Perkins Penang Adventure: Taiwan

We spent Thanksgiving week in Taiwan, visiting family and exploring. What a great time we had! My mom and Mike flew over from Arizona, as well as my Aunt Helen and Uncle Zenja from California. It was great to see some family from back home. The boys were finally able to meet their great-grandma and great uncle, not to mention the numerous other family they were introduced to.

We spent the first few nights at my grandma's house in Hsin-chu, where my mom grew up. Boy has it changed in the 24 years since I was last there! We met up with my mom's elementary school teacher one day and walked around Hsin-chu for several hours. The highlight was touring my mom's elementary school with her and her teacher.

The next day we went to the zoo. Although it was raining pretty hard, we still had a good time. We spent most of our time at the panda bear exhibit. We happened to be there at feeding time and it was quite something to see. After the zoo, we took a gondola ride to the top of a hill/mountain. The scenery was beautiful and we got to have some good local eats at the top. Josh was able to try the infamous "stinky tofu" which he claims is comparable to dog food. We finished the day at the Palace Museum, which was filled with gorgeous exhibits that I'm sure we would have enjoyed if given the chance. However, two tired boys made the experience very limiting.

The next day we went to an amusement park I remember from my childhood that has miniature villages with replicas from all over the world (Europe, Asia, America, etc). There were plenty of rides for little kids which thrilled the boys. We finished the day visiting family in Taipei and going to a night market filled with yummy local foods.

On Friday, we went to Taipei 101, the 2nd tallest building in the world. It is 101 stories and they allow you to go up to the 90th floor. The most amazing part of the experience was how fast the elevator takes you up. We reached the 89th floor in about 10-15 seconds and it was a very smooth ride. We finished the day having a lovely dinner with more family in Taipei.

On our final day, we took the bus back to Hsin-chu and spent more time with my grandma. We had lunch at the university that is within walking distance of her house. It has a beautiful campus with lots of grassy areas and a large lake in the middle.

We packed a lot in to our time in Taiwan, but the best part was getting to visit with our family. There were constant smiles and laughter and we will always cherish the memories. I am so happy that my kids were able to see this part of their heritage.