Ridding the Gondola Up the Maokong Mountain in Taipei

On our visit to Taipei, we met up with Anita and Johnson at the Maokong station via the Tapie subway at 10;45am on a weekday. It was about a 45 minute ride from our area - Tian Mu to Maokong.

Victoria bought us each a subway card loaded with T$ 500.00 and we used it the whole time we were in Tapei. It was convenient and sped thingw up a lot while entering and exiting the subway as there was no payment of fares by cash, giving back changes or visa cards not working etc.

Taipei's transit system is efficent, clean and very affordable for the average resident. There is really no need to buy yur own vehicle as one can go pretty well everywhere via pubic transit. If one cannot get to where one wants, the taxi system is equally efficent and affordable.

We were surprised to find out that our transit metro card could also be used for the Maokong gondola rides taking us up to the mountain and allowing us to board the shuttle on the mountain as well. Very convenient indeed.

There was a long lineup at the Maokong Gondola. We were informed of two options; 1. Ride the regular gondola and the wait would be about 10 to 15 minutes, or 2. Ride the glass bottom gondola and the wait would be about 45 minutes

We chose to ride the galss bottom gondola from where we could see what would be under our feet on our ride up. It was worth the wait.

The Maokong gondola ride was pleasant and comfortable. Since we were in the glass bottom gondola we could see the trees and canopies beneath us. The ride was not merely a 5 minute ride but a good 15- 20 minute ride allowing us an excellent 360 degree view of the city of Taipei.

I never knew that Taipie has so many mountains and very green. Farmers actually grow their own teas right in this area. Lots of nice tea shops on this mountain.

I just wished that we had time to sample some of the local teas and spend more time to explore this lovely region.

It was a breathtaking view from the top of the mountain1! We had lunch in an open air patio of the restaurant commanding an excellent view below.

We enjoyed a western style lunch - a full roasted chicken, pizza and some delicious trimmings.

Most important of all, we had some great honest sharing, meaningful conversations and sincere fellowship with our church friends.

Prasie God for this great trip in Taipei and fellowship in Taipei.

Taipei, Taiwan July, 2023

A Fun Time at the National Palace Museum, Taipei, Taiwan

Travelling is always fun! We always love the opporunity of experiencing and seeing new things.

The next morning, we went out to explore the area where we were staying and ate breakfast at a nearby cafe. There were many restaurants and cafes with great ambience and cosy outdoor seatings shielded from the tropical sun.

We had our first Asian cafe latte and a bolgogi seaweed breakfast wrap. It was delicious and different!

After we filled our stomach, we call for a cab ride using Uber which took us to the National Palace Museum, Taipei.

The Palace Museum is a breathtaking oriental palace situated on a hill with a commanding view of the city of Taipei.

Before entering the building, we couldn't help but taking a stroll in the garden.

The garden was adorned with oriental style buildings, long covered walkways, winding garden paths and wooden bridges.

Since I substained a minor injury due to a fall a couple of days ago, I was advised to limit my walking for a few days.

We asked the museum guide for the highlights of the many exhibits and chose a few to visit insteading of trying to see all the displays. The one I liked the most was the Immersive Theatre.

Using digital techology, visitor of the exhibit could personally experience the change of the season in the paintings which we were viewing

l leanred a lot about the history and development of Chinese paintings, ceramic and pottery.

The most surprising part of the day was seeing how many young people were visiting the museum and showing great interest in the display items and being engaged in the interactive activities designed by museum staff.

This was a testament to the dedication and commitment of the staff to making the subjests and displays as interesting and explorative for the young people as much as possible.

The Palace Museum is a great place to visit in Taipei1

R.T. Taipei. Taiwan

Lunch with Friends at Taipei 101, Taipei

We started travelling again. After not being able to travel for four years, we felt confident enough to be on the road and visit all the places we want to see. After much planning and shopping around for our plane tickets to Asia since April, 2023, we finally bought our more affordable tickets and landed in Taipei, thanks to Rev. Victoria for her excellent suggestions of using the Taiwan route. We were grateful for her generosity and opening her home and inviting us to stay at her Taipei apartment. Having a local friend while visiting a new place made travelling so much more fun. Rev. Victoria not only hosted us, she arranged for a taxi to pick us up at the Taipei airport and welcome us upon our arrival after 10p.m. Travelling is even more fun when we can meet up with some friends at the place where we are visiting. Rev. Victoria even arranged a couple of gatherings for us with church friends during our stay in Taipei.

Our first reunion luncheon was at a restaruant at Taipei 101, a modern, beautiful building and meeting hub for Taiwanese. We met up with Anita, Johnson at Taipei 101, one of the many famous places to visit in Tapei.

Taipei 101 is a spectacular building with 101 floors. It is spacious, modern, sleek and clean offering many floors of office space, with a few floors of retail stores selling a host of brand names and fancy merchandizes

We had lunch at one of the well known restaurants enjoying the cuisine and specialties of Taiwan. As for foodies, the main floor of Taipei 101 offers food from around the world as well as every cuisine you could imagine from across the different regions of China.

I didn't think we could try all the different food even if we were eating there everyday three meals a day during our visit there. There were so much; it was incredible.

It was delightful meeting up with Anita and Johnson again and we had a great time catching up while enjoying the delicious food.

Our friends had planned to take us around to see some famous sites in Taipei. However, the weather didn't cooperate after lunch and it was raining the whole afternoon.

Consequently, we changed our plan and stayed indoor to enjoy what Taipei 101 has to offer to its visitors. We tried many different food that day including various appetizers, different kinds of dim sums, dumplings, 5 different desserts, a myraid of different dishes. We had a walking tour of this most famous Taipei building.

Taipei is more westernized than I thought. Besides many traditional Chinese restaurants, we have also discovered some nice cafes for coffee, lattes and aternoon teas. Later we enjoyed drinks, desserts and lattes at a cafe. Best of all excellent conversation and fellowship with our friends! R.T. Taipei .

A Review of Our Accommodation in Miami - Life House, Little Havana

 

Our first visit to Miami, we spent our our entire stay at a boutique hotel called Life House, Little Havana.

Had it not for our son, we would probably never booked and stayed in this little hotel, about 6/8 blocks from the action scene of Little Havana.

Initially, we booked for two nights. Because we cancelled our cruise the last minute, we extended our stay to another five days. 

Though small, our room was comfortable and functional.  

Located on the main floor, right beside the lobby, our room was not sound proof well, a little noisy. We could hear people talking in the lobby from our room.

However, it does has a spacious and welcoming lobby with comfortable furniture where guests could relax, have a coffee or glass of cold water while while waiting. 

I like the small library on the far end of the lobby. I spent a few hours there catching up with my blogs when it was raining non stop a few days ago.

Another feature I liked about the hotel was the outdoor patio on the ground floor where guests could sit outside, read a book or something.

However, the few days we were staying at the hotel, it was either too hot or raining most of the time for the first couple days.

The Terrace, located on the top floor of the hotel was one place where  other guests could use.

Our son did check it out one evening and enjoyed hanging out with other guests.

I was surprised at how spacious it was and the number of people it could accommodate there.

Though most of the House Mangers were always pleasant, not all of them was helpful when needed.

On the last day when we were supposed to check out, we got an email from our airline informing us that our flight was cancelled and the we were rebooked on another flight for the next day. I spoke with the House Manager trying to extend our stay to one more night, he just told me that the hotel was fully booked and that I could try their other hotel in the city. There was no house phone we could use to call and he didn't offer us any assistance to help us find another place. Very disappointed with the service when we needed it.

RT

Guest of a Life House, Little Havana, Miami

Visiting the Bayside Marketplace and Enjoying the Bayfront Park Sculptures in Miami

After our nice lunch at San Poche, a restaurant serving Columbian dishes, we walked to Little Havana and took the free trolley bus going to Brickell City Centre. From there, we changed to another trolley for the Biscayne area.

The trolley took about twenty minutes and we just missed the stop in front of the Bayside Marketplace.

It was a good mistake we made as we came across by chance Port Miami and the Bayfront Park - a park that spans 32 acres in the heart of downtown Miami that sits right on Biscayne Bay.

This is a manificent park with a spectcular waterfront view with a palm and oak lined bayfront and many grassy areas for visitors to relax.

What was more, we couldn;t get over the impressive sculptures placed all over the park. What a wonderful oasis in the middle of downtown Miami!

We were lucky enough to be at the park where currently, there is a fantastic sculpture exhibition by a sculptor named Jimenez Deredia in this beautiful open space!

The admission is free! How about that?

After our visit to the Bayfront Park, we strolled along the baywalk to the Bayside Marketplace adjacent to the park - the Bayside Marketplace is an open air shopping area by the water.

It has numerous shops n carts with vendors selling everything from cold drinks, handmade bracelets, Soveniors t shirts, beachwear to party clothes.There was not a shortage of restaurants n bars.

The most interesting thing we saw was a creative enterprenure standing with three or four colourful parrots. The parrorts were well trained and well behaved. They didn't fly around the shopping area but simply stayed around and would perched at wherever their owner put them.

For an undisclosed fee, a visitor could have his/ her pictures taken with the parrots placed on his head, should, hands or fingers. It was incredible how tame and compliant these birds were.

Listening to the sounds of the waves clashing against the rocks on the shore, we took the time to enjoy the ambience of the Bayside Marketplace.

We checked out some of the menus and prices of the many restaurants offering visitors warm food and a resting place for their tired feet. We were able to sit for a refreshing drink watching people go by, enjoying the lovely surrounding and did a little bit of shopping. We each bought a piece of clothing as souvenirs from this lovely place. We enjoyed visiting the Bayfront Park and the Bayside Marketplace and stayed there until around 5 p.m. We walked to NE 4th street across from the Bayside Marketplace and waited for about 10 minutes for the Biscayne trolley which took us back to Brickell district at around 530pm which was during the peak ruh hour. It look a little longer for the bus to arrive. We simply walked back to the hotel, had dinner at our favourite restaurant. It was an enjoyable day! RT Bayfront Park & Bayside Marketplace Miami