Summer Vacation, part 2

I know, I know... it's been over a month since our trip, and I'm just now getting around to sharing with you. I just haven't been much in the bloggy mood lately. It was a fantastic trip though, so hopefully I do it justice here. As I mentioned, the first part of the trip started in Lake Tahoe where my brother-in-law's wedding was, so we flew to Hong Kong out of the San Francisco International Airport. There were six of us on the trip: Michael, his parents, his brother and new sister-in-law, and me. The flight is approximately 14 hours long. We stayed in Hong Kong three nights, and then we flew to Taipei. That flight is only an hour or so, but they gave us a free snack anyway. (Take note, cheap American airlines!) Michael and I stayed in Taiwan another three nights and then flew back from Taipei to Hong Kong to San Fransisco to Chicago to Columbus. We spent 30 hours traveling home and were ever so grateful to sleep in our own bed that night.

Hong Kong Thoughts
I didn't actually mind the incredibly long flight since I had my own TV screen and could choose from a wide variety of shows, movies, and games to keep me busy. I also was not too terribly affected by the 12 hour time difference between California and Hong Kong. I woke up the first night at 2am but was able to go back to sleep until my alarm went off at 7:00. After that, I slept normally the whole trip. Hong Kong was a lot like what I expected only less crowded. I am used to the big city bustle after living in New York for two years, but I had anticipated much more congestion in Asia than what there was. We stayed in Kowloon, which is kind of like the Brooklyn of Hong Kong, and it is where my father-in-law grew up. All of Michael's aunts and uncles are known by their birth order number, which is common in Asian cultures. We spent most of our time with Aunt 8 and her husband, but Aunts 9 and 10 also hung out with us one day. On our last night in the city, the whole family (two uncles, six aunts, their spouses, numerous cousins, and the six of us) had a huge dinner together. I enjoyed most of the food we ate, and I think they went easy on us for most meals, but I did get to (was forced to?) try a few strange things including durian, a fruit that smells so bad one has to wonder why a person ever thought to crack it open and eat it in the first place.

Hong Kong Highlights

Ferry boat ride from Kowloon to Hong Kong island

Dragon boat races at Stanley

Dim sum with Aunt 8, 10, 9, Uncle 8, and Jason

Tram ride up Victoria Peak with views of the city

The city lights night show. The lights flashed and moved to music.

The Yuen aunts and uncles

The Yuen cousins

Taiwan Thoughts
While in Hong Kong, which is full of international business people and tourists, Stefany and I had a much easier time blending into the crowd than we did in Taiwan where we were often the only white people around. Stefany, with her strawberry blond hair and freckles, caused double-takes from numerous people as we walked down the streets. We also had fewer family members to visit here, just my mother-in-law's parents and youngest sister. I tried more "interesting" foods like quail eggs, stinky tofu, and sea cucumber. It was incredbily hot and humid, especially the day we went to the zoo, but we didn't let that stop us from having fun. We sped up the second tallest building in the world in the fastest elevator in the world to see panoramic views of the city from the 89th floor of Taipei 101. At the National Palace Museum, we saw art and artifacts from Chinese history, and we braved the overwhelming crowds to check out the famous Shilin Night Market. My favorite meal of the whole trip was the xiaolongbao we ate DinTai Fung.
Taiwan Highlights

Taipei 101

 

National Palace Museum

Xiaolongbao aka soup dumplings

So many funny signs

Shilin Night Market