March 2023 Taiwan Trip - Part 2

 Back in Taipei, we went out to another amazing restaurant with the aunts and uncles for lunch. This time it was a Chinese place with delicious Beijing duck.

For dinner it was to several places in another night market. 

We finally found some stinky tofu for the boys to try!

Brian found some Nike running shoes only available in Asia that he really wanted. So he went to several stores to find the best deal.

We found the best scallion pancakes!

The next day we got dressed up to go to the Taipei Temple! Daniel and Alice served the mission in the temple. We were excited to visit.

We got to go in and do baptisms for some family members that have passed on. It was a great experience!

Then, just across the street is the BEST beef noodle soup place on the planet. Timmy in particular loved it and ate two giant bowls!

And after the Niu Rou Mian, we found the best mango shaved ice yet! The food intake was getting a little ridiculous on the trip, but it was so much fun and so yummy!

On the way home from the temple, we decided to get Taiwan haircuts and head massages.

Here we are with our new Taiwan hairstyles. I didn't get my hair cut, but they did style it nice and poofy for me after my head massage.

Head messages weren't enough, so we went for some leg massages too.

One of my favorite things from the trip was watching Mark and the boys together. It was so fun to see them enjoying some of Mark's favorite foods and speaking Chinese and enjoying being together.

Brian tried out his new running shoes at the university track next to the hotel.

The three boys decided to race.

Brian smoked them of course! You can see Taipei 101 in the background.

It was back to the night market again for more amazing street food!

The next morning was rainy, but we needed to check out of the hotel and we weren't leaving until late in the evening.

We were able to leave our bags at the hotel and we headed out for one last Taiwan adventure.

We stayed in the same hotel that we have stayed on my other two trips to Taiwan. Walking these paths made me think of Daniel every day. This was a picture from our trip with Brian in 2010.

We road the metro all the way to Tamsui, a fisherman's wharf area with shops and more food! It was nice until it started raining too hard to enjoy much.

Timmy had gotten really good at darts at home and he won the dart game. Others enjoyed watching him pop those balloons!

After Tamsui we decided we needed to go to the beef noodle place one last time before leaving Taiwan. While we were eating, Mark jumped up and ran outside. He randomly saw one of his mission companions and his family walking by the restaurant. This family lives in Logan, Utah. They were visiting Taiwan. It was so fun to run into them so far away from Utah. We haven't seen them since our kids were babies. What a great way to end the most amazing trip! 

I am so grateful for Daniel and Alice and their legacy of faith that started in Taiwan. We were so blessed that Alice could take us back there to share so much with the boys. We thought of Daniel constantly while there, which was a little hard sometimes because we miss him, but also so sweet to remember him all week while enjoying ourselves so much. We loved our trip and it will forever be a precious memory for us!

Picture from Daniel and Alice's mission in Taipei.

March 2023 Taiwan Trip - Part 1

 We took the trip of a lifetime to Taiwan with Mark's mom at the end of March for Spring Break. It was absolutely amazing in every way and such a needed time away in the best place with the best people! The plane ride there is long. 14 hours from LA. We didn't feel great when we arrived, but we were glad it was over.

After getting through customs we got on the metro into Taipei. It was a Sunday morning when we arrived so not many people. It made for a nice relaxing ride.

First views of Taiwan.

On our way to our hotel we passed by Mark's grandmother's apartment building. It was fun to show the boys where she lived for so much of her life.

We could not check into the hotel as it was early morning, but we were able to leave our bags and head out to get some Doujiang for breakfast. It was a little place the Hsiaos have been many times and the store owner remembers Alice. It was so delicious and a great way to start a week full of the best food we have ever eaten in our lives. 

We were so happy to be here!

Taiwan Boba Smoothies

Random grocery exploration 

Then we met the aunts and uncles for a delicious lunch. It was a European fancy place. They knew it was Brian's birthday in a few days so we celebrated there.

I loved walking the street of Taiwan with my family. 

One morning the boys swam at the hotel and played Ping-Pong.

Taipei 101 was next on the agenda. Too bad it was not a good view with the bad weather. But still fun to be up so high!

Timmy did well even with his fear of heights!

At the bottom of Taipei 101 is Din Tai Fung. The famous dumpling restaurant. So delicious!

Lots of riding on the Taipei Metro (MRT).

The next morning I hit the neighborhood market with Timmy and Alice.

Then we met family at Guo Ba. The best hot pot place we have ever eaten! It was amazing!

We enjoyed talking to Mark's uncle there.

More time on the metro!

Night market shopping.

We had the best family time on this trip!

The next morning bright and early we boarded the speed train to head down South to Kaohsiung.

One of Alice's old school friends picked us up from the station and drove us all around for the day. Our first stop was a Buddhist monastery/visitor's center.

Then it was off to find the place where Alice grew up. The building where she lived was gone, but we wanted to see where it was.

We also stopped to see Alice and her friend's old high grade school.

Then we went for some Kaohsiung shaved ice! This was Brian's actual birthday, so we counted this as his cake!

Afterward we took the ferry out to Cijin island for some ocean time!

It wasn't a sunny day, but it was still so nice to be at the ocean after a long winter in Utah.

Timmy found some good street food squid.

Then we visited Alice's dear childhood friend and housekeeper.

Then we went and had some good dim sum and got back on the train to Taipei. It was a very fun and memorable day in Kaohsiung!