Little sis had a little bit of time left before heading to the airport so we headed to Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. Dad really wanted to go because it is a Taiwanese national monument. It took about an hour to get there by train.
There was nothing much to do there, it's the usual tourist spot where you just go there to take photos and that's it. I don't like doing touristy things but my dad, on the other hand, loves it. When I travel with little sis, all the national monuments or typical touristy places are always last on our list (unless it's really really worth going).
My face in this photo is priceless, hahaha.
First family selfie.
More photos after cut >>
The first family photo in almost a decade, I think.
Reverse crying faces, only with my sis.
We spent less than an hour there. Little sis left us here for the airport and I was immediately bummed out. I suggested to my parents to go to Beitou Hot Springs since I didn't know anything else to do. It took about 45 minutes to get there and the first thing we did when we arrived was to have lunch. We had lunch at a pretty well known Taiwanese-style ramen restaurant.
After lunch, we walked to the thermal valley and it was a letdown because it was so small and I've seen better ones in Japan. The walk there was nice, though, and I stopped at a little shop to get sour plum ice-cream! I haven't had sour plum ice-cream since I was in elementary school!
We walked up the mountain to get to a resort. Initially, all of us wanted to go to the hot springs but because of my bruises from falling down the stairs the other day in Jiu Fen (you should have seen how purple and big it was), the staff at the resort advised me not to. They said it'll become worse. So, mom and I settled for 2 hours of body massage and spa while dad went to the resort's bar to drink.
It was already dark once we were done with the spa. We walked around the resort for a little bit before heading back to the city. Dad decided to go to Taipei 101 since it wasn't raining that day. We had dinner at Din Tai Fung which was pretty good but Melbourne's dim sum is still the best to me.
The observatory wasn't really that impressive to me honestly... the fact that I hate going to observatories, in general, doesn't help. I didn't bother taking photos. We headed back to the apartment at 10 pm and I fell asleep not long after a hot shower.
Day 6 : January 15th, Friday.
It was my last breakfast in Taiwan, so we decided to go to a small restaurant that Summer recommended again. She's been really helpful and recommended so many good restaurants. This morning's breakfast/lunch was rice topped with black ribs, minced meat, and salted vegetables. Simple but so good. Dad ordered too many side dishes again and we were all stuffed after our meal.
The only thought I had in my head after that meal was how much I am going to miss Chinese food when I'm in Japan. As much as I love western food and Japanese food as well, they are not my comfort food.
We went to the shopping mall not too far from the restaurant, nothing interesting so I didn't bother taking photos as well. Also, because it was raining heavily.
After some (bad) coffee at Starbucks, we all left for Zhong Xiao Dun Hua. Shopping in Zhong Xiao Dun Hua was the only thing left on my list of things to do in Taipei. I'm so glad dad decided to leave me and my mom alone to go shopping. My dad is annoying when it comes to shopping.
But anyways... the rain kind of put me off shopping as well. As Zhong Xiao Dun Hua is kind of like Harajuku and you'll just be going into a shop after another, it was hard to go around under the rain. I still somehow managed to get two new tops which made me really happy.
The whole time I wished little sis was with me. Maybe in the future, we will come back to Taiwan. Just me and her.
We met up with my dad and had dinner near Taipei Main Station. Again, we just went around malls, killing time on the last day of our trip. I really wanted to stay up because my flight was at 6.40am the next day which means that I had to wake up by 3:30am to get ready and go to the airport.
Dad suggested we watch a movie till midnight, that way all of us won't be tired or cranky walking around not knowing what to do. Dad watched IP Man 3 and mom and I watched Joy. It had a Silver Linings Playbook feel to it though I think Silver Linings is much better because it's funnier and more heartfelt for me. Joy is still a good film though.
After the movie, we went to get supper and went back to the apartment. That was the end of my Taiwan trip. I only managed to get an hour of sleep before heading to the airport.
Taipei is actually nothing of what I imagined it to be. I did enjoy myself but not as much as I thoughtI would. I loved the fact that their trains are never overly crowded and most of the time, it's quite empty. Definitely a nice break from the Chuo Rapid Line I commute everyday to class. It's forever crowded.
It was also my first family vacation in years. I missed the Hokkaido and Bali trips. Honestly, I feel like when you grow older, it's hard to go on a family vacation because of work schedules and interests clashing. Obviously, some of the things that little sis and I wanted to do are different from what my parents want to do.
I won't sugar coat things and say that I had so much fun on the trip because it got hard sometimes with everyone depending on me for places to go. The next time I travel, I only want to go with little sis. I hate accommodating to people, I'm selfish and lazy.
Speaking of traveling, I'm already heading to Fukuoka next week to visit H on tour. I'm excited about that show and excited to be with him as well. I just hope it won't be negative degrees while I'm in Fukuoka. The next couple of months will be busy for me with people visiting almost every month. I'm happy but kind of worried about my time management. I hope everything goes smoothly and I better start revising my Japanese because before I know it, it'll be finals again.
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