The Story of Albert & Anira

Probably the most heartwarming experience I had during my visit to Taipei, was the day I met Albert and Anira.

It was a hot rainy day and we had driven over an hour through the mountains to arrive at our destination and catch the train to the next town.

We stood on the platform surrounded by young children, who I presume were on summer excursions with their school. There were a couple of children standing by me with whom I exchanged a few smiles.

Then one little boy, named Albert*, who was about seven, with a blue shirt and glasses came up and started talking to me in English. He just knew I spoke English! It’s funny how all the rest of the while that I was in Taipei, adults would start to speak to me in Chinese and continue even when I gave them weird looks. Albert on the other hand, just knew to speak to me in English! We spoke briefly and he asked me whether I liked pigs and if I could swim. (What are they teaching in English classes in Taiwan?)

All this while, there was a girl, about seven, who kept on smiling at me. Then just at the last moment, she finally found the courage and came up to me and said “Hello, My name in Anira*”, before smiling and running off to hop on the train. They both gave me big waves and that’s the last I ever saw of Albert and Anira.

But I had a great day that day and will always remember Albert and Anira on the train station platform in Taiwan!

* With their cute little Taiwanese accents, it was a bit hard to make out what they were actually saying, but I interpreted their names as Albert and Anira.

Why I'm Thankful For Taipei




When I hopped on a plane destined for Taipei several weeks ago, I expected being able to go up the second tallest building in the world and seeing lots of temples.

Of course, I wasn't disappointed and was very pleased with all that, along with a very nice host family. But the thing that I will always be the most grateful for wasn't how clean the fish in the fish foot spa left my feet, nor how the shop keepers got our lantern out of the power lines, but how all these experiences made me realize how lucky I really am.

I have always known how lucky I am to live in such privileged circumstances, but I have never really appreciated it. Not as much as I do now, after visiting the crowded Asian city.

There were lots of places that we went that I was sure wouldn’t meet regulations here in Australia, especially restaurants. The family I stayed with ate out 95% of the time, so we experienced quite a few! Heaps were amazing, with kind servers and a nice atmosphere. But then there were a few that were on the street with people breathing over the food, dogs hanging around the kitchen, paint peeling off the walls and mould growing on the ceiling.

Other notable bad experiences included the fish foot spa that had electrical cords hanging cm from the water and the unhygienic public pool which could possibly have been one of the most horrifying experiences of my life.

On the last day I was in Taiwan we went to see a popular temple. But it was in a poor area. I had seen poor in Taipei before this, but this was by far the worst. I hadn't expected it and it hit me really bad. There were homeless people sitting cross legged in the heat on the footpath with a small towel in front of them. There was everything from phones, to bags to rocks spread out on the towels and a small tin for coins nearby.

It broke my heart. I even started dreaming up ideas for homeless shelters in my head.

And compared to many places in the world, Taipei isn’t even a very poor city.

To think that as I am here snuggled up in my nice warm bed on my laptop after a fulfilling meal surrounded by friends and family, there are so many people out there in search of a bed for the night or wondering when their next meal will be.

The trip made me realise a lot of things, some of which include how lucky I am to...

•   have a fresh, homemade meal every night 

•   be able to see the stars at night

•   be surrounded by nature

•   have friends over for sleepovers

•   own more than just a small apartment

•   have a meal with my family every night

•   have a dad who doesn't work late

•   be surrounded by an amazing community

We may not have much money to spend on doing up Wattle Cottage, or always ever have a perfectly clean house, or always hardly ever have a peaceful household, but we are so lucky. So, so lucky. 

I love where I live, the people I live and spend time with and the things we do together. And I am so grateful. So, so grateful.

My thoughts are with everyone tonight, whether you’re having a hard time at work or school or looking for a place to sleep or just not feeling your best. xx

Taipei Part 1

Some of you have been following along on Instagram and will probably know that I have been in Taiwan over the past few weeks! It was my first time travelling alone and absolutely amazing! I just got back late last night and thought I would share a few highlights from the first 7 days...

This is me at the airport before leaving. It was the first photo taken on my Polaroid camera! We left home especially early that day so that we would make the shops in time to buy some film for the camera before leaving.

Since we had so much time to spare after getting the film and before my flight, we watched Despicable Me 2 at the cinema. Have any of you seen it? What did you think?

 

Here's a funny story... When I went to pose for this photo, I picked up my suitcase (which is new and I love!) and just before I had gotten something out of it and forgotten to do the zip back up again! So yes, all my nicely folded belongings spilled out all over the floor in the middle of the airport. It was a tad embarrassing and I know that the people next to us were trying hard not to laugh.

Unfortunately, being the first time using the Polaroid camera, we weren't really sure what to do, so didn't manage to get a photo (I was cleaning it all up really quick!)

Oh, how I love the views from planes!

Hong Kong airport was amazing. It was so big we had to catch a train from one end to another!

After I arrived, I was welcomed, we had lunch and then went home for a nap. Then that afternoon we went out to the National Music and Performing Arts buildings, where we watched a Chinese teenage orchestra.

There were some really nice buildings there. I love this one with the sunset colours in the background!

The next day we had a quick visit to Anna (the 11 year old girl of the family I stayed with)'s school in the mountains.

Then there was a quick visit to the holiday home of the first prime minister of Taiwan. Truthfully, the architecture inspired me more than the history! Look at the light flooding through those windows!

The Top is an amazing restaurant overlooking Taipei. It had great food and a fantastic atmosphere!

A typhoon came through northern Taiwan whilst I was visiting. Despite lots of talk about it, being trapped in the tiny apartment where I stayed for the duration, I hardly even noticed!

One noticeable thing though was that this ferris wheel that we were going to ride on was closed in preparation. We watched Pacific Rim at the cinema instead!

Food was definitely one of the most interesting aspects of my stay. We ate at lots of different places, some very nice, some with long waiting lines, some that I am adamant would definitely not pass regulations here in Australia...

I love the train-style restaurants! I had previously been to one in Japan as well, but I was happy to go again in Taiwan. The food is all on a big conveyor belt that goes around past every table in the restaurant. If there is something you want, you just grab it off and eat it! Awesome!

Day 5 was a packed, fun day which included a stop at the prawn factory where we ate freshly caught prawns... yum!

And a fish foot spa! At first I was really intimidated by the fish but I soon got used to it! These were just the small fish, there were also medium-size and large fish. Sitting with your feet in the water and a Coke in hand, it was a great way too cool off on a hot day (which they all were of course!)

Lunch was interesting. I have no words.

The museum at Yilan was really great to learn about the area and it's history. Of course, once again, it was the architecture that caught my eye!

The Taiwanese beach really made me miss Bremer Bay with it's white, white sand and clear turquoise waters.

I did only a brief bit of research about Taipei before leaving. This research did however leave me to discover Taipei 101, the second tallest building in the world. I am so glad I was able to visit for real!

We went up to the 91st level (of 101). Apparantley for the other levels after that, there is no visible entrance and only select people can enter. By the time we went up it was night, so it was really nice to see all the city lights. A big difference from home where the only lights visible after dark are from the stars!

You may not understand the difficulties we had trying to get me and the top of the tower in the same frame! Yes, it's really tall! Picture me standing on my tiptoes on a bench whilst Anna (the photographer) is crouched down on the ground as far as she can go. Alas, we were successful!

Bright lights, big city...

On the top most floor of the shopping section were all the really fancy and expensive stores.

 

 This is the National Palace Museum. Lots of China's important artefacts and things are kept here.

On this particular night, dinner was cooked and served right before our eyes.
All the diners sat around and the chef cooked in the middle. Such a fun experience!

As you can see, my trip to Taipei was amazing and I had a great time! I'll share pictures from the second week soon!

What's the weirdest thing you've eaten overseas? We'll see if it compares to what I ate in the second week... keep on the look out!