More things to do in Taiwan

11. Visit temples

There are a lot of temples in Taiwan.  There are three major religions in Taiwan - Buddhism, Taoism and Confuscianism. 

12.  Admire the beauty of Shifen waterfal

Shifen waterfall is located in the Ping Xi District in the north eastern coast of Taiwan.  We went on a trip to this waterfall on a nort eastern coast tour through KKDAY voucher.

13. Visit the A Mei Teas House in Jiufen

A Mei tea house is one of the location shooting in the movie Hayao Miyazaki’s award-winning Spirited Away.   

14. Ride the see through floor gondola at Mao Kong

15.  Off the beaten path - Visit a cemetery and pray for the souls 

Things to do in Taiwan

Here is the continuation of our Taiwan family travel:

6.  Join the hisorical walking tour

Our first day in Taipei was concluded with a historical tour in the afternoon.  The walking tour Like it Formosa is a free walking tour conducted by Taiwanese volunteers on a tip basis.  We took the voucher from KLOOK  It was very informative and cheap way to budget travel in Taiwan.

7.  Get around the city by Taipei MRT (mass rapid transit)

This very efficient transport system is very easy to navigate though it might look complicated at first especially for tourists.  The Taipei MRT is a government operated mass transit that runs from Taipei to New Taipei.

8.  Eat at Modern Toilet Restaurant

Modern Toilet Restaurant as the name implies are all about toilets (does not smell good for a restaurant, ey?).  Well it is actually a restaurant that uses bathroom and toilet items as plates, serving tray, etc.  The restaurant is also designed with all bathrooms and toilets and, guess what? cute poops :)

9.  Visit the UNESCO heritage "Queen's head" in the north eastern coast

The Queen's head (Wanli) can be found in the Yehliu Geopark in the north eastern coast of Taiwan.  It is a rock formation formed by the waves hitting the rocks.  As  time goes by, the head is getting eroded, so a replica was made.  Visit this now or you might not be able to see the original rock formation anymore.




10.  Make a wish and fly a Ping Xi Lantern in Old Shifen street

This is a great experience of sending your wishes up, up and away.

Taiwan family travel

With another year of "visa on arrival" extension for Filipinos travelling to Taiwan, take this opportunity to visit one of the most beautiful countries in Asia.

Ilha Formosa which means beautiful island is Taiwan's Portuguese name.  Amongst the Asian countries that I have gone to so far, Taiwanese are the nicest of them all.  They are so courteous and even if some do not understand English, they do not shout out of stress unlike some Asian countries I have been to.  My family and I traveled to Taiwan in April 2019.   It was still cold then where the temperature ranged from 15 degrees to 20 degrees celsius.  We were not actually ready with this cold and rain when we were there.  Good thing we had  long sleeves, shawls and caps to cover us.  It was really cold.

What's good about travelling with teenagers, my son and my niece, is that these millenials are really good at directions. Yes because with the complexity of Taiwan's very efficient railway system, it would be hard for me as a no-life-direction human to navigate in Taiwan.  Thanks to my millenial son and niece.  

There are a lot of fun things to do in Taiwan as a family.  Here's what we have done during our Taiwan visit.

1. Rent a portable wifi

Before travelling to Taiwan, we bought a https://www.klook.com/wifi-sim-card/ portable wifi router for onlt 6 AED for four days.  This was the best thing as even in the east coast we were connected.  It can be picked up in the airport by just presenting the Klook voucher, passport and copy of credit card (security purpose only) to the Unite traveler counter in Taoyuan airport.  Return to the same counter.




2.  Check in to a budget local Hotel.

For this trip, we checked in to King Plaza Hotel.  Five of us were booked in a huge room with two large bathrooms.  We booked for three nights and four days for only 9000 PHP.

King Plaza Hotel:
3F No. 163 Nanjing W. Road, Datong District

3.  Visit a Catholic church - Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception

Every time our family visits a country, we make sure that we hear mass in the local language or visit a church in that area.  When we arrived in Taipei, after checkin in, we went to the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Shenxi Road, Taipei.  This is just walking distance from our hotel so it was easy to find through google map.

When a closed door literally opened by kind hearted church sisters especially for us awww so touched. Thanks sister Theresa Lee and friends. 

4. Lunch along NingXia night market area

Oyster omellete

Lunch around Ningxia night market

5.  Taste the local tea.

Taiwan is the origin of milk tea which almost all Filipinos are crazy about.  Never forget to try the best tea in the world.  It's all over Taiwan.

Oolong Tea

To be continued....

10 Travel Photo Challenge - Armenia

Before I traveled to Armenia, I have listed down 10 + 1 travel photo challenges.  The 10 + 1 (for anything goes) are as below:

1. Sunrise and sunset

Zvartnots airport sunrise

Took this atop the Cascades in Yerevan

2. Airport

Zvartnots Airport Armenia

3. View from balcony 

St. Gregory the Illuminator Church as seen from our balcony

4. Architecture

Garni pagan  temple

5. Local currency

Armenian dram

6. Local Food

Assorted Armenian food

7, Local People

Deacons, real karabala, vendors and our hosts

8. Coffee

Armenian coffee, one of the bests

9. Transportation

Old soviet car, bus, metro and matrhuska

10. Backpack shot

+1 Anything goes.

And all good things will be stored into memories.  Thank you Armenia!

Finding myself in Armenia

I have not been putting entries on my blog these past few days.  I am in Armenia.  Why did I go to Armenia?  I felt burnt out from work, from people around me and felt myself being a "monster".  Hurting people's, especially friends, feelings is the least thing I want to happen.  So, I packed my bag and decided to take a break away from Dubai.

Armenia is a rich country stripped off of their own original identity.  The Armenians are very passionate about their country.  Most, if not all, have not forgotten how the Soviet Union has occupied them.  The oldies would prefer being under Russia but the young ones don't.  The saddest part of their history is the Armenian Genocide.

The Armenian Genocide^[11] (Armenian: Հայոց ցեղասպանություն,^{[note 3]} Hayots tseghaspanutyun; Turkish: Ermeni Soykırımı), also known as the Armenian Holocaust,^[12] was the Ottoman government's systematic extermination of 1.5 million Armenians, mostly Ottoman citizens within the Ottoman Empire and its successor state, the Republic of Turkey.^[13][14]The starting date is conventionally held to be 24 April 1915, the day that Ottoman authorities rounded up, arrested, and deported 235 to 270 Armenian intellectuals and community leaders from Constantinople to Ankara, the majority of whom were eventually murdered. The genocide was carried out during and after World War I and implemented in two phases: the wholesale killing of the able-bodied male population through massacre and subjection of army conscripts to forced labour, followed by the deportation of women, children, the elderly, and the infirm on death marches leading to the Syrian desert. Driven forward by military escorts, the deportees were deprived of food and water and subjected to periodic robbery, rape, and massacre.^[15][16][17] Other indigenous and Christian ethnic groups such as the Assyrians and the Ottoman Greeks were similarly targeted for extermination by the Ottoman government in the Assyrian genocide and the Greek genocide, and their treatment is considered by some historians to be part of the same genocidal policy.^[18][19] Most Armenian diaspora communities around the world came into being as a direct result of the genocide.^[20]

(SOURCE:  Wikipedia)

The Genocide museum in Tsitsernakaberd, Armenia

Yerevan  (Երեւան) is the capital city of Armenia.  It is also the largest city in Armenia.  We can find the Republic Square, The Cascades, Yerevan Opera House, Kafesjian museum, St. Gregory the Illuminator Church, St. Sargis church and a lot of pink-looking buildings.  Yerevan is called the Pink City because most of the buildings are colored pink.  The pink impression is given by the stone used which is typical in the mountains of Armenia.  Most buildings and houses are of typical Soviet type structures.

Republic Square in Yerevan

Armenia is the first Christian country in the whole world adapting Christianity since 301.  The Armenians are passionate about their religion.  This is obvious with a lot of churches and monasteries in Armenia.  According to our driver, Armenia consists of 90% Christians who are passionately in love with Jesus Christ evidenced by their love of the cross - the Khachkar.  The Khachkar or the Armenian cross is all over Armenia.  Khachkar means the cross rock.  The Khachkar is an object of worship for the Armenians.

Khachkar

This country is also known for wine, cognac and brandy.  Armenia has the best tasting wine.  The beer is just right to taste.  Most Armenians drink and smoke maybe because of the cold weather.  It is normal for Armenians to smoke even in family restaurants.

Karas wine along the airport

May Hayrenik (Մեր Հայրենիք) or Our fatherland is national anthem of Armenia.  The Armenian flag is composed of three colors - red, blue and orange.  Orange symbolizes the apricot which is the national fruit of Armenia.  

The Armenian flag in front of a museum

The people of Armenia are very loving, sweet and one of the nicest people I have ever met.  The Homestay where we spent our vacation and soul searching made us feel like family.  Homestay Yerevan can be booked through Homestay Yeravan in booking.com.  This Armenian family made excellent homemade breakfast and introduced us to the best driver in Yerevan, Narek.

Narek, the best  Armenian driver with Lerma, my friend

Our homestay family

Armenia, oh Armenia, a place I fell in love with.