Weekend in Taipei

Since Tasha came back to HK earlier than expected, we decided to take a weekend trip away before summer ends. Initially, it was just going to be Tasha and me. I wanted to spend some quality time with her. I also hope to improve her Chinese by bringing her to a Chinese speaking place. Ya I know…what can a weekend do…..that is exactly what Geoff said (as an excuse to tag along). So this became a family outing!

To maximize our time in Taipei, we left HK on Friday. After a quick stop at the hotel, we went (much to the reluctance of the kids -they loooove hotel rooms) to the famous porridge street for dinner and then to Chenpin bookstore at Xinyi which opened till 2am! Kids loved the place, especially the kiddy size toilet (Andrea kept wanting to go wee)!


To make this trip a little different, we decided to get out of the city and visit Danshui, a seaside town on Saturday morning. The journey there was fast and easy (by MTR). I knew Taipei was going to be hot, so I have prepared Avian spray and electronic fans for all. But, it was really really really hot. Both Geoff and Tasha were sweating buckets. Andrea (the lucky one on the stroller) went to sleep in the heat. We ventured out of the station and we saw a street full of street food and then lots of cheesy theme park type games along the esplanade. We did not make it to the “Fishermen’s wharf” or any other sites. After a quick bite to eat, we made a hasty retreat back to the hotel and straight to the pool! Once we all cooled down, we made our way to Ximending, sort of a Taiwanese Mongkok, in the evening. According to my guide book, there is a famous noodle shop there. So, that's our first point of call! Oui! There's a queue…….so, what to do? We queued, we bought and we ate on the street!

Sunday, learning from yesterday’s experience, we’ve decided it is safest to stay indoor during the day. We went to the Palace Museum. It was an eye opening trip for Tasha. She enjoyed a number of the exhibits but the feature she loved most was the stamping kit outside each exhibition area! After the museum, we went back for another swim and then to visit THE landmark – Taipei 101! No trip to Taipei is complete without it. We took the turbo lift which took us up to the 89th floor in 43 seconds! Is that faster than a Ferrari? Next, we went to Shilin night market. It was such a let down! First, they revamp the place putting all food stalls in one area and others in another across the street. The food area was tight and hot and they all sell the same food! Sooooo boring. So, we went to the other side hoping to find something interesting……nothing. And you won’t believed what saved the day – those cheesy theme park games!!! We were about to give up and make our way back tpo the hotel. Tasha (probably not wanting to go back so soon) decided that she would like to play some games. One game turned into 2 and then 3………they had such a ball, we had to drag them home! Their favourite game is "scooping the fish" - NT$50 for as long as you want! Great for the kids but not so good for the poor fishes.......

For photos, go to: www.pbase.com/gztlee/tw07