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On Wed (11/11), Badge picked me up directly from the Stone Brewery where I was drinking myself silly at a work function. We drove to LA where we met up with my mom for our 11pm flight. The 15 hours sucked pretty bad but was made bearable by the personal TVs with movies on demand and video games. I watched 500 Days of Summer and started Harry Potter but dozed off. We also watched a pretty awesome Japanese movie called Goemon but didn't get a chance to finish. Surprisingly, Malaysia airlines had pretty tasty food (considering it's airplane food) so that was another bonus. Because Taiwan is 16 hours ahead of the United States, we arrived on Friday at 7am.
Once in Taipei, we stopped for a breakfast of hot soy milk and various savory pastries (scallion was my favorite). Pleasantly full, we went back to my aunt's house where we greeted many family members. My cousin and her family live in the condo right next door to my aunt (plus my other cousin and his family were visiting to see us), so there was definitely no shortage of family members to see. For lunch, my aunt made beef noodle soup, another of my all time favorites mmmm. So good.
In the afternoon, we went to my cousin Hongwen's college so Badge could play basketball with a bunch of Asians. We took the subway home with my other cousin Ping who showed us the ropes on how to get around. Pretty straightforward. Child's play really when compared to the NYC Metro. Finally for dinner, we had our first of many hot pot dinners. Yum-o.
On Saturday, a group of us set forth to one of Beitou's public hot springs. On the way, we walked through Beitou farmer's market which was packed with people. We saw the usual Taiwan market sights: fresh seafood, various roasted meats, live chickens being slaughtered. My aunt bought me one of my favorite fruits which I never knew the english name for. Luckily a coworker has since seen my pic of this fruit on facebook and identified it for me: sugar apple. Love it. Here's one of my favorite pics of Badge with my second cousin Emma.
We also stopped by an aboriginal museum and a japanese residential landmark. The hot springs itself was interesting. Lots of older people lounging around, several of them doing callisthenics. Of course I was the only one wearing a bikini (note to self: bring one piece next time). Even though we soaked in one of the pools further down from the hot spring source, I was still sweating like a pig. Afterwards we went to a noodle shop at the top of the mountain that was tasty but not amazing (I demand amazing from every meal). Once home, my mom's oldest sister and her family came to visit from a different area of Taipei. After more greetings, Badge and I slipped away so I could drill him on Chinese phrases. For dinner, my aunt cooked drunken sesame noodle soup (with chicken). She must have dumped a whole bottle of rice wine in because it was STRONG. In fact, my mom got shitfaced and had to be carried to a bed. No joke. My cousin took a video to prove it. Must remind him to send it to me.
On Sun, all my family packed into two vehicles and drove to Kaoshiung (city on the otherside of the island) after lunch. It was a long drive so we got in just in time for dinner. Ate at a chinese restaurant that I found subpar by my amazing standard. Afterwards, we walked along Love River, a famous river in the city, and went back to another aunt's house to sleep. Photo op along the river below.
The next day, we went sightseeing at an old British consolate turned landmark and Green Island. I love the pic below I took of my uncle with his granddaughter while visiting a fort at Green Island. Many more pictures on picasa.
After eating lunch at a seafood restaurant, we piled into the cars and drove out to Yunlin country to visit the house where my mom grew up. My uncle has since renovated the house but the main structure was the same. Since we were staying for two days, Badge and I got assigned to the room where they used to kept the cow. Apparently cows were so priceless they had sleep in the house at night for fear of theft. Even the old pig pen was still there, though in shambles. That night, we drove to the nearby town of Beigang to eat dinner. My family went to a place with lots of misc meats (ahem pig's feet), which of course freaked Badge out, so we broke off to find our own dinner. Luckily we came across a spot with vegetable steamed buns and rice cakes. Once home, we went promptly to sleep on the world's hardest bed.
On Tues, Badge and I went for a joy ride on a super old scooter from the garage. During our jaunt in the country, we ran across an enormous ox hanging out in the fields.
That afternoon, my uncle hacked some of the sugar cake in the yard and squeezed some juice out for us to drink. We also went to a nearby plot owned by my uncle's friend to harvest peanuts. Who knew they grew in the ground like rhizomes? After dinner, we drank beer and played poker. We even found this hilarious old Stephen Chow movie I used to love called God of Cookery. So silly. So awesome.
On Wed, we drove home to Taipei after lunch. Again there was a lot of traffic so we didn't get in until dinner. The rest of the night was spent watching Badge play Resident Evil 5 on PS3. That takes us to about halfway through the trip. A part 2 post will follow shortly.
In the meantime, you can see many many...many pictures on picasa HERE.
YEAAHHHHHH!!!! Now, I want to see that scooter.