King Kong and 101

Taipei 101 was once ...and briefly  ..the tallest building in the world.  Now it is just one heck of a tall building...maybe number 2 or 3 in the world.  In Taipei it really stands out, in the middle of the basin in which Taipei sits.  Today we had Hsiu-ling's sister in law (Mei-ling) and her neice (Meng-shan) in town for the weekend so we took them to 101.   ZOOOOOM 45 seconds in a rocket fast elevator to the top...Made me think of the last scene of Willy Wonka where he shot out the top of the factory....  Given that Taipei is a bit earthquake prone the building has a giant damper in the middle around the 88th which helps the building compensate.  It's unique shape is said to mimic bamboo.

A room with a view

The Giant Damper

 We also took the kids to the Miramar mall where they rode on a giant Ferris Wheel...another great view of the city.

 Aileen's school also had an extreme reader contest....take your picture reading a book in a cool place.  Aileen's favorite books include Lord of the Rings so off we went to Middle Earth to get this picture

TheYear of the Dragon: Family and Friends

It's been more than a month since I've had a chance to write.  We've had a steady succession of visitors in recent weeks and that followed our own week down in Chiayi (Hsiu-ling's hometown 3 hours south) for Chinese New Year.

We began   our Chinese New Year holiday week with a three hour trip to Chiayi, but this one was different because we left at 3AM to beat the insane traffic that ensnares the island over the holiday. We prepacked the car and the kids shuffled out to the car in in their pajamas and went back to sleep.  Much like I95 on Thanksgiving week Wednesday, the north-south highways in Taiwan go on lockdown as everyone heads home for the holiday week.  We, however, made it home effortlessly and I napped heartily upon arrival.  

We helped Hsiu-ling's family get ready for the giant New Years Eve dinner, and after the meal we lit fireworks to welcome the new year....incl bottle rockets that one never sees back home.  New Year's Day was a triple holiday.  Not only was it the beginning of the year of the Dragon, but it was Hsiu-ling's Dad's 84th birthday!!  He celebrates his birthday according to the Chinese lunar calendar, which means this year his birthday was on January 23rd, which happened to be my Dad's birthday. 

  

Family gathering

Birthday boy

                                    

Aileen with her elder cousins

 After New Years day we began what has seemed like weeks of visits with friends from all over...Hsiu-ling's friends from her previous work, friends from school, friends from our time in Shanghai.  Lot of fun catching up and kids playing with kids.  Hsiu's Mom also came up to Taipei and went with her own sisters and brother to clean and sweep the graves of her parents...a custom of the Hakka ethnicity after the New Year starts..  I too had lots of parties to go to as all the various government organizations and ministries that I work with kindly invited us to New Year's celebrations...though way too much karaoke takes place for my liking and one can only take so much Air Supply, Carpenters, John Denver, Beatles and the hits from Grease!!!  These are the only Western songs they seem to have....time to learn some Chiense songs I think.