Air raid drill? Say, what?!? Luckily, Aunt Ivy had warned us ahead of time for the upcoming city-wide air raid drill today from 1:30-2PM, or else we would have looked like one of these hapless tourists being forced indoors by the heavy police presence today. Since 1978 Taiwan has held an annual air raid drill […]
China
China, Part VI: Xi’an (西安)
The last Xi’an post, I promise. We were not quite ready to leave this city, which we found to be friendlier than Beijing, more relaxed and its food tastier. For our last day, we spent the first part of the day at a quiet, privately-owned museum, the Tangbo Art Museum (唐博), housing Chinese folk art […]
China, Part V: Xi’an (西安)
Oh, no, I’m not even close with being done with Xi’an. In fact, I just checked plane tickets back to this city a few days ago, since I’m still thinking about all the food I didn’t have a chance to try. Yes, it was that good, and yes, I know what’s important in life. Being […]
China, Part IV: Xi’an (西安)
生日快樂, 小牛! Happy birthday, Jules! These were the first things Jules heard when he woke up this morning as an eight year old. He had his favorite breakfast of a croissant, yogurt, fruit and juice before heading to the city of Xi’an two hours away by bullet train. Since it was his birthday, there were […]
China, Part III: Dengfeng (登封)
Although not seen on more conventional China tourism itineraries, the city of Dengfeng was one of our must do’s in China since it houses the birthplace of Shaolin kung fu — Shaolin Temple. If you’re familiar with ‘Kung Fu Panda’ and know how much Jules loves the trilogy and martial arts, then you’ll know why […]
China, Part II: Luoyang 洛阳
This morning we set out southwest for the city of Luoyang, known as one of the cradles of Chinese civilization due to its historical significance, having been the capital of China back in the day. Despite an early train departure, it wasn’t hard to wake up Jules since he was psyched for his very first […]
China, Part I: Beijing 北京
China: our first international getaway since moving to Taiwan. What, isn’t Taiwan a part of China?? Well, my friends, I challenge any of you to spend a week in each region and then, you tell me if they’re the same country. First up, the big boy capital of China…Beijing. The last time I was in […]