TAIPEI, TAIWAN, THE FAMILY PART

2016-04-26, 14:35, JASON

BUDGET, STAY: UNCLE'S PLACE

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I was in Taiwan for just over a week, and this trip documents the first part I spent with my family, and then, after coming back from Yilan, the second part I spent with my high school classmates. I'll date the entries so they're easier to follow. The Budgeting bit for this is empty since my family was gracious enough to support my starving body. I'll pay it forward some day..

2016-04-16: The Day After Wulai

Most of my activities are already planned out with my family. As such, I went in the morning to go watch my cousins play soccer. It's weird watching them grow up as my cousins but being more conscious and aware of how they are even though they may not be. I guess that's 'parenting' in a nutshell.

Other than that, there weren't many other occurrences. I hung out with my parents, and just walked around. We went to get dinner together at a restaurant down the street near the roundabout and just caught up with everyone. It was the first day back with eeryone so there's plenty of gossip and things to catch up on.

2016-04-17: YangMingShan (陽明山國家公園) and a historical tour

In TianMu, where my family live, you can exit onto the street, walk no more than 5 minutes, and then be at the base of Yang Ming Shan National Park, one of the most well-known national parks in Taipei city. There are several parts to it, but you can hike the Tian Mu Trail (天母古道) and from there, pick your own adventure. I decided to try out another day of hot spring bathing, and made my way from the base of the mountain at the TianMu side, all the way to LengShuiKeng (冷水坑), where there were free public baths. I departed at six in the morning, with all my materials: umbrella for rain, mosquito repellant (important in Taiwan I tell ya), and a green onion bun for snackage. 

The climb initially is straight up a set of stairs. It's not too difficult to do, and given the weather conditions that are cooler, you are able to do it nonstop to the top. It's not as intense as the Buddha Hike in Hong Kong. Along the way to the top, you pass by an old water pipe that was installed in the early 20th century to transport water to the Taiwanese as population grew. Once you get the top, you take a deep breath, and continue along a straight path until you hit Taipei Cultural University, in which I took a small bus up to LengShuiKeng. It was about 7:30 by the time I reached the top. 

Uunfortunately, the hot springs don't open until 9, but there were a few things to see nearby so I decided to do that. There was a milk pond at LengShuiKeng which apparently is something sulfur-precipitated-based according to the geology. Also, for another 2 km or so hike, I could go see another waterfall that supposedly fell like mist. Crossed another suspension bridge, and began that walk. The walk there was very foggy as we were higher up and denser into the mountain. At times, the visibility was super low so it felt like an independent journey into the forest. Kinda like a hobbit, but without hobbit friends. 

The best part was there weren't many people so at times you felt like the only one there. A lot of time for self reflection and just taking in the environment. Everything was super calm. There was a charm to it. When I got to the top, two old folks were doing some Tai Chi and I politely asked one of them to take a picture with me with the waterfall directly behind. Turns out, it was misty, although I'd say the flow was a bit heavier. It wasn't like that annoying mist option on your shower head, more like the mist option plus that three-pronged massaging option. But, from a picture, it looks misty: 

By this time I'd been hiking for about 3 hours, so thought it was probably best I start heading back the way I came. Picked up some Taiwan street food along the way and then met up with the family.

My mom wanted to go to XiMenDing area-ish since she wanted to do some shopping for shoes. So, we walked over there, and what we ended up looking at was my mom's old house in Taipei city she grew up in. The house had already been overrun by businesses, with the actual number of the house missing and overtaken by a "da lou" -- essentially, an apartment complex. Upon walking towards the old Taiwan City Hall (Zhong Shan Tang, 中山堂), we also came across an old Qi Pao (traditional Chinese dress) shop that my grandmother used to go to all the time, according to my mom. She was telling me about how my grandma would always go into the shop to get measured and order her dress. Back in the day, she only wore QiPaos. It was a great time to get to see a part of my life, indirectly, that I never knew.

We eventually make it to the Zhong Shan Hall, as well as check out the Presidential Palace (總統府) that is surrounded by guards, and a gate. All you can really do is go about the side and take a picture. But, it's almost as impressive as Buckingham Palace in terms of size and grandeur, and the guards at the front. We only stopped by and appreciated the outside architecture since we had somewhere else to go, but it was a part of Taiwan I had never seen in the past, so I'm very pleased I got to see that. 

After that, I went to happy hour with my cousin at, get this, Chilis, which I haven't been to in ages. She took me to Shipai Night market, and we just went to town on the food. A little bit of Mei Gui (plum flavored) powder on some tempura, a bit of noodles here and there, a spicy tofu/seaweed dish. It was good. I think we ate our body weight in about 10 minutes though, so afterwards, we just took a bus home stuffed to the max. Taipei at night really comes alive.

2016-04-18: Again with the Hot Springs

Today was pretty quiet. My aunt's mom gave us some tickets to go bathe at the hot springs in Bei Tou, so we gladly did. The pools were nice, and relaxing. If anything, another impressive part was driving from the mountain top into the hot spring area, checking out the sulfur pools as well as taking in some fresh air. There was a pool and gym there too, so it was pretty much just a day like any other at the gym, only that you got to be in the mountains with beautiful scenery around. I took a shot with a film camera I have but unforunately won't develop the film for a while, so you'll have to take my word for it. Other than that, all we did was go to Takashimaya which is a big supermall here (there's one in Singapore too), and then went home for dinner. 

2016-04-19: Getting Educated

Final day in Taipei! There was a lot of chilling around but glad to do so; it's been a while since I've been on such a long vacation. Today, we went to JianGuo High School which is apparently one of the best in the nation. They take about 1% of all jr high school examinees (you have to test into a high school here), so the school is pretty much just a public school full of smart asses. Across from the school is the Taipei Botanical Gardens as well as some nice art museum, and so we snapped a few shots in there. There was an exhibit put together by some Polish artist, and some nice buildings to take pictures of. Unfortunately, I was there with family so didn't get a chance to speak up and do more exploring. Afterwards, we walked around and checked out a famous local markets near Chiang Kai Shek's memorial hall, going home afterwards. See, the thing when other people bring you around is, it's difficult to remember the name of all of these places. I can probably ask them to fill it in for me..

In Chinese culture, you always have a "Jian Xing" which is a farewell dinner. Tonight was that one as my parents were going to go back to the United States, and I was going to head off to Yilan with my family member on my stepmom's side. We all ate and said our goodbyes. Never gets easier, but life moves forward. So, signing off from Taipei part 1, will be back with a post from Yilan as well as the second portion of Taipei with our friends. 

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