January 27, 2013

Sunday - Cold and snowy

We’re back…finally.  

We were supposed to be back last night, but our local airport was in the middle of a snowstorm and the plane couldn’t land.  We flew back to Tokyo and had to spend the night there before going to the airport again this morning.  Our hotel wasn’t the greatest, but it was clean, quiet and reasonably comfortable so we both managed to sleep well.

Okay..so, how was Taipei?  In a few words…not like I expected.  I really didn’t expect that I’d enjoy myself, but it was such a nice break from the weather and from (whispers after checking no one else is around) Japan.  It was really interesting to be in a place that uses 3 languages and that both of us were clueless about at times!  We got around quite well by ourselves, our Taipei hotel was nice without being luxurious and we didn’t have any problems with crime, so yay!

F spent most of the time searching for the perfect Japanese ramen and not finding it, so he was his usual self when it came to meals.  I just wanted to eat stuff that I can’t get every day, which meant that Subway and Starbucks were very much allowed!

We did see quite a bit, both by ourselves and on a tour that we took.  On the first day we took ourselves off to the Taipei 101 building, then had a pretty bland meal in a food court. The next day was sunny and gorgeous, so I had to get sunscreen.  We got some in the hospital that was behind our hotel. It had quite a big shopping and food court area.  In the afternoon we took a tour of Taiwan and were taken to the Chiang Kai-Shek memorial, the Martyrs Shrine where we also watched the changing of the guards, a small temple and the National Palace Museum.  We probably wouldn’t have visited all of those by ourselves.  I really wish that the guide would have left us alone for a while at the museum as the things that he showed us, weren’t really the things that we (I) wanted to see.  

That evening we went to the Night Market, but arrived too early to see or do much.  Things were just getting set up and my feet were so sore that I didn’t want to walk any further.  I suggested heading to the downtown area, finding a restaurant and having dinner before going back to the hotel.  We did that, and miraculously ended up in a gorgeous French restaurant with a nice young waiter whose English was good and had lived in Canada for a few months.  We had a very good meal there, steak, plus soups, salads, bread and even soufflé for dessert.  It was delicious.  We had a hard time getting back to our hotel, we were so stuffed!  Of course that was also the night that F decided to count his coins while going down the escalator.  He dropped them and then fell over while he was trying to pick them up.  He wasn’t hurt, but I was freaking out.  

Our last full day was different too.  We took the MRT (like Edmonton’s LRT) up to a fishing area as F had wanted to see it.  We took a bus then got off at what we thought was a good point.  It sort of was, but we had to climb up a hill on stone steps so it wasn’t fun.  However, we did see a lot!  We saw a Foreigners Cemetery, the Little White House, some buildings in the area in a western style and we had Afternoon Tea in a little coffee shop in a place where the waitresses were young and couldn’t speak English or Japanese!  We managed, but they were so nervous it was almost funny. 

I found out about the person who built everything.  He was a Canadian of Scottish descent, George Leslie Mackay.  He lived an interesting life.  He was a missionary and doctor who founded churches, hospitals and school all over Taiwan.

We had an argument about lunch, I wanted a nice lunch at a cafe, so I had it, while F pouted.  He wanted to go to a horrible looking noodle shop so he wouldn’t eat much with me.  After my nice meal (which was kind of a nabe in cheese sauce, supplemented with some nice things we were given for free), he got to go to the noodle shop.  He didn’t like it much.  

We walked for a long time along the shore, then came back to the MRT station by bus.  We decided to go back to the Night Market before going back to the hotel.  This time, the Night Market was in full swing.  We snooped, walked and enjoyed ourselves.  Well, I would have if I’d been alone.  We tried to go to the food court but someone complained about the smells.  Granted, a lot of the food was quite pungent, but some of it looked great.  We only had a dumpling each, before we left.  However, I saw a stand outside selling pearl tea, so I had one.  F had something that looked like kakigori.  We both enjoyed those.  Next to the shop we went to, was a stand selling fried chicken.  The chicken looked very good, and very big, but we didn’t have any.  

In fact, that night was rather bad because we just didn’t eat dinner.  F wouldn’t go to a restaurant and preferred to get ramen from a convenience store for his dinner.  I had sandwiches.  

We left the next morning.  We’d asked the hotel to drive us to the MRT stop to take a train, but the driver said it was just as quick for him to take us to the airport, so he did. Yay.  

Our flight back to Japan was fine, and we didn’t have any major problems until flying back to Shonai on Saturday night.

Anyway, it is late and I’m tired.  I’ll try and post some pictures after I download them from my camera.  Night.