Mar 10, 2013 - Chapter 2: Taiwan

Hi everyone, So where we last left off I had just arrived at TPE after nearly 24 consecutive hours of travel. When I left Dulles it was 6:35 am local time the morning of March 1. When I landed in Taipei it was a little past 7:00 pm the evening of March 2. Since I did manage to get a few hours of sleep on the flight to Seoul, I was less tired than just a bit disoriented. Luckily there were not many other international flights arriving so customs/immigration went quickly. Because Taiwan has a unique arrangement and operates with a good deal...

Feb 14, 2013 - Layovers suck

October 26, 2012 is when we booked our first ticket for this trip. It has been a very interesting journey to get here. We have both experienced every emotion possible. Excitement, fear, anxiety, happiness, sadness, and we both have been very overwhelmed. But this is something we both wanted more than anything and we are proof that you can make your dreams come true no matter how big or small they are. No excuses people!! "Do just once what other's say you can't do, and you will never listen to their limitations again" J. Cook DAY 1: So...

Oct 20, 2012 - The End

And so we come to the end of our holiday. We are hosting a dinner for Eva's family Saturday evening, and fly off back to Sydney on Sunday. We've both enjoyed it immensely. Postscript: Tommy, Jei Wei's dog, broke a leg whilst we were in Vietnam. Apparently, he fell about one story whilst out walking. He's now in a cast. It wasn't setting very well, and the cast has had to be redone. PPS: Some time after we get back, I'll post Eva's videos and some more photos. Will send an update notice when that's done.

Oct 14, 2012 - The Reunion

On our return from Vietnam, we were met at Taipei's airport by Wilson and his wife, Tina (and their daughter as well). Both Wilson and Tina were students at Wollongong University when Eva was doing her MBA there. Saturday night we stayed at their place in Taoyuan, which is a semi-rural commuter suburb for Taipei, where both Wilson and Tina work. It's about one hour from Taipei. Wilson had organized a reunion lunch on Sunday at a nearby restaurant for Taiwanese who studied at Wollongong at the same time. There were eleven adults present, and...

Sep 17, 2012 - Last Day in Taiwan

I'm actually making this entry 2 days later in Hanoi, but I thought I would date the entries by the day to which their content relates. Monday was our last day in Taiwan, for now: we'll be back at the end of our trip. Today Jeiwei took a party including Didi, the bride and her mother, some friends and us out for lunch to a restaurant serving Eva's favourite fish course. After lunch, some of us went to Tamsui, originally a port near Taipei dating back to the 16th century when the Spanish and Dutch fought over it and established a fort. The...

Sep 16, 2012 - The Wedding

Think BIG. Like 430 guests, a 12 course banquet (groan - that's 2 big meals in 2 days), a multimedia production, both photographer and a videographer, and so on. Kind of like a Greek wedding but with a Chinese twist. The multimedia bit was family photos of the bride and groom - as babies, young children, teenagers, dating - projected onto 3 big screens with accompanying music. The groom was Didi, Jei Wai's son. It seems the Chinese custom is that the father of the groom pays, not the father of the bride. And none of this new-fangled...

Sep 16, 2012 - In Taipei

We're now in Taipei, staying with Eva's brother, Jei Wei. If you look up Taipei 101 (the world's tallest building from 2004 to 2010) on Google Maps, Jei Wei's apartment is southwest of Zhuangjing Road, which in turn is southwest of Taipei 101. Friday we flew to Taipei via Hong Kong, an uneventful flight until the end. Transiting though Hong Kong Airport, I realised I had left my camera on the plane from Sydney. Cathay Pacific provided great service in bending over backwards to retrieve it for me. It is now in Taipei airport and we will...

Jul 9, 2012 - Amazing Taiwan

When it was time to leave the apartment, luckily the chap that picked us up from the airport said he would drop us off as well so that saved us both time and money. The plan then was that we were going to fly again to KL and then stay in a hotel at the airport before getting up the next day and flying to stay with our friend Ian in Taiwan. We got the plane ok from Langkawi to KL and there was an ace shuttle bus which took us to the hotel door for 20p then we checked in and went down to the bar for a drink before playing cards and Ang...

Sep 23, 2011 - Dr. Sun Yat-Sen, another bag to check, and goodbyes! - Day 5

My last full day in Taipei City began at 8 am. After I got ready I headed down to the same Family Mary I had gone most of the week to get my New York style cheese bagel and orange juice. It was only 1.98 which is pretty cheap considering the size of the bagel. I made it into work by 9am. The morning went relatively smooth. The last day at each work site usually goes pretty crazy so this was a welcomed release. By 1:30 pm Ching, my office contact, took me out to lunch. He suggested a dinner that served American food. I was somewhat happy to...

Sep 22, 2011 - Mengjia Longshan Temple and more scooters! - Day 4

Today started out at 8:00 am. I was pretty tired. I didn’t get to bed until 2:30. Had to do some work but at least I was in my hotel room. After the 9 am meeting I was on my own for the day until 5 pm again. So today I sent out to go explore one of Taiwan’s oldest temples the Mengjia Longshan Temple. It was built 1738 by settlers from China. It has been destroyed and rebuilt again after numerous fires and earthquakes. It was also bombed by the US during World War II because it was thought the Japanese were hiding bombs and other armament,...

Sep 21, 2011 - Taipei 101 and posing like a model - Day 3

So day 3 begins at 7:30 am. It was the best night of sleep I have gotten in quite a few days. After traveling home from DC then turning around and flying out to Taiwan in less than 48 hours it was pretty insane and a good night’s sleep was hard to come by. After getting ready I headed down the same elevator I had been using since I got here. I’m not sure what happened but when I got off I got lost. I walked around in circles for a few moments before realizing I wasn’t at the right floor. I’ve said before this hotel is huge. Lots of rooms...

Sep 7, 2011 - Taipei Airport

Woo Hoo. I survived the 13-hour flight without too much difficulty. Was able to sleep off and on and the flight attendants were constantly walking through the cabin with cups of water. I had two meals and one glass of red wine (complimentary). Also an aisle seat in a row of four seats and the two middle seats were empty! And it was a bulkhead row with lots of leg room so life was good! The Taipei airport has free computers with fast Internet access so this is a plus for whiling away the time until my flight to Bali. It is overcast here...