Our trip to Taiwan with Zoe in November has made a lasting imprint on me. It was not only Zoe's first international trip, but also her first trip to my parents' home country. Taiwan is also the first (and only) foreign country that I traveled to when I was a kid. I did not get to go frequently to be too familiar, but I do have core memories from my visits, and I have stayed connected to Taiwanese culture because of my parents. All of my life, I knew that Taiwan was a meaningful place, and I think Zoe now does, too. Now, I have core memories of her making core memories there.
This was also our very first long-haul trip with Zoe, and I was both nervous and excited. Making this experience special for her was our one and only goal, and just having that uncomplicated mentality was such a freeing way to travel as parents. It was going to be about her, and that honestly fulfills us most these days. Though we chose kid-friendly activities and traveled at a kid-friendly pace, it was all still a big adjustment for her. She took it well and was flexible and curious. We are super proud of her!
For four-year-old Zoe, who is half Taiwanese and half Cantonese, and mostly American by upbringing, the idea of Taiwan was pretty unfamiliar. She did not grow up hearing as much talk about Taiwan as I did, but we read books that mention Taiwan, she knows where it is on the world map, and that it’s where delicious pineapple cake comes from. She did know that I had gone there on a trip with just my parents and siblings when she was three, leaving her and Wes home without me for a week. Ever since then, she has been asking to go, too. This year, I knew that the time was right and she would be able to tolerate the long flight and the time difference. Also, we'd been working on some basic Mandarin speaking and reading skills ever since the fire, and she shows so much potential. This trip could show her that in the world, places exist where everyone speaks it!
PART ONE: Taipei
The plane ride went really well and Zoe slept, ate, watched movies, and chilled in her seat by the window the whole time. We did not even have to pull out the activities or snacks that I had packed. She was quite enchanted by the flight attendants and drew them a picture. We landed and I immediately kicked my Mandarin into action, contacting our driver using Line and typing in Chinese to let him know that we had arrived and were grabbing our luggage. Zoe was full of energy as soon as we arrived. Keeping expectations low, I had only a loose itinerary planned for the trip and on the first day, I just wanted to hit up the park across the street from our hotel and walk around the immediate area to get our bearings.
My parents met up with us shortly after we landed at Da'An Park, and were truly elated to see Zoe. I felt the chills too, watching them embrace on the other side of the world, in the place that my parents were born. I was so excited to just be there in that moment, soaking in how surreal it all was. Throughout the trip, there were many of these full-circle moments: Zoe running around the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial grounds like how I did when I was a kid, Zoe taking her first bite of my childhood favorite peanut powdered mochi snack, Zoe swiping her EasyCard and riding the MRT, Zoe walking through the gate and up the stairs of my late grandma's place, Zoe frolicking around on the same living room floor I had spent summer days playing with my cousins. Her commentary was also hilarious the whole time, it was so fun to see how she perceived things. She loved pointing out the Taipei 101 (which was not there when I was a kid) and yelling out Chinese characters that she recognized on street signage. The sights, the scents, the sounds... all of that sensory input sparked parts of me that hadn't been activated in years. Before we had even left, I was missing Taiwan already, thinking about how I'd want Zoe to come back as much as possible, so that she would also grow up knowing Taiwan the way I do.
Zoe's trip to Taiwan also was different from the trips that I'd gone on as a kid. I'd always tagged along with whatever the adults wanted to do when I'd go to Taiwan, and mostly just spent summer days in my grandma's living room, watching Chinese dramas with the aunties or Pokemon in Chinese with the cousins. If we went out, it would be to Sogo (the mall) or down the street to pick up some essentials, then quickly back to the house for fear of that sweltering weather. We all slept in one bedroom with the fans blasting, warm rain pouring outside. My favorite thing to eat was my grandma's hot and sour soup, which she made all of the time just for me. Nothing was specially curated for us kids, it was just like a distant home that we went to visit. Still, it was fun, and all very memorable--mosquitoes, motorcycles, Mahjong, and all.
While I wanted to maintain some of those routine and authentic elements in Zoe's time in Taiwan, I also wanted to do some kid-centric, touristy things. My parents also were happy to branch out with us and embrace the touristy activities, like visiting the cat park, lighting sky lanterns in Shifen, and riding the glass bottom gondolas at Maokong. I think we all really loved experiencing everything through Zoe's eyes. There's nothing like bringing someone to a place that matters a lot to you for the first time.
I think as it was our first time bringing our little kid out of the country, I was careful to keep things manageable and to be mindful of pacing ourselves. There was no way we could do what we did when my siblings and parents visited last Spring. On that trip, we six adults (5 + Andrew) packed into a rental car and drove hundreds of miles to central Taiwan and back, in the span of just a few days, to see the famed sunrise at Alishan and still blue waters of Sun Moon Lake. Now for this trip with Zoe and Wes, we wanted to (and needed to) take our time. I opted to stay in Taipei for the first week. Even then, I think we got to do a lot in and around the northern area of Taiwan!
On our first day, we hung out at Da'An Park and went to the top of the Taipei 101. We rested at the hotel after this more ambitious than anticipated morning and then ventured out for some noodles and wontons from a low-key local spot walking distance from the hotel.
Day 2 was a trip down memory lane: a quick two-stop MRT ride to my grandma's house and then a casual stroll to and from the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall. We ate lunch at the place that supposedly invented boba. Zoe liked having her own little cup of boba (without milk tea)!
Day three was spent at the XinYi parent child play center, a city-run free indoor play place for kids with a children's bookstore in the same building. We had dinner with extended family that night. Zoe did great in the restaurant, thanks to Auntie Anissa and Uncle Wesley entertaining her with folding chopstick wrappers into various origami while the adults all caught up.
Day four was our first day trip out of Taipei, which was easily accessed by MRT--the Maokong Gondola ride up to the tea fields. We explored the mountains in drizzling rain and sat down for a lovely family meal at a teahouse overlooking the Taipei skyline. We headed down and tried unsuccessfully to get Zoe to nap on public transportation, then met up with everybody again for dinner at a restaurant of purely vegetarian food. Zoe was totally knocked out by the end of the day!
On day five, we headed out of Taipei again, but this time in a private car that my uncle arranged for us. The driver was a friendly man named Da Bao, who was a great local resource and did our airport transfers too, not to mention a single origin coffee dealer with a huge roaster on his front porch. He was highly entertained by Zoe's budding Mandarin conversational skills and tolerant of her borderline inappropriate questions such as, and "How old are you?" and "Do you want my booger?" We had quite a full itinerary that day, but by now we were fully adjusted to jetlag and were ready to conquer the day: Yehliu Geopark, Guihou fishing port (for lunch), Houtong cat village, Shifen waterfall, and Shifen Old Street. Da Bao made sure that we stuck to our schedule, but was also graceful with extra time, as well. That day ended with a late night meal at MOS burgers and Zoe knocking out on the booth without having had a single bite of her nuggets.
On day six, we took a chill day to recover from the day trip and walked around the streets, trying local dessert (grass jelly with red bean and passion fruit for Zoe!) and fruit (Zoe's first bite of wax apples, which she wasn't that into). Then, we took Zoe to Sogo to make slime, which was done one-on-one and fully in Mandarin. Lunch was at a sushi spot in the mall and they had the most adorable build-your-own nigiri kids' meal! We hit up the Shilin Night Market with my parents later that night, after a failed attempt to go to Danshui resulting from jumping on the commuter train during partial-route turnaround time. My parents cheerfully watched Zoe win prizes at the street games and sat down to munch on all kinds of street food with us, something that neither they nor I got to do when we were Zoe's age. Zoe actually caught two live shrimp in those shrimp pools with a chopstick fishing rod and they cooked it for her to eat!
On day seven, Zoe did another fun activity at Sogo and made a fuzzy purple purse using a real sewing machine! She has since stuffed it with all kinds of ticket stubs, receipts, and hotel mints. Then, per my mom's suggestion, we went on a hike up many, many stairs to Jiantan to watch possibly the best sunset I have ever seen. On the way down, we split up and my mom and I got lost... but we all ended up at the hot pot restaurant that we agreed to meet at. The night ended with peanut, red bean, and taro popsicles.
Day eight was our last day with my mom and dad, which we spent in Wulai Mountain District. It was a surprisingly easy trip to a place that felt so different from the rest of Taipei. The people living here have Taiwan indigenous roots, which we could see in the wall murals, statues, merchandise, and food offerings. We admired the waterfall, rode a gondola over the top of the falls, rented a wooden boat, and came back down for an Atayal lunch. We had wild boar, bamboo tube rice, mountain ferns, and more. They showed us how they weave with a wooden loom, and we all bought bags and a dream catcher for Zoe's room. The little girls liked playing with Zoe and shared snacks with her. She fell down and skinned her knee in the rocks, and was immediately showered with more snacks and a woven bracelet!
Overall, since we were there for a longer period of time and with a mostly unrushed itinerary, I think we got a well-rounded experience in Taipei. Some things were new to us, but even the things that we had done in the past felt totally new because we were experiencing them through Zoe's eyes. All of the mundane Taiwan things felt adventurous with her--taxi rides (without a booster!), 7-Eleven runs, squatty potties. She got a lot more comfortable with conversing in Mandarin and was even waking up speaking it some mornings. We lined up for street food and occasionally let her do the purchasing so she could practice Mandarin. She learned how to ask other kids if she could play with them at the park. She also learned a lot about life in a big city and how to be more mindful of others, such as moving to the right side on escalators, taking up only the space she needs on train seats, and eating quietly at restaurants. None of this came second-nature to our Americanized (and rather entitled) four-year-old, but she did pretty well.
Going back to Taiwan at this stage of our lives and with our current means really hits very different. It is obvious that we can afford to do so much more than we ever could before, and that we can all have a more comfortable and elevated experience. We got to do things like stay in a hotel with air conditioning and breakfast included, eat at upscale places, sit in business class on the high speed rail, and get massages. Our kid gets to do so many things that we never got to try. All of it is kind of a dream turned reality, making me stop and think about how far we've come and how fortunate we are now, to be able to do this for our kid, for my parents, and for ourselves. But really, the success and ease that we have now is thanks to my parents' bravery, determination, and hard work as immigrants in the U.S. They always put us first, and ensured that our futures would be bright. It is the least I can do, to be able to take them out for a good meal or excursion, now as an adult. I hope to make many more memories with them and Zoe in Taiwan, and I know that it means a lot for them to see her there letting loose and having fun after all that they'd endured over the years. I truly loved getting to see and feel my parents' joy as they experienced everything through Zoe's eyes. I think that is why this trip was really so special to me--I was viewing things through triple lenses.
PART TWO: Kenting and Kaohsiung
The following week, Wes, Zoe, and I said good-bye to my parents and went on a trip to Kenting, in the south of Taiwan. Initially, I was super anxious about whether it was the right choice or not, in terms of where to take Wes and Zoe. It sounded cool when I first researched it, but the locals apparently didn't seem to think much of it aside from it being a party town full of tourists. My brother recalled going with my dad and just passing through. It turned out to be amazing though. We took Zoe to a cacao farm that can only be found in this part of Taiwan so that Zoe could live out her dream of eating a cacao fruit; we went to the beach (Xiao Wan) every day to find extraordinary seashells and peculiar rocks; we visited a capybara farm and fed them; we did a spontaneous spin around the track at a Go-Kart place; we ate at the most hip Italian place I never thought we'd find in this corner of the world; we walked the main drag after sundown and discovered fun shops and more delicious food. I still salivate when I think of the garlic butter at the seafood place that we went to twice! We also loved the hotel that we stayed at, which turned out to be a sprawling resort with an entire floor dedicated to kids' entertainment. Zoe got to go there and play after dinner almost every day, and I just felt my inner child beam with delight. She also had bacon and pancakes for the first time in a while--she rejoiced. Overall, yes, it was more touristy than other parts of Taiwan, but hey, we are tourists and we gotta admit that. The relaxed and chill vibe of the town was also such a welcome change of pace from Taipei, and we didn't mind hearing English spoken by visitors from Australia, England, and America. I learned that no matter where we go, having an open mindset is what matters most, and that it is those unique personal experiences that make a place memorable.
We spent one day in Kaohsiung to break up our trip back to Taipei from Kenting, and it was mostly rainy there but we did get to see some sights and eat some eats. Zoe was in love with the hotel room that Wes booked, which included a little loft and a banana bean bag chair!
It has been eight months since we returned from this trip, and I've finally sat down to write this recap. I really don't want to forget any of it, though already some memories are fading. My hope is that I was able to capture the poignancy and impact of it all, as I reflect back. We are already looking forward to the next time we can take Zoe to Taiwan.
