Author: hongsabroad

We are a family of four from San Francisco currently living in Taipei, Taiwan! This blog will catalog our adventures abroad.
Ramblings

Apartment Hunting in Taipei: Real Estate Agents

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I want to interrupt our Europe blogs to share our experience apartment hunting in Taipei. We’ve actually been in Taipei for over 2 weeks now, so I’m obviously very behind in blogging 😅. But there’s just too much that has happened, and I want to document it all before I forget.

If I had to sum up our experience apartment hunting in Taipei, I’d say the overarching theme would be “expectations vs. reality.”

Let’s start with real estate agents.

In the last post about Taiwan, I shared that we’re using a real estate agent to help us look for an apartment. Normally in the US, this would be a DIY effort. We scour the internet to look for listings and work directly with the landlord to rent. Case closed.

Taiwan is different. Not only can we not speak the language, but we’re unfamiliar with the rules, laws and conventions of apartment renting. So, about a week before we left the US, I reached out to an English speaking real estate agency to get on their radar.

There is a cost to working with an agent. If you rent an apartment from the agent, you pay half a month’s rent as a service fee. The service includes negotiating the rental contract, assistance with utilities setup, acting as a liaison between you and landlord for the entire duration of your lease, and some agents can even help with purchasing furniture or appliances.

We told Kathy, our agent, what we were looking for in an apartment:

  • Ideally, the apartment is in Da’an district
  • It has 2 bedrooms
  • Near MRT (Taipei’s metro) or bus stop
  • At least semi-furnished
  • At least 30+ pings. Taiwan uses pings 坪 as a measurement of floor space. One 坪 is equivalent to about 35.6 square feet.

About a week before we landed in Taipei and while we were still in Rome, Kathy sent us a list of properties to look at. We were interested in a few of them, but we noticed the listings were all from her agency. We had seen a number of apartments that fit our criteria on rent.591.com.tw (which is equivalent to Craigslist in the US). Why weren’t any of those included?

This is where our expectations did not align with the reality. In the US, your agent can show you any property available. They collaborate with the buyer’s or seller’s agents and split the commission.

In Taipei, agents do not work with each other. If you wanted to view an apartment that isn’t listed under your agent’s realty company, you’d have to contact the representing agent yourself by phone or Line. (Line is the communications app commonly used in Taiwan.) Many times, the agent doesn’t speak English very well so Google Translate quickly became our best friend.

It’s possible for your agent to try and call the landlord and arrange something, but more often than not, the landlord doesn’t want to engage with another agent.

We had expected our agent to be a one-stop solution. She tracks down all apartments that fit our criteria, works with the landlord, negotiates the contract, and voila! We move in. The reality was Baba and I had to do a lot more work ourselves. Almost every night for 2 weeks, we’d scour rent.591.com.tw, create a spreadsheet of potential apartments, contact the different agents and schedule viewings with them. We were on a timeline (we rented an Airbnb for 2 weeks) so we had to act quickly.

On top of all this, we had to consider how the apartment would affect school registration for the boys. I’ll share more about that next.

Ramblings

Porto

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It was hard to leave Spain, but we were also looking forward to visiting Portugal. Portugal has been in the news for being one of the most popular countries Americans flock to, so we were curious about it.

We took a 1-hour flight from Madrid to Porto and stayed here for 4 days. Porto is one of those quintessentially charming European cities, with cobblestone streets, narrow alleyways, and beautiful river views. We also got a reprieve from the intense Madrid heat. Porto’s weather was in the mid low to mid 80s while we were there. This is a major reason why Porto is one of C and O’s favorite cities. 😅

Porto is famous for its bridges. It currently has six bridges across the River Douro, with the most famous one being Ponte Dom Luís I (pictured above). The top level of the bridge is for the metro and the bottom is for cars, but pedestrians can walk on either level.

The food in Porto was delicious, with plentiful, fresh seafood. One of Portugal’s classic dishes is bacalhau (pictured on the far right), which is salted cod. It was tasty when mixed with other ingredients but can be quite intense on its own. The cost for food wasn’t as cheap as Spain; a typical meal costs $15 to $18 per person.

Of course, we also had to try the Portuguese egg tarts (or pasta del nata) while in Portugal! They are filled with an eggy custard with a texture that is similar to crème brulée. The filling is sweeter than the Chinese egg tart, and the crust is an amazingly crispy and layered puff pastry. We munched on these little treats whenever we could.

The Francesinha sandwich is also native to Portugal, specifically from Porto. It is made with layers of bread and meats like steak, ham, bacon. Then, it’s topped with sliced cheese and doused with a tomato and beer sauce. Oh, and it comes with fries too – in case you needed more calories 😏. Honestly, this wasn’t one of our favorite things to eat in Portugal but we had to give it a try.

While in Madrid, we had the idea to send postcards to friends and family back home. We tried to mail postcards from each city we visited, including Porto. It was great for C and O to see what the stamps looked like, and how the post offices operated in each country. (Little did we know that it would take a month for people to receive the postcards, good lord! 😂)

Porto can be a little touristy, but it’s hard to resist its charm and beauty. Thanks for a great time, Porto! 💙

Ramblings

Secret Nun Cookies

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Before going to Madrid, I had watched YouTube videos about buying “secret” cookies from cloistered nuns in a 400 year-old monastery. It seemed like a cool experience, and I made a mental note to visit the monastery when we were in Madrid. Of course, now that this has been posted on YouTube, it’s not much of a secret anymore.

The “secret” nun cookies are sold at Monasterio del Corpus Christi, and this was the line when we got there. 😂

Before the secret was out, cookie buyers have to ring a doorbell that reads “Monjas” (nuns) and say, “Tienes dulces hoy?” (“Do you have sweets today?”). If they do, the door would open and you’d walk along a corridor to the turnstile. But because there were already people ahead of us, we were spared this step.

The corridor leading to the turnstile. We had to wait about 20 minutes for our turn.

Here comes the interesting part. Since the nuns are forbidden from contact with the outside world, the entire transaction is completed using a turnstile/lazy Susan (pictured below). You say your order into the turnstile, place your money on it, and within a few minutes, it would turn and your cookies would appear along with any change! It was so fun to witness. This was also the only time we had to use cash in Spain. Can you imagine if the nuns accepted Apple/Google Pay? 😂

The nuns speak only Spanish so Baba had to ask for the cookies in very, very broken Spanish. 🤣 We used Google translate for help but it was kind of hopeless. Miraculously though, the nuns understood what Baba was asking! (If you want to see a video of Baba speaking “Spanish”, I posted it on Instagram.)

We ordered two types of cookies – one was an iced shortbread cookie and the other was a cinnamon cookie. Honestly, they weren’t the most amazing cookies we’ve had, and they were quite expensive (about €12 for 1/2 a kilo). But it was such a cool and memorable experience!

Ramblings

Reality Check from Taipei

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A lot of people asked if we have an apartment in Taipei yet. We don’t! Renting an apartment in Taipei is like anywhere else. Unless you’re willing to start paying rent before moving in, you’ll want to physically be there to check out the area and apartment before signing a lease. So, we rented an Airbnb for the first two weeks of August for apartment hunting. We do have an idea of the district we want to live in (Da’an).

In the middle of our vacation in Madrid, we got our first reality check. Our real estate agent in Taipei asked if she can look for apartments in both Da’an and Xinyi districts. I told her we wanted to concentrate in Da’an because we plan to use our Airbnb address (also in Da’an) to register for a nearby school. Then once we find our own apartment, we will update our address with the school. This is what some expats have done in the past, according to forums I lurk in.

But Kathy, our real estate agent, asked: “Did you ask your Airbnb host if you can use her address to register for school?”

Oh. Whoops.

It turns out our Airbnb host couldn’t let us use her address for school registration. We’re not sure why – maybe that address is already registered with a school – but we had to come up with Plan B, whatever that is.

We struggled with deciding what comes first – do we look for an apartment and then find a school nearby? Or find a school first, and then an apartment? I posed this dilemma on an expat forum and people advised to look for a school first because by the time we arrive in Taipei in August, many of the schools may be full.

Thankfully, a helpful stranger on the forum sent me a PDF of all the schools that were full in Taipei. I did some cursory research on schools that still have space (just based on Google reviews, the school’s website and Facebook page), and narrowed the list down to three. They are all in Da’an or Xinyi districts.

So now, our apartment hunting strategy is to find an apartment within walking distance to any of those schools, which is easier said than done. Apartments apparently get rented out quickly in Taipei so we’ll have to act fast. We have about one month to find an apartment and register for school before school starts on 9/1. We signed up for an adventure and we sure got it! 

Ramblings

Meet Me in Madrid

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Madrid was our second choice after Taipei for moving abroad. After spending 10 days there – and despite the terrible heat – we agreed we would be happy to live in this enthralling city.

Madrid seamlessly blends the action of a big metropolis with the charm of a historic place. It is vast but also concentrated. Each neighborhood has plenty of awesome restaurants, shops, and things to see/do. The population is diverse, which means more options for international cuisines. 😋

On our first full day in Madrid, we went to Retiro Park, which is a massive green oasis in the middle of the city. It’s beautiful – perfectly manicured lawns, rose gardens, lakes, playgrounds and even a public library nestled inside! It was a perfect escape from the hustle and bustle of Madrid.

We stopped for lunch at Casa Toni, a restaurant famous for making offal tapas. We munched on spicy pig ears, tripe, sweetbreads, and lamb intestines. Our favorites were the pig ears and sweetbreads. I’m glad C and O have an adventurous appetite.

Afterward, we walked down the block to eat gambas al ajillo, or shrimp with olive oil, garlic and parsley. It was a tapa I absolutely loved when I visited Spain 14 years ago – and it’s still as good as I remembered! It’s one of the pricier tapas at around €12 per plate.

Of course we also had to stop by the Museum of Jamón.

At this point, the heat was getting intense and the kids were complaining. This is where bribes can come in handy! 😆 We brought the boys to the historic San Ginés Chocolate Shop and had churros with chocolate, a favorite treat in Madrid. The churros were airy and light, and the chocolate was silky smooth and not too sweet. The boys were satisfied with this bribe.

We lived in the Moratalaz district of Madrid. It’s a quiet residential neighborhood with mostly locals but it was so far from the city center that we had to commute 30-40 minutes by bus each day. Thankfully, we had 10 days so there was enough time for traveling back and forth, but it’s not a neighborhood we’d recommend for short stays. (There was however, a fabulous outdoor pool near our Airbnb that we loved hanging out at!) If we were to move to Madrid, our neighborhood picks would be either Retiro (we just love Retiro Park!) or Chamberí, also a quiet residential area but very central.

Ramblings

Menú Del Día

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One of the many things we love about Spain is their menú del día (or daily menu). It’s typically served at lunch and consists of a starter, an entree, dessert or coffee, and a drink. Each menú del día costs anywhere from €11 to €18, which is a steal, considering how large the portions are and the price includes all taxes and tips.

We would order three menú del días for the four of us and we always walk away stuffed. You can choose from 3-4 items for each course, and the items are usually pretty fancy!

Starters (from left to right):

Baby squid, lobster/seafood rice, snails and grilled cuttlefish. Some starters could be a meal by themselves!

Entrees (from left to right):

Seafood paella (that’s three portions in the photo), oxtail stew, and grilled squid. The Spaniards make squid so, so well. It’s perfect every time.

Desserts were usually just ok, hence why I didn’t take many pictures. 😅 But we seek out menú del día wherever we go. Can’t miss out on a good deal and good food!

I remember being worried that we wouldn’t be able to adjust to the late meal times in Spain. (Lunch starts at 1pm – 2pm and dinner is at 8pm. Back in SF, we would eat lunch at 11:30am and dinner at 6pm.) But surprisingly, we adjusted within a week. Sometimes we didn’t get hungry for lunch until 2pm! Dinner can be a challenge because we wanted C and O to sleep early. If we went out to eat, we wouldn’t get back home until 9:30pm – 10pm. So, there were times we just bought groceries and cooked dinner at our Airbnb. It can be a nice break from eating out all the time and also getting more vegetables in our bodies!

P.S. We’re actually in Lisbon now, but I’m still catching up on Spain posts!

Ramblings

Valencia

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After a wonderful stay in Barcelona, we boarded a 3 hour train to the birthplace of paella. Baba asked me why we decided to visit Valencia and to be honest, I can’t remember why. I think I had also considered Valencia as a potential place to move to, and I can’t say no to good paella!

At the Valencia train station with our massive luggage.

We stayed in Valencia for 6 days. Valencia is the third-largest city in Spain but is very walkable and has a small town feel. For the first couple of days, we visited some of Valencia’s top attractions.

Mercat Central de València. This is a beautifully ornate public market that sells everything from colorful fruits and seafood to pastries and souvenirs. Unlike La Boqueria in Barcelona, this market was less crowded and touristy. You can see locals here shopping for groceries. There is also a popular restaurant in the market called Central Bar, but we arrived too late and the wait was horrendous.

The City of Arts and Sciences. This is a complex of cool, futuristic buildings that include a movie theater, planetarium and science museum. We read that the museums are better suited for older kids, so we didn’t go inside. But it was still fun to see the unique architecture of the buildings.

Old Town. Also the downtown of Valencia, this charming area has a cathedral (believed to have the original Holy Chalice or Holy Grail), a big plaza, historic monuments, and plenty of restaurants and shopping. It was also in Old Town that we came across a long-running café, Horchatería Santa Catalina, and had horchata. Horchata is a refreshing milk drink made from tiger nuts. It tastes similar to soy milk and is very popular in Valencia.

We made sure to eat as much paella as we could in Valencia. We even took a 1 hour bus to the fishing village of El Palmar, known for its paella. The most common type of paella today is seafood paella, but traditional Valencian paella is made with rabbit, chicken or duck, and broad beans. Unfortunately, the rabbit and chicken is usually a bit dry so we still prefer the seafood paella.

Paella restaurants charge per person and require a minimum of two orders. We usually order for three people, and it’s SO MUCH FOOD. All good though! 😋

The rest of our time in Valencia was spent swimming or going to the beach (which was beautiful but crowded) and discovering amazing playgrounds like Parc Gulliver. The whimsical playground is made up of slides in the shape of the character Gulliver.

Valencia was nice, but a tad slow for us city folk. Most of the charm and action was in Old Town, but it didn’t quite reach the rest of the city. What can I say? We have the attention spans of a flea. 😅

On to Madrid next!

Ramblings

A Hike to Montserrat

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(Another overdue post. I am running behind on my blogging!)

A popular day trip from Barcelona is to Montserrat, a mountain range that’s about a 1-hour train ride from the city. The Benedictine monastery of Santa María also sits at the top of the mountain.

To get there from Barcelona, take the metro to Espanya station, then follow the FGC train signs for Montserrat. You’ll need to take the FGC train (line R5) and tickets can be purchased at the ticket machines. Roundtrip train tickets cost about $50 for the 4 of us.

Quick nap on the train.

We got off at Aeri Montserrat station. Once there, you take a cable car up the mountain but of course Baba chose the hardest route: hiking. The hike itself isn’t long (about 2.5 miles up) but it is strenuous, and made even more challenging with the heat.

Near the trailhead.

The path was unpaved so required lots of scrambling up rocks. Trail markers were spray-painted arrows on rocks, which were thankfully fairly easy to spot.

C and O have some experience with challenging hikes after going to Arches and Canyonlands earlier this year. Though they were drenched in sweat, the hike was relatively easy for them – even while carrying their backpacks! We did make sure to make many stops for snacks and water.

The last half of the hike was the most painful (for me). There were SO. MANY. STAIRS. Just when you thought you reached the top, you round a corner and there were more flights of stairs. 😭

With burning calves and tired feet, we finally made it to the top! The views were gorgeous. I’m so proud of the boys for making the hike look easy and keeping complaints to a minimum. 😂

Amusing story: After the hike, we went to eat at one of the restaurants at the top of the mountain. Within five minutes of walking into the restaurant, it started POURING RAIN. We didn’t think much of it, so we started to order food.

But then, all the restaurant staff rushed from the kitchen into a smaller room just outside the restaurant. They were gesturing towards the ceiling. We couldn’t understand what they were saying, but judging by their tones and expressions they seem worried. Firemen started arriving, and shortly after, the restaurant manager told all guests to leave immediately because of an emergency.

Apparently, the torrential rain had caused a rockslide! The restaurant is nestled against the mountain and the barrier that was used to catch any rockfall was breaking apart. The surrounding area was flooded as well.

We went home without eating lunch. Because of the rain, we were concerned about the trail being too slick so ended up taking the train back down the mountain. Another fun day in Spain!

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La Boqueria

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(An overdue post)

Baba and I have reached an age where grocery shopping has become our hobby. 😅 We love to explore markets – supermarkets, wet markets, farmers markets – it’s our favorite type of shopping!

So naturally, we had to visit Mercado de La Boqueria, a huge public market in Barcelona. The market is a labyrinth of vendors selling fruits, seafood, jamón, and tapas. It’s crowded and touristy, but a definite must if you love food. You could spend hours getting lost in there. Just show up early! We showed up at around 9:30am and it was packed an hour later.

Jamón is a staple in Spain and found everywhere in La Boqueria. Many stalls even sell jamón in paper cones for easy handling! (Of course I had to get one.) O wasn’t a huge fan but C loved it.

The boys were drawn to the colorful fruits and fruit drinks at the market. We were surprised to see a few exotic fruits there, like mangosteen and passion fruit.

But the highlight of our visit to La Boqueria was eating at El Quim, a food stall with bar only seating. Their specialty is baby squid with eggs, and it did not disappoint! The squid was so savory and delicious – I just wish the eggs were more runny. Even O, who is a notoriously picky eater, loved the dish. We also ordered padrón green peppers but thought it was a bit too salty.

We had plans to eat at Bar Pinotxo too, but had so much trouble finding it. By the time we found the place, there was a wait and we realized we weren’t that hungry anymore. Bar Pinotxo is supposedly popular for their chickpeas and blood sausage and oxtail stew. If you ever go, let me know how it tastes!

Ramblings

We ❤ Barcelona

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Barcelona is really easy to fall in love with. It’s a vibrant city with lots to see and do, yet has a laid-back vibe. The streets are lined with trees, cute little shops and cafes, people walking their dogs, and conveniences like grocery stores every few blocks. We stayed in the Eixample district, a quieter, more residential area with many chic cafes and restaurants.

I visited Barcelona in 2009, but with a student’s budget and schedule, I saw (and remember) very little about it. This time, we’re lucky enough to be here for 10 days and get to experience so much more than the usual touristy spots. On most days, we’re just wandering around the city and trying to soak up the atmosphere around us.

What we love about Barcelona:

Weather. Spain gets over 300 days of sun a year, and that’s no joke. Even with all its glorious sunshine, it doesn’t get unbearably hot because of Barcelona’s proximity to the Mediterranean Sea.

Food. Spanish Mediterranean cuisine is rated one of the healthiest in the world and it’s easy to see why. We’ve been eating a ton of seafood – all SO good. Meals here are simply prepared (usually just olive oil, salt and garlic) but use fresh, high quality ingredients.

Convenience. It seems that regardless of which area you’re in, you are likely within a few minutes walk from grocery stores, restaurants and cafes. Every store, no matter how big or small, accepts Apple/Google Pay too so there was no need for us to exchange cash or even bring our credit cards!

Public transportation. As someone who hates to drive, having great public transportation is a huge plus. Our Airbnb is a 3 minute walk from the metro station. The metro comes every 2-4 minutes, and buses maybe every 5-10 minutes, that can take you all around the city. The boys loved taking the metro and bus.

Tip: If you’re traveling with kids, you can purchase a family (or “T-Familiar“) card for a discount. One single card can be used by up to 4 people (2 adults and 2 kids). You can buy a card for €10 for 8 rides over 30 days.

Vibe. Sometimes, you just get a good feeling from a city and Barcelona is one of those places. Casual, charming and cosmopolitan, you’ll never feel bored here.

Tomorrow, we leave Barcelona for Valencia. During our awesome time here, Baba and I had second thoughts about moving to Taiwan instead of Spain. But then I remembered the lackluster dim sum we had here, so maybe not. 😅 We need our Asian food!