Taiwan bus trip!

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We met the rest of Grace's mom's side of the family the next morning to start on our two-day bus tour.

So... I don't know if anyone's familiar with Chinese (or Taiwanese) bus tours, but they're definitely something else. I guess there are bus tours in the USA but they seem mostly reserved for retirees. Not so in Taiwan. Bus tours are very common and cater to people from all walks of life. Plus, the buses are super swanky!

I should probably take a moment to note that Chinese (and Taiwanese, but particularly mainland Chinese, who make up a large portion of the clientele for these tour buses) have pretty non-Western sensibilities. In particular, things that might seem a little garish or over the top to Westerners (or myself) are often favored or at least taken completely in stride. So while I might poke a little fun at the buses, they were actually super comfortable and the minor differences from something you'd encounter in e.g. the USA are just that.

The highlight of the trip was our stop around midday at Sun Moon Lake (on Wikipedia). It is the largest body of water in Taiwan and a major tourist attraction. We got lunch near the Thao Visitor Center where I grabbed a few pictures.

After lunch we clambered back into the bus to drive around the lake to the Xiangshan Visitor Center. The building was a really pretty, modern design by a Japanese architect (not sure who). All concrete, but the outside is patterned to look like wood and the building seems to just grow out of the ground. Pictures will probably do it more justice than words.

Our next stop was at a museum and shop where they displayed urns traditionally made in the area and used to store some sort of liquor. Grace was still a little sick and feeling not so great after a day of travel, so we just rested outside. Grabbed a picture of the entrance.

You can see the urns on the left.

You can see the urns on the left.

Our final stop of the day was in a small town famous for its wood carving. The carvings were insanely detailed (and massive). Really cool stuff. Also really expensive.

We got dinner afterwards and then went on to the hotel. The hotel was really nice - located in an area known for its hot springs. Super fancy soaking tub and shower (the first one I really fit in so far in Taiwan). Great after being on the road all day.

The next morning Grace and I just slept in and tried to get over being sick (as both of us felt pretty bad at this point). The rest of Grace's family continued on with the tour but came back to the hotel for lunch, giving us the opportunity to say goodbye to everyone.

Taiwan days three and four

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Our third day was pretty unremarkable. Grace was feeling fairly sick, so we just took it easy in the morning and relaxed in the hotel for the afternoon.

The fourth day we headed out of Taipei down south where Grace's mom's family lives. We took the high speed train which was pretty awesome. Got to see a lot of the countryside with a lot more comfort, a lot less hassle, and barely any less speed than we'd have via flying. Something that would certainly be nice in the USA, though I doubt it will happen any time soon.

Grace's uncle picked us up from the train station and took us to his house where we were staying the night. At this point Grace was feeling even sicker than before, and finally consented to go to the doctor. We first went to a pretty basic clinic, but they sent her along to the hospital emergency room. Apparently a fever of 103ºF, convulsive fever chills, and numbness in your extremities necessitate urgent medical attention.

The hospital experience was actually pretty good. As far as hospital experiences go, I guess. Here are some pictures from after Grace was feeling better (but still pretending to be stricken in some of them).

Hilariously, when they were giving Grace her prescriptions, they were very careful to mention that one of the medicines was quite expensive. Since Grace is not a Taiwanese resident or citizen, she would have to pay out of pocket to the tune of TWD 1000. Or roughly USD 30. In other words, what one might be happy to pay for after insurance in the USA. Great system we've got there. The entire hospital stay was about USD 130, which included multiple lab tests and the administration of an IV.

After our hospital adventure we went out to dinner with most (but not all) of Grace's mom's side of the family.

Taipei day the second

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Today started similarly to yesterday, delicious breakfast and all.

After breakfast and visiting with Grace's grandparents we went to see the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall (on Wikipedia). It's a pretty impressive building located on beautiful grounds. We were also lucky enough to catch the changing of the guards. I took a bunch of pictures, some of which are below. Not pictured is the oppressive heat.

Later that afternoon we went to Taipei 101, one of the tallest buildings in the world. It was the tallest from 2004 (taking over from the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur) until 2010 (when the Burj Khalifa was completed in Dubai). Unfortunately, a lot of our pictures didn't turn out that well from haziness and the fact that there were taken through glass, but I'll include several below.

One thing really cool about Taipei 101 is the tuned mass damper. It is apparently the largest and heaviest in the world in addition to being one of the few that are open for public viewing. It's truly massive (5.5 m diameter and a mass of  660 metric tons), and, in my opinion, pretty gorgeous. I snapped a few (okay, a ton) of pictures, but I'll try to restrain myself from posting all of them.

There was a massive gift shop we went through while exiting the observation deck of Taipei 101, mostly featuring a ton of really expensive coral (Taiwan is pretty famous for coral).

We met up with a friend of Grace's family to get hot pot for dinner. I'm pretty clueless as to Taipei and its neighborhoods, but it seemed like a really cool area. The food was delicious, though I am unskilled in the arts of hot pot.

First day in Taipei

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We met Grace's parents for breakfast after a very satisfying sleep. We had a pretty typical Taiwanese breakfast, consisting of many things for which I do not know the name. Highlights were fresh soy milk (very different from what you get in stores - less an imitation of milk proper than its own, separate entity) and some sort of breakfast sandwich with eggs and fried doughy goodness akin to churros.

After breakfast we met Grace's grandparents (on her father's side). They don't really speak English at all, so I couldn't offer much in the way of conversation besides saying "Hello" in very poor Mandarin as coached by Grace. Some funny tidbits from the meeting, but maybe I'll let Grace go back and fill them in.

We spent the majority of the day at the National Palace Museum (on Wikipedia). No photographs allowed there, so you all won't be tortured with a massive gallery. I will include one picture of what is apparently the most famous piece, the jade cabbage.

The jade cabbage. Apparently famous for how well the sculptor used the flaws and natural variations in the jade as assets to make the piece more lifelike.

The jade cabbage. Apparently famous for how well the sculptor used the flaws and natural variations in the jade as assets to make the piece more lifelike.

Grace described the jade cabbage as something like the Chinese Mona Lisa. Perhaps a little underwhelming in person, but with a perpetual giant crowd surrounding it.

We saw a lot more things, including other jade sculptures. Unfortunately, I have even less appreciation (and context) for Eastern art than I have for Western art, so a lot of the beauty was most likely lost on me. In particular, there were many famous examples of calligraphy that, while interesting, probably had most of their significance lost to me.

We had dinner that night at Din Tai Fung. As usual (they have a couple locations in Seattle), it was very good. Particularly the black truffle dumplings (yum!).

We grabbed a couple pictures of ourselves at the restaurant.