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.!
