The Beitou Hotsprings (Natalie)

                                                 The Beitou Hot springs

            After a long train ride, our family made it through the mountains to arrive at the Beitou (bay-too) hot springs. The springs we chose to visit were located inside a resort. The wait at the reception desk was pretty long and we were all relieved when Mom informed us that it was time to go. By then was lunchtime so we went upstairs to the resort's restaurant. We got assorted sushi and other good food but the highlight of that restaurant was definitly the beaf udon soup. We got two of those and split them 

together. After lunch it was time to hit the springs. We checked in and they gave each of the adults and the two big kids baskets filled with one towel, a robe, a pair of flipflops, and a shower cap that was mandatory to go in the hot springs. After the guys and the girls had gotten ready in our bathing suits we headed outside. The wind was strong so we didn't delay getting in the water. The springs were situated so that there were about seven or eight individual pools. We explored almost all of them including one with a water fall, one with bubbles, a reclining pool, and a bunch of open pools with various levels of hotness. There was also a cold plunge and a family pool that was rather cold. We also enjoyed a stone surface that was heated so that people could lay on it/it was like a grittle for humans. We spent about three hours there and then showered and left. 

                                                                                                   

It was a great experience and we would highly recommend it to anyone. The only improvement we would give to the resort would be to offer snacks while soaking.

Maokong Tea Country (Ansel)

We made a plan to visit the Maokong tea plantations. The way you get to the plantations is by riding on a gondola.

The line was pretty brutal so we took the crystal cabin. The crystals are gondolas with glass for the bottom. That means you can see through the floor all the way to the ground below you. I am afraid of heights so I didn't exactly jump in happiness at the idea.

When we got on the gondola we could see lots of stalks of bamboo and even all the way to Taipei 101 (the tallest building in the city, kind of like Taipei's Space Needle).  

When we got to the top of the mountain we saw a lot of tea bushes. There were fields and fields of them! We climbed the mountain and came back down. 

We had lunch (chicken soup) and bought ice cream. The ice cream was good but the wind kept blowing dust into our cones so we had to turn our backs to the wind. My ice cream got so dirty that my dad had to clean it off for me!

I would recommend the tea plantations as a good place to visit because the gondola is fun, the food at the top is great, and the energy of the mountains is exciting. As a note to cat lovers, there are stray cats there that love when you pet them. Natalie was in heaven...

The Taipei Zoo (Natalie)

                                                               The Taipei Zoo (by Natalie)

            Our family thinks that the Taipei zoo is one of the biggest and best things to do in Taipei. We visited it after our journey on the Maokong gondola. We were very pleased with the super cheep prices. Each person in our family got in for about 100 NT (New Taipei) dollars, about 3 US dollars. We immediately boarded a zoo train that took us into the main zoo. The zoo was huge! We rode the train for about 5 minutes and then got off and were greeted with some crazy big birds including owls and eagles. Then we crossed through a courtyard full of places to eat including Turkish ice cream which we tried the last time we came to the Taipei Zoo. 

                                       

The zoo has eateries throughout. Mom gave each of us 100 NT to spend at the zoo. Ansel purchased a happy meal for $2 at the zoo McDonalds. After we crossed through the food court, we arrived in the Africa section of the zoo. We made the Africa section a priority because last time we didn't explore it to the full extent. The first animal to greet us was the gigantic African elephants. They weren't very active at the time, just eating their lunch. The last time we were there, we encountered a very active Asian elephant that we dubbed "Ansel". When we did visit "Ansel" again he was having a session with a trainer indoors, so sadly, we didn't see him romping around. However, we did see hippos, giraffes, camels, emus and zebras. 

  

     

After Africa, we realized that the zoo would be closing in less than an hour so we hurried toward the panda exhibit on the way we spotted a really cool tapir. He was swimming in his algae covered pool.

                                   

 We also saw the monkeys including orangutans and siamangs. The highlight animals in my opinion were the otters. They were tumbling around their enclosure, wrestling each other playfully. Lastly the star of the zoo was the giant panda. It was sitting in a pile of bamboo stuffing itself. That was the last animal that we saw. Our family would highly recommend the Taipei zoo to anybody.

                

                                  

Taipei Christmasland (Natalie)

                                The Taipei Christmas Market (Natalie)

                                                             

On our first extremely jetlag day in Taipei city Ansel and Mom visited a charming Local Christmas market. They had a pleasant experience that inspired our family to visit a bigger market called Taipei Christmasland. 

The day that we set out on our Christmasland adventure was our second one  staying in the bustling city of Taipei. We first stepped off the bus and crossed the street. Once across we were met by a family friendly array of vendors and games. It served as a great place for kids to get out energy in the open space. After running around we walked through the Taipei train station. Inside the train station we found a bunch of fun shops. We passed through a store that was dedicated to basically cats, cats, and more cats. That was a big hit with all of the kids. The adults went into the Jack Wolfskin store to their great pleasure. After we finished up in the train station we walked out to the actual Christmas market. 

The first thing that caught our eyes, or rather Charlotte’s eye was a unicorn carousel rotating on the other side of the street. After a round of the carousel we all headed to the central area for the market. Tents lined the street and framed a huge stage illuminated by bright screens broadcasting New Taipei Christmasland. The crowd was packed into the space like sardines. On the stage were some community members taking selfies. 

Eventually the event started, the narrator was talking animatedly into a microphone that blasted our eardrums. Unfortunately for us, the whole speech was in Chinese only. When she finished she handed off the mic to some cheerleaders who performed a choreographed dance routine to music. Our family’s favorite part of that were all the big lifts. 

We visited a street vendor and picked up some delicious fried chicken and squid. For a drink we got milk tea in a cute little bottle shaped like a teddy bear. The rest of the night was mostly more speeches and pictures. One thing that we noticed that was different from the US was that after a performance or speech the applause was way quieter than in the US. Our explanation for that was that the applause was polite, not as loud and casual as in the US.

After we got tired of the performing perspective of the market, we headed across the street via a colorful overpass. 

That’s where all the kids got face paint.

There was another ride there, this time a swinging boat, but you had to buy tickets to another market to ride that. After all the festivities we headed inside to a mall and got bubble waffles at a restaurant called Manny’s. 

Those were delicious and a perfect way to end the day. Our family agrees that the market was a fun experience for families. We recommend it if you happen to be in Taipei around Christmas time.