Taiwan Photoblogging: Part 1 = Planes and Night Markets

The Sibling is now recovered enough from his jet lag to start sending Taiwan photos!

I will post a few at a time -- in chronological order -- so we can all take a little virtual trip to Taiwan together and enjoy the photo fun. (And perhaps cure our travel envy?)

Previously I posted the first photo from the trip: the church in Tamsui.

Here is the first collection:

Here is the plane! It's EVA Air, the family's favorite airline for Taiwan trips. (Good food, great service, comfortable seats.) Notice the other passengers starting to read their Mandarin-language newspapers.

The Sibling and I love checking the flight map. Here he is, somewhere over the Pacific Ocean, near the coast of Alaska, on his direct flight to Taipei from Los Angeles. Hey, it's much better than having to change planes in Narita, Tokyo, Japan.

Ah, yes. How to amuse yourself on long trans-Pacific flights? The Sibling decided on some Sudoku. Hmmm, notice the difficulty setting in the top right corner! *giggle*

Finally in Taiwan! The plane lands about 10 PM. Tired and jet-lagged, what's the first thing you should do? Go out to the busy night markets and eat like a pig, of course! Here is a photo of some glorious steamed dumplings, which were made and cooked on the spot. Eat with dipping sauce and shredded ginger root, with maybe a dash of vinegar.

Here is another example of the great (and not expensive) food you can get at the busy night market food stalls. This is called a "chicken roll," and it's delicious. The baby cucumbers are a nice and cool addition to the hot savory dish. The Sibling and family ate themselves into a happy food-induced coma and then went to bed.

Good morning, Taiwan! This is the view from the windows of the family's hotel in Tamsui, a suburb of Taipei now, though it once was an independent seaside village. Tamsui is out of the busy urban center (but well-linked by the excellent MRT system), and it has beautiful views of the ocean and also of some lovely mountains. This is Guanyin Mountain, as seen from the Sibling's bedroom window early in the morning.

Don't forget: breakfast is the most important meal of the day! Here is a typical Taiwanese breakfast: hot tea (the good stuff too -- look at the lovely color of the tea), hot rice porridge, a selection of meats and vegetables, and some fresh fruit. Oh, there are fried eggs today, with a little drizzle of soy sauce on top. Delicious. The uncles went out to the morning street markets and bought hot fresh soy milk -- just as here in the US and Europe you may go out in the morning for some hot fresh coffee.

And now, well rested and well fed, we begin our first real day in lovely Taiwan! That will be in Photo collection #2, which will be posted soon.

(Yes, yes, I know my Taiwan blogging is going to sound like a LOT of crazy propaganda. Sorry in advance. I'm *not* on the payroll of Taipei, but I can't help gushing about Taiwan -- it's such a fantastic place!)