Right after we arrived in Taiwan, GongGong and PoPo took us to the southern parts of Taiwan by car for three days. It was loads and loads of fun. Our travel freedom was only possible because GongGong and PoPo have a car.
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Our first stop at Sun Moon Lake where we stayed at Fleur de Chine Hotel (雲品酒店) in a Japanese-style room. It reminded Mommy and Daddy of the sea-side hotel they stayed at in Atami, Japan with wonderful ocean views. The view at Fleur de Chine Hotel was also spectacular as it sits right on the lake.
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I loved this hotel not only because they have a multi-level playground with an enormous ball pit…
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…but also because of the tatami-style flooring which the staff converted to a bed at night time.
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This meant that all 5 of us slept in a row and it was quite cozy. As PoPo said, she could hear three generations of snoring (GongGong, Daddy, and me). Yes, I have been known to snore when I am very tired.
Because this was a hot springs hotel, it had a very traditional onsen similar to the ones in Japan. I got to experience my first hot spring with GongGong and Daddy.
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The next night, we went to Kaoshiung were we stayed at a hotel located in the tallest building there. We visited the night market there, but it was only mediocre compared to ShiLin. While on the road, Daddy would read about different, famous local cuisine, so we ventured to all those places and tried:
– “Green bean garlic” which is actually a sweet dessert soup what was quite yummy. We all agreed the cold version is better than the hot version.
– Black bean tofu dessert which is also sweet, but make from black bean rather than the traditional soy bean. This was also quite good.
– “Coffin” toast which is thick toast with the top cut out like a coffin and stuffed with veggies/meat. It was surprisingly yummy too.
Further south near KenDing, we stayed at Mudan Hot Springs Hotel (牡丹風情溫泉行館) which was just as amazing as the first hotel.
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GongGong particularly like the egg-like pod on our balcony:
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We had two hot springs tubs in our room, one indoors and one outdoors.
The property also had multiple other hot baths with different therapies (egg, red wine, herbal, etc). Although not advertised at all, there is a pond of skin-eating fish which did magic to get rid of the callous on Mommy and Daddy’s feet. It’s amazing that such a therapy would cost $35 for 15 minutes at a local salon in Virginia, but it’s completely free and not even advertised at this hotel.
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The Mudan Hotel also had the best unassuming, homestyle food. They even prepared an entire tray of vegetarian food for Mommy.
While in the area, we visited the National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium and it was amazing. It is probably the nicest aquariums Mommy & Daddy have ever gone to, even more spectacular than the Baltimore Aquarium and Atlantis in the Bahamas. While there, I got to see feeding of penguins and sharks.
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The next day, we drove along the coast of Taiwan at KenDing and Mommy were Daddy were amazed that such scenery existed in Taiwan. It reminded them of the shoreline in California.
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I am still very much afraid of sand and I am not sure why. Maybe it’s because I don’t like things sticking to my skin and sand definitely sticks to my skin. My phobia really hasn’t improved since my first exposure to sand in the playground at Battery Park City. Mommy & Daddy are really hoping that I grow out of this because they both really love being at the beach.
We visited the Southern-most tip of Taiwan. GongGong says on a clear day, it’s possible to see the Phillippines from this site. It’s kind of like the Southern-most tip of Florida, where on a good day, it’s also possible to see Cuba.
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On our drive back to Taipei, we drove by a flower field and knowing my Daddy, we had to stop the car to take some photos. This scenery was so similar to the flower field we saw in Napa. Ordinarily, I love flowers, but in this case, I saw a bee up close and was scared. Daddy was able to get one good shot of me before I managed to make my way out of the flower field.
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We also drove past the town where 蓮霧 (wax apple in English) is grown. We bought some from a fruit stand on the side of the road (still with the leaves attached). It was by far the best tasting wax apple any of us had ever tasted.
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Thanks to GongGong and PoPo for taking us to see these lovely places!
