Mom and Dad's Trip to Taiwan Part 3

Day 3 December 19, 2006

Danshui

We started the day with some Christmas errands, namely having a picture of Gibsons framed for Anting's parents. We were originally heading for Danshui, or at least the part of Danshui where we thought we were supposed to go for touristy things, but followed the signs to fisherman's wharf. That took us to a different, but worthwhile place. Unfortunately, it was very windy and spraying rain, so not ideal for touristy things. In warmer and dryer weather, it seems like a very nice place to hang out.

At the bridge at fisherman's Wharf

Weathering the storm

Around the Harbour

Dad's Lighthouse Shot

Another good shot on Dad's 3 mega pixel on "Auto"


Fort San Domingo

There is an old fort near Danshui, which is on the north west corner of Taiwan, that was originally built by the Dutch. It was inhabited by the Dutch, the Spanish, the English, and most recently has been given back to the government and made into a tourist spot. It is very nice to see some European style architecture where old buildings look pretty good.

Not only was looking around the fort pretty good, the lunch was excellent and reasonably priced, and the restaurant had a beautiful view.

Wooden Shoes in the Background sponsored by ING

Baby out for a sling

Ryan

It is very comfortable in here

Our View from the Restaurant

Happy to see some Western food

After our late lunch we finally made it to the Danshui part we know and love. Unfortunately it was quite cold and rainy. After a quick walk down the street and along the dock, we headed back to Taipei for some good old fashioned rush hour traffic in the rain.

Some scenes from the Danshui seaside walk and night market.

Costco

What better thing to do in the rain than check out what Costco is like in Taiwan. Also good for some last minute Christmas shopping. After Costco, we went to one of our favourite restaurants - Kiki, where they serve excellent Szechuan Chinese Food. Unfortunately no pictures, but it was delicious as always.

What's a vacation without Costco?

Mom and Dad's Trip to Taiwan Part 2

Day 2 - December 18, 2006

Chiang Kai Shek Memorial

We had to take Ryan into the hospital for some tests this morning. Since we did not really have an appointment, the wait was going to be a few hours. Anting graciously offered to see the Doctor with Ryan while I took Mom and Dad to the CKS memorial.

Looking towards the Main gate from the Memorial

Changing of the Guard

Proof they went somewhere other than Hooters

Riding the Big Escalator in on the Metro

More Metro Shots

Taipei 101

We met Anting and Ryan at the TGI Friday's near the Hospital and had some lunch before heading to Taipei 101, the world's tallest Building (for now). The elevator is also pretty fast, getting us up to the top in about 30 seconds. Not only is it worth it to go up to the top and look at Taipei from above, but there is also very nice shopping on the lower floors and nice to have a coffee and lounge in the giant atrium on the 5th floor.

Taipei 101

Scenes from the Top




Din Tai Feng

After spending several hours in 101, we drove over to the world famous Din Tai Feng, where we had their xiao long bao (soup and meat filled dumplings), kong xin cai (fried green vegetable), chao fan (fried rice), and for dessert some red bean and some sesame dumplings.

Making the world famous dumplings

How "Big Nose" eats Chinese Food

Grandma pitching in

Making Grandma Laugh

Mom and Dad's Trip to Taiwan Part 1

Day 1 - December 17, 2006

Taoyuan

My Parents arrived at the Taoyuan-Taiwan Airport at about 6:45 am and Anting, Ryan and I were there to pick them up. Of course the first order of business was to check out their new grandson.

Happy Grandma

Happy Grandpa

Since the best way to avoid jet lag is to quickly adapt to the local time, I thought a nice brisk walk through Taoyuan's traffic would be just the thing to keep them awake in the afternoon. While the exhaust fumes might have slowed them down a bit, dodging the scooters, taxi drivers, and stinky tofu vendors, kept them on their toes.

Sunny Winter Walk

Street outside the Train Station - Taoyuan

Uncontrolled intersections are the best

Tasty

We let Mom and Dad have a shower and a nap in the afternoon and then we had a nice meal at the Tasty Restaurant, just down the street from our house and a few steps away from their hotel.

View from Hotel Room




Anting's Aunt and Uncle and my Mom and Dad
enjoy the ambiance of Tasty

Traveling to Taiwan

My parents came to Taiwan and I took them to all the main cultural places.

Seasons Greetings

Click To Play

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of our friends and Family. We hope you are all enjoying a special holiday season. Best wishes for the New Year.

The Podcast - Episode 4 - Introduction to Taiwan

Introduction to Taiwan - Part I - The Particulars

In this episode, I provide a brief introduction to the geography, the people, and the languages of Taiwan. My parents are coming to Taiwan and I wanted to give them some info before they came.

If you would like to listen press below:


LISTEN HERE

Ryan's Chinese Name

After much consultation with Chinese name books, dictionaries, and family, Ryan finally has a Chinese name. I have provided the pinyin so you can pronounce it. For those of you who are not familiar with Mandarin Chinese, let me give you a brief introduction. First, as far as names go, the family name comes first. 柏 (bo2) is the Chinese equivalent of Bow. It does not mean bow, but sounds pretty close (when you say it in Chinese it sounds more like "bwoh"). The number represents the tone. In Mandarin there are 4 tones. Tone #1 is a high tone that neither rises nor falls. Tone #2 is a rising tone, like when you say a word at the end of a question. Tone #3 is falling and then rising, and sometimes changes to a second tone when in front of another 3rd tone. Tone #4 is a falling tone, like if you were to say a command like "don't!"

柏 (bo2) means cypress tree, 彥 (yan4) means talented or worthy and 輔 (fu3) means to assist. I wanted to call him 柏拉圖 (bo2 la1 tu2) as that is the Chinese name for Plato, but no one else seemed to think that was a very wise idea.

After this lesson, you should now be able to say:

柏彥輔, 你好!
bo2 yan4 fu3, ni3 hao3!
Hello Ryan Bow (Hello talented tree assistant!)

Check out Our Flickr Pictures

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