We were supposed to go to Taroko Gorge after Taipei, but the weather was rubbish. So rather than go east, we went west to a smaller city outside of Taipei called Hsinchu. To get there, we took a high speed train. I simply can’t understand how the USA doesn’t have these amazing trains everywhere. Fast, efficient, convenient, and cheap.
Hsinchu was fine by any standards. We stayed in a pretty normal hotel that had a cool kids club. There was a giant swimming pool, kids water station, a million different water massagers, and saunas. Swim caps were mandatory. And hilarious. It was Keali’s first time to be in a locker room where the women walked around totally naked. Her reaction was pretty priceless. I didn’t take any pictures in the locker room. You’re welcome.
The hotel also had a kids jumpy and play room. The kids loved it. Scott and I just hung out, read, or played cards. Not very exciting but it was nice to be away from the loudness of Taipei. As an added bonus, Scott and I snuck down to the hotel bar for an entire hour of kid-free time. Magical.
The last night in Taiwan, we traveled back to Taoyuan which was near the airport. Since it was our last night, we went to one of the famous night markets. There was every kind of food one could possibly imagine there. Chicken feet, chicken testicles, unnamed or unrecognizable things, and virtually anything a person could want was available. We tasted tons of different food, but the favorites were an Indian wrap made with a fresh thrown tortilla, a French crepe like dessert, and some Thai eggrolls and a Thai sandwich bun. It was apparent that we were all so beyond done with the Chinese food. We are now trying to figure out if we really want to spend a month traveling through China…
Leaving Taiwan for Vietnam was an experience. We had to present paperwork at the front check in to show we had visas in order. They scanned our checked bags and then had us open them to show items like bug spray, batteries, etc. The experience made me really appreciate packing cubes. Once through that though, it was smooth sailing.