Our Life in Taiwan: April 2007

Sing Home Styrofoam Factory

It has been more than 3 months since my parents left, but here is the final installment of their trip here. Christmas was a Monday and is no longer a holiday in Taiwan. I therefore had to take the day off work. That meant from boxing day to the 28th, before my parents went on their 2 week trip to New Zealand, Anting was their tour guide. They took a break on Boxing day and loafed around, but on the 27th, went with Anting to her dad's Styrofoam factory.

Inside the Factory

National Palace Museum

After visiting the Factory, the next stop was to Visit Taiwan's most famous museum-The National Palace Museum. When Chiang Kai Shek left the Mainland and annexed Taiwan, he took with him many of China's national treasures. The collection is so large that only a small percentage of the works are on display at any given time. The building is quite large too so it requires several visits to see even the small percentage of displayed art. Unfortunately you are not allowed to take pictures inside. I was very jealous since I had to work and I had never been to the museum before. Fortunately, I have since been and it is well worth seeing, but probably needs several visits to truly appreciate it.

National Palace Museum

Tepanyaki

After the museum, and after my work, we all met for a Japanese style tepanyaki dinner in Taipei. This restaurant is quite expensive, but in most malls they have little tepanyaki places that serve very good and freshly cooked meals.

It is nice to have the food cooked fresh right in front of you.

The Grand Hotel

December 28th - With their first leg of the trip winding to a close, My parents and Anting just went and visited the Grand Hotel in Taipei. The Grand Hotel is quite the beautiful landmark in Taipei as you can see from the pictures below. They had a buffet lunch there and then picked me up after work and we all went to the airport to see them off on their next leg of the journey--New Zealand.

Scooting About Town

January 11, 2007 - After spending a few weeks touring New Zealand, my parents were back in Taiwan to refresh for 2 days before heading back to Vancouver. Fortunately, there is not much of a time difference so not too much jet lag, but they needed to have a rest before returning. This morning, since my dad has been obsessed with the scooters zipping in and out of traffic, Anting gave him a ride around Taoyuan and up our local mountain to the temple.

That evening we returned to Taoyuan's best barbecue with some friends.

Checking out Taiwan's most convenient form of transportation

Taoyuan's Confucius Temple

It's Just Like Camping!

High Speed Rail

I took the day off for my parents' last day in Taiwan. They were scheduled on an evening flight and we decided to test out Taiwan's brand new high speed rail. The high speed rail had already been delayed 14 months when it finally opened for testing in January. There were many news reports about the massive bird slaughter that the train was causing, but it turns out the reports were somewhat exaggerated.

During the testing period the fares were half price. We were only able to get return tickets from Taoyuan to the next stop near Taipei, but it was a fun ride and it was nice to see the high speed rail in action. Even though the different components of the HSR system were built by different countries, it appeared and felt like everything fit together naturally. The ride was smooth and fast, the cars were clean and bright, and the stations were architectural wonders. The stations at Banqiao and Taipei connect with the regular train and the MRT, making it even more convenient.

After our high speed adventure, it was off to the airport to say goodbye again. It was really great having my parents here, not only so that they could see Ryan, but we got to experience plenty of Taiwan's greatest attractions. I hope we have more visitors.