Mama needed some rest and relaxation, so when Ashley told me about a special stay-for-one-night-get-the-next-night-free deal in one of the swankiest hot spring resorts in Jiaoxi, one of the rural townships within Yilan county, I jumped on it quick. Yilan is located on the northeastern part of Taiwan, an hour drive from Taipei. The influence […]
Jules
Day Trip to Jiufen & Keelung (and how we ran from the cops)
Yes, you’ll have to read to the end before finding out why and how we evaded the police. Our friends Ashley, Johnny and Alex invited us out for a day trip to Jiufen and Keelung, cities northeast of Taipei. Jiufen is one of the most picturesque spots in Taiwan with its red lantern strewn narrow […]
A Day Hike along the Bihu Trail (碧湖步道)
Wait, Judy, aren’t you the one who keeps complaining about the heat, but then you go on a day hike?? Umm, yes, but our friends, the Roy’s, are a very active family so any outing with them will involve some form of exercise, usually hiking. Jules and I braced ourselves for the usual onslaught of […]
Suho Paper Memorial Museum (樹火紀念紙博物館)
Philip, Jules and I visited this tiny treasure in Taipei back in 2018. The museum is named after Chen Su-Ho, the founder of the Chang Chuen Cotton Paper company, who died in an airplane crash in 1990. His dream was to establish a museum devoted to paper, so a private museum dedicated to paper in […]
Heping Island Park (和平島海濱公園) and how we almost got sent back to quarantine.
I’ve been trying to get creative in finding ways to entertain Jules during the soft lockdown here in Taiwan during the oppressively hot summer. Hey, kids, we’re not allowed to have more than four people in our home, but we have unrestricted access to air-conditioned mass transportation. You say train car, I say living room. […]
Zhong Zheng Riverside Biking
It’s been tough seeing family and friends due to the level 3 restrictions here in Taiwan, but we wanted to spend time with my cousin, Charles, and his kids before they move to New York in a week or so. So once again, Jules and I psyched ourselves up to be one with the heat […]
Treasure Hill Artist Village…again (寶藏巖)
Philip and I visited the Treasure Hill Artist Village, a collection of restored homes and artist studios that once housed military veterans in the late 40s, back in January 2018. Jules never had the chance to visit, so I thought it’d be fun to invite our friends, the Roy’s, along. Check out my blog post […]
Integrating Back into Society
After multiple loads of laundry, including all the sofa cushion covers, I felt ready to integrate back into society. We rang up our buddies, the Roy’s, from our days when we lived in Taiwan for a year and headed to our beloved Taiwan metro. In the metro, we were immediately struck by a sight we […]
Taipei Quarantine: Day 15
We waited nervously for the phone call that hopefully would never come after our COVID PCR test. A phone call from the Ministry of Health and Welfare by the next morning would mean we tested positive, so it was a bit dicey for a day. Thankfully, Ms. Liu told us two days later that we […]
Taipei Quarantine: Day 13
Judgment Day. Jules and I have nervously been awaiting this day where we get the phone call to tell us to go downstairs to hop aboard the COVID bus for our PCR test. If either of us tests positive, then we get shipped off to a government quarantine center for another 15 days. High stakes […]