Taiwan is one of those countries heavily promoted in travel fairs in recent years. And I am the only one in the family yet to make a visit there. And I did exactly that last month with parents and group of family friends. Never mind I'm the youngest in the group, when the group consists of happy-go-luck, fun-loving people, age is not the factor here.
DAY 1
We took a morning flight departure from KLIA via Cathay Pacific. I'm never a fan of morning flight especially if the journey takes more than 3 hours. Thank God, listening to the in-house oldies music helped me to get away with the anxiety. We arrived at Taoyuan International Airport, Taipei at approx. 4.30pm local time. By the way, Taiwan shared the same time zone with Malaysia. Went to this
Fisherman's Wharf located at Tamsui. Nothing much but a colourful bridge to see. Wasted no time to check out Taiwan's famous night markets at
Tamsui Night Market on the way to Taipei. We had dumplings dinner at this King Ming Tea restaurant in town. Mind you, the dumplings served here are better anytime than the ones in Beijing or Shanghai. Checked into Taipei Garden Hotel where we will be staying for 2 nights.
 |
| Red Bean Tako at Tamsui market. This is what u call generous fillings |
 |
| White Taiwan bittergourd. Nice cooling juice drink |
 |
| Pork filling steamed dumplings. Simply superb !!! |
DAY 2
It was a cool, chilly and cloudy morning in Taipei city. We took the trip to the famous
Yehliu Geopark, located at Wanli town approx. 2 hours by bus from Taipei. Windy n rainy day & was told that this is the weather almost all year long at Yehliu area. This place is famous for its sea-erosion landscape with its different shapes of rock formations. A number of rock formations were given imaginative names based on their shapes such as The Queen's Head, Mushroom Rocks & Camel Rock. The Queen's Head, I was told is an iconic image of Taiwan & an unofficial emblem for the town of Wanli. The rainy day does not stop us from making going to the
Jiufen Old Street, about 30 minutes away. Once the gold mining centre of Taiwan, today the village sees mostly tourists looking to experience Taiwan's cultural pasts with its colonial style structures & traditional teahouses. I truly enjoyed the walk here, sampling the Taiwanese famous snacks & deserts along the way. The famous Jiufen specialities here are taro (yam) balls, steamed taro cakes, fried meat balls & herbal rice cakes. Definitely as must-visit place for anyone coming to Taiwan.
 |
| One of many types of rock formations at Yehliu |
 |
| The Entrance |
 |
| Whatever this is called, this spring roll wrapped together with veggie bits and yam ice cream is delicious to the max !!! |
Next stop is the Taipei city where we had lunch before proceeding to
Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall Square. The square, bears much resemblance to Beijing Tiananmen Square consists of the Memorial Hall, National concert Hall & National Theatre. The hall was erected in the memory of well, Chiang Kai Shek (duh!!!). And then to the famous skyline tower
Taipei 101. Did not to go to the observatory tower though, for u need to queue for countless hours to get the tickets. Stopped by at
Raohe Night Market where we had in-between light meal of beef noodles.
 |
| The entrance to the Square |
 |
| The famous sign outside Taipei 101 |
 |
| Fresh rock oysters at Raohe |
Went back to hotel where we were greeted by Dad's long lost relatives who stayed in Taiwan. It's a long story whereby the ancestors emigrated from China & went their separate ways to Taiwan & Malaysia. Not even Dad has met them & when we knew we're coming to Taiwan, Dad just knew it's now or never. It was a wonderful and joyful feeling for me, seeing the elders chatted all night long talking about the family history and to the extent, drawing family tree to trace back all the roots. At least, now I know I have sizeable numbers of relatives in Taiwan. One of them by the name of Hai Leng (means sea dragon in Hokkien) promised to introduce us to other relatives when we will meet again in Kaohsiung. After dinner, we still managed to slot the time to take taxi to
Ximen shopping street for supper and walkabout. The next day, we checked out & proceed to next city Puli where we will be staying for 2 nights.
 |
| Us with long lost relatives residing at Taipei |
TO BE CONTINUED....
