Day 12: Let's Talk About Taiwan Transportation

Today was an easy-going day with nothing much to report, so let's talk about transportation in Taiwan!

It's about a 1/2 mile walk from our apartment to school.  With the 2 drop-off times and pick-up, I walk 3 miles....AT LEAST.  This doesn't include all the other walking we do when we go somewhere after school, etc.  City life is so different from suburban life.  We walk all the time.  Rain...

or shine...

Luckily, the public transportation in Taipei is awesome.  There are 3 kinds of trains here: the mass rapid transit (MRT) for the main part of Taipei, TRA local trains (for towns all around Taiwan), and the High Speed Rail (HSR) that runs from the Taipei area to the southern town of Kaoshung.

The MRT is what we ride every day for outings.  It's similar to the subway system in NYC (you can get in and out with the use of an Easy Card), but completely different in so many ways.

1. There is no eating or drinking allowed once you swipe past the turnstiles.  It seems inconvenient at times (when little ones are hungry), but it's what keeps the MRT so clean.  It's amazing how clean it is.  And there are no funky smells or sticky spots anywhere!!

2. When going on the escalator to/from the platform, you stand on the right.  If you need to rush by, you use the left hand side.

3. When you are waiting to get onto the MRT, you have to wait in line.  Lines are marked with paint on the ground.  You also allow people to exit the MRT before boarding yourself.  I found it so impressive that people really wait in these queues marked by paint on the ground.  I feel like in the US, people would care less about painted lines.

4. There really isn't much loud talking on the MRT.  For the most part, passengers are looking at their phones, but most don't talk on their phones...and if they do, they do it quietly.  (Although I heard that in Japan it's SUPER EXTRA quiet on the trains, even during rush hour.)

5. There are priority seats near the doors (that are dark blue) for pregnant women, elderly people, handicapped people, and passengers with children.  People are SO nice about letting my parents and my kids have seats (not just the priority seats).  98% of the time, when Eulee walks into a full car, someone gets up to let her have the seat.  It amazes me time and time again.

It seems like there are a lot of rules, but these rules help make the MRT enjoyable!  The kids really love it.  They love that they carry their own Easy Cards clipped to their clothes and that they can swipe in and out by themselves.  Many of the stations also have special stamps that you can stamp into a notebook.  My kids just discovered this halfway through the trip and have started trying to collect the stamps as they go.

With that said, the disadvantage of using the MRT is that there is no door-to-door service.  Our closest station is less than 10 minutes away, but in the humidity or after a long day, it seems like very far away.  Ha!  And sometimes there can be lots of seats available...

and other times, you're in rush-hour traffic and it's jammed packed inside...

We rode the TRA train to Hualien (Day 3) and they are regular trains that allow eating and drinking.  They are still kept very clean.  The thing with the local trains though is that they can get full.  So sometimes, you run into situations where you are tired and hot, but you have to stand or you have to share seats with your cousins (like when we came back from Ying Ge)....

We have also taken the HSR to go down to Yunlin to visit my uncle and to Taichung to visit my cousin.  The HSR is SO fast, smooth, clean, and convenient.  Eating and drinking are allowed as well, but it is still well-maintained and clean.  You really don't feel like you're going 185 mph...it's a really nice, comfy ride!

We've also taken the bus around town as well.  The bus is better at getting you door-to-door, but it also gets caught in traffic.  We've only taken the bus during off hours, so it's been very timely and a good experience.

Most people here ride mopeds around town since they are cheaper and easier to park.  The kids are always amazed at the number of mopeds zoom during rush hour traffic.  It's a sight to see!

Luckily, Eli caught a ride with my cousin BY when we were visiting him in Taichung.  People also use bicycles and electric bicycles.  When you're walking on the sidewalk, there's always a lane (designated and non-designated) for bicycles, so pedestrians have to be mindful of that.  The kids got rides on an electric bicycle with BY and B while we were visiting my uncle in Taishi.  It was especially fun because Taishi is in the country, so you can ride around without any rules.  They loved it!

We love all the different means of transportation in Taiwan and Taipei.  It's such a fun way for my kids to get around town.  We like the convenience of having a car back home (especially for grocery shopping and for when you're feeling just plain lazy or tired),

but it's nice to be able to hop on and off everywhere these days.

Days 10 & 11: Weekend in Taishi & Beigang

We went down to Taishi to visit my uncle by taking the High Speed Rail (HSR) down to Yunlin.  The HSR ride was so smooth.  You couldn't even tell that we were going 200mph!

My cousin (BY) and his family drove in as well to spend time with us, too.  Taishi is a very rural town, so there wasn't going to be much to do, but it's a must for us when we visit Taiwan because it's where my dad is from.

My uncle owns ponds that have little clams and shrimp in them.  He harvests them to sell, so we knew Eli would definitely want to check it out.

While we were there, we visited my aunt (Ama's sister) and uncle in the town of Beigang.  Their home is seriously a historical museum.  It was passed down from my uncle's great-great grandfather who was a high military official.  Everything is made of cement and the center of the house has an outdoor courtyard....like the kinds you see when you watch olden-day Chinese movies.  Take a look..

The front door...

 The courtyard...

 The kitchen...

 The door to the toilet...

This place is pretty amazing when you think about it.  It's also amazing that my aunt and uncle still live here.  They love it!

Whenever my mom visits Taiwan, she loves to get her hair washed at the salon.  It's so cheap and besides washing your hair, they also give you a head, neck and shoulder massage.  It's AWESOME!  We decided to share this with Elina so that she could try it out...WOW...she did not enjoy a single minute of it.  She thought it hurt and was too scratchy and too long.  Kids...

The next day we went to the pond and rode my uncle's "fancy" boat.  This boat is mainly used for feeding the clams and fish.  My uncle said it's "fancy" because most people don't have these boats.  Without the boat, people need to wear waders into the ponds to scatter the food.  The boat looked like PVC pipes tied together with a wooden chair placed on top for the driver.  Then we put some little stools on top and we had a place to sit.  Fancy!  Eli had so much steering and we loved watching the milk fish jump out of the water.  It was really fun!

Then the kids also caught a few shrimp from the shore.  What a morning!

We stopped to visit the family temple...then after a yummy lunch, we headed back onto an HSR back towards Taipei.   What a fun, laid-back weekend with family!

Tomorrow B and Agong leave to go back to Texas.  We are all so bummed, especially Eulee.  She shed some major tears when it was time to say goodbye tonight.  She loves her Daddy.  B is leaving early in the morning and Eulee said, "Wake me up so I can say 'bye' to Daddy."  Elina, on the other hand, said, "Please don't wake me up in the morning."  Ha!  These kids are so different!

Well, now we're going to have to explore on our own.  We sure will miss B!  This guy with his favorite noodles from down the block... wish he could stay with us!

Day 9: Ichiran & Ximending

While the big kids were in school, the adults and Eulee went to check out a ramen place called Ichican.  This restaurant is from Japan (my parents ate there last year), so it's the real deal so the line can be ridiculous.  This particular store is open 24 hours a day!  What???

We got in line and waited...and waited.  It actually took awhile.

When we finally got seated, it was such a neat experience!  You sit down and it's like you are in you're own private cubby.  There's a wall to the left and one to the right.  These are called Flavor Concentration Booths...you're alone so you can concentrate on the flavor.  Intense, right?

In front of you, there is another wall with a little opening covered with a curtain.  There's also a handy water faucet next to you with a small cup in case you need water.  You fill out the provided order form.  Then the "waiter" lifts up the curtain, takes your form, confirms your order, and puts down the curtain.  A little while later, the curtain is lifted and your bowl of ramen appears before you.

I really didn't know what to expect.  Was it all hype?  Was the line really worth it?

Ummmmm...actually, IT WAS WORTH IT!  The ramen and soup were all so yummy.  I had Eulee share with me and she ended up eating most of it!  She said it was the best noodle soup she's ever eaten.  After this day, she kept asking if we were going back.  Wow.

For our after school activity, we took the kids to Ximending.  This area is as bright as Times Square and filled with lots of shopping, eating, and entertainment.

We got the best egg tarts at KFC here.  I've been on the search for the best egg tarts because they're my favorite dessert.  These are definitely the best I've had so far.  Eli totally agreed!

After walking around for awhile, we ended the night with a trip to have shaved ice.  Customers could write their names all over the walls, which the kids loved doing.  And the shaved ice dishes that we got were all so yummy!  Matcha, mango, red bean, bananas...you name it, we probably got it.

Another great day of food!