Our First Family Trip
Date: May 28 - May 31, 2009
Destination: Taidong, Taiwan
Daddy: 36 years old
Mommy: 36/37 years old
Peanut's gestation age: 6 months


We were on the road around 9AM. There was a bit of traffic right before the Xue-Shan (snow mountain) Tunnel. Daddy was like, "Uh-oh! This might take a while."




The traffic was not as bad as we anticipated. Soon we were on the Eastcoast Highway heading down south to Taidong.

We arrived around dinner time.


Breakfast at 7AM.

It was a bit overcast, but the sea breeze felt really good.




The sun came out around 8. Mommy was excited!

Today's itinerary: go north-bound and see what's there.




We found a small harbor off the side of the road, so we decided to check it out.




You don't know this yet, but daddy is a rock-climber. Naturally, he found these rocks irresistible, so off he went.

When I told a family of 3 that daddy was climbing those rocks, they didn't believe me at first. They were shocked to see your dad posing on the top of those rocks! We were very proud of daddy.


This was taken right before we were leaving the little harbor.

That's you inside my belly.





Then we arrived at Ba-Xian Dong, literal translation means Caves of the Eight Immortals.
There are more than 8 caves on the cliff, but only 6 were accessible on the day we visited due to falling rocks.




Goal: Go all the way up to the 6th cave, which is 120 meters off the ground.






We had to take a breather half way up....
You were kicking like crazy, totally energized by the oxygen in my blood.





It looked daunting at first, but we made it all the way.

I thought my right leg was gonna give out any moment on the way down. It was all shaky and weak.

Woke up in pain the next day... you'll understand when you grow up.





This is a place called San-Xian Tai (Platform of the Three Immortals).
The arched bridge is one of the landmarks of Taidong.





The sun was scourging hot at this point.
Daddy and I didn't want to be on the bridge with all the tourists, so we went to watch some people fishing on the rocks.




3PM is when all the fishing boats return. We thought it'd be cool to check out "catch of the day" at Xin-Gang Fish Market in a town called Cheng-Gong.



Look! The fish market is shaped like a ship.


















Daddy was all excited, walking around videotaping everything that was happening in the fish market. We got a video where daddy knocked on my belly to tell you to look at the fish. The interesting thing was that, though you had been quiet after the climb all afternoon, you started moving around right after daddy knocked on my belly.



Then daddy got some fresh sashimi. NT150 (US$5) for more than 20 thick pieces of tuna and sword fish. And he made me videotape him eating it... it was torturous! We'll upload the videos later.

The second day, we headed down south.


This is one of the scenic stops called the Stone Umbrella. See that piece of rock that looks kind of like a big mushroom in the back?

It really wasn't all that impressive if you ask me.




This hungry kitty came to me when we went to a coffee shop in Du-Lang.

The coffee shop is situated in the old Taidong Sugar Factory, which is now an artist village.




















We arrived at Shan-Yuan Beach around noon. Had lunch at a seaside B&B and spent some time in the water.

This was the day I turned 37 and daddy stayed at 36.


Wood carvings in the Bunon Aborigine Village.

I liked the fact that each of them looks different. The guy on the left wasn't paying attention, and the guy on the right was whistling. The guy in the middle was bored, I think.


We were heading to Hong-Yeh (Red Leaves) Village. Hong-Yeh became famous because of its Little League Baseball Team.

It was very fitting that daddy was wearing an Asian Baseball League T-shirt that day.







Daddy at Tropic of Cancer







Don't forget your shoes when you leave Taidong.

This is very fitting too 'cause you don't need your shoes when you're in Taidong.



Daddy and I are both ocean lovers, and Taidong has a beautiful coastline (and towering mountains and deep valleys). The people are loud and genuine; many of them were excited for us that there's a baby on the way. They also told us to go back with you next time.I think we should totally do that. In fact, we loved it there so much that we were trying to figure out if there'd be a way for us to live down here for a while after you're born. I think you'll love it too (though we'll have to slop a few coats of suntan lotion on you before we head outside).