This was a big trip for me since I haven’t been back to Taiwan since I left 17 years ago (Dec. 1991)!  I have now spent more than half of my life in countries other than Taiwan, but still, it feels like it’s the original home.

I am going to do the trip recaps in parts since there are just so much.  I’ll get started.

Let me first say that traveling with a 1.5-year-old on a 14 hour flight is just no fun at all, especially when there are some open seats at the back and the flight attendant kindly asked the person next to us if they wanted to switch to give us more room and THEY SAID NO!!!  ON BOTH FLIGHTS!  THANKS A LOT BUTTHOLES GUYS!!!

It was another hour ride from the airport to home, and on the way you can see lots of new moderm buildings mixed with many old old ones while the streets are just as crowded as ever.  The street where our home is on hasn’t changed much though.  Check out just how narrow it is, with both sides packed with bikes and cars!  My dad’s car barely fits though.  I still remember playing on this street when I was a kid – it felt much wider then, it probably didn’t have all the parked cars. Driving in Taiwan, in most cases, is not very convenient – just try to find parking when you get to your destinations…
Walking around the neighborhood you still see lots of street venders that I thought would surely be gone by now.  The funky smell sure brings back memories.  We got some sweet treats 1st night.  We liked their chewy taro stuff.

Parents took us to a popular restaurant for lunch on the 2nd day.  Good thing we went early, it was packed!

There was a flower fair at the park near the restaurant.  Check out the 2-old-guy band… and the girl who was playing music using a saw!?  She was quite good!

Dad got Lorelai a Hello-Kitty figure, and Lorelai checks out kids catching fish.