Taiwan Trip:
Day 1 (Friday & Saturday): Flight. It was a long trip to
Taiwan. We started off the trip with a little scare. Our flight was on United
and the first leg was from Atlanta to San Francisco. The second leg (after a 4 hours layover) was from San Francisco to
Taipei. We had the Uber driver take us to the International terminal only to
find that United didn’t have a desk at the international terminal and we had to
see and agent for check in because of Way Joe’s greencard status. We had to
catch the shuttle to the domestic terminal (the driver was appropriately
hurried when we told him we were in a rush to catch our flight) and made the
flight with a couple minutes to spare.
In San Francisco, we knew our check baggage would make it to
the connection so we took our carry on and dropped in at CrossFit Marvelous
Performance near the airport. We couldn’t make a class but they let us workout
at the open gym. We showered and headed back to the airport. The plane we
initially boarded would’ve had it maiden flight but there was an issue with it
before we even took off. We had to deplane and wait for another plane to board.
At the airport I exchange money (later learned it was Thailand baht, not
Taiwanese NT) and we grabbed some food. When left after a 4 hour delay.
We were supposed to land in Taipei around 6:30 PM with
plenty of time to reach our hotel and grab some dinner. With the delay, we
landed around 10 PM and with the train ride (Had to exchange money a second
time), taxi to hotel (since it was pouring rain) we didn’t get to our room
until around 11:30 PM. The City Inn II hotel had wonderful staff, snacks, and
free laundry so it was a good pleasant first night sleep. We lost 12 hours so
we took off at 7 AM Friday time in Atlanta, and landed at 10 PM Saturday time
in Taipei.
Day 2 (Sunday): Way Joe and I went to breakfast down the
street from the hotel. It was a rainy day and we waffled on buying an umbrella
the whole morning, but decided to tough it out. We had my favorite Chinese breakfast
of fried crullers dipped in soy milk with friend egg sandwiches. We then headed off to the metro station and
took the train to Mao Kong mountain gondola. We stopped off at the top where I
got some bubble tea and Alishan tea. It was rainy so we hurried back to the
gondola. We stopped at the Zhinan Temple station. We walked around 2 of the
temples (getting lost while trying to reach the “third one” we never found). By
the time we got back on the gondola and rode the train all the way back to the
hotel, Alvin and Christina were in town.
We met up with them at the City Inn Hotel, along with Chris
(the german). We got back on the train (now discovering the hotel lent out
umbrellas) and headed to Lunch at Da Tai Fung at Dongmen station off the red
line. While we were waiting, we went down the street for some scallion pancakes
and mango shaved ice. After lunch Alvin,
Way Joe and I split off and dropped in at Boom Fitness. We met Anya Chuang and
Jason Liu who coach there. We lifted then did a partner workout with Anya. We
went back to the hotel to shower and meet up for dinner. We met up with a much
bigger group at the Shilin Night Market. We ate dinner at the food stalls and
walked around until we were tired.
Day 3 (Monday): We got up and went back to the yummy
breakfast place. We met up with Rob, Kate, Katie Kim, Mac, and Pam. After wards
we met the full group and Gordan (the awesome tour guide) at Taipei Main
Station. We hopped on a train to head to Taroko National Park. We
stopped at 7 Star beach for some rock skipping and pictures. We then went on a
hike up A BUNCH of stairs which ended in a stand of trees. The view of the
gorge on the way up was gorgeous (get it? 😊). We then went to our aboriginal hotel for
dinner and a show. The show was super long and by the time it was over, we were
ready for bed.
Day 4 (Tuesday): We had breakfast at the hotel then headed
back on the bus. We stopped by the Qingshui Cliff (清水斷崖) Observatory
before the long drive (with lots of singing) to lunch where we picked up some
more people. We then took a short drive to Ka Va Lan whiskey distillery. Unsurprisingly
we spent more time at the distillery then planned but still had time for making
scallion cakes. They put us in rain boots and hats and we went off to pick
onions. After “making” and cooking the tasty scallion cakes, we headed to our
hot springs hotel. We all went to the hot springs for an hour before heading to
dinner. We drank bubble tea and ate at a stall on the main street. On the way
back we got our feet nibbled on while we drank beer.
Day 5 (Wednesday): We started the day in the Shifen Area
where we hiked to the widest waterfall in Taiwan and bought yummy “melt in your
mouth” meat. We then released huge sky lanterns. We headed to Jiufen Old Street
for some yummy lunch, desserts (including spiked coffee for Way Joe), and souvenir
shopping. We finished the tour with Gordan at the gold museum where we touched
a huge block of gold and walked through one of the tunnels where gold was
mined. We took a taxi to the Marriott where we checked in then went to the mall
for dinner. We finished the night at a beer pong bar where Khelpi and I crushed
all the other teams 3-0 before switching over to flip cup. We stayed until we
got cut off at midnight with the bar shutting down.
Day 6 (Thursday): I woke up to find out I was pregnant! I
was so worried after having just went out the night before, but Way Joe was
excited and reassuring. It was bachelorette party day so I told Alvin and
Christina so they wouldn’t think I wasn’t celebrating with them when I stopped
drinking. We went to dress fitting in the morning. We then met up at the grand
hotel for lunch with the guys. We all headed to Villa 32 where we enjoyed the
best (naked) hot springs all afternoon. We all got in cars and headed to Memory
Lane Japanese Bar for a yummy dinner (and LOTS of drinks all around).
Day 7 (Friday): We met up with Andy, Lisa, Rob, and Kate for
breakfast near the Marriott. Andy, Lisa, Way Joe and I then took a nice hike up
the mountain near the hotel Jinmianshan Trail. When we got back, we met
up with Rob and Kate and went back to the Dongmen station Da Tai Fung, scallion
pancakes, and mango shave ice. We then took a train to the National Palace.
After 3 hours looking around (switching benches) and seeing the jade cabbage,
we went back to the hotel for a quick nap. We got up since we had planned a karaoke
event at 7:30 PM. We thought 6 people might come but it ended up growing to 22
people. We staying for 3 hours and went home to pass out.
Day 8 (Saturday): We woke up and since Way Joe realized he
didn’t bring his shirt, he and Rob ran around town to shop for a new shirt
while Kate and I went to “order” breakfast. We met up with the bridesmaids for
hair and makeup in the morning. We then went back to the hotel to change and
start the “games”. We had 6 challenges: Popping balloons, asking questions or
yoga poses, getting grapes our of cold water with their toes, Swinging a mint
from their hips, passing a hard boiled egg, proclaiming love for Christina. We
then went for pictures, dinner, and reception at the top of the hotel. We went
to bed around 11 to get up early the next day to fly home. We had no hiccups
going home and we even had Rob and Kate for company the whole way back!
