Who would have guessed that Taiwan was the hidden jewel of Asia? Our family had so much fun! A quick hour and half plane ride and we were there. We stayed in an apartment so AC would have her own room and we wanted the home experience. The owner outdid himself with showing us how to get around Taipei to the sites we wanted to see and offered us help our entire stay. We went to the zoo and saw pandas, cougars, and a Monkey poo in his hand…and eat it! Then we took a gondola ride to the top of a mountain to have tea with the grower and maker of the tea. We went to night markets where we smelled things we never want to smell again and tasted things we wish we could have everyday! We had real ice cream made fresh right in front of us in a mixer with nitrogen smoking up the place for flare! We had a personal bath in hot springs water and visited the thermal valley that reminded me of Yellow Stones smoky stacks. An old man took time to play to Annabelle on his ancient wood flute. Then we saw the local elderly all sitting around on park tables playing some board game, smoking and laughing. We took an elevator ride up Taipei 101 to gaze upon the city at night. This is now the 2nd highest building in the world. We spent a long afternoon at BabyBoss where Annabelle was able to experience what is was like to be a fireman, nurse, car attendant, pizza chef (making a real pizza from scratch), and flight attendant. Although most instruction was given in another language, you could see the joy exuding from her eyes and face.
We visited the National Museum with a million of our Chinese friends, visited Chiang Keh Shek, watched the changing of the guard, and randomly came upon the memorial for the father of Democracy where we learned that he is the real beloved of Taiwan. So much so that he is the face on the 100 NT bill. We then went to Hualien via train where we spent our final 5 days exploring the gorge that was breathtaking even in the misty rain. We walked along the river, climbed to a waterfall temple, ate at the aboriginal restaurant, and marveled at the marble everywhere. We rented bikes and rode to an ecology park and around a lake…in the rain! We then walked through the old forestry center that was built by the Japanese to get the best wood shipped back to them. We road bikes through an animal farm in the midst and then had ice cream that had no milk in it at all. We found a Mexican restaurant run by a Taiwanese lady who lived in Mexico for 10 years and then ate at a steak place that was owned by a guy from Colorado (not on the same day…give us some credit!). We walked the streets of downtown Hualien on Chinese New Year day and enjoyed playing the random fair games that were set up.
Yeah, we DID a lot of things, but what sticks out to us are the people we met. From Gordon, who was the host of our apartment, to the random man who found us lost on the street looking to get a bus ticket to the airport on the last day, we were humbled by the kindness of the Taiwanese people and travelers. We met backpackers from Boston, talked to the restaurant owners for an hour, and met Swiss basketball players from China! Our taxi driver rode a bike with us at the farm to show us around, our other driver held an umbrella over us when the rain came down unexpectedly, and there was a lady who drove around in her car to help us find a certain place for us. There was the owner of the coffee stand who let Annabelle into her house to play with her nieces and the old lady that gave AC a treat when AC was not feeling well. We went to the same Starbucks each morning in Taipei making friends with the baristas who actually made it possible for us to get the last train tickets down to Hualien. As we were trying to by said tickets, another man saw us struggling and offered his help as he spoke perfect English.
I come home longing to give that kind of love and hospitality to people I see on the street. I often don’t want to take the time to help strangers, its not in my schedule. So sad! I pray that I can show the love of Christ to others I meet just as these strangers did to my family and me. I may not remember everything we did on this trip, but I will remember the people.