qing period.
The ancient emperor collection.
At any one time, only part of the artifacts are on display.
They will be rotated and displayed over different period during the year.
This means if you visit the museum at different time of the year, you will be seeing many different artifacts which makes it an interesting venue to go to.
The museum have made few international exhibitions, but never in China.
The reason is obvious. Because of it's political stand off with China, the fear that the artifacts can be confiscated by the Chinese authority is very real.
The countries that have displayed these treasures have passed laws to prevent seizures by the Chinese government.
So far, the treasures have only being exhibited in five countries.
They are USA, France, Germany, Austria and Japan.
This museum has the world's most Chinese artifacts collection.
All the treasures were evacuated in 1933 to Taiwan by General Chiang Kai Shek after the fall of Pu Yi, China's last emperor. This was to prevent it from falling into the hands of the Imperiel Japanese Army after the Mukden incident.
Outside the compound of the museum.
Toying around with the selfie stick.
Exiting the museum after spending some time there.
The drizzle had stopped briefly.
Stephen and dad.
Leaving the palace museum.
It's quite a long walk.
But the weather is cooling.
You can see how far the distance is from this photo.
After spending more than a couple of hours at the museum, we were soon on our way to Tamsui. The only reason why I've decided on spending the final day in Tamsui is more because of the luxurious condominium I saw at Airbnb. It's called the Pearl Penthouse.
It is located on an uphill not far away from Tamsui University.
The exterior looks anything but luxurious..
But when we got inside, it did not disappoint. All the trappings of opulence are there. Here is the panel facing the entrance door.
To the left is a sitting area with a view of the estuary.
Further left, is the lounge area with a fantastic view of the same river mouth.
It's a duplex unit and all the rooms are upstairs.
The staircase that spiral up to the bedroom floor.
This is the master bedroom, with the same river view from the window.
The left door leads to the open closet and into a bathroom with Jacuzzi.
A close up view from the window.
Passage leading to the other rooms.
Lilian has a room that also has a window to the river view.
The attach bathroom.
The third room is a Japanese style bedroom
he door panel is sliding with Japanese design.
The last room has a view to the city.
It is complete with flatscreen TV and attach bathroom.
The dining room view from upstairs
This is the bar area on the ground floor.
To top it all, there is this huge karaoke room fitted with a solid sound system and big screen.
This is the kitchen that overlook the dining room, separated by a door.
The view of the river mouth from the living hall.
Another view towards the city.
There's a small garden outside. View from outside looking in.
Tonight, we've arranged with the caretaker to cook for us which she happily agreed. This is what we wanted, spend family time together for the final evening and being pampered in a nice luxurious environment. But first we have to check out the town.
The temperature is getting colder as we headed out to town.
The bus driver dropped us near the market and recommend we walk through to the other side where the old street is.
The market sold all local stuff which we are very familiar.
We have the same kind of cakes back home.
After passing through the market, we came into the mid section of Tamsui Old Street.
It is still drizzling and the street here looks clean and pleasant.
It certainly did not have the crowd as in Taipei City.
It is actually very nice to walk along the street here.
Most of the stuff are same but some are very local in nature.
This is the tourist area, but it's not congested.
Jo and Tina enjoying the walkabout.
Something like "kongthng", sweet peanut candy,.
The kilometer long street certainly has varieties.
At the end of the street, we turn left is the riverside view that we saw from the apartment.
One for the album.
You have to walk the same way to get back.
The weather is cold with the wind blowing, being near the sea.
We waited for our bus.
It was the same one we took earlier with the same driver.
Bus service is excellent.
with adequate space for standing and sitting .
It's a short 10 minutes ride back to the condo.
Here we are, back to our apartment. See how narrow the street is.
Mum enjoying the lounge while waiting for dinner to be ready.
Stephen join her a while later.
Resting our tired limbs.
It's to be enjoyed.
The tea room with ceiling decor. Tina can't resist touching it.
Satisfied look.
Chatting over a cup of coffee.
Dinner is ready after a while.
Char Siew and duck
Fruits plate.
Could be better.
Simple fishball soup with pork.
Everyone is ready for dinner.
It's cold and the bathrobe actually helps.
Jo and dad enjoying the meal.
Jessie and mum too feel cold.
Everyone enjoying the simple dinner prepared by the caretaker.
After dinner, we adjourned to the karaoke room.
It's good to have the whole family gathering around and singing away.
It was another long day and all of us hit the sack just before midnight. This is our final night and we are leaving very early tomorrow to catch the 8.30 am flight.
Homeward bound.
The driver came sharp on time at the ungodly hour at 5.30 am as arranged.
After an hour travelling, we reach the airport.
After the usual checking in of luggage, we head for the checking in lounge.
There, another surprise awaited us. KC had decided at the last minute to come back and spend CNY in KL. He had taken the same connecting flight as us and was waiting for us at the check in lounge.
Here, dad was caught by surprise. He kept on looking at that "stranger " that is so familiar!
After a moment, he only realised that it was KC !
Happy was he to see him.
And so is everybody.
Tina taking a selfie with him.
Arrival at KLIA.
Waiting for our van to show up.
The tired look of everyone.
This year, our holiday was better planned in that we have another five days after our return before CNY. That allows everyone to do some personal errand and then going back to hometown early to prepare for the family Reunion meal. And thereafter, CNY is celebrated the same way as in every year. This year, we had created many opportunities to spend quality family time which we have not done very much in the past. As most of us are slowly but surely ageing, this should become a priority.
We certainly look forward to the next family getaway holiday.
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