Feb 2, 2020 - Taipei (In Transit)

@@@@@@@ KAPOORS ON THE ROAD When we landed in Taipei we were a little surprised to see that the airport was making a concerted effort to respond to the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus that was running amok in China and South Korea at the time. All of the airport workers were wearing masks, some were even wearing surgical gowns and caps, and passengers were screened for fevers as they passed by monitors set up to detect potential disease. We were directed to the In-Transit Desk where the EVA staff checked our tickets and passports. They were...

Sep 24, 2019 - Shortest day

Tuesday 24th Sep It is going to be a short “day” for us today, as this flight takes us over the date line. This first leg to Taipei we are flying in a Boeing 777-300, there is plenty of room, even in cattle class. We are given a blanket and pillow – we needed the blanket, the cabin was quite cool. The flight is not full, and we are invited to swap seats after take off, but many don’t wait, and there is a bit of musical chairs before take off. We don’t bother, but it seems strange to us, we are used to being told we must be in allocated...

Jul 26, 2019 - Return to Taipei

Nice buffet this morning. Had an omelette made for me, and very unusual tasty pasteries. Since our hotel was located in the National Park, we didn't have far to go today to see all of the sights. Our first stop was 5 minutes away at Cimu Bridge (Marble bridge ) which was rebuilt after the original all-marble bridge was washed away in the 1990s. Very oriental decorations on the bridge, plus marble covering along the sides. The real reason for the stop was the bend in the gorge below. Another beautiful site in the NP. It was 7 minutes until...

Jul 25, 2019 - East Coast National Scenic Area

Again, the typical morning routine and on the road by 8:45. As we were traveling along, we were passing custard apple fields (locals call it Buddha's head) & banana and Betel Nut orchards. Alan stopped and bought some Betel Nuts for us to taste. Jean split a nut in half. We both chewed on it and it had a bitter taste. Jean then tried a whole one with the leaf around it and she commented that the leaf helped make it taste a little better, but only had it in her mouth for about two minutes. It is used like gum in SE Asia, except it gives you...

Jul 24, 2019 - Kenting National Park

Typical morning - breakfast buffet (nice set-up, nothing special), return to room, go to lobby for 8:45 departure. On the way to Kenting National Park, Alan talked about Taiwan's national health insurance and pensions. Alan's first son is deaf and because of that disability will be taken care of for life. In Taiwan, 4.69% of their salary is for healthcare of which they pay 30%. Their labor pension is 11% of their salary of which they pay 20%. You also have a volunteer retirement fund which you pay 6% direct from your salary. He also showed...

Jul 23, 2019 - Monastary visit

We were up and ready to go to breakfast when the 7:00 wake-up call came. We then went down to breakfast which opened at 7:00. This was a huge buffet with just about everything, except scrambled eggs. So, I chose to go over to the omelette station and have a mushroom & cheese omelette. In the fruit section there was a different variety of dragon fruit. This was the red dragon fruit as opposed to the white variety we are used to seeing in Asia. We sat next to two ladies who are on our trip visiting from Toronto, Canada. Our departure wasn't...

Jul 22, 2019 - Our 5-day tour of Taiwan begins

Today we are starting a 5 day tour around Taiwan. We went down to breakfast at 6:30 for the small buffet breakfast. We then returned to the room to finish packing. At 7:30 we went to the lobby to checkout, pay our bill and wait for our 8:00 pick-up. We were picked-up by a small van that had three people in it, a couple from Australia and a woman from San Francisco. Our ride as we were taken to a transfer point was in the rain. At the transfer point we boarded a large bus. There were already some people on board and more joined us after we...

Jul 21, 2019 - City tour and Taipei 101

Today the weather is suppose to have thunderstorms throughout the day. We have placed our umbrellas and ponchos, along with water and other items in our day-pak that we carry while on tour. We went to breakfast at 6:30 when the restaurant on the first floor opened. It was a smaller buffet, which makes sense since the Gala is a small boutique hotel. They had scrambled eggs, baked beans, chicken nuggets, bacon and sausage along the Western side which is where Jean & I took breakfast. We returned to the room to relax and prepare for our...

Jul 20, 2019 - Travel Day to Taiwan

Today is a travel day, a beautiful Saturday morning in Shanghai. We went down to breakfast at 6:30. I stayed Western in my morning meal, trying the omelette station and having bacon, a chicken sausage link, fruit and OJ. We returned to the room and finished packing. We waited until 7:45 before going down to the lobby to wait for Kyle and our 8:00 pick-up.. Kyle was a few minutes early. We boarded the Buick van and had a pleasant, no traffic 45 minute ride to the airport. As soon as you enter the airport terminal, we went through the first...

Jan 26, 2019 - Day 23

Got up the latest after I came to Taiwan at 8:00am. Last night I could not fall into sleep, probably too excited to go home today. Fortunately, all my laundry was dried. After packing up and tidied the apartment I contacted the host Sally. She said her son will help me with my luggage and I should contact her once I get on the MRT back from Dansui about 3:00pm. I went to the 7-11 across the street to get some breakfast. Then, took MRT to Dansui. The first stop is the Red Mangrove Forest. It is a massive red mangrove forest and there is a...

Jan 25, 2019 - Day 22

After I finished breakfast and packing my luggage at 8:00am, Mr. Lin was not up yet. I decided not to waste my time to wait but to walk to a local beach front park. I wanted to see the west side of the Pacific Ocean. Got to the park within 15 minutes’ walk. It is a very nice park with bike and pedestrian paths. Walked along the bike path. It veered off the beach along a river. The most abundant birds were Common Myna and Styan’s Bulbul. No shorebirds at all except a few Common Sandpipers. Noticed a few water buffalos were feeding on the...

Jan 24, 2019 - Day 21

Got up at 5:15am to catch the 6:30am bus to Taroko National Park. My host Mrs. Lin arranged a taxi for me to be picked up at 6:15am. When I got to the train station by taxi, the first thing was to purchase a train ticket back to Taipei for tomorrow afternoon. According to Mr. Lin it is the hottest ticket in Taipei because there is no other transportation choice besides driving oneself. Then, I caught the 6:30am bus to the park. When we arrived the park visitor center at 8:00am, it was not open yet. I started to look for birds nearby. First,...