Taipei (Day 65): Comfort Food

May 4, 2016

We spent a good chunk of the morning organizing our backpacks and giving items for Mom to bring back home for us. What a load off! My luggage feels like it’s 10 pounds lighter (Tim: probably because it is 10 pounds lighter). I caught up on my blog entries while Tim went to Yong He (our regular breakfast place) to get breakfast for everyone.

We didn’t end up leaving the apartment until just before 2pm. It was nice to be able to just hang around and fully relax and not feel like we had to see something or go somewhere. We didn’t have anything on our agenda since Mom was busy with her own plans. Since we’ve been in Taipei with her, she’s been non-stop busy meeting up with people who want to see her. The one thing that I wanted to have before leaving Taipei was bubble tea (a few times) and the gua bao (pork belly hamburger) we had in March.

Tim and I walked to Gongguan and cut diagonally through the National Taiwan University (NTU) campus along the way. It’s very hot here, about 32 degrees celsius with humidity. My back was sweaty the entire day since I was wearing a backpack and a cotton dress (it wasn’t pleasant). This is preparing us for hot weather to come during our SE Asia part of our trip in June.thumb_IMG_2537_1024The pearl milk drink and the gua bao stand in Gongguan was highly recommended to us by Tim’s cousin, Karen. Unfortunately, when my sister and Noel were in town, we didn’t hear about it until the day they were closed. We’ll have to come back with them another time. I feel bad, the gua bao was on my sister’s top eats for Taiwan.

Walking through NTU
Walking through NTU
Double decker bike racks
Double decker bike racks

When we arrived in Gongguan, the pearl milk stand had a line up but surprisingly, the gua bao stand didn’t have a line up (Tim: maybe because it was not really lunch time). The pearl milk line wasn’t too long but by the time we got to the front of the line up (5-10 minutes) the line up had curled around 3 times! We just beat the crowd of students. We took our lunch to the NTU entrance benches and sat and enjoyed our cheap and delicious lunch. As I was eating the gua bao and biting into the best pearls I’ve ever had (super soft, warm and chewy), I kept thinking, “this is amazing”.  I’m really savouring the good and cheap food in Taiwan because I know when we get to Australia, everything is going to be more the double the price and probably not as delicious.

Gua bao stand (50 NT = $1.98 CAD) for one
Gua bao stand (50 NT = $1.98 CAD) for one
Pearl Milk stand in Gongguan. 35 NT = $1.35 CAD for one drink
Pearl Milk stand in Gongguan. 35 NT = $1.35 CAD for one drink
Delicious warm, chewy and sweet tapioca (pearls)
Delicious warm, chewy and sweet tapioca (pearls)
The line up after we left
The line up after we left
One of our favourite Taipei combos.
One of our favourite Taipei combos.

After we finished our lunch, we decided to walk to the Roots Canada Lodge store and an Eslite Bookstore. We had noticed that Taiwanese people love Roots clothing when we first arrived in March. Even when we were in Korea and Japan, when we saw people with “Roots Canada” t-shirts, we knew they weren’t Canadian, they were Taiwanese. Coincidentally, Mom brought a brochure back from Roots back home that says “Roots loves Taiwan”. There’s a campaign by Roots Canada and Tourism Taiwan that shows pictures around Taipei as well as suggestions on where to go (it’s a pretty nice pamphlet). The store on Robson just had a grand re-opening on May 3rd and Mom was asked to look for Taiwanese dancers for their event. Pretty cool!

Last walk through Daan Park
Last walk through Daan Park
Dunhua boulevards are all tree lined
Dunhua boulevards are all tree lined
Roots brochure from Vancouver
Roots brochure from Vancouver
In front of the Roots Lodge store in Taipei
In front of the Roots Lodge store in Taipei
Nanaimo bars look so fancy here
Nanaimo bars look so fancy here

Any how, we were both interested in going to a Roots store in Taipei and the one we saw the other day while in the car had a Roots Canada Lodge restaurant. They served Canadian food – like Nanaimo bars, bacon cheeseburgers and poutine. We went into the store to see if they had any t-shirts that said Taipei on it because one time we saw someone who had one on. Tim asked the sales associate and she said those t-shirts only come out once a year and it’s usually in September. Roots clothing isn’t cheap and it’s definitely not cheap in Taiwan. A plain zip up hoodie is around $140 CAD (almost double what it would be back home).

We then made our way across the street to Eslite (the 24 hour bookstore). We hadn’t been to this location before, only the one near Taipei 101. Tim was looking for the Marie Kondo book, “The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up” in Chinese. He has been recommending this book to a lot of people and wants his parents to read it as well. I haven’t finished it yet, and I’m recommending it to others (Tim’s not happy that I haven’t finished reading it since it’s so short). We wandered around Eslite and browsed around at all the floors – besides books they have a lot of neat shops to look at.

On our way back to the apartment, we stopped at a CoCo bubble tea and ordered a passion fruit tea. This was one of our favourite drinks here as it’s super refreshing. With the heat, I wouldn’t have minded if it were all slushy. I know they opened a CoCo in Vancouver and I probably won’t go there this summer since it’s going to cost 4 x the price for what we had and I would have had enough bubble tea in the past 3 months to last a year.

Passionfruit tea with pearls and coconut jelly 40 NT = $1.58 CAD
Passionfruit tea with pearls and coconut jelly 40 NT = $1.58 CAD

We came back to the apartment to rest up and cool off before dinner. Tim and I had been going to a hot pot place a lot in March and we had a stamp card that only needed one more meal before we got one free (yes, we went that much). Hot pot isn’t something you crave during hot humid weather, but since they blast the AC so high in Asia, it’s always perfect.

As soon as we walked into the restaurant, the waitress recognized us. For the most part, the restaurant isn’t a tourist destination or even on most people’s radar (we couldn’t find any information on it in English at all). I guess she hadn’t see us in a month so when she saw us she asked us where we’re from etc. It’s basically Tim answering for both of us explaining that he’s Taiwanese and his parents were born here and then they look at me and ask what I am. Then he says, her family is from “Tai San” then they say, “you should teach her some Mandarin” and we all smile and laugh.

Our last shabu shabu. Going to miss this place!
Our last shabu shabu. Going to miss this place!

We ordered two types of beef as usual and enjoyed our last meal there. We both put a lot of fresh garlic in our sauce, so now today we both have severe garlic breath. When we were done, Tim showed her our stamp card and she said usually you are supposed to use the free one during your next visit (which is what Mom told us would probably happen) but Tim said this is our last day in Taiwan so she let us have the free one. Our meal was 270 NT = $10.71 CAD for the both of us.

After dinner, we walked back towards the apartment and went to the Linjiang Tonghua Night Market (this is like our neighbourhood market since it’s so close). I wanted to buy some more dried guava for my family, fresh cut guava (for me to eat tomorrow), and a phone case (since mine was in horrible and dirty shape). We didn’t eat any food at the night market since we just had dinner. I bought a new phone case, which wasn’t that cheap but cheaper than home ($9 CAD). I know how cheap these phone cases could be, so anything sold in Taiwan isn’t cheap compared to China. My former co-worker asked me if I wanted phone cases before she went to China one year and I said I wanted one that you could put cards in. She told me it’s buy 1 get 9 free and showed me the Chinese website. I said I only wanted one and she’s like, it’s okay you can have them in 9 colours. So when she came back she gave me a box with 10 cases in it, and they’re the exact same ones in the night markets here.

Our fruit lady at Linjiang Tonghua. Cut guava for 20 NT = $0.79 CAD
Our fruit lady at Linjiang Tonghua. Cut guava for 20 NT = $0.79 CAD
Dried guava and plum lady we go to. Larger bag of dried guava is 100 NT = $3.90 CAD
Dried guava and plum lady we go to. Larger bag of dried guava is 100 NT = $3.90 CAD
See you again, Linjiang Tonghua!
See you again, Linjiang Tonghua!
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My Hello Kitty suitcase tag, hopefully It won’t get lost. 80 NT = $3.15 CAD

We headed back to the apartment and packed up and went through all the items Mom is bringing back for us. It’s such a big help that she’s here to bring a lot of things home for us. I have a bunch of clothes that I didn’t end up wearing much and I know won’t be good for Australia and SE Asia. You really don’t need much clothing while traveling (Tim: which is pretty common advice, yet lots of people don’t adhere to) and especially in the humid heat, Lululemon or any dri-fit type of items are the best.

I’m a pretty sentimental person so whenever it’s the last day or last of anything, I do get a bit sad and reminiscent of all the good memories. During our time in Taipei, we became very familiar with the Daan area. Even as someone who isn’t great with directions, I got to know Daan very well. I’m happy that we got to see so many people while we were here and were able to spend 2 weeks with my sister, Noel, and Nate. Even passing by the apartment we stayed at or going around to sites we visited together, I think about them.

Steps today: 24,000

Taipei (Day 64): IMAX, Thai Food and Tea

May 3, 2016

We had an another early morning today… not because of a flight, but because Tim wanted to watch “Captain America: Civil War”. The movie was released last week in Asia and will be out in North America on Friday. Tim wanted to watch it at Miramar (which is about 5 stops away on the brown line from us), which has the largest IMAX screen in Taiwan (I think at one point it was the largest in Asia). We woke up around 7:45am, got ready and headed out.

Tim wore his Korean socks for the movie (Ironman and Captain America)
Tim wore his Korean socks for the movie (Ironman and Captain America)
Miramar Entertainment Park
Miramar Entertainment Park

We got to Miramar Entertainment Park at 9:15am, bought our tickets for the IMAX 3D (480 NT = $18.89 CAD), and looked for breakfast. The mall was closed so we went to Carrefour, which was across the street. We grabbed some Asian buns and a carton of guava juice and headed to the theatre. We arrived just in time for the previews, it’s nice to have reserved seating in Asia. We both enjoyed the movie, that’s all I’ll say (don’t want to spoil anything). (Tim: The IMAX theatre used the latest IMAX with Laser projection technology, and all I can say is it was frickin’ phenomenal. Head and shoulders the best digital projection system I’ve experienced and the 3D was particularly good.)

Post movie
Post movie
Leaving the theatre. It's a hot day in Taipei
Leaving the theatre. It’s a hot day in Taipei

After the movie, we rushed back to the apartment to meet Tim’s Mom and family friends for lunch. Tim’s family friend picked us up from the apartment and drove us to a Thai restaurant in the area. When we arrived, we were warmly welcomed by his wife who was already at the restaurant waiting for us. She brought us into the restaurant and there was a beautiful spread of food already waiting. Tim and I both really like Thai food, so this was a definite treat. Tim and his family spent a lot of time with this couple while living here in 1994 and they also spent a good amount of time in BC, so it was a very happy reunion.

Some of the delicious Thai food
Some of the delicious Thai food at “Thai Made” in Daan
Happy reunion
Happy reunion
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Front entrance of Thai Made. Highly recommended!

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After a very delicious lunch (I think it was one of my favourite Thai meals), they took us to their friend’s store on Yong Kang Street. Their friend, who is also an artist, runs a store called, Chang-Yi-Fang Taiwan Puppet Creations. Their friend makes an assortment of merchandise with classic Taiwanese fabrics and prints and her husband makes costumes for puppet theatre. They were very generous and kind and told us to pick something for our wedding as well as something to bring to Tim’s sister and husband in Australia. Tim chose a canvas messenger bag and I got a canvas tote. Hopefully we will see them soon in Vancouver if they visit or when we come back to Taiwan. They offered to take us around Taiwan when we’re back!

Such a colourful shop
Such a colourful shop
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Mom with family friends and the owner of the store
Tim outside the store
Tim outside Chang-Yi-Fang

Uncle Albert met us outside the store and was there to pick us up to go to a teahouse for a traditional Taiwanese tea ceremony. In about 30 minutes, we were out of the city centre and going up the lush green mountains north of Taipei. We stopped by Xin Mt. Meng Lake in the mountains and took some pictures.

There's a hike but we just went to the lake
There’s a hike but we just went to the lake
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We had to go up a few stairs to get to the lake
Tim and Mom by the lake
Tim and Mom by the lake
Peaceful lake
Peaceful lake

After about an 8 minute drive, we made it to Shi-Yang Tea House. The tea house is beautiful and has a Zen feel to it. We were also meeting two of Mom’s friends for tea and dinner. One of them lives in Taipei and the other is visiting from Vancouver. Shi-Yang is located in the mountains and surrounded by a forest. We were welcomed and brought to a meditation room to mediate and relax before the tea ceremony. After about 10 minutes of meditation, we were lead to another room and began the tea service. The tea master served two types of tea, brewing each about 4-5 times so we could taste the difference. He was very methodical while pouring each cup of tea, it was very calming. He was very careful in feeling the temperature of the water and making sure it was the right temperature each time to pour on the tea leaves. He said that after you finish brewing the tea, the leaves should be intact and not broken. If they are broken, then that means the water was too hot, and the tea would probably be bitter. Tim and I looked at each other and were reminded of our wedding tea ceremony. The nice tea was very bitter, probably because we just poured boiling water on it.

SHI-YANG tea house entrance
Tea house entrance. It’s all tatami mats so you have to take off your shoes before entering
Meditation room
Meditation room
Tea ceremony place setting
Tea ceremony place setting
Tim smelling the oolong
Tim smelling the oolong
He brewed one of the teas using a bowl and the other type in a tea pot
He brewed one of the teas using a bowl and the other type in a tea pot
Tim enjoying his tea
Tim enjoying his tea
Uncle Albert, Tim, Mom and Me
Uncle Albert, Tim, Mom and Me

After about an hour, we were lead down to the restaurant for dinner. For dinner we were treated to an amazing tasting menu. Everything was wonderfully prepared and presented beautifully. Tim’s Mom treated us all to such a wonderful afternoon here, it was very relaxing. I never knew Taipei had tea houses like this so I’m really happy we got to experience one with her during this trip.

Tasted like a tomato and bocconcini jello
Tasted like a tomato and bocconcini jello
Corn soup and a peanut tofu
Corn soup and a peanut tofu
Scallops with olive tapenade, bamboo and kikurage mushroom
Scallops with olive tapenade, bamboo, and kikurage mushroom
Guava and passionfruit palate cleanser
Guava and passionfruit palate cleanser
Fried mochi with mushroom inside and assorted vegetables
Fried mochi with mushroom inside and assorted vegetables
Main course of seafood - abalone, swordfish sashimi, wintermelon cauliflower, smoked salmon and roe, squid roll and eggplant & cabbage
Main course of seafood – abalone, swordfish sashimi, winter melon cauliflower, smoked salmon and roe, squid roll, and eggplant & cabbage
Fried rice with edamame and mushroom
Soup with a closed up lotus flower that opens up as the steam gets into the petals
Soup with a closed up lotus flower that opens up as the steam gets into the petals
Water apple, pineapple and guava
Water apple, pineapple, and guava
Creme brulee
Creme brûlée

It was a pretty long day for us, so we were ready to get ready for bed and sleep as soon as we got back to the apartment.

Steps today: 9,000

Sapporo/Incheon/Taipei (Day 63): 3 Countries in 12 hours

May 2, 2016

This morning we woke up early to catch our flight to Seoul-Incheon en route to Taipei. Our flight time on our e-ticket said 8:55am so we woke up at 6am and left the hotel around 6:45am. We took the JR train to Chitose Airport, which took about 40 minutes (we also had to wait 15 minutes for the train). Luckily, Tim checked the flight time while we were at the train station and it showed that the flight time actually changed to 9:40am. I guess we didn’t get a flight time change notification. Any how, that actually worked out a lot better for us because by the time we arrived at our check in counter, it was already 7:50am.

Empty Sapporo streets early Monday morning
Empty Sapporo streets early Monday morning
A good mall right beside Sapporo Station
A good mall right beside Sapporo Station
Train to New Chitose Airport
Train to New Chitose Airport

Chitose International Terminal is about a 8-10 minute walk from the JR train (it’s a lot closer for the Domestic Terminal). The international flights that leave Sapporo are only to a few cities – 5 to Taipei, 4 to Seoul, 3 to Bangkok and 1 to Kuala Lumpur on a daily basis. One thing that I’ve noticed in Sapporo that I didn’t see anywhere else in Japan was that tourist signs always include Russian. We’re pretty far north and this is probably the closest I’ve ever been to Russia.

The International Terminal at Chitose has a few duty free stores. The store with food souvenirs was a bit of a gong show. There were a few Thai flights leaving so people were stocking up (I think I’ll be the same in July). A LeTAO representative was there dishing out huge spoon fulls of their cheesecake. (Yum!).

The busiest duty free store is the one with all the food
The busiest duty free store is the one with all the food. That will be us (Tim: “us”) in July at Haneda.
Our boarding gate at Chitose
Our boarding gate at Chitose

We were flying Korean Air so we had a 3 hour layover in Incheon before flying to Taipei at 4pm. Incheon iss a really good airport to have a layover in, so I don’t mind being there for 3 hours. There are a lot of stores, restaurants, and their Wi-Fi is extremely fast.

Our flight to Seoul from Sapporo was only half full (if even), so we got a row to ourselves. There are some really nice views of the mountains as you leave Sapporo. Tim likes to take aerial shots from the plane while we’re flying. The food on Korean Air has been very good. We both had a chicken dish and it had a shrimp salad and a plate of assorted fruits. (I didn’t take a picture of the meal).

When we arrived at Incheon, we walked around for a bit and browsed some of the duty free stores. If you like Longchamps bags (Tim: and who doesn’t?), Incheon’s Longchamps store is about about 25%-30% cheaper than at home or online. I can’t say the same for the other luxury brands, since those are the only bags I looked at in detail. Also, if you want to buy face masks while in Seoul, you can buy packs of 50 of them at the cosmetic stores for slightly cheaper than what you would pay in the stores in Seoul (they have Nature Republic, Tony Moly, Innisfree, and the Face Shop). Another interesting thing to note is that Incheon retail store prices are all in USD and are charged in USD, which doesn’t really make sense to me. But all the food and restaurant prices are in Korean Won. I don’t get it.

Tim and I didn’t eat anything at the airport since we got meals on both the flights on Korean Air. While walking around the airport, I was reminded why I wasn’t a big fan of Korean food and/or snacks. There was definitely not as big of a draw to buy any snacks and treats like there is in Japan (unless you want to buy Red Ginseng). I just bought a Chilsing Cider (which is their version of 7up) to tie us over until our flight.

My artsy shot at Incheon
My artsy shot at Incheon
This is why Incheon has been the best airport in the world 11 years in a row
This is why Incheon has been the best airport in the world 11 years in a row

Our flight to Taipei was a full flight and it was a fairly large plane (777). Apparently there was a long weekend for Labour Day in Taiwan this weekend, so that’s why so many people were traveling. The flight was one of the scariest flights I’ve been on to date. There was a lot of turbulence that made the plane go up and down a lot. I’m “okay” with turbulence when it just shifts the plane side to side but when it starts to dip up and down, that’s when I start to freak out. The flight attendants had to sit down quite a few times during the flight because the turbulence was so bad. When I’m scared on flights, I grab Tim’s hand and squeeze it pretty tight. He’s really calm when there’s turbulence. He told me after we landed that I looked like I was going to cry. To be honest, I did have that urge to start crying (which has never happened before on a plane). Other than the turbulence, I watched the Steve Jobs movie (which was pretty good) and the meal they served was also quite good (I had Korean beef bulgogi).

Approaching Taoyuan Airport
Approaching Taoyuan Airport
Finally! Sapporo > Incheon > Taipei
Finally! Sapporo > Incheon > Taipei (Tim: You can see the crooked path the pilot took, probably to try and avoid bad weather)

We landed at Taoyuan Airport about 15 minutes late and as soon as we got off the plane, we felt a sudden wall of humidity. Apparently it was 37 degrees Celsius today, a stark difference from our 5 degrees temperatures in Sapporo. A bunch of flights from Japan landed at the same time and we were caught behind the crowds and had to wait at customs for about 35 minutes. We finally got through and got our bags, which were very lonely on the baggage carousel by the time we got downstairs. Uncle Albert came to pick us up and we dropped off our bags and headed straight for dinner with Tim’s Mom, and Tim’s Dua-yi Diu (whose apartment we are staying at).

We went to G-Woo, a restaurant close by to the apartment and one that we had gone to in March with Tim’s other relatives. They are known for their chicken soup, but since we got there fairly late, around 8pm, they said they were sold out. Everything Tim’s Mom and Uncle ordered was really good. I didn’t realize how much I missed the taste of Taiwanese/Chinese style food.

At G-Woo for a delicious dinner
At G-Woo for a delicious dinner
Tim's Uncle, Mom and Uncle Albert
Tim’s Uncle, Mom and Uncle Albert

Before leaving Japan, we found out that some good friends were in Taipei visiting from Toronto and we would have a 12 hour overlap with them here. Unfortunately they were leaving tomorrow morning at 6am for Hong Kong so the only time we could meet was tonight. We planned on meeting at Ice Monster (shaved ice restaurant) after dinner. We don’t get to see them very often since they live in Toronto so we were both really happy to see them here. We shared two shaved ice and chatted for a couple of hours before saying bye. It felt like we were at home. They had to be up in a few hours to go to the airport and we were pretty beat from our long day of travel.

Line up outside Ice Monster
Line up outside Ice Monster
Us with JT, Bernice and Laurence at Ice Monster
Us with JT, Bernice, and Laurence at Ice Monster

We walked back to the apartment, washed up and crashed. Tomorrow we planned on watching Captain America Civil War (which came out in Asia last week, and doesn’t come out in North America until Friday) at 9:30am. Tim has been waiting to come back to Taipei to watch it, since most movies here aren’t dubbed like in Japan.

It feels nice to be back in Taipei. It feels like our second home since we’re most familiar with it and there is family here. We only have 3 nights before heading off again. I kind of wish we had a bit more time here before leaving. Tim’s Mom is here visiting, so it’s nice to be able to see Taipei with her and meet more family friends.

Steps today: 13,000

Spending Summary: Taiwan

Now that we’re in Korea, it’s time for me to look at how our spending went during the first leg of our trip in Taiwan. We spent 30 days in Taiwan through most of March, and our final travel spending total is…

$2956.53 (Canadian)

Here’s how the spending breaks down:

  • Accommodations:  $1,525.19
  • Food:  $825.42
  • Transportation:  $547.42
  • Activities:  $58.50
  • Souvenirs: $0

This works out to around $100/day for 2 people travelling around Taiwan, which I think is very reasonable. Looking at the totals though, some things jumped out at me. We spent more on transportation than I expected (not sure why I thought the trains would be cheaper), and less on activities. Not too much surprise with food and accommodations.

Accommodations

I would put our spending on accommodations in the lower mid-range in terms of travel budgets for Taiwan. We had the benefit of family members providing accommodations, as well as splitting costs between 4 adults while Kim, Noel, and Nate were in Taiwan with us. The accommodations we booked ranged from lower end hotels to fancy beach resorts. At the end of the day, the main comparison Kait and I wanted to make with our accommodation spending during our travels was whether or not we spent more on our accommodations than we would have spent on rent back home in Vancouver. With that in mind, I consider our accommodation spending in Taiwan a success.

Food

Food can be very inexpensive in Taiwan, particularly eating out. But at the same time, as with lots of things, you can spend as much as you want to. Unlike at home, we intended to eat out for most of our meals while in Taiwan. We had a kitchen in a lot of our accommodations, but the kitchens were only used for cutting fruit and prepping meals for Nate. If you’re not comfortable eating street food or sitting at a table with other diners, our food spending is probably on the low end of the spectrum. Otherwise, our budget is probably a pretty good estimate for dining in Taiwan… around $15/day/person.

Transportation

This category really encompasses two different things, intercity and intracity transportation. We spent $478.28 travelling between cities and $69.14 moving around within cities. For a trip that involved doing a loop around Taiwan and another round trip between Taipei and Kenting, I would say this is on the low end of the spending spectrum. As mentioned in Taxis vs Transit vs Walking, our preferred modes of transportation naturally lends itself to minimizing spending. Between cities, we took trains and used regular rail instead of high speed rail down the west coast when we did our loop. This kept our intercity travel low. If you expect to take more taxis, you’ll probably spend more for intracity travel (and if you plan to make use of the great bike shares available in Taiwan, you’ll probably spend less).

Activities

This was the biggest surprise for me. We really didn’t spend as much on activities as I thought we would. Even more surprising, the spending here was dominated by 2 things: The National Palace Museum (overpriced now thanks to a large influx of mainland Chinese tourists?) and watching Batman v Superman (not even including the pop and popcorn). Those two made up over 70% of our “activity” spending. Although looking at the total surprised me at first, it really shouldn’t have. My favourite thing to do when I travel is to walk around and look at things that are out and about…. and that’s free!

Souvenirs

So, we basically spent nothing on souvenirs. We’ve bought gifts (which I haven’t included in this total) and we’ve spent money on a few other things that are more related to life than travel, so I probably won’t include those in these summaries. When it comes to souvenirs though, I imagine Kait and I will eventually get something from our travels, but we’re packing pretty light, so we have to be picky. I like to collect coins and banknotes, so I’m sure somewhere along the line, I’ll set aside some nice coins and crisp banknotes to save. When I do, I’ll consider the money spent on souvenirs.


So that’s our spending in Taiwan. I expect our spending rate to increase in Korea, and increase again in Japan. After that will be Australia (and New Zealand?) where I expect our spending to peak, before we finish things off in South East Asia where I can (hopefully) blissfully enjoy how inexpensive everything is.

 

Taipei (Day 29): Last Day in Taiwan

March 29, 2016

Today is our last day in Taipei until May, when we’ll be back for a couple of days before going down to Australia. We slept in this morning for the first time in a while which was nice. We used this morning to plan for Seoul – how to get to the hotel from the airport and researching DMZ tours.

We decided to go for lunch at this noodle restaurant that we passed by on our way to Daan Park multiple times. The restaurant was pretty much a hole in the wall (with no signage), the kitchen at the front with a “Mom” and “Dad” making noodles. Each time we passed by during lunch they always had a line up – which is usually a good sign. We ended up having a late lunch at around 1:30pm, which worked out because we avoided the work lunch crowd. This restaurant specializes in noodles – both dry and soup noodles (milk seafood broth and miso broth).

We picked the dry pork noodles and the milk seafood broth. The noodles were nice and chewy (the way I like them) and the milk seafood broth was surprisingly tasty and had a lot of seafood in the soup. The seafood soup bowl was a lot deeper than it appeared to be and was very filing. After we had this carb heavy lunch, I felt like falling asleep, so it was good we went for a walk after. While we were eating, the owners closed the door and were eating their lunch too (at the same table as us).

Noodle restaurant we had passed by almost every day
Noodle restaurant we had passed by almost every day
Dry noodle in pork sauce (60 NT = $2.40 CAD)
Dry noodle in pork sauce (60 NT = $2.40 CAD)
Seafood broth with noodles (160 NT = $6.45 CAD)
Seafood milk soup with noodles (160 NT = $6.45 CAD). It tasted like a watery chowder broth (tasted better than how I’m describing it)

After lunch, we went back to SunnyHills to buy pineapple cakes for Tim’s Great Aunt, who we will be visiting in Osaka. We got to sit down and have a pineapple cake and tea again – delicious!

We got seated in the front room this time
We got seated in the front room this time

Our only other plan today was to meet Tim’s second cousin, Janiss, for dinner at the fish market, “Addiction Aquatic Development” (AAD). The English name is a bit weird, but it’s basically a large Japanese food market with individual restaurants inside. They have sushi, sashimi, steamed/boiled seafood, grilled fish, BBQ, and hot pot. We decided to get a bunch of take out dishes and eat outside.

Us with Janiss outside of Addiction Aquatic Development
Us with Janiss outside of Addiction Aquatic Development
Fresh seafood area
Fresh seafood area
Inside the food area - it's like a Japanese "Eataly"
Inside the stand up sushi area- The AAD is like a Japanese “Eataly” (Tim: What’s an Eataly?)
They even have a flower and plant section
They even have a flower and plant section
Seafood counter
Seafood counter
Sashimi take out section. Very reasonable prices, 20 pieces of sashimi for 240 NT = $9.70 CAD
Sashimi take out section. Very reasonable prices,  20 pieces of fresh sashimi for 240 NT = $9.70 CAD
This is what we ended up getting for the three of us, we could've done without one of the trays. We were stuffed. Sashimi trays were 240 NT = $9.70 CAD, 6 pieces of nigiri 150 NT = $6 CAD, Egg wrapped dynamite/futomaki-ish roll for 225 NT = $9 CAD, salad was $4.45 CAD
This is what we ended up getting for the three of us, we could’ve done without one of the trays. We were stuffed at the end. Sashimi trays were 240 NT = $9.70 CAD, 6 pieces of nigiri 150 NT = $6 CAD, Egg wrapped dynamite/futomaki-ish roll for 225 NT = $9 CAD, salad was $4.45 CAD.

Everything was really fresh and delicious. I’m really looking forward to going to Japan now! It was great catching up with Janiss over a nice meal, she’s such a sweet and bubbly girl. The last time we saw her was 3 years ago in Taipei when she took us to the Shilin Night Market. She’s now graduated university and is working full time. She’s fluent in Mandarin, English, German and Taiwanese – very impressed and wish I was multilingual. After dinner, we walked to the MRT station and said our goodbyes. Hopefully we’ll see her again soon in Taipei or even Vancouver.

We’re flying out to Seoul tomorrow at 1:25pm, so we’re getting everything packed up and ready. We’re both excited to go somewhere we haven’t been before, and experience new adventures in a place where neither of us can speak the language (I can only say “hello” and “thank you”). As much as we’re excited to go to Seoul, we’ll miss being in Taipei and feeling like a “local”, especially in the Daan area where we’ve been staying. I’ll write more on Taiwan summarizing some of my thoughts from the past month in a future post!

Total steps: 19,500

Taipei (Day 28): Movie Monday

March 28, 2016

This morning, we were woken up by Tim’s Taiwan cell phone ringing in the other room at 8:30am. It felt good not to have any set plans until later in the day. Taipei is 15 hours ahead of Vancouver, so when woke up, it was perfect timing to FaceTime with my family who were at Uncle Barry’s for Easter dinner.

It was nice to see everyone together and it felt like we were there too! They had finished eating dinner, but I saw all the plates of turkey leftovers and it made me really want a home cooked turkey dinner. We will have to have a turkey dinner in the summer when we’re back. There is a Canadian restaurant (Whalen’s) down the street from us that has a turkey dinner on their menu, but it’s quite expensive, so we’ll just wait.

We decided to go for breakfast and have a nice walk since it was sunny out today. It was about 20 degrees with a warm breeze (pretty ideal weather). We headed back to King Soy Milk and had the same meal we had the very first morning we were in Taipei. We shared a sao bing with egg, rice roll and a cold soy milk for 85 NT = $3.45 CAD.

Back to our fave breakfast place
Back to our fave breakfast place
During down time, staff continue to prep for the day
During down time, staff continue to prep for the day

After breakfast we decided to walk towards Taipei 101 and watch the movie, “Batman v Superman”. There is a movie theatre in the mall right beside Taipei 101, called Vieshow Cinemas. The walk to Taipei 101 took about 20 minutes. The weather was very pleasant so it was good to walk off those carbs we just had for breakfast. When we got to the theatre, we saw that Batman V. Superman was playing pretty much every half an hour (they have a lot of theatres). At the ticket counter, they asked if we wanted popcorn and drinks. The cashier said that if we bought the package with the tickets it was cheaper. He told us the price and for some reason we had miscalculated the conversion in our heads and thought that for two tickets and a popcorn combo (two drinks and a popcorn) was $20 CAD, but after we paid we realized we divided it wrong and it was actually $37 CAD! Each ticket was 270 NT = $11 CAD and the combo was 369 NT = $15 CAD. It wasn’t outrageous, it was North American prices.

Sunny and blue skies on our way to Taipei 101 area to watch the movie
Sunny and blue skies on our way to Taipei 101 area to watch the movie
Vieshow theatres
Vieshow Cinemas. This complex is attached to Taipei 101 via an outdoor overpass
Waiting for our popcorn at the concession
Waiting for our popcorn at the concession. It wasn’t that busy.. we’re the suckers while everyone else brought in their own outside food
We miscalculated the price of the food when added it on to our tickets. We only realized after we paid that it was 369 NT = $15 CAD
We miscalculated the price of the food when added it on to our tickets. We only realized after we paid that it was 369 NT = $15 CAD. Not pictured is a stuffed toy car, maybe they ran out of batman figurines. This is not something we would normally buy at theatres…

When we first went into the theatre, we sat there and thought we should’ve double checked that the movie was in English and subtitled in Chinese (i.e. not dubbed). Tim spoke Mandarin to the cashier so he never would have told us if it wasn’t in English (Tim: that’s a pretty big compliment to the quality of my Mandarin I guess). We had only thought about this after since a Canadian family behind us were told that the Zootopia time they wanted was dubbed and was in Mandarin. As soon as the movie started, we were relieved to hear English (Tim: Ben Affleck’s sweet voice) and see subtitles in Chinese (phew!).

The movie wasn’t the best, that’s all I’ll say. When we left the theatre at around 4pm, there was a huge ticket line up wrapped around the entrance, so we’re glad we decided to watch an earlier movie.

We headed back to the apartment and walked down Tonghua St. to look for something quick to eat for a very late lunch. Tim found some oyster vermicelli (soup) and decided to have that. I just had a few spoonfuls since I was still full from my healthy lunch of pop and popcorn from the movies.

Oyster vermicelli
Oyster vermicelli shop on Tonghua St.
Oyster vermicelli (45 NT = $1.80 CAD)
Oyster vermicelli (45 NT = $1.80 CAD)

Our bubble tea for the day was from Ten Ren, a Taiwanese store known for their tea. We had passed by so many locations but hadn’t tried it yet. We ordered pearl milk tea and it was 50 NT = $2 CAD.

Waiting for our pearl milk tea at Ten Ren
Waiting for our pearl milk tea at Ten Ren

We headed back to the apartment and rested for about two hours before dinner, which was at 7pm. Dinner tonight was with Tim’s relatives (Tim’s Dad’s cousin’s family) who I had met during our 2013 trip.

G-Woo is known for their chicken soup
G-Woo is known for their chicken soup
A super delicious dinner (with lots of greens too!)
A super delicious dinner (with lots of greens too!)
A wonderful dinner with the Chuehs
A wonderful dinner with the Chuehs. We’ll see them again when we come back briefly in May.
G-Woo's most famous dish. A very rich chicken broth with very tender chicken pieces
G-Woo’s most famous dish. A very rich chicken broth with very tender chicken pieces
A-Giak with 11 month old Oliver
A-Giak with 11 month old Oliver. He kept waving to me all dinner!

After a big dinner, we met Austin at the Raohe Night Market to walk around. It was Austin’s last night in Taipei before heading off to Hong Kong so it was great we got to see him again on his Asia trip. Raohe Night Market is located north of where we are staying but very close to the airport in the city, Songshan. It’s one of the more popular night market’s in Taipei after Shilin.

At the Raohe Night Market with Austin on his last night in Taipei
At the Raohe Night Market with Austin on his last night in Taipei
Temple right beside the Raohe Night Market
Temple right beside the Raohe Night Market
These pork buns are what I would come back to Raohe for
These pork buns are what I would come back to Raohe for. They are cooked in a “tandoor” and served piping hot. It was like a sao bing on the outside with juicy pork and vegetables on the inside. We only got one to share because we were full but if I had an empty stomach, I would order more than one.
The finished product (40 NT = $1.60 CAD)
The finished product (40 NT = $1.60 CAD). This was the only place that had a pretty long line. Lucky they’re super efficient
Raohe Night Market is located just south of the Keelung River
Raohe Night Market is located just south of the Keelung River

It was a great night being able to spend time with Tim’s family in Taipei and seeing Austin while. Obviously family is very important to both myself and Tim and we know we are very lucky to have such amazing people in our lives – we don’t take any of it for granted.

Tomorrow is our last full day in Taipei before our Korea and Japan portion of our trip. We’re planning on meeting another one of Tim’s second cousins for dinner and use the rest of the day to pack and prepare.

Steps for today: 20,000

Taipei (Day 27): Happy Easter!

March 27, 2016

Happy Easter from Taipei!

This morning felt a bit weird/sad without hearing Nate waking up and calling our names. After an emotional night (for me), we woke up and got ready to go to Easter Mass at Holy Family Catholic Church. There is only one English Mass at 9:45am so we had to make sure we didn’t miss it! We power walked from the apartment and through Daan Park and got to church right on time.

The Mass was lead by Monseigneur Paul Russell, an American who has been in Taipei for the past 8 years working as a diplomatic representative for the Vatican. According to the announcements at church he has been very influential in trying to connect Catholicism to the Taiwanese population (Taiwanese Catholics only make up 1.5% of the population and Christianity as a whole is only 4.5%). It was announced last week that he was appointed by Pope Francis to become the Archbishop and nuncio (permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See) in Turkey. The way members of the congregation spoke about him, showed he has made a significant impact on the church in Taipei and he will be greatly missed. We didn’t even know him and Tim got a bit teary eyed during his goodbye speech at the end (Tim: I get moved thinking about a person with no past ties to Taiwan, who can serve the people of Taiwan for 8 years of his life, and express a deep love for a country that I’m only tangentially able to connect with, even though I’m “Taiwanese”).

Waiting to go into the church
Waiting to go into the church
Inside Holy Family Church
Inside Holy Family Church after Mass ended

Our only plan for today was to meet with Austin (Tim’s cousin, in town for a wedding) for a late lunch. We finished Mass at 11am so we decided to take a walk to the Gongguan area, an area close to National Taiwan University (NTU). We planned on going to Gongguan earlier in the week with my sister but the gua bao (Taiwanese “pork burger”) place we wanted to try was closed on Mondays so we didn’t end up going.

Tim’s cousin, Karen, recommended two places in the area to try, the gua bao (Lan Jia Steamed Sandwich Shop) and a fresh milk with pearls (no tea) stand. It was easy to track the places down since they were across from each other and both had line ups. I stood in the pearl milk line while Tim went to the gua bao line. We took our drink and baos across the street to NTU and sat on the bench and ate.

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Cute signage around Gongguan
Pearl Milk stand. 35 NT = $1.40 CAD
Pearl Milk stand. 35 NT = $1.40 CAD
You can ask for regular pork, fatty pork or half half. I got half half and Tim got fatty pork belly
Lan Jia Steamed Sandwich Shop: You can ask for regular pork, fatty pork or half half. I got half half and Tim got fatty pork belly. (50 NT = $2 CAD)
Line ups for both pearl milk and gua bao places
Line ups for both pearl milk and gua bao places
Forgot to take a picture before we drank half the pearl milk.
Forgot to take a picture before we drank half the pearl milk. The pearls in this are cooked in brown sugar so it sweetens the milk. They’re the best pearls we’ve both ever had (Tim: I never said that, I just said they were good), they’re warm, soft and still chewy.
Gua bao - delicious!
Gua bao was delicious! It has pork belly, cilantro, peanut & sugar dusting, and pickled vegetables on a steamed bun
Entrance to NTU
Entrance to NTU

After we walked around for a bit, we took the MRT to meet Austin at Zhongxiao Xinsheng station to go for beef noodles at a restaurant called 72 Beef Noodle (this was another Karen recommendation). The restaurant is called “72 Beef Noodle” because that’s how many hours it takes for them to make the soup.

Outside of 72
Outside of 72 Beef Noodle
This was their special appetizer dish (small size). It was a stir fry type of dish with tofu, peanuts, chives, egg, and fatty pork. (120 NT = $4.90 CAD)
This was their special appetizer dish (small size). It was a stir fry type of dish with tofu, peanuts, chives, egg, and fatty pork. (120 NT = $4.90 CAD). This was very flavourful and tasty – my favourite dish here.
Soft tofu with century egg with thick soy, cilantro and benito flakes (120 NT = $4.90 CAD)
Soft tofu with century egg with thick soy, green onions and benito flakes (120 NT = $4.90 CAD)
Tim's beef noodle (160 NT = $6.50 CAD). He says this is favourite broth so far.
Tim’s beef noodle (160 NT = $6.50 CAD). He says this is favourite broth so far, but the meat wasn’t as tender as Yong Kang
72 is known for this herbal "clear" base. I preferred Tim's soup instead. (160 NT = $6.50 CAD)
72 is known for this “clear” soup broth. I preferred Tim’s soup. (160 NT = $6.50 CAD)
Us with Austin at "72"
Us with Austin at “72 Beef Noodle” (I think there’s a spotlight right over Austin’s head)

After lunch, we were feeling pretty tired. We made our way back to the apartment and rested. For dinner we wanted to go somewhere casual and close by. We decided to just walk back to Tonghua St. and see if anything looked interesting. Nothing caught our attention so we decided to go back to Formosa Chang’s to have something small.

Our walk towards Tonghua. Taipei 101 is lit up nicely
Our walk towards Tonghua. Taipei 101 is lit up nicely
Our dinner at Formosa Chang's . (240 NT = $9.80 CAD)
Our dinner at Formosa Chang’s . (240 NT = $9.80 CAD)

We walked back to the apartment through the night market and picked up some fruit on the way back from the quick fruit lady who Noel kept buying fruit from last week. We got one guava and an apple pear (one of my favourite fruits) for 75 NT = $3 CAD.

We’re back at the apartment now and going to start planning for our Japan leg of the trip. We’re planning on watching Batman vs. Superman tomorrow (or Tuesday) and then we’ll have dinner with Tim’s relatives. My family at home is having a big Easter dinner on Sunday (tomorrow morning for me), I’m sad I’ll be missing out on dinner. I always look forward to our big family gatherings and being surrounded by all my loved ones on Easter.

Today’s steps are: 15,000

Kenting (Day 24): Good Luck Winds

March 24, 2016

Yesterday, we had hung some of our shorts and swim suits on the balcony outside to dry. This morning, when we woke up and looked outside there was only one item out of four left on the balcony (we’re on the 2nd floor). The palm trees were swaying and it was super windy outside. We looked outside and saw my sister’s shorts on the roof top below, Noel’s swim trunks on the ground and Tim’s shorts weren’t anywhere in sight. Tim went down to find his shorts which had been blown about 30 meters away on the first level. Then Tim climbed off our balcony to the roof to get my sister’s shorts (probably not the best idea). We learned our lesson about Kenting weather: it changes really quickly. Today’s temperature dropped almost 10 degrees Celsius and with the wind blowing it felt significantly colder than 20 degrees out.

Here are some pictures from breakfast:

Fruit bar
Fruit bar: Guava, Pineapple and Watermelon

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Omelet station
Omelet station
Drink station
Drink station
My fruit plate at breakfast
My fruit plate at breakfast
Tim's clams
Tim’s clams

After breakfast, we got changed and headed to the covered jacuzzi area. The jacuzzi area pool is set at about 34 degrees and has different jets everywhere, including ones that spray down to massage your shoulders. This area was the only part of the pool area that was busy. In the pools here you need to wear a swim cap. If you don’t have one, you can borrow one from the hotel. Many locals had their own that matched their swim suits.

The Fontanilla's with their swim caps on
The Fontanilla’s with their swim caps on
Jacuzzi area
Jacuzzi area
Tim in front of the colder pool where we would jump in every 15 minutes or so to feel refreshed. We were the only ones who were "brave enough" to go inside a colder pool (it really wasn't that bad)
Tim in front of the colder pool where we would jump in every 15 minutes or so to feel refreshed. We were the only ones who were “brave enough” to go inside a colder pool (it really wasn’t that bad)
Most people were dressed like it was going to snow. Like this lady behind us in a parka.
Most people were dressed like it was going to snow. Like this lady in the parka <3

To get to our resort in Kenting, we took their shuttle from Zuoying Station in Kaohsiung. I had booked the shuttle about three weeks before but forgot to ask to reserve seats back to Kaohsiung on Friday. When we arrived at the resort to check in, we told them we wanted to book a shuttle back and they said the shuttle was full and that we would have to take a bus in town which takes an hour longer and costs more. I felt really bad for dropping the ball on this. We had done more research on the other bus we had to take but today as we went out for lunch, I told Tim to just ask the front desk again if there was any room for us. I said, I think today is our lucky day, maybe some people decided to go home earlier or stay longer. Tim went to go ask and we were in luck, they had room for us! They even gave us the round trip rate of 500 NT = $20 CAD, only 100 NT more than the one way fare (which is not posted on their website… their website needs some work), so we only had to pay the different from our one way fare we already paid. This was the best news we had all day! A shorter bus ride, more convenient and a lot cheaper (the other bus would have been 418 NT = $17 CAD one way).

With that great news, we headed for celebratory lunch at McDonald’s. Asian McDonald’s have fried chicken! The prices at McDonald’s in Taiwan is a bit cheaper than at home. A Big Mac is only 69 NT = $2.80 CAD, where as it would be around $5 CAD in Vancouver. The best thing we have discovered at McDonald’s in Taiwan are their black sesame McFlurries (Tim: and sundaes). They mix black sesame paste with crunchy rice-crispy-like bits; no wonder it’s advertised at their number one seller.

Fried chicken, 2 pieces of either a drumstick or thigh is 100 NT = $4 CAD. Tim got the spicy
Fried chicken: 2 pieces of either a wing, drumstick or thigh is 100 NT = $4 CAD. Tim got it spicy. It was good!
Tim enjoying the chicken.
Tim enjoying the fried chicken. It was hot and juicy since they fry it to order.

We walked around the beach after lunch and then eventually made our way back to the room. It was Nate’s nap time and as it turned out, it was mine as well. Earlier in the day, Tim signed us up for an archery class at 4pm, but I stayed back to watch over Nate while Tim went with my sister and Noel.  They came back after an hour saying they had fun. Nate didn’t wake up from his nap until around 6:30pm. We were deciding what to do for dinner since it was really windy out and we didn’t want to eat night market food tonight. My sister and I went to check out the restaurant downstairs and decided to just stay in tonight.

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Tim the archer

The main restaurant here is where breakfast is served, buffet style. The restaurant is called “Aegean Restaurant”, which had a mixture of Western and Asian options, a good selection of cold seafood, and a carving station.
It was 693 NT = $27.60 CAD per person (weekday price), which is like a North American priced buffet. They had a Filipino trio band playing live music during dinner, which Nate enjoyed listening to. We all enjoyed dinner as there were a lot of vegetables (which really hit the spot) and western options (Tim and I were craving pasta for a while). The seafood was a nice treat since the seafood at the night market was overpriced for tourists -ie. 3 scallops on a skewer for 200 NT = $8 CAD.

Ham and roast beef at the carving station
Ham and roast beef at the carving station
My seafood plate - mussels, scallops and prawns
My seafood plate – mussels, scallops and prawns
Crabs
Crabs
Dessert area - chocolate fondue
Dessert area – chocolate fondue
They also had a soft serve machine. Tim had 3 scoops of ice cream.
They also had a soft serve machine. Tim had 3 scoops of ice cream (Tim: When I stood up to get a fourth, my travel companions looked at my funny, so I decided not to go for one last scoop).

We took our time and enjoyed our nice dinner. My sister, Noel, and Nate treated us tonight as a thank you for “showing them around Taiwan”. It was the most uncomfortably full Tim and I have been since being on this trip.

Time to sleep, tomorrow will be a longer day because we have to travel back up to Taipei. At least now we don’t have to worry about the bus to Kaohsiung!

Steps today: 13,500

 

 

Kenting (Day 23): Catching Some Rays

March 23, 2016

Today was the first day in over a week that we all woke up after 8am – even Nate! I think it was a combination of comfortable beds, silence and blackout blinds. Nate started to call out for my sister around 8:15am and we were surprised that it was so “late” – we woke up to get ready so we wouldn’t have a rushed breakfast (breakfast ended at 10am).

I think it’s always exciting to see what type of free breakfast hotels offer (or is that just me?), especially Asian hotels. I find that Asian hotels offer the best breakfasts because they always have an assortment of good Western and Asian options. You could have a plate of bacon and eggs then have a plate of noodles and stir fry – it’s the best of both worlds.

After reading a lot of very mixed reviews on Trip Advisor about this resort, I continue to be very skeptical about American’s reviews about Asian resorts and hotels. There were multiple negative reviews made about how Chateau Beach Resort doesn’t have a good breakfast and how there’s not enough Western options (come on, you’re in Asia…). As soon as we walked into the breakfast “hall”, the food and beverage area was extensive. I’ll try to take pictures of the food tomorrow – I was a bit overwhelmed this morning.

There were a lot of Western options – bacon, sausage, eggs, and even an omelette station. Tim was really happy about the Taiwanese food options like – danzi noodles (the noodles we had in Tainan) (Tim: they were so-so), stewed pork belly, and a green onion pancake station. Noel (and Nate) were most excited about the fruit bar – it had guava, pineapple, water apples and watermelon. Thanks to the breakfast buffet, Noel didn’t have to buy guava during the day.

The dining hall is a bit of a gong show since the resort is so big
The only picture I took of the dining hall which resembled a cafeteria – I’ll take better pictures tomorrow

After breakfast we were all set to swim. It was about 28 degrees Celsius today, a bit overcast with the sun coming out once in a while. It was nice to feel the heat – it was the weather we were hoping for in Kenting. We hung around the pool for a bit and then went down to the beach. The waves got pretty big so was not ideal for swimming in the ocean, though there were a bunch of people who were. Also, there was a warning that there were jellyfish in the area, which kind of psyched me out, so we just stayed close to shore.

Since we are in Asia (where most people want to be pale) there aren’t many sun bathers, therefore, there isn’t an abundance of lounge chairs around. We didn’t find this to be a problem since there were still quite a few free. We found most people liked to stay in the shade or in the covered jacuzzi pool and only the North Americans were out laying on the beach in the direct sunlight (with tanning oils).

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Tim hanging in the pool - it's a bit cold when you first go in
Tim hanging in the pool – it’s a bit cold when you first go in
The beach is lined with these umbrella huts
The beach is lined with these umbrella huts
Nate enjoying the morning at the beach
Nate enjoying the morning at the beach
Spot the North American? (without the tanning oil)
Spot the North American? (without the tanning oil)

For dinner, we headed back to the night market – it seems like that’s the best place to eat since a lot of the restaurant close by seem overpriced. We decided to try the “Taiwanese three cup” stall, which makes the traditional three cup chicken as well as other options: squid, mushrooms, duck tongue, and prawns (all made to order). We both ordered the chicken – it was really tasty, but would’ve been even better if we had a bowl of rice to go with it.

Taiwanese Three Cup Chicken - 150 NT = $6 CAD
Taiwanese Three Cup Chicken – 150 NT = $6 CAD
Our chicken - all dark meat.
Our chicken – all dark meat.
My first time trying papaya milk - it was really good and refreshing! 60 NT = $2.50 CAD
My first time trying papaya milk – it was really good and refreshing! 60 NT = $2.40 CAD

Our night at the night market got cut short by a sudden downpour. We were ordering bubble tea from Presotea when we felt a couple of rain drops, then suddenly rain was coming down like crazy and all the vendors quickly rushed to get their stalls under cover. We stood under Presotea’s cover until the rain died down. We still had about an 8 minute walk back to the hotel without an umbrella. You could tell no one was prepared – everyone was soaked.

Flash rain storm
Flash rain storm

An observation about Kenting is that it’s like the Thailand of Taiwan. Kenting Road (where the night market is) resembles any street in Koh Samui or any beachy Thai town. There’s a lot of street vendors, clubs, girls and lady boys dancing outside, and alcohol (we haven’t seen alcohol at any night market in Taiwan before here). Although the one thing Kenting doesn’t seem to have (or openly show) is prostitution, which is good.

Tomorrow is our last full day here. I imagine it will be somewhat of the same type of day we had today. I’m happy everyone is having a good time. It’s a nice way to end our leg of this trip with my sister, Noel, and Nate. We head back to Taipei on Friday and have one more night with them before they fly back home to Vancouver on Saturday night – just in time for Easter Sunday.

Total number of steps today: Around 10,000 steps but it wasn’t that accurate today since we didn’t have our cell phones with us at all times.

Kenting (Day 22): Finally Feels Like a Vacation

March 22, 2016

Today started off a bit hectic as we were busy packing up everything and making sure the apartment wasn’t a mess when we handed it back (Tim: Not sure why that was necessary since we pay a cleaning fee for AirBnB). We left the apartment at 10:30am and made our way to Taipei Main Station to catch the high speed rail train to Zuoying (Kaohsiung).

This was our first time taking the high speed rail (HSR) long distance. We had taken the HSR to Taoyuan (15 minute ride) for the lantern festival but were only taking the normal railway for our loop around Taiwan. Our train left Taipei at 11:24am and was scheduled to arrive in Kaohsiung at 1:00pm. Taipei to Kaohsiung is approximately 360km, so to get there in about an hour and half (Tim: with two stops) is pretty awesome!

Nate outside our train
Nate outside our train

As scheduled, we arrived at the Kaohsiung’s Zuoying station at 1:00pm on the dot. We bought our tickets for our return trip back to Taipei and walked around before heading to the hotel shuttle that picks up everyday at 1:50pm. Zuoying Station is very modern with an assortment of food options and even has a Muji and Shin Kong Mitsukoshi attached to it.

The shuttle from Zuoying to our hotel in Kenting took two hours for about 114km (which included a 15 minute rest stop break). If only there was a train connecting Kenting to other cities in Taiwan, it would make traveling here so much easier. Long bus rides are pretty painful, I prefer train rides.

Once we got to the resort, I was pleasantly surprised. We are staying at the Chateau Beach Resort in Kenting. It’s a popular destination because of a movie (Cape No. 7) which was filmed around the area. The hotel and grounds are very nice and our room is quite spacious with very high ceilings (our room is $200 CAD/night for a “Mountain View” family room). The hotel is very family friendly with multiple shallow pools for kids, a playroom, and the hotel’s private beach has super soft and pristine sand. This is the only hotel in Kenting that backs on to its own beach – which was a major selling point for us, especially with Nate.

Chateau Beach Resort's beach
Chateau Beach Resort’s beach
Nate getting used to the sand
Nate getting used to the sand
Our first Kenting sunset
Our first Kenting sunset
Pool area
Pool area

We were excited to explore the resort once we settled in since it was actually sunny and warm (about 26 degrees celsius). We walked down to the beach and walked along the shore for a bit – the water is a bit too cold to swim in but it’s perfect to wading in. The sun was starting to set so we decided to head out and grab something to eat, since we didn’t really eat much today.

The Kenting night market is located just up the street from the resort – which is a pretty ideal location. We snacked on some green onion pancake, fried milk, sausage, and chicken. For dessert we went to McDonald’s and tried their black sesame sundae (it was really good, and I don’t even love black sesame). The main street in Kenting is very touristy and it reminded Tim and I of Thailand (Tim: Koh Samui) more so than any other place we’ve been to in Taiwan.

Kenting night market street
Kenting night market street
Waiting for chicken
Waiting for chicken.

We headed back to the hotel and went to the rec room to let Nate play (and Noel and Tim played ping pong).

Nate in the rec room
Nate in the rec room

It’s nice to sleep in comfortable beds for the first time in a week or so. It’s also so quiet here compared to being in the Daan apartment. I know that this part of our trip is a luxury and Tim and I will not be traveling like this for other parts of our trip (unless it’s really cheap), so I’m definitely savouring every moment we have here for the next three days.

Looking forward to doing nothing by lounging and reading by the pool tomorrow. The temperature is supposed to be 28 degrees.

Steps today: 15,000