Adventures in Taipei (Part I: 23 & 24 Dec 2007)

Clem and I loved free and easy trips. We were able to explore freely, take public transport, eat at small eateries and not rush through our activities. Especially more this time, cos with 2 kids, we preferred more flexibility.

When hearing that it was going to be cold and rainy in Taipei, my Assistant CEO's PA Vivian bought Verity a woolly pink shroud with matching hat, a purple sweater and a romper (she did the same when Cavan went to Korea in 2006). Aunt Judy also bought Verity a sweater.

Verity was quite cranky in the days leading up to the trip. Suspected teething. We found that she would forget to cry in the midst of her crankiness or hunger when there was a program on TV. So I borrowed Tze Wei's DVD player just in case she got cranky during the 4-hour flight (Jetstar does not have in-flight entertainment).

23 December 2007

Fair weather (17 deg C)

Thankfully, the kids were well behaved. Verity fell asleep before we took off. She woke up later to play a while before I nursed her for the remaining 2.5 hours (no kidding!).

Cavan was occupied with play-doh, a timely Christmas present from Aunt Yo, Uncle Bernard and Bernice.

We didn't make any prior airport transfer arrangements so we thought we'd get a cab. Someone came along and offered to take us to Wan Tai where we stayed at NT$1,200 (S$57). We agreed. On hindsight, we were so trusting! Lesson: Better make arrangements next time with a reliable provider.

The travelling time between C.K.S Airport to Songshan area was around 40-45 min.The driver couldn't find the hotel initially. Not surprising why cos when we got there, we found that it was not a stand-alone building but was part of a building, tucked in next to a convenience store.

Nevertheless, the service was good and the room was very spacious with clean toilets.
After check-in, we quickly went down to grab a bite. The good thing about the hotel was its location. Very near eateries, next to a 24-hour convenience store, in front of Wufenpu (a wholesale clothes and accessories market), 10 min walk to Raohe Night Market and 10-min walk to nearest metro station.

Ordered stewed meat rice for Clem and Cavan. Got gong wan soup (something like fishball but more chewy and delicous) and yi-mian for myself.

Cavan was taking a long time to feed and Verity was hungry by then. The young female boss asked if I brought Verity's milk out. Well, yes, the milk's in me. I forgot to bring my feeding shawl out. The boss was full of sympathy for Verity. (We later noticed that Taiwanese loved babies and Verity attracted all sorts of attention.)

We decided to pack Cavan's half eaten dinner and feed him at the hotel. After feeding the 2 kiddos, we explored Wufenpu at around 9.30pm, which was usually open till quite late.

We retired at around 11pm. The 4 of us squeezing (horizontally) into a queen-sized bed. Surprisingly, we still managed to get a good sleep. I guess we weren't the sort to toss and turn in our sleep. Except for Verity, whom I had to adjust her position throughout the night. Oh well, had to feed her at night anyway.

24 December 2007

Rainy (15 Deg C)

We made plans to go indoors when there was rain and venture out for occasional rain or fair weather. Today was expected to be rainy so we decided to go the Children's Museum of Taipei.
Buffet breakfast by the hotel consisted of rice, porridge and condiments. Our kind of food so we ignored the toast and others.

Had to find our way to the Metro station in the rainy weather. For the 1st few days, we travelled to Yong Chun station. Later we found that Houshanpi station was even nearer.

Cavan was put on the stroller with a rain shield. Verity was wrapped up in her sweater. Thanks to Evan's baby carrier, Verity was happy to snuggle against our body. She was so happy, she could look around as she wished and slept as she wished. We were also hands-free and that left us plenty of hands for shopping and eating. Happy baby, happy parents.

Only the Taiwanese weren't used to the idea. Is that how we carry babies in Singapore? Would Verity's crotch area be uncomfortable? Would her legs be deformed? Suddenly I felt like a bad parent. But that was how angmohs carry their kids, what. At most, we carry her when she sleeps lor.

We got down at the next station, City Hall station. We grabbed a bite cos it was Verity's feeding time. We tried to coordinate our meal times. Had zhajiangmian, beef noodles, egg tofu soup and steamed meat dumplings.

Walked around 10 mins and looked for Eslite, a 7-storey high bookstore. Children's Museum of Taipei was housed there. I was so impressed by Eslite! So many interesting books, mags, stationery and gifts! The children's section was even more elaborate, with painting lessons and craft sessions as well.

Paid NT$300 for Cavan and NT$200 each for us to get into the Children's Museum of Taipei. It wasn't really a museum, more of a theme land for kids to learn about science, geography, life skills through their hands.

Cavan enjoyed it thoroughly. There were so many things to explore and play!
We had dinner at the swanky foodcourt while Cavan napped. Clem and I shared this huge bowl of beef hotpot for NT$100.
I also indulged in Black as Chocolate's Dark Chocolate ice cream. It was very bittersweet but absolutely yummscious. The ice cream came in a gift box so pretty and cleverly designed. Before the ice cream was eaten, it was blackout. After we finished it, the bottom of the box wrote "Lights on". So funny!

It was Christmas Eve and there were performances at the Children's Dept by a church group so we stayed on to watch. They were distributing sweets and cookies to the shoppers to publicise the performance.

At the same time, took a few pics with the Christmas light up.

Made a final dash back to the hotel for Verity's next feed and packed dinner for Cavan. Couldn't believe we spent the whole day at Eslite! Pray that tomorrow's weather would be great!

Good night!