Shilin' on a Sunday

We usually find excuses not to go to mass when we travel but on this particular trip, we found the time to fulfill our Sunday obligation. Lucky for us, Alicia researched in advance for the directions to the Don Bosco Church. We arrived early for the 1030am mass and so we had to wait downstairs. No problem! The great thing about Don Bosco is that it had a huge covered playground where the kids could run around and we were even served coffee while waiting. The priest that celebrated the mass was Filipino and the whole choir was comprised of Filipinos as well. In fact, they even sang a Filipino Christmas Carol at the end of the mass (Christmas Carol??!! I know, I know, it's March and I'm still working on this damn post).






For lunch today, Alicia picked the restaurant which she thought best suited the requirements of Dad's craving for Hong Kong Dimsum. So even if we had to wait an hour to get two tables for our group, we persevered! Yes we complained, groaned, whined, pleaded and even threatened the head waiter with our vicious glares but we never left the Citystar 24HR HK Style Restaurant. For my impatient and always hungry family, that was indeed a feat! What a good decision that turned out to be! The food was absolutely divine! They had the best rice noodles and their spring rolls were to die for! Annika often brags that she ate 4 bowls of pancit canton in Taipei (as in, that is her best memory of Taipei!). This is the exact resto she ate it at.





To work off all the calories gained during lunch, we decided to indulge in some retail therapy. After being a virgin in KL last October 2008, I am now officially a certified Ikea junkie. Alicia led us to the Asiaworld Mall which houses both the Ikea store and Toys R'Us (something for the whole family! hahahaha!). The building was said to have been owned by a wealthy Chinese family in Manila whose last name escapes me. The mall is in the vicinity of the Taipei Arena, the site of the 2009 Deaf Olympics. We spent the whole afternoon in that mall. My kids are the best! They did not complain one bit. Hubby too! Siya pala yung talo dito because not one store was for him.


The hotel was a walk away but with numerous shopping bags in tow (naks), we decided to take the bus instead. So we took No. 307 back to Fullerton to drop off our goodies. As soon as we got in, we gave the children a bath, bought them dinner then made the necessary deposit to their grandparents room in preparation for the ultimate night market.


The Shilin Night Market is the first and foremost among all night markets in Taipei. It boasts of the most variety in tastes and products. The crowds are humungous, they have shops and stalls as far as the eye can see and the train stop is right in the middle of it all. How convenient! I am going to make the pictures speak for themselves. Feast your eyes on this!
















Everywhere you looked, there were people and there was food! It was absolutely chaotic to see so many things going on at the same time. We really had to control our urge to try everything! On this particular food trip though, we gave in to our crazy side and tried the infamous stinky tofu upon the insistent prodding of Alicia. Not only is the smell overwhelming, the taste just takes over you! I don't mean to offend the Taiwanese people because the stinky tofu is a delicacy and considered normal food for them but it's just not for me. After trying the tofu, I needed one whole fruit shake to drown out the taste it left in my mouth. Let's just say I won't be trying it again anytime soon.





The sad thing is we didn't even reach the actual market where the clothes, shoes and other retail items were! Hanggang food stalls lang kami. We gave up because of the sheer number of people at Shilin (braving ba naman this area on a Sunday!). We didn't feel like we missed out on anything though. Shopping wasn't really in the agenda that evening. Then again, so was having a massage! But this was just too hard to resist. Aaaahh! Relief!

Alicia to the Rescue

Joan's sister, Marjorie, lived in Taipei for a decade or so and this was initially the reason we chose to go there. We figured we had a local that could guide us to the best places to visit, best places to eat, could be our translator, etc etc. Imagine my shock when in June 2008, Joan tells me that Marjorie is back in Manila for good. Patay, sira ang masterplan. What I didn't know was that Joan had a back-up plan which she didn't reveal to us until Day 2 in Taipei (cue in music from Bobby Chinn's resto---please refer to Hanoi posts).



Alicia (seen in this picture, extreme right) is Marjorie's best gal pal and fellow 'local' who has been in the country for 20 years now. She is a doctor who just happened to be on her day-off. She actually offered to take our group of 20 plus members around the city. WHAT? This lady who we had never met would actually offer to take on our noisy, loud, not very obedient and crazy group? Oh my. I prayed that Alicia and Marjorie already had a strong enough bond that would keep them together even after a whole day with us. Heehee.



I don't even know what I was worried about! Alicia skillfully guided our group from the hotel to the bus station to the railway station to our first destination with hardly any hitches. She was extremely patient especially when my Dad wanted to buy snacks at the sushi bar barely an hour into our tour. Heehee. It also helped that KB was able to get us Easycards to use on the bus and on the subway. Swipe ka lang ng swipe. We really felt like locals---it was a great experience! I was so thankful I didn't book a tour bus the day earlier.




Our first stop was the Chang Kai-shek Memorial Park. As far as I was concerned, CKS was a school in Manila where all the Genuine Chinese (as opposed to Greenhills Chinese) send their children to. A lot I know!

CKS is a well-loved and revered individual who fled to Taiwan after he lost the battle against the Chinese Communist Party in mainland China. The park, which is named after him, houses the National Concert Hall, the National Theater, Liberty Square, gardens all around and the CKS Memorial Hall. The complex was built to express their highest respect for the fallen leader. As I stepped out of the subway and into the middle of this massive park, I couldn't help but feel like maybe I was in Beijing. Yes, yes, I've never been to Tiananmen so what do I know! Wala lang. Feeling ko lang nasa Tiananmen Square ako. The sprawling area is very wide and grand and you feel so serene just standing there. The kids were running around, enjoying the sun and the cool breeze. They even made it up the steps to the statue of CKS while I stayed at the park just enjoying the peace and quiet. I loved being there! We all disbursed and were enjoying different parts of the park until Dad started hollering na gutom na daw siya!




As mentioned earlier, Dad is a lazybone so we ended up eating at the restaurant housed at the National Theater. Buffet nanaman! Woohoo!

We literally had to roll ourselves out, into the bus so that we could head on over to our next destination for some retail therapy!




Reymond (also known as Lance) had a field day at the Giant Bike Store. He literally spent the whole afternoon just looking at every piece of equipment that was for sale in that store. I would later find out that the brand Giant originated from Taiwan. Sus! Kaya naman pala every other corner, may Giant store. And Reymond wanted to go in each and every one of them! The ladies, on the other hand, literally lost themselves at the Jade Market. They were having so much fun that they forgot about our 4pm meeting at the bus stop. I'm sure influence ni Mom 'to! Dad and Annika and the rest of us were left waiting in vain so we finally decided to take the bus to Taipei 101 and just wait for them there.




Just like Paris' s Eiffel, NY's Empire and KL's Petronas, the Taipei 101 has now become the national symbol of the city. This remarkable building is still considered the highest in the world but will be overtaken by the Burj Dubai later this year. The building was accomplished in 2003. It is 101 stories high (duh) and measures 508m. WOW.
The exterior design of the building was patterned after a bamboo pole. The bamboo joints have a Chinese metaphor which means going up step by step. Taipei 101 combines this with fashionable originality and modern technology and what you get is an iconic building that has become known worldwide.

Just like Petronas, the first few floors are reserved for shopping and restaurants. The rest of the floors are used as office space. On the 88th floor, there is an observatory deck that is open to the public where you can get a great view of the city. It doesn't come for free though! The tickets are for sale on the 8th floor and unlike Petronas, the tickets are unlimited and you can get them anytime before 8pm.





Day turned into night inside Taipei 101. Since we are true blue cheapos, we insisted on taking the bus back to Fullerton instead of just taking a cab. After numerous rides, a missed bus stop and maybe a 200 meter walk, we finally made it back to the hotel. No more strength to go far for dinner. We went back to the same dark alley behind the hotel and went for the only restaurant open---an Italian place that did not allow sharing between guests. And hindi pwedeng salad or soup lang, dapat may main course. Did that deter us? Of course not! Pinatulan pa rin namin! Patawa talaga kami.

Why Taipei?

Why not! I had half a dozen people ask me why my family chose Taiwan as the destination for our annual Christmas Vacation. My simple reply is because we've never been there. As a family, we like to explore places we've never been to so that we can have a unique experience to share amongst ourselves. And more often than not, we really end up having experiences that are truly unique and weird and funny and one of a kind. That is the Valdez phenomenon.

My adventure begins at Terminal 2 as I was slipping my knee high boots back on after going through the xray machines. As I look up, I see a family of 4 staring straight at me, smiling and waving. It took maybe 2 seconds for me to realize that it was the whole family of my ex-boyfriend at the airport. I was obviously very self conscious and shocked to be in that situation. I snapped out of it quickly and grabbed my 2 daughters to greet them. Just then, my ex was also walking back to his family to join them. After exchanging pleasantries and introducing my angels, I wore a content grin on my face with thoughts of Maja flooding in. I give my buddy so much flak for always bugging me to dress up and put make-up and although I don't usually listen to her, on that precise morning, I was glad I was looking my best at 7:30 am. Hey, but don't get me wrong ha! Me and my ex are great friends and past is past noh! But you always want to look your best and at that moment, I'm glad I didn't give him the opportunity to say---mukhang losyang ang ex ko! Hahahahah!

Anyway, this is supposed to be a Taipei post! To continue, my first apprehension upon arriving in Taipei is the hotel I chose for the family. Last year in Shanghai was a nightmare for me and I still can't get rid of the evil glares thrown my way all throughout our Shanghai vacation. Thankfully this year, God was kind and he guided me in choosing the Taipei Fullerton East Hotel on Nanjing East Road.

The hotel used to be known as the Crowne Plaza Hotel and it is right smack in the middle of everything! I'm serious! We had great location. We were near the buses, the restaurants, the malls, the night markets---ok, I'm getting flashbacks again of Shanghai and this is the reason I sound so enthusiastic! I was just so happy to be in the middle of civilization. And although I have no picture of our room, let me just tell you, my daughters started calling it home! Hahahahaha! Very spacious, clean and we were all right next to one another. After unpacking and resting a bit, we all assembled in the lobby to have lunch at a nearby restaurant.



KB initially wanted us to try a local place that served ostrich meat but after walking 5 blocks, we found out that the restaurant had already closed down. We were on our way back to Fullerton thinking we would be stuck with the hotel buffet for lunch when we chanced upon a restaurant serving shabu-shabu. We decided to give it a try and it turned out to be a winner!



Apparently, shabu-shabu in Taipei is like tapsilog in Manila. There is one in every corner! Although I am not very fond of anything shabu-shabu, the kids enjoyed the experience immensely. And everytime, we would run out of ingredients and condiments, the server continously reloaded our table. We didn't realize na mayroon palang buffet shabu-shabu! They were giving us crabs, squid, shrimps, dimsum, veggies, noodles etc. until we said surrender. In fact, even the tea and the soft serve ice cream were unlimited. I tried getting the name of the restaurant but it was in chinese characters (as with most of the restaurants here!). I just know it's around the corner from our hotel, on Keelong Road.

The afternoon was reserved for siesta and relaxing but by 6pm, kainan na ulit! Because Dad is a lazybone, he chose a restaurant behind our hotel. It was on a very dark alley but with a group of 20 or so, no one would dare bother us. Besides, it really felt safe! Anyway, we had typical chinese food and the boys had their local beer. Our new discovery on this trip is the oyster omelette which is supposed to be a local favorite. Ok lang, lasang omelette.

After depositing the kids to their nanny and grandparents, we wanted to explore Taipei at night so we had KB direct us to a night market 'nearby'.



Ito talagang si KB, mahilig mag-hiking!!!! The trek to Raohe Market took 45 minutes with numerous crossroads and alleys but we made it. We were greeted right away with the pungent scent of the infamous stinky tofu. It was overwhelming. I couldn't concentrate on anything because I wanted to get away from the scent ASAP. Really, it was all I could think of. I didn't even take any pictures at Raohe because I was busy avoiding the fumes. (The pictures shown here are courtesy of Reymond) KB, on the other hand, was very disappointed because he couldn't find a food stall that served beer. Tsk tsk.



Shown in the pictures above are the earmuffs my SsIL and I went crazy over. While Mom had bought mine for $10.00 in the US, the ones found here cost the equivalent of P150.00---different colors pa! We were ecstatic! (cheapos)

We ended up having our midnight snack at a restaurant at the end of Raohe, away from the stinky tofu. Of all the unusual 'snacks' we had, the best was the sausage Paolo bought from the roadside vendor. Excited si Pao, akala niya direct from Germany pa. The sausage turned out to be suman! Hahahahaha! It was sticky rice pretending to be a sausage. Reymond and the others just had a few bites but gave up on it. It was really funny!

Today was all about food --- we need to do some serious walking tom.!