Our Trip to Taiwan - Day 4

We woke up on our fourth day in Taiwan refreshed and ready for whatever the touring plans the Kuo's had for us that day. As a side note, it was so nice not to plan anything! We literally got up in the morning and got into the car finding out what we would be seeing then. It was a different way than what I was used to traveling with (knowing the exact itinerary and plenty of information about the places we would be visiting) but the best way for me to travel as I spent most of my thinking on taking care of Abby.

This morning was our last morning at Tim's house as he was due to fly for the next four days (Tim's a pilot with EVA Airlines), so our hosts graciously put us up in a hotel in Taipei City so we wouldn't be stuck by ourselves with no transportation a half hour away from the city. The morning was spent trying to pack our bags up with a semblance or order. We were only staying in the hotel one night and then the following morning we were traveling for two days to a different part of Taiwan. Since we would be traveling by train we weren't able to (and truthfully didn't want to) take all of our luggage with us. So we tried to pack all of the things we'd need at the second hotel into one suitcase so that we could more easily manage things on the train. Confused? So was I! I kept asking Nate how many days we were staying in the new place, what days we would be there, when we'd leave, etc. With the time change, the travel changes, and the uproar of it all I just couldn't keep the info straight in my head.

Here's a view of all of the stuff we brought with us! Four adults and a baby needing a carseat make for a very full van!

After getting dropped off at the Royal Palace Hotel (and getting checked in, etc) we met up with Jane who would be our tour guide for the day. We found out that the MRT (Taipei's subway system) was literally across the street from our hotel and would be our main source of transportation for the day. Jane doesn't drive (and I totally agree with her reluctance as the traffic was crazy!) but rather takes the MRT everywhere since there are stops right by her juice shop and her house. Anyoo, Jane picked us up and we were off to our first stop the National Palace Museum where we met up with Jane's friend Jan who happens to currently live in the Seattle area. (Small world!) By the time we arrived it was pretty much lunchtime so we decided to grab a bite to eat before heading into the museum. There was a restaurant downstairs that had the best service. You barely had time to grab your chopsticks before the food was at your table. I once again had a sleeping Abby for the majority of the meal. I do remember, after the meal was over and we were getting ready to head into the museum, I wanted to change Abby. I figured I'd use my changing pad and just change her on the floor of the bathroom. Not the greatest place, I know, but I didn't want to change her in the middle of the restaurant. As I was walking with Abby and changing pad in hand towards the bathroom a waitress stopped me and, through Jane's helpful translations, made it known that she had a better place to take me for changing Abby. This included walking up four flights of stairs, at a pace that I'd consider halfway to a run, and entering a banquet room that had more glass and ceramics than I could count. All I could think about was that after the huffing and puffing of the stairs I was in no shape to run after Abby should she decide that "push over all the breakable stuff" would be her favorite game. Thankfully she didn't fuss a bit and I was thankful for the nice couch to change her instead of the yucky floor.

Eating lunch with the crew.

She's awake! We all get to eat, now. :-)

Mom getting her picture taken in an authentic replica of an old Taiwanese style stove.

The museum itself was pretty interesting. Sadly they didn't let us take any pictures inside (totally understandable considering these items were thousands of years old) but we were able to get postcards of the more famous items, such as the jade cabbage and the pillow made of marble in the shape of a sleeping baby. Abby did pretty good despite being stuck in her stroller the whole time. We definitely toured the artifacts faster than we would have had she not been there, though. Jane and Jan, having no desire to see the museum's goods for the billionth time, had us call them when we were finished touring so Abby got a chance to run off some energy on the museum's grounds while we were waiting for them to meet up with us. She had fun running around the concrete seats that were placed around some decorative plants (imagine a square where the seats are the square and the plants are inside) but also tried to sneak off into the parking lot a few times. Nate and I definitely kept a close eye on her. With stairs in multiple directions, a parking lot, and a balcony overlooking where the buses drove to pick-up and drop-off there were lots of places for disaster to happen.

A view of the museum.

Our group on our way out of the museum.  

Then Jane had us make our way to a park that was just down the street. We had some time to wait before our next stop at the Martyr's Shrine as we wanted to see the changing of the guard which occurred at specific times throughout the day. As we first walked up to the park I figured Abby would appreciate the grass to run on but then we turned the corner and saw the coolest thing. Slides! And not like slides we're used to either. These slides (and all the other slides we saw while in Taiwan) were made of cement! Looking at them you'd think that they'd be pretty rough and slow going but so not true! I took a slide down one and it was super smooth and also a pretty fast ride. When Abby first got to the slides she wanted a buddy to go with her (in this case Nate since I was taking pictures) but soon after she had the confidence to go down on her own.

First trip down the slide with Dad to make sure it wasn't too scary.

Yep, that smile says she definitely enjoyed the ride.

Then we were excited enough to go down on our own. She'd get so excited that she'd start to sit down and crawl backwards feet before she actually got to the slide.

Away she goes!

Totally having fun!

And then my little daredevil decided to go down headfirst! I was at the top as I'd tried to catch her before she slid down but she was slicker than snot. She ran up to the slide and pretty much took a running leap with her arms outstretched. Nate hustled over from the edge where he was standing to make sure she landed safely. Broken teeth or a busted up chin in a foreign country is not a good combination.

Then it was time to head over to the shrine. We took two taxis and I learned just how good of a driver Tim was. Granted our taxi was trying to stay with the other taxi in our group but we'd go from 0 to 60 in seconds and then back to 0 in milliseconds. I felt like a ping pong ball with how often I was jerked back and pushed forward. I also felt a bit like a bad parent as we just held Abby on our laps since we weren't able to bring our carseat with us. She totally enjoyed the freedom. Her parents did not. I checked Taiwanese laws about carseats before we left and it looks like just a few years ago they did make carseats for young kids "mandatory" but it's still taking a while for the new mindset to take hold so there weren't any issues with her not being in one.

Here's Abby "breaking the law, breaking the law" riding in a cab without her carseat. We kept one hand on her at all times to 1) keep her sitting and 2) keep her from flying into the front seat when the cab driver slammed on his breaks.

At the Martyr's Shrine.

In 2009 Nate and I took a trip to Washington, DC and got to experience the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Solders so I was curious to see how this changing of the guard would compare. Right off the bat there was a difference. Our Marines walk back and forth in front of the tombs while their guards stand at attention at the very front of the gate to the shrine and at the opening to the memorial, facing each other, and doing the 1000 yard stare into each others eyes. I was even told that they're trained not to blink! While I don't think there's zero blinking going I wouldn't be surprised if they blink much less than average. Attendants are also nearby to make sure people are respectful in voice and tone and don't heckle the soldiers. There are three different types of soldiers in Taiwan; air, land, and sea. I'm pretty sure we saw the Air Force soldiers here.

Standing at attention at the entrance to the shrine.

A view of the entrance gate from the inside.

The soldiers were so precise with their steps. They would bring their one knee up (as seen in the picture), pause for a second, next bring their leg down in front of them, then bring their other leg up into the raised knee position before finally setting it down. Their arms were up when their knee was up and down when the knee was down. They did this all the way from the entrance gate to the main part of the shrine. Then they performed the official change of the guard and the new guards walked in the same pattern back to the entrance gate to stand in their designated positions at attention.

There were two gentleman that walked alongside the soldiers to make sure that the crowd didn't get too close and to also remind people to be quiet as this was a solemn ceremony. The sign was written in Chinese, Japanese, and English. Unfortunately a group of ladies (whom we later learned from Jane were Korean) either didn't know what the sign said or didn't pay attention to it as they were laughing and talking loudly through pretty much the entire ceremony. Grrr. They definitely got a few evil eye glances. I greatly dislike people who don't show respect when respect is deserved.

The new guards have been picked up and everyone is heading back to the entrance gate.

After the changing of the guard ceremony we got to explore the Martyr's Shrine a bit more. There were temples dedicated to the gods to remember the soldiers, memorials for the soldiers and citizens who died in various wars, and an statues and pictures of the various men and women that fought for Taiwanese independence. Nate took Abby from me and told me to go enjoy exploring. As my Mom, Dad, and I were walking around I kept commenting on how peaceful it was. There was silence except for the birds chirping and the wind blowing, there was reverence in the memorials, and such beautiful sites in the architecture and grounds. I know that not having Abby really helped to create this sense of peacefulness but I still think that the grounds themselves were designed to provide reflection on life. It was a sweet walk.

Here was one of two temples dedicated to the gods. We weren't able to walk up to the top but we did get to walk around them.

The inside view of the Shrine. The architecture was very different from the European castles that I'm used to (having been on previous visits to Scotland, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, and the Czech Republic) but beautiful in their own way.

A view of the memorial to the soldiers who lost their lives. 

After we finished walking around the shrine it was dinnertime. The Kuo's did a great job making sure we got to eat a variety of Taiwanese restaurants while we were there and tonight's dinner was one of my favorites. At our table were eight set-in pots of boiling chicken broth. We then had a variety of raw, sliced meats, raw noodles, and raw vegetables brought to the table. Everyone grabbed their desired items off the communal plates and dropped them into their individual pots to cook. It was a neat way to serve the food! I've been told it's somewhat similar to The Melting Pot restaurant but as I've never been to that I don't know for sure.

A view of our table with the various trays of meat and vegetables and the boiling pots.

With all the boiling broth it got pretty hazy inside the restaurant. 

Nate grabbed a sleeping Abby from me so I could eat. I'm telling you, chop sticks with one hand is just crazy difficult!

The end of the dinner! Jan had to leave to go back to her own family so we were joined at dinner by Jane, Grace (Tim's sister/Jane's daughter), and two of Grace's friends whose names I can't remember. Sorry! 

Yes, more toilet pictures! Here the restaurant has an American style seated toilet but many more options to choose from.

A closer view of all the buttons! 

Abby slept the entire cab ride back to the hotel, she slept through changing her into her pajamas, she slept through being laid on the bed, slept through Nate and I watching a movie, slept through the night, and didn't wake up until 7am the next morning. Hallelujah!!!!!