Banzai!

28 February 2010 – This morning a few shots of our hotel lobby and eating area.  As for the title of this post - read to the end to find out.

Early this morning though we had front row seats to a multi-alarm fire at the building directly across from our hotel. I finally captured one of the trains going by on the elevated track and then the family rescuing what possessions they could from their home after the firemen left.

This afternoon we got to spend a few minutes at the ER with our son. Fortunately the hospital is only about 200 yards away, across a major street and then two buildings down from our hotel. We walked into the ER, got registered, handed over his Taiwan health card to the cashier, met with the pediatrician ER doctor, got diagnosis, another appointment, medicine and out in about 30 minutes for $12.50. I sure would like to bring that ER home with us.

Our son has impacted wax and they could not even see his ear drum so we go to a specialist on Monday, to see if he can fly without pain. We do not want him hurting or miserable for the 11 hour flight to San Francisco.

After lunch and medicine we went for a walk, first to the flower market which is underneath a rapid rail line and stretched for a couple of blocks. It was rather large but hot in places under the bridge. Next we visited a large city park – Daan Forest Park where the children could play on various things.

Taipei Tower

A few sights on the return to the hotel and another little park with things to do.

Then back in our room, our son, decided to dress in his native garb. While trying to speak with him, chatter back to him since we hardly understand one another, I happened upon a word that I said off the cuff to him – banzai! He loves it and just laughs with delight upon hearing it and giggles and cries out Banzai! Banzai! With great glee!

Our Son!

Banzai!

Taipei

28 February 2010 – Three days since my last post and a very busy three days it has been. It seems we are going to eat, thinking about going to eat, eating, coming back from eating with a little TV movies, MTV thrown in in Chinese, Haiti relief songs, sleeping, trying to sleep, tossing and turning.

McDonald's seems to be our choice for cheap eats and is about ½ mile away – 1 big block down and 2 big ones over – and then back. Carrying 42 pounds on ones hip or back gets old quick and I've learned new areas of my back and the associated soreness.

Breakfast at the hotel has been fabulous after we moved from western fare to Chinese / Japanese fare. The latter has a much larger selection of delights to choose from, many of which we've never seen or heard of or thought of as food sources from little tiny pickled fish that we ate all but the heads, to extremely salty pickled something or other. Pickled radishes are a crunchers delight, tasting like much of nothing but lots of crunch. The bean paste little biscuit like things are delicious and I could eat several at one sitting. Tian and Yu-Hsuan are tearing through seaweed like kids and sugar eating packet after packet. It tastes nasty to me, smelling like antifreeze.

Since we've traveled much the same paths here since arrival it doesn't take long to find ones way around but Taipei is a city of bustling people. Nearly everywhere one looks, there is something being done differently from home. While bigger than Tainan there seem to be less mopeds mainly because there are so many more cars and buses. Like Tainan there a hundreds of taxis and it is somewhat amusing to see the makes of these from Toyotas and Nissans to unknown kinds and Mercedes. Cars come in colors that I have yet to see in the US.  Yesterday a pinkish, burgundy color VW bug was seen as well.

Views from our 10th floor room.

Yes, it is a Fun House, now!

Our hotel room and the children playing while Mama uses laptop.