Tag: travel

Ramblings

Indonesia Part 2: Java and Bali

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Click here to read the first part of our Indonesia trip.

Bali is one of the most popular destinations in Asia. It’s so popular that it has sort of become synonymous with Indonesia. But it’s easy to see why. Bali has a rich culture and natural beauty, but also tourist-friendly features like 5-star resorts, electric nightlife and plenty of restaurants.

We chose to stay in Ubud, the cultural center of Bali that’s also very family-friendly. I decided to “splurge” on our accommodations (but it was still relatively affordable!). Our villa had a swimming pool, 3 large rooms, and included 2 helpers who came each morning to prepare breakfast for us. What a treat!

On our first full day in Bali, we went snorkeling at 3 locations. The first location had super choppy and deep waters, but we were there to see the giant manta ray – and we did! Unfortunately we weren’t able to get any pictures. The next two locations had calmer waters, and the boys had a much more pleasant experience. This was their first time snorkeling and I’m amazed by how brave they were! This is the tour we booked.

After a day of adventure, we booked a more low-key tour the next day and visited some of Bali’s most famous temples: Ulun Danu Beratan (left) and Tanah Lot (right). No tourists were allowed inside.

We also visited the Jatiluwih Rice Terrace and Handara Gate. Honestly, not much to do in these places except to look around and take pictures.

Bali is known for its spas, so of course we had book a couple’s spa/massage at Ubud Traditional Spa for Baba and me. The two-hour massage for 2 people cost only $60! It would be triple the price in SF.

While Baba and I were getting massages, my SIL took the boys to the Sacred Monkey Forest, where hundreds of monkeys roam free. Quite frankly, this would freak me out. 😅

Food in Bali was a lot more expensive compared to Java and in our opinion, generally not as good. We felt like the flavors were altered to cater to foreign palettes. The center of Ubud had many trendy restaurants serving acai bowls, steaks, vegan cuisines, and sushi. Ironically though, the best meal we had in Indonesia was also in Bali – crispy, spicy pork belly and sausage with greens and rice (center picture).

Sights around Ubud, Bali.

We wanted to explore other parts of the island but traveling around Bali was so, so cumbersome. Public transportation is non-existent and the roads are narrow, with only one lane going each way. Traffic is terrible at any hour of the day. One time, we were stuck in a taxi for an hour when the ride should’ve been only 20 minutes! 😠

I know Bali is a desired destination for many, but unfortunately it wasn’t our favorite. Many “attractions” felt like they were built just to bait tourists, like the Bali swing, or photo op setups at temples. Some bars and restaurants in Ubud look like they plucked straight from Las Vegas or London. Tourism is a huge part of Bali’s economy so it’s understandable they have to cater to visitors but it can feel inauthentic, especially since we had just come from Java.

After a week in Bali and 2 months in Taiwan, we parted ways with my SIL at the airport. The boys were devastated. They had such a fun and memorable summer with their aunt, and we are thankful she spent her summer with us. Goodbyes are the hardest part of living abroad, but I don’t think they’ll ever get easier.

Ramblings

Indonesia Part 1: Java and Bali

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Bali had always been on my list of places to travel to. I was captivated by the blend of culture, beauty and laid back vibe of the island. But the 20+ hour flight from San Francisco deterred us from visiting for the longest time.

So when we moved to Taiwan, I knew we had to take advantage of the 5 hour flight to Bali. As I did more research though, I realized just how many islands there are in Indonesia that get overshadowed by Bali! (Seriously, there are 6,000 inhabited islands in the country.) I felt like we wouldn’t do Indonesia justice by visiting just Bali, so we decided to visit Java as well. Even thought there were other islands I wanted to go to – namely, Komodo, Borneo and Lombok – it was logistically hard to plan. We spent 1 week in Java and 1 week in Bali.

Java. Java is considered the economic and cultural center of Indonesia. The capital Jakarta is also on the island but we decided to skip it after reading many reviews saying there isn’t much to see/do. Instead, we went to Yogykarta and Surabaya.

Yogykarta (or commonly called “Jogja”) is known for its cultural heritage and traditional arts. It’s actually the most popular destination in Java but it never felt overly touristy or inauthentic. I really liked the laid-back vibe in Jogja.

We visited the famous Prambanan and Borobudur temples in Jogja. Prambanan (pictured below) is a large Hindu temple complex that reminded us so much of Angkor Wat. Visitors can also climb up into some of the temples, where a statue of a deity often stood. We went to Prambanan during sunset and seeing the temples in the warm, glowing hues was a wonderful way to end the day.

Borobudur is the largest Buddhist temple in the world. Borobudur is actually quite close to Prambanan (about 1.5 hour drive away) so many people visit the two temples in one day. But because we had extra time, we visited each temple on different days so as not to wear ourselves out.

Borobudur temple has several upper levels, which visitors need to buy a special ticket to in order to visit. I had such a hard time securing the tickets (probably due to bots 😒) so ended up working with an agent. Because of its massive scale, the temple is very impressive from afar. We climbed the stairways and walked through the corridors to see the relief panels but the temple has no interior you can walk into. Overall, we enjoyed the architecture and aesthetic of Prambanan more.

We didn’t realize it at the time, but Jogja had the best food out of all the places we visited in Indonesia. The dishes were reminiscent of Southeast Asia flavors: a mix of salty, sour, sweet and SPICY! I have a decent spice tolerance but some of the food set my mouth on fire (in a good way). The downside was finding food for the boys because even the least spicy foods were too much for them. 😂 Food was extremely affordable in Jogja – the total bill was generally no more than $20 for the 5 of us.

After Jogja, we took a 4 hour train ride to Surabaya in east Java. We were pleasantly surprised by how comfortable the trains were! We booked seats in the Executive Class through tiket.com, and each ticket only came out to be about $20 per person.

Surabaya is the gateway city to Mount Bromo, one of Indonesia’s most famous active volcanoes. We booked a Mount Bromo sunrise tour, which picked us up from our Airbnb at midnight (!!) 😱 to then drive 2 hours to a spot where we switched to a 4×4. The 4×4 drove us up a rugged, winding path for another 1.5 hours (which the boys loved of course) to King Kong Hill to catch the sunrise.

Prior to the tour, our guide had warned us about the windy and frigid weather at King Kong Hill. We packed as much warm clothing as we could, but our efforts were futile. The wind chill atop King Kong Hill was brutal. What’s worse is that we had to stand in the cold for 1.5 HOURS in order to see the sunrise from the best viewing spot. Understandably, the boys were very grumpy. At long last, we finally saw the sunrise and it was absolutely glorious…though we would’ve enjoyed it a lot more if it weren’t so damn cold.

After snapping some pictures, we raced down the hill to try and beat the other tourists leaving the area. The road was PACKED with 4x4s, causing a major bottleneck. We had to wait another 45 minutes for the cars to start moving.

The next leg of the tour was climbing up to the crater of Mount Bromo. It’s not a hard or long climb, but can be steep in some areas. It was awe-inspiring to see an active volcano up close!

The last part of the tour was seeing the Madakaripura Waterfall. What we did NOT expect was having to reach the waterfall on the back of a motorbike. 😂 Granted the ride was short (about 10-15 minutes), but you can bet I was hanging onto the driver for dear life! Of course the boys loved it and thought it was the best thing ever.

After the motorbikes dropped us off at the trailhead, we had to hike about 1/2 a mile – including crossing a few rivers and scrambling on rocks – to reach the Madakaripura Waterfall.

And it was STUNNING. Seriously, pictures cannot do this place justice. The soft streams of water flowing down from the cliffside was like a dream. The sound of the waterfall was thunderous yet I felt so at peace there.

The entire tour lasted 16 hours. We were utterly exhausted but agreed this tour was the highlight of our Indonesia trip. The next day, we all slept in and didn’t have the energy to do much except hang out at the pool/gym. There was a mall and food court below our Airbnb, so we never even left the building. The boys later visited a cool balloon exhibit in the mall.

Looking back, we’re a little disappointed we didn’t get to explore much of Surabaya but getting some down time to recharge was also necessary. (I was experiencing cold symptoms at this point too!) From Surabaya, we took a 45 minute flight to Bali. However seeing how long this post is getting, I think I’ll save Bali for another post!

Ramblings

Exploring Alishan in Taiwan | A Cool Summer Getaway

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Summer is coming to an end, and there is so much to catch up on! I’ll start with our trip to Alishan 阿里山 back in July.

Alishan is one place I had always wanted to visit in Taiwan. Known for its lush greenery, tea trails, and forest railway, Alishan is a wonderful escape from the big city (and heat!) in Taipei. Since my SIL was visiting for the summer, we all took a 3 night/4 day trip to the area.

We first took the high-speed rail from Taipei to Chiayi Station. From there, you can take the historic newly-reopened Alishan Forest Railway directly to Alishan, but tickets are hard to come by. So, the alternative is to take one of the many buses to Alishan, which can take about 1 hour and 45 minutes to 2 hours, depending on whether you want to stop at any of the smaller towns near Alishan. We did not have to book bus tickets in advance and simply paid the fare with our Easy Card on the bus.

Since we had time, we decided to stop by a small town called Fenqihu 奮起湖 for 1 night before making our way to Alishan. We stayed at the Fenqihu Hotel located in the center of town. We immediately noticed the temperature difference between Taipei and the Alishan area after stepping off the bus. While Taipei has been in the 90s everyday plus humidity, Fenqihu was a cool, breezy 75°F. We were so thankful to be spared from the heat!

Fenqihu is popular for its bamboo forest and (weirdly) their bento boxes. The bento boxes were quite tasty, generous in size, and cheap! Each bento was about $4 and came with bottomless seaweed soup.

We had low expectations for good food in this little town, but we surprisingly found some incredible cronuts and aiyu jelly 愛玉, which is a refreshing jelly dessert made from fig seeds. The jelly is topped with ice and lime juice, making it a perfect summer treat.

Fenqihu is also popular location to see fireflies at night. Our hotel offers nightly tours to see fireflies but because of the rain, we weren’t able to see too many.

After Fenqihu, we took a 30-minute bus ride to Alishan, where we stayed for 2 nights. Our hotel was Chinshan Villa. I loved Alishan! I’ve always been a city girl, but being surrounded by mountains and lush green forests is just so calming. The air in Alishan is ten times cleaner and fresher than Taipei’s too. The park itself isn’t huge so you can do all the hikes within 2 days with time to spare. None of the hikes were particularly strenuous, so it’s great for all fitness levels.

Even though we weren’t able to get tickets for the historic Alishan Forest Railway, you can still ride the train within the park. In fact, I think the trains that run within the park are even better because they use the old wooden carriages (while the trains from Chiayi are more like commuter trains). The trains look gorgeous against the landscape of Alishan!

A popular thing to do in Alishan is seeing the sunrise. We woke up at 3am, rode the train up to the mountain peak and waited for the sunrise. It was beautiful, but not sure if it’s worth sacrificing my beauty sleep. 😅 The early morning was also extremely cold, so the boys had to wear Baba’s clothes and I had to rent a jacket from our hotel. Baba just braved the cold. 😂 Apparently tourists often underestimate the temperature drop in Alishan!

Alishan is probably the most well-respected producer of teas in Taiwan due to its altitude and weather. As a lover of teas – but I’m in no way a connoisseur! – I went with my SIL to do some tea tasting. The most interesting fact (or perhaps belief?) we learned is that tea does not have any long term health benefits! Instead, the tea master we met said it’s merely the lifestyle of tea drinkers that could contribute to longevity, which includes socializing with friends, drinking lots of fluids, etc. Still, my SIL walked away with a few bags of oolong teas. 😊

Before heading back to Taipei, we made a quick stop at another town called Shizhuo 石桌, known for its tea plantations. Shizhuo, along with Fenqihu and Xiding, are the three most common towns to stay at on the way to Alishan. We got to Shizhuo by the bus enroute to Chiayi.

Seeing the neat rows of tea plantations was lovely but we didn’t realize how hot it was in Shizhuo. The hikes were all uphill and after about an hour, we were sweating buckets and ready to go home.

We were prepared to take the bus back to Chiayi Station to catch the high-speed rail, but a taxi driver offered us an unbelievable deal ($16 for a 1 hour drive back!) so our tired bodies eagerly hopped on the cab.

I can see why Alishan is such a popular destination for locals and tourists alike. The scenery is beautiful everywhere you look. Apparently it’s even more beautiful during cherry blossom season, where trails and railways are flanked with blooming pink flowers. I can only dream of seeing that one day!

Ramblings

One Year Ago

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One year ago on this day, we left our home and went on the biggest adventure of our lives.

I still remember the days leading up to June 3rd last year and realized I never documented it. I remember tossing and turning every night, wondering if we were making the right decision. I remember my anxiety building up as we slowly gave/sold/stored away our belongings until our home of 7 years no longer looked like ours anymore.

On the day of, I woke up in disbelief – which as I later discovered, became a constant theme throughout the day. Is it really June 3rd? Are we really doing this? Is it too late to change our minds? 😂

In the morning, Connor’s good friend stopped by for another goodbye. Baba’s sisters and BILs came over to spend time with us and help us get rid of any remaining furniture. We ate lunch together and at around 4pm, my sister and BIL came to pick us up for the airport.

It was hard. We did one last walk through of a now empty apartment, a place that carried so many memories. My SILs cried as we left. I felt terribly guilty, like I was prematurely cutting short their relationship with the boys. They played a huge part in helping us raise C and O, and that is something we’ll sorely miss.

Although I told them not to come (because airport parking is crazy expensive!), my family met us at the airport to send us off. Everyone was in good spirits and excited for us, which made leaving a little less hard. They will always be my biggest cheerleaders, and I am so, so thankful for their support.

Going through the gates was surreal. I was flooded with anxiety, excitement, shock and everything in between. I couldn’t eat or sit still. Or breathe. (On the other hand, Baba and the boys seemed oblivious to it all. 😒)

When the plane took off, I looked over at Baba in disbelief. Did we really just leave the place we called home for most of our lives? Are we really not going to see our families for 3 years? I dozed on and off throughout the flight but every time I woke up, I wondered if this was all a dream. I simply could not believe this was happening.

Now, a whole year after that pivotal day, I wish I could tell the 2023 me that it’ll all be ok. It’s kind of funny how much I worried back then, when this has turned out to be such an incredible and transformative experience for our family. We began this journey long before we stepped foot in Taiwan. Looking back, the conversation Baba and I had could’ve gone in a totally different direction, but whether it’s through some divine intervention or just pure luck, I’m forever grateful that we decided to take the chance.

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Earthquake!

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While my sister and BIL were in town, we had another visitor: an earthquake! It happened on Tuesday, April 3rd at 7:58am. We’ve experienced tremors before in Taiwan, but this was a big one – measuring in at 7.4 – with many, many aftershocks. The epicenter was in Hualien, which is about 2 hours away from Taipei.

A big earthquake like this is something that is forever burned into your memory. (I still remember everything from the 1989 San Francisco earthquake!) After I dropped off the kids at school, I cooked breakfast while my sister sat on the couch. Suddenly, we felt the ground shake and when it didn’t stop, we both scrambled under the dining table. 😂 The ground rolled violently back and forth, and the noise was thunderous. Meanwhile, my BIL was in the bathroom the whole time and Baba didn’t feel a thing because he was biking. 😶

The earthquake might have only been for ~30 seconds, but it felt like an eternity. Luckily, no one was hurt (that we know of), and there was very little damage in the apartment, except for a crack near the front door and in the boys’ room.

Our school sent pictures and notifications shortly afterward, reassuring parents that all the students were safe. Because Taiwan is prone to earthquakes, our school does regular earthquake drills. So other than feeling rattled, all the students and staff were prepared. Classes resumed afterwards as usual, and C mentioned that his teacher was worried she wouldn’t finish the lesson on time! 😂

Taiwan’s preparedness for this earthquake has been impressive. In Taipei, other than the MRT and trains halting service for a couple of hours, there was no significant disruption. There were no power or internet outages, businesses were open as usual, and all buildings remained intact. Many US publications commended Taiwan for its earthquake resilience and the huge strides it made after the 7.7 earthquake in 1999.

The greatest damage has been in the epicenter, Hualien, where Taroko National Park is located. So far, 13 people have died in the area but relative to the magnitude of the earthquake, the number of fatalities is pretty low. The park is likely to be closed for at least a year, and some trails like Zhuilu Old Road may be closed for much longer.

We feel so fortunate to have visited Taroko just 2 months before the earthquake. I’m saddened to hear that people lost their lives exploring this beautiful place, and it will be awhile before it can be enjoyed again. Here’s to hoping that the rescue and reconstruction efforts in Hualien continue smoothly and safely! 🙏

Ramblings

A Special Visit

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In early April, we welcomed my sister and BIL to Taiwan! My niece was on her 8th grade Chinese immersion trip to Taipei and Hong Kong, so it was the perfect excuse for a visit. (Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see my niece at all because of her school’s strict schedule, what a bummer!)

While my niece stayed with her classmates at a hotel the entire time, we hosted my sister and BIL at our place. The boys were so excited to see family other than Baba and me for once! They nagged Uncle 6 to play Chinese chess whenever they could, and the adults squeezed in a badminton game while the kids were at school.

Since both my sister and BIL have been to Taipei a couple times already, we skipped all the touristy stuff and just ate to our hearts’ content. This made for a much more relaxing visit because we weren’t rushing from place to place. And boy, did we eat! Here are some of the more memorable places we visited:

  • Paradise Dynasty: A contemporary Taiwanese/Chinese restaurant that serves xiao long bao, fried rice, wonton noodle soup, etc. It’s a good alternative to Din Tai Fung.
  • Lan Jia Gua Bao: My sister and BIL said they were craving gua baos ever since they had one in Seattle, so we took them to the best place that we know of in Taipei. There is something so satisfying about braised pork belly with crushed peanuts, cilantro, and pickled mustard wrapped in a soft bao.
  • Yong Kang Beef Noodle: My favorite place to get the classic Taiwanese beef noodle soup. It’s on the richer/spicier side, which in hindsight, probably wasn’t my sister’s cup of tea. 😅
  • Smoothie House: Even though it’s not mango season, shaved ice at Smoothie House is still a treat. We had shaved ice with frozen mangoes and fresh strawberries.
  • Tian Jin Scallion Pancake: Tian Jin is a simple food stall in the middle of Yong Kang Street that sells fresh, cripsy scallion pancakes. Along with Yong Kang Beef Noodle and Smoothie House, Tian Jin is always one of the stops we make whenever we’re in Yong Kang.
  • Din Tai Fung: Do I need to say more? When in Taiwan, this place is a must.
  • Sichao Rice Shop: A Taiwanese fusion restaurant with yummy dishes and beautiful presentation. The atmosphere was contemporary and elegant without being pretentious!
  • 上海宴: Another restaurant serving xiao long baos, fried rice and meats, but this place does everything very well. I’d say their XLBs are second to Din Tai Fung’s.

After 5 short days in Taipei, my sister and BIL took off to Hong Kong. It was so nice seeing familiar faces, and their visit made me miss having family around even more. There is a level of comfort with family that’s irreplaceable because they know you better than anyone else in this world. While we’re having so much fun in Taiwan, I only wish it were possible to combine everything we love in one place. ❤️

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Hey Taipei

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We have an ongoing list of things to see, do, and eat in Taipei. It keeps growing! Then, there are places that we’ve already been to but want to go back. But since we’re confined by the boys’ school schedules, we could only go on the weekends…which means more crowds.

So when the boys had a month off for winter break, we planned trips outside of Taipei (Malaysia and Taroko Gorge) but also outings in our backyard. Since many families travel outside of Taipei during Lunar New Year to visit family, we wanted to take advantage of the smaller crowds.

Dihua Street. Dihua is a historic street in the Datong District, lined with traditional shops selling Chinese herbs, tea, and snacks. We’ve been to Dihua before but this time we wanted to take part in the Lunar New Year market. Long blocks on Dihua were filled with vendors selling everything from LNY candies, decorations and food – so festive!

Raohe Night Market. We visited Raohe during our Taiwan trip back in 2019, then tried to go again recently around NYE. Boy, was that a mistake because it was so crowded we could barely get two steps in! This time, we came on a weekday during winter break. It was still busy but much more manageable.

Raohe has a ton of fantastic food: black pepper buns, pork bone herbal soup, tang yuan (rice dumplings), grilled mushrooms, etc. No wonder it is one of the most popular night markets in Taipei!

Meerkat 75 Café. I found this café on Instagram and immediately made a reservation. I tried taking the boys to a cat café before, but we were turned away because of the boys’ age. But Meerkat 75 Café allows kids!

There are a total of 5 meerkats at the café. Groups of 2 people take turns going into an enclosed viewing area where you can play and learn about the meerkats. So fun! Each person has to order a certain dollar amount of food – I think it’s about $8 USD per person, and less for children. The food was mostly pasta, salads and chicken tenders, but it was pretty decent!

Children’s Amusement Park. An amusement park that you can spend the day at but isn’t overwhelmingly big, the Taipei Children’s Amusement Park is really fun for kids mainly 13 and under. Entry tickets are ridiculously cheap too – $1 USD for adults, and $.50 USD for kids – and then you pay as you ride, which ranges from $.50 to $3 USD each. You could also get day passes for about $6.50 USD, but it’s not all-inclusive. We spent the day here with friends and had a great time.

Taipei Zoo and Maokong. We went to the zoo at the end of last August, and the heat was so brutal that we had to leave before seeing everything. This time, the weather was absolutely perfect but the zoo was a bit crowded because it was one of the few places open during the week of LNY.

The zoo also has a gondola that connects to Maokong Mountain. Frankly, I never thought about going but the boys wanted to ride the gondola. The gondola ride was surprisingly long (about 20 minutes) and it went up so much higher than I expected! You can also ride in glass floor gondolas but since it was a busy day, we didn’t want to wait around for one to come by.

Maokong was a special surprise. I didn’t realize how charming this town is! Maokong has little eateries, family-owned farms, tea plantations and shops. We also visited a family living in Maokong that the boys had met on a previous trip. It makes me happy seeing C and O getting along so well with local kids.

Ice Skating at Taipei Arena. This was actually the boys’ first time ice skating! They were a little nervous, but because they’ve been taking inline skating class at school they quickly got up to speed. The arena requires that all skaters wear gloves and if you opt out of wearing protective gear, then you have to sign a waiver. Our calves and ankles were tired from just skating for 1.5 hours!

For the next couple of days, Baba and I decided to split up the kids. We spend a lot of time together as a family, so we wanted to spend individual time with the boys and so they can pursue their own interests.

Wuliaojian Trailhead. C and Baba wanted to go on a very challenging hike called Wuliaojian in New Taipei. This trail is seriously no joke – requiring rock scrambling, rappelling down rocks, and climbing steep trails. It’s a trail known for experienced hikers, but Baba and C did so well. C was the youngest person on the trail that day!

Taipei Astronomical Museum. Meanwhile, O and I went to the Taipei Astronomy Museum. The museum was cheap to get into and had many fun interactive exhibits. O’s favorite was the spaceship ride (and I have to say it was mine too).

Taipei Science Museum. The next day, Baba and I switched kids. 😄 O wanted to go to the Taipei Science Museum, which funnily enough, is directly across from the Taipei Astronomical Museum that we visited the day before. I actually took the boys to the science museum back in November, but O wanted to go back. We didn’t know the little guy loved museums so much!

Addiction Aquatic Development. I took my foodie partner in crime to Addiction Aquatic Development, which is like a fabulous fusion of fish market/supermarket/sushi restaurant. C and I loved this place. The vibe is similar to European markets, with high quality produce, polished décor and delicious food.

Yangmingshan National Park. The day before school resumed, we went to Yangmingshan. Yangmingshan is relatively close to Taipei (about a 45 minute drive), making it hugely popular for Taipei residents. It is a little tricky to get to by bus, so we hired a driver on Klook to take us there and drive us to the trails. The downside to hiring a driver of course, is there is a time limit.

Yangmingshan is beautiful! The landscapes are varied too, with grasslands, lakes, fumaroles, and mountains. There are also flower festivals throughout the year. This time it’s cherry blossom season (though we went too early for that), in the spring it’s calla lilies, and so on. Most trails at Yangmingshan are fairly easy, so it’s perfect for hikers of all abilities. I’d love to go back.

Whew, we did a lot during winter break! I love spending time and exploring Taiwan with my family. Growing up, Baba and I never had these opportunities. My parents worked 7 days a week all year, so I was ecstatic whenever they could spend time with me, even if it was just going to the neighborhood park. I hope the boys are enjoying these adventures with us as we much as we are.

Ramblings

Taroko Gorge

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After coming back from Malaysia, we had a few days in Taipei before heading to our next destination: Taroko Gorge! Taroko is one of the nine national parks in Taiwan. The dramatic limestone mountains, clear blue water and scenic hikes make it the most popular national park among locals and tourists.

We took the Taiwan Rail to Taroko, not to be confused with the High-Speed Rail, but just as convenient and efficient. We left from Taipei Main Station and got off at Xincheng, which was closest to our hotel. The ride took approximately 2 hours.

Many people advise renting a car or hiring a driver to visit Taroko Gorge. We ended up just taking the shuttle around the park, but a word of warning: shuttles don’t come frequently and the schedule can be inconsistent due to current roadwork. When we were there, the shuttle came every 30-45 minutes, so you just have to plan your hikes accordingly.

We stayed in Tienhsiang Youth Activity Center which is a basic hotel but fairly priced and located within the park. The room fee includes a breakfast buffet, and dinner costs an additional $8 per person. Don’t expect good food in Taroko! Restaurants are scarce and food is very basic. But people don’t come here for the food.

We stayed in Taroko for 3 nights and 4 days. The park isn’t huge so you could technically do all the hikes in that time if you’re determined enough.

As for the park itself: it’s beautiful! But then again, can you really go wrong with mountains and crystal blue rivers? 😍

The park is also well maintained. Many of the trails are paved, making it easy for all types of hikers to explore. Everything is well marked, and most signs were in both English and Chinese. Bathrooms, even on the most remote trails, were clean too!

More pictures of Taroko because it’s so damn photogenic. The layers of fog added a level of mystique.

Taroko has many fun suspension bridges. The boys loved the buoyancy of the bridges, but that just made Baba even more nervous. 😅

After planning the Malaysia trip, I didn’t do very much research on Taroko. But the night before we left, Baba started researching Taroko and found that there is a famous hike (Zhuilu Old Road). Unfortunately, the hike requires a permit and there were no more spots left during the days we were there. We put ourselves on the waitlist anyway.

Well, we lucked out because at the last minute, we received a notice that we got the permits! Zhuilu Old Road was voted one of the best hikes in Asia because of its views and historical significance. The trail was once used by aboriginals to commute between villages.

The hike is considered challenging so we wanted to get there as early as possible. However, the park shuttles don’t start running until 11am and the trailhead was far from our hotel. We asked the front desk if they could find a driver, but we were told that taxis are few and far between. For awhile, we weren’t even sure we could do the hike.

Then, a few hours later, the front desk called and said they found a driver! Hurray! A man who works at the hotel simply volunteered to drive us. He didn’t even want any payment (though we still gave him something) – this is another example of how friendly Taiwanese people are!

We were the first group to arrive at Zhuilu. Even though it’s a famous hike, we often felt like we had the whole trail to ourselves, which was so nice. The first 1.5 miles of the hike was a steep climb. It will make your legs BURN! We were also lucky that the morning of our hike was a clear day, because if it were wet (like it had been the prior days), it would be a much trickier hike.

After hiking up the mountain, we arrived at the crescendo: a narrow 3 feet wide trail along a cliff, looking down 2,600 feet into the gorge. There is no guardrail, but there is a cable for you to hold onto. It’s not for those who are afraid of heights, but I think I was more worried about the kids messing around here.

The hike took us 5 hours roundtrip, with many breaks for water and snacks in between. We later went on two other hikes that same day, with one that required climbing a lot of stairs (not sure why I agreed to this). My old lady knees were dying at the end of the day.

On the day we left, we squeezed in one last hike: the Baiyang Trail. This hike was relatively relaxing as the trail was paved and flat. We were told by another hiker to wear a raincoat because of the waterfall, so we went to 7-11 to get ponchos. None of them were small enough to fit O however, so being the responsible parents that we are, we used a plastic bag instead. 🤣

The Baiyang Trail was a lot of fun. It requires walking through a series of dark tunnels (so it’s best to bring flashlights). During the summer and fall, there are bats that live in the tunnels too!

Towards the end of the hike, we were wondering if we needed the raincoats at all. It provided more protection from that day’s rain than any mist or trickling water we found in the tunnels thus far.

But then, we arrived at the last tunnel. We saw a shallow river flowing through it. There was a narrow path against the tunnel’s wall, which we started to go through. It got wetter and wetter, and at this point, all our shoes were soaked. Suddenly, we heard and saw it: several waterfalls gushing out from the cracks of the tunnel! There is no way around them, so we walked under the waterfalls and got more soaked! 😂 With the darkness of the tunnel, sound of the rushing water echoing against the walls, and water pouring down on us, it was an exhilarating experience to say the least.

I wish I took better pictures of this part, but I was worried about my phone getting too wet (and me trying not to slip! 😅)

A lot of people just go to Taipei when they visit Taiwan, but if you have more time in your schedule, we highly recommend visiting Taroko too! Taiwan is actually known for its nature, and Taroko is a prime example of that.

Ramblings

Malaysia

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The boys made it through one semester of public school in Taiwan! I’ll post about our school experience at a later time, but for now I wanted to write about our trip to Malaysia during winter break or 寒假.

Some people asked if we have plans to go back to SF during our stay in Taiwan. Honestly, unless something urgent comes up we don’t plan to travel back home. Our time in Taiwan is limited and there is SO much to see and experience, not only in Taiwan but in Asia! We are also constrained by the boys’ school schedule and there aren’t many breaks during the school year aside from winter and summer vacation.

This winter break, we decided to travel to Malaysia. I went on a tour 20 years ago (!!!) and stayed in Malaysia for only 2-3 days. This time around, I wanted to experience it with Baba and the boys on our own terms. I was intrigued by Malaysia’s diversity and delicious street food. We went to two places in Malaysia: Penang and Kuala Lumpur, for a total of 9 days.

Penang. Penang is a state in Malaysia that consists of two parts. We stayed on Penang Island, specifically in Georgetown, the state capital. Georgetown is charming city known for its colonial style architecture, street art and street food. Our hotel was in the heart of Little India, which is an incredibly vibrant, colorful, and at times, super noisy neighborhood!

The quaint architecture of Georgetown.

One of the highlights of Georgetown is the street art. The art is scattered around town, so we spent half a day trying to track them down. The most famous artwork is by a Lithuanian artist named Ernest Zacharevic, who incorporates 3D aspects to his art. We had a lot of fun thinking of ways to interact with them!

Penang is also known for its street food, and it did not disappoint! We loved the diversity, intensity of flavors, and of course the price. We already think food in Taiwan is cheap but you can’t beat the prices in Southeast Asia. Many dishes in Penang were about $2-$3, and there were times when we had a whole family dinner for less than $15.

Food in Malaysia is influenced by so many cultures – Chinese, Malay, Singapore, Indian – and you can often taste the influences in each dish. Baba and I especially loved all the spice, something that we miss in Taiwan. (Taiwanese food tends to be on the milder side.) Our favorite dishes were Char Kuey Teow which is similar to Chinese fried rice noodles, and Asam Laksa, a tangy, spicy noodle soup. But seriously, even random food stalls we found had delicious food!

Admittedly, Penang doesn’t have a lot of “must-see” sites, but one place on our list was the Kek Lok Si Temple. It’s the largest Buddhist temple complex in Malaysia, filled with countless statues, pagodas, and pavilions. It’s so big that it’s impossible to capture the whole complex in one shot. Kek Lok Si sits on top of a hill, and seeing it from afar is even more awe-inspiring. The entire temple also lights up at night which we didn’t get to see; I can imagine it looking magical!

Kuala Lumpur. After 4 days in Penang, we took a ferry to Buttersworth, where we caught a train to Kuala Lumpur. The train ride took 4 hours.

Kuala Lumpur (or KL as the locals call it) is a massive, chaotic city, making it challenging for pedestrians to navigate. Crossing the streets was an ordeal – you’d either have to scramble across the street because there are no street lights, or track down an overpass like the below. This would sometimes add 10-15 minutes to our commute, which wouldn’t be so bad if it weren’t for the heat.

The subway and bus system isn’t as comprehensive as Taipei’s either, so we would often walk or hail a ride through Grab, SE Asia’s version of Uber. Grab rides are super cheap – rides were typically $2-$3. Even a 45 minute ride to the airport was less than $20! I highly recommend downloading Grab if you’re traveling in SE Asia.

Now for the positives of KL. 😊 Like Penang, KL is super diverse and that’s reflected in its delicious food. There is a large Cantonese and Indian population so we ate all the dim sum and Indian food we sorely miss since moving to Taiwan. Our favorite restaurant in KL was probably Mollagaa, an South Indian restaurant serving everything from curries to banana leaf rice. It was so good we went back twice!

Overall, the food in KL was very good and cheap. You can eat like royalty here without breaking the bank.

A favorite pastime of ours when traveling if visiting wet markets. The ones in SE Asia are the best because they have the most interesting and exotic fruits and vegetables. We ate so much mangosteen and jackfruit here (fruits that are relatively hard to find in Taiwan). We also discovered a new fruit: snake fruit, or salak. It’s native to Indonesia/Malaysia and has a mild sour taste with a crunchy texture. Not one of my personal favorites, but it’s always fun discovering new fruits.

Speaking of exotic fruits, Malaysia is obsessed with durian (and so are we!). They have their own varieties of durian – 24 of them! – with the most popular being Musang King. Malaysia durian is creamy, sweet, with a slight bitter taste. Even though Thailand is the biggest exporter of durian, Malaysia is known to have the best tasting. There are cafes and restaurants throughout KL dedicated to just durian! I think we probably ate one a day. 😋

Although it may seem otherwise, our trip wasn’t just about eating. 😅 We did some sight-seeing too! One of the most stunning sites we visited was Batu Caves just outside KL. The Batu Caves is a large Hindu temple complex guarded by the monumental statue of Hindu god Lord Murugan. Next to the statue are 272 colorful steps leading to a limestone cave. Truly a site to behold, Batu Caves is not to missed when visiting KL!

We also visited the Petronas Towers, which I have to say is one of the prettier skyscrapers! They look like shining jewels against the KL skyline. Next is Petaling Street, a bustling street of shops, stalls, and restaurants in the heart of Chinatown. Pictured on the right is the new Merdeka 118, which is currently the second tallest building in the world (after Burj Khalif in Dubai)! It’s sleek and modern, but even though Google says it’s been completed since November 2023 we didn’t see very much activity around it. Maybe it will be open to the public at a later time.

The rest of our time at KL was spent at our Airbnb’s pool and gym, which was probably the boys’ favorite part of the trip. 🙄 We also had access to the building’s infinity pool that had a glass floor looking 35 floors down. I didn’t dare to step on it but did swim over it, ha! This was our first time swimming in an infinity pool!

Malaysia is often overlooked in SE Asia, but if you’re a foodie and looking for a good bang for your buck, then Malaysia is a great place to pop by!

Ramblings

Tainan: A Trip of Gluttony

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(Long overdue post! We went to Tainan back in October 2023 but just now decided to blog about it. 😅)

Tainan is Taiwan’s old capital, and one of Taiwanese people’s favorite vacation spots due to its delicious traditional food and historic architecture. We decided to travel there during Taiwan’s Double Ten Holiday 雙十節, when the boys had a 4 day weekend.

We took Taiwan’s high-speed rail which was super convenient, clean and efficient. After booking our tickets online, we printed them at 7-11. On the day of departure, we took the MRT to Taipei Main Station, which is connected to the high-speed rail. Within 2 hours, we arrived in Tainan!

We stayed in the West Central District of Tainan in a quaint Airbnb located on top of a café. We literally had to walk through the café, go up the stairs to the attic to get to our Airbnb! It was an unusual place to stay but the location was great. A lot of people warned us that we’d need to rent a car to get around, but we never felt the need to because our Airbnb was so central.

Tainan is famous for traditional Taiwanese food, so let’s first talk about the food! As soon as we arrived in Tainan, we hit up several restaurants.

(From left to right, top to bottom)
Danzai Noodles 擔仔麵: This is a popular snack in Tainan that’s made with wheat noodles in shrimp broth, garlic and topped with marinated pork. The portion is tiny, so it’s more a snack than a meal. It was delicious and we gobbled both portions up!

Fish Soup and Fried Pork Over Rice: After eating 擔仔麵, we came across this simple restaurant owned by a sweet old lady. We ordered a fish soup and fried pork over rice. Both were so simple, yet packed with flavor. It was so good that we ordered a second plate of the fried pork over rice!

Grass Jelly with Taro and Sweet Potato Balls: Baba and the boys love this dessert. Personally, I’m not a big fan of the glutinous texture and mild taste but it’s very popular across Taiwan.

Peanut Shaved Ice 花生刨冰: We noticed a shop selling different kinds of 刨冰, but their most famous was peanut! We grabbed a cup and it was the perfect not-too-sweet and refreshing dessert on a hot night.

The next morning, we had a traditional Tainan breakfast of milkfish congee and braised pork rice 滷肉飯. I’m a huge congee lover, and was really looking forward to eating my favorite comfort food here. But the milkfish was thick and dry, and the rice was not as creamy as I’d like. I still prefer Cantonese style congee.

Later on, we took a long walk to get in line at Wen Zhang 文章牛肉湯, a famous restaurant known for a Tainan staple: beef soup 牛肉湯! We waited in line for 30-40 minutes in the heat, but it was worth it. The soup is very simple – literally beef broth with thin slices of beef – but it’s amazingly flavorful, clean, and comforting, like something your mom or grandma made. Apparently many people in Tainan have this soup for breakfast!

Eel noodles is also a common dish you’ll find in Tainan. We went to a popular hole-in-the-wall restaurant called A Jiang 阿江鱔魚意麵 to try this dish.

They basically have two options: one that’s dry-fried and one with sauce. We ordered both. Visually, these are not the prettiest looking dishes. 😂 But the smoky flavor and wok-hay were amazing. The eel was firm – even a bit crunchy – and marinated well. Personally, I preferred the dry-fried version.

Then, we hopped next door to get another bowl of beef noodle soup and ginger scallion fried beef. The beef soup was not as good as the one we had at Wen Zhang 文章, but it was still good! The ginger scallion beef was delicious – the beef was so tender and flavorful. People in Tainan really know how to cook beef!

The next morning, we had another typical breakfast item in Tainan – sticky rice dumplings 粽子! I thought this was pretty heavy to have for breakfast, but since breakfast is the most important meal for Tainan people, maybe they want something hearty?

We had lunch reservations at A Sha Restaurant 阿霞飯店, which is one of the most famous restaurants in Tainan serving traditional Taiwanese dishes. This is a restaurant that requires reservations and we were lucky we could snag one before we went back to Taipei.

The lunch at A Sha was our priciest meal (about $100 USD), but honestly, it was a little underwhelming. Don’t get me wrong – everything was decent but at that price, I was expecting something more memorable, especially since food is so cheap in Tainan.

Aside from food, Tainan is also famous for its historic buildings and architecture. Here are some places we visited:

Confucius Temple: You could pay extra to go inside other buildings at the temple, but we only walked around the public areas which was more than enough for us to explore!

Anping Old Street: The oldest street in Taiwan, filled with alleys of food stalls and shops. It was fun navigating through the alleyways spotting interesting things to try.

Anping Tree House: Probably my favorite site in Tainan. This was an old Japanese salt warehouse but after 100 years of transformation, the place is now covered in banyan roots. We loved the mystique of the tree house, and it reminded us of Angkor Wat in Cambodia!

Temples: There are beautiful temples big and small sprinkled across Tainan. It was fun to get a glimpse of old Tainan on every street we turned into.

Tainan makes a great weekend trip! It has a more chill, more laid-back vibe than Taipei, with friendly locals, interesting history, and delicious, cheap food.