On the 4th of July, we spent Independence Day flying to Taiwan for the second main leg of our vacation.
On arriving in Taiwan, my dad picked us up from the airport and we headed to my Ah Gong and Ah Ma's (paternal grandpa and grandma's) new apartment, which is about twice as big as the apartment that I'd visited last November (they'd moved in preparation for this summer's visit from our family).
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| The streets of Taoyuan |
Not long after, Dad took me to see a doctor, where I experienced the efficiency and low cost of Taiwan's health care system.We walked into the office, registered in 5 minutes, and I was seen in less than 5 minutes afterwards. A series of questions and a throat swab later, I was at the checkout counter and received the prescribed medication, conveniently packaged by the dose. Despite not being part of Taiwan's health insurance program, the total cost of the entire affair was $350NT, which is approximately $12 USD!
The next day, we had a huge day planned at a photo studio in Taipei. These photo studios are primarily used to create wedding albums like the one Cherry and I had made in 2008, but they are popular to make family photo albums as well. We ended up selecting some 30 some poses out of over 200 shots, and the service included makeup, four outfit changes, several studio backdrops, and some outdoor shots in the nearby Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall park:
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| Bubbles! |
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| Melinda had a bunch of really good solo shots |
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| I like this dual perspective shot |
The next day, we went with Dad and Ah Gong to 虎头山(hu tou shan), or Tiger's Head Mountain, for a hike. This mountain features a large Confucian temple, where one can jot down hopes and/or wishes and attach them to the wall in hopes that Confucius will bless you. For me, it mostly provided some nice photo opportunities:
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| Fifi throwing a fit... |
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| Phase 2 of throwing a fit... |
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| I'm okay now! |
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| Some incense |
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| I like the Bokeh I got on this shot - using just a Canon SD1200IS point-and-shoot! |
In the surrounding park areas, there were a lot of people relaxing and enjoying various activities:
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| Whee! |
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| Ballroom dancing in the mountains! Some of these couples provided quite a bit of comic entertainment... |
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| Smile! You're on Candid Camera! |
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| Fifi missed out on the dinosaurs... |
A short ways down the road, there is also an interesting set of buildings that have a strong Japanese/Korean influence visible in its architecture. I can't remember the name of the place, but we got a few pictures to remind us of the visit:
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| Japanese-style stone lanterns in the background |
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| These are actually dogs, not lions, and they are from Korea! |
Stay tuned for Part III!
