Yu Have Come to the Right Place.

Alright, now that I'm done with jury duty and am trying to get back into the flow, let's get back to a recap of summer.  From Toyama, we flew directly to Taoyuan, Taiwan, my dad's hometown and also the location of Taiwan's biggest airport.



Taiwan is always such a big contrast from Japan for me.  It's not necessarily because of the countries' differences.  For example, in Japan, we usually have a nice, consistent schedule.  We have a similar daily routine, we plan ahead and know what we want to do.  In Taiwan, it's the opposite.  Everyday is a whirlwind and we have no idea what comes next.  We generally don't have enough time to see everyone and do everything we want to do.  Part of that is because we don't go very often and so everyone wants to get a piece of us when we're there.  Also, the Yu and Lin family is spread all over the island and we don't really have an easy means of transportation.  Another factor is that neither Wami nor I have really live in Taiwan, so we do have to rely on others to take us around somewhat.

One of the things I was excited about is that I've never been to Taiwan in the summer.  Yes, I was scared to death of the heat, but excited about the fruits.  Mangoes were everywhere!!  Oh man, they were so sweet.  The kids devoured them.

Again, here are the things that Taisei most enjoyed.  Mango ice!  So goooood.
This is from Mango Cha-cha.


This is from a different place.  Not quite as good - a little too sweet.

I have to add that in general, food is most people's top reason for going to Taiwan.  Good food everywhere, including at home by the maid.

Here's Grandpa Grandma's place - our Sunday family lunch.  Yum!


More food:
A spot next to the Taipei temple.  They give you free bananas after the meal.  Funny.




We took a vacation out to the country side where my dad booked one night at a "hot spring hotel".  This was also one of Taisei's favorite memories.  Definitely one of mine as well.  This town is called Yilan, Jiaoxi (宜蘭縣 , 礁溪).  Here's the hotel.




Taisei's most favorite thing was when we borrowed bikes from the hotel and rode around the area.


Another memory he had was of finding one of these beetles on a hike in the mountains.  He had been wanting one the whole time he was in Japan.  Too bad we couldn't keep it.



Wow, turns out we have a lot of pictures from Taiwan, so I'm going to take a break.  More next time!