Author: hongsabroad

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

Ramblings

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!

Ramblings

A Fond Adieu

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The time is finally here! What began as a flippant idea has become our new reality. Even though we’ve been planning and talking about this for 5+ years, it’s surreal that in 2 months, we will be living in another country.

In the past few weeks, we’ve been showered with many dinners, get-togethers and parties from our family and friends. During these moments, I pause and take a look around to appreciate what’s in front of me. I tell myself to remember this moment.

It’s human nature to take things for granted. We take things for granted on a daily basis, always with the assumption that if we need something it will be there. I’m no different.

But now we’ve come to a point where the things we are used to having may not be there anymore. So while it’s been incredibly hard to say goodbye, I learned to cherish everything about our life here, big or small – from how warm and cozy our apartment is, to the love and support we have from our family. I guess we sometimes need reminders like this to realize how lucky we are to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.

See you on the other side of the world. 😉

Ramblings

Sink or Swim

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In the middle of planning our move abroad, Baba suddenly decided he wanted to attempt the 1.5 mile swim from Alcatraz. 😳

Baba has always been a decent swimmer, but open water swimming is a different animal. If you’ve been to San Francisco, you’ll know that the waters here are turbulent and freezing! But inspired by friends and never one to give up easily, Baba started his training on April 1st, just two months before our move.

He started swimming at China Beach and Aquatic Park in a wetsuit. We didn’t know this at the time, but he suffered from hypothermia after the first few swims – slurred speech, uncontrollable shivering, and drowsiness. It looked painful.

At this point, I suggested that maybe Alcatraz isn’t for him. But I should’ve known the man is stubborn. Baba went to the beach everyday, rain or shine, even if it’s to jump in the water for a few minutes. Not only that, but he decided to forgo the wetsuit entirely because it became too much of a hindrance. He also wanted the extra challenge. So the man is stubborn and crazy.

After almost 2 months of open water swimming, Baba took the plunge on Monday, May 22. Contrary to what many people think, he did not do the Escape from Alcatraz, which is popular triathlon. He worked with a company called Pacific Open Water Swim that organizes open water swims for individuals. They boated him out to Alcatraz and had a guide swim with him.

Before the plunge.

We took the boys out of school that day so they could witness Baba’s swim. There were a few swimmers out there that day, so we had to keep our eyes peeled for him and follow his swim route. About 45 minutes after he jumped from the boat, Baba emerged from the water in one piece! He was exhausted, shivering and dazed, but he survived!

Post swim.

We were all so ecstatic for Baba. He accomplished something he worked hard for and never gave up, even though the odds were against him. I guess you do have to be stubborn and crazy to achieve your goals. My only hope is that he doesn’t hatch any more crazy schemes from now until we move!

Ramblings

By the Book

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Any time I want to explain a complicated topic to the boys, I turn to books. Children’s books have such a simple yet thoughtful way of communicating a message.

So as we got closer to moving, I looked for books about navigating between different cultures. I think I borrowed 10+ books from the library 😅 but these are a few of my favorites.

This Is Not My Home by Vivienne Chang and Eugenia Yoh

This book is perfectly fitting for our situation because the main character, Lily, also moves from US to Taiwan. Lily inevitably compares Taiwan to her home and nothing seems right. But she learns that this is her mother’s home and over time, Lily begins to accept it as her own too.


A New Home by Tania de Regil

A simple story of very few words, this book is about two kids moving to each other’s home country – US and Mexico. They both wonder if they’ll be able to enjoy the things they did at home, like playing in the park, buying snacks after school and watching concerts at night. But through side by side illustrations of life in their hometowns, we learn that we are not so different from each other after all.


The Invisible String by Patrice Karst and Joanne Lew-Vriethoff

This book isn’t about moving per se, but about the unbreakable bonds you develop with loved ones. The story starts off with two children having a hard time sleeping during a thunderstorm while their mom is in the next room. She tells them about the “invisible string” that connects them to her and all their loved ones, no matter how near or far. My hope is that C and O will understand that we are always connected to our family and friends back home.

Many people have asked how C and O are dealing with the change. They both acknowledge they will miss family and friends, but otherwise they are handling everything in stride. We gave away all their books (but supplemented them with new tablets), 80% of their toys – and yet, they just shrug it all off and move on to the next thing. I guess this is why people recommend moving when kids are still young. They are truly uncomplicated and resilient beings!

Ramblings

Sweat the Small Stuff

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When we first decided to move abroad, we did a quick run-through of all the things that needed to happen: give/throw stuff away, pack, and move out. No sweat.

It wasn’t until we sat down and thoroughly mapped out our plans that I realized, “Wait – we need to do that too?!” 😅 Here are some important things to deal with that might not be super obvious when moving abroad:

  • Cell phones: We’re going to cancel our US cell service but we still want to keep our phone numbers for when we return. To do this, we can port our numbers to Google Voice (it’s $20 to port in and $3 to port out). This will also allow us to receive and make calls back home as long as we’re connected to the internet. While in Taiwan, we’ll have to sign up for a phone service to make calls within the country.
  • Stop all services: Services like gas & electric, internet, garbage, etc. can be stopped by scheduling online. Remember to also cancel subscription services like food delivery, lifestyle, or entertainment.
  • Use up gift cards and passes: We had to make sure to use all of our gift cards and passes (i.e., FasTrak, Clipper). Luckily, FasTrak allows you to turn in the device to redeem leftover funds so definitely check with each company.
  • Mail forwarding: Enroll in paperless communications if you haven’t already, but you’ll still need to decide where your mail gets forwarded to. It’s easy to request a change of address on the USPS website for a small fee.
  • Health exams: Taiwan has great healthcare, but it gives us a peace of mind to complete all our health exams before we move. In the past few months, we’ve done it all – annual physicals, blood work, eye exams, and dental cleanings.
  • Immunization records: Get a copy of your immunization records – this is especially important for kids. Baba and I had to dig up and scan our yellow vaccination cards (who remembers these?! 😂). We downloaded our Covid vaccination records as well.
  • School records: We’ve heard that public schools in Taiwan don’t care about transcripts from foreigners, but to be safe we made sure to get a hold of the boys’ final report cards.
  • Scan documents: We’re bringing only the most critical documents with us, and scanned everything else into an external hard drive. This actually took weeks to do – locate the documents, scan, save and file accordingly. We also saved a second copy of the documents in a USB drive that we are leaving with a relative here as a precaution.
  • Banking: Baba researched banks with no ATM fees and good exchange rates for when we’re traveling in Europe and before we officially set up a bank account in Taiwan. We found the debit card from Charles Schwab to be the best for our needs.

We probably missed something but hopefully it’s not too important. We like having our ducks in a row. You can blame it on our anal retentive personalities.

Ramblings

Visa, Visa!

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Since Baba and I are approved for the Taiwan Gold Visa, we were given a resident authorization certificate.

Upon landing in Taiwan, we will need to go to the National Immigration Agency (NIA) with this certificate and get our official Gold Card and ARC, or Alien Resident Certificate.

Naively, we thought it would be an easy process to get C and O their visas now that both of us are approved. We filled out the dependent visa application online and went to the Taiwan consulate to submit it, along with the required documents: authenticated birth certificates, vaccination records and our marriage certificate. We thought we’d get the boys’ resident visas in a couple of weeks and off we go! Right?

Not quite. We got a call from the Taiwan consulate telling us that the boys’ resident visas will last only 3 months. And since we won’t land in Taiwan until August 1st, they will not approve the visas until early to mid May. We will then need to report to the NIA immediately after arriving in Taiwan to get ARCs for the boys, which requires a separate application. This process can take up to 2 weeks. We need their ARCs in order to register for school so this step is crucial.

We’re honestly still confused as to why we need the resident visa from the Taiwan consulate if it only lasts 3 months, and then have to apply separately for the boys’ ARCs in Taiwan. We thought getting approved for a resident visa = getting an ARC. Baba doesn’t think the Taiwan consulate would mislead us into getting a resident visa if we didn’t need one, so we’re just going along in good faith. Maybe there’s a good reason why people hire immigration lawyers for this stuff. 😅

Ramblings

Summer, Kind of Wonderful

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On top of planning our move abroad and clearing out our apartment, we had the brilliant idea of planning a 2-month trip to Europe over the summer before flying to Taiwan 🙄. I’m excited that we could go on this trip but planning so many things at once is a bit chaotic to say the least.

We thought it would be a good idea to spend time in Europe since we’ll be in Asia for the next few years. And because Spain was our second choice after Taiwan, we definitely wanted to visit it during the trip.

Our full itinerary:

Spain (26 days)

  • Barcelona
  • Valencia
  • Madrid

Portugal (14 days)

  • Porto
  • Lisbon

I’m really intrigued by Portugal. While I’ve been to Spain and Italy (over 15 years ago!), Baba and I have never been to Portugal. For the past few years, there has also been a huge influx of Americans moving to Portugal because of its easy visa requirements, laid back lifestyle and mild climate. I’m curious to see what the hype is all about.

Italy (15 days)

  • Venice
  • Florence
  • Rome

It will be HOT in Europe during the summer, but I guess that will prepare us for the inferno that awaits us in Taiwan? Ahh! I’m not sure my heat-sensitive body can handle.

We are mostly staying in the major cities but plan on doing a few day trips to smaller towns (e.g., Montserrat in Spain and Pisa in Italy). This time, we also have the luxury of staying in each place for an extended period. Our shortest visit is in Porto, where we’re staying for 4 nights. With two kids in tow and 4 suitcases to lug around, we thought it’d be best to take things slow. This is totally different than our previous trips, where we’re zooming to the next place every 2-3 days!

What’s also different this time around is that we’re not planning everything to a tee. We do have our airfare, train tickets and Airbnbs booked (we’re not that crazy!) but we don’t have a set itinerary where we have to see a certain museum on a specific date, or have dinner reservations at a certain restaurant. This is probably due to us having a lot more time to dabble around. But it’s more likely that we’re just being lazy.