22 December 2010

Emily woke us shortly before the 7am alarm we had set, and we greeted the birthday girl. We went straight downstairs to eat. There was the usual slightly odd selection of dishes you find on an Asian buffet breakfast: sugary cereals, bread and jam, braised tofu, noodles, rice, bacon, star fruit, porridge, pasta salad. It was decent enough and we ate enough to begin the day with full bellies. Back in our room, Emily opened her cards and the few small gifts I had brought with us.

I felt so bad that she would have to wait such a long time for the main event, but at least she had had her party and I was so glad I had done it, though I still felt there was a sense of anticlimax for the actual day.

The taxi to the main station didn't take too long so the stress I had felt gradually evaporated as it became clear we would be in plenty of time. I had booked tickets online but now we had to collect them. Gary had worried us about a lack of helpfulness and of English (rather unduly it turned out); we picked them up without any problem and had an hour to kill before boarding the fast service for Hualien. There was a Christmas display with a moving, singing Santa model that captivated Emily, so we set up camp by him with our bags while we took it in turns to go off foraging for supplies and souvenirs. Emily loved the little model Tze Chiang train I found for her. We were somewhat disconcerted when I took her to the toilets as a man and woman were in the Ladies with a large video camera, apparently filming a piece for TV. The woman was going in and out of the only sit-down loo while saying her lines; the others all being squat toilets which Emily does not like, we left with our aim thwarted.

We got onto the smart express train and found our spacious pair of seats. First we passed through suburbs then along valleys and through tunnels into the heavily-vegetated hills and mountains that block the way to the east coast. Taiwan has 165 mountains over 3,000m, a great density for such a small island. The plant life consisted of palm trees, bamboo and water-flooded paddies. We also spotted some banana trees and some coconuts. It all felt decidedly exotic and not at all like Japan. We broke through to the Pacific coast and Emily's mood improved for a while as she had been getting very tetchy. The rest of the two hour journey was close to the sea, though it receded beyond paddies, industrial areas and grey towns at times. Emily becamse very upset and I felt close to tears to think she was so fed up on her birthday just so we could satisfy our curiosity and come to Taiwan.

At long last we arrived at Hualien, not a moment too soon. Our hotel had sent their shuttle minibus for the 10 minute ride to the out of town seaside establishment. The immediate environs was done in Mediterranean style - all whitewash and blue - but it was surrounded by a scrapyard and ugly concrete dwellings. Emily was very taken with several stray dogs and kept waving to them but they looked a bit mangey and and left poo and wee all around the promenade. It is a strange area, with obvious recent efforts to modernise as there was nice landscaping in places, but it is still in the process of being cleaned up and made into a leisure destination. Fighter jets at the nearby provincial airport had Emily a bit nervous at first as they screeched past. It was only a few hundred metres from the sea though, and it sat at the bottom end of a wide-sweeping bay with steep mountains dropping straight down to the ocean. The water colour close to shore was turquoise, even under heavy cloud.

We hung out in our pleasant room for a while and ate some birthday cake (which I had prearranged with the hotel to be waiting for us)

then ventured forth to the beach, which was a mixture of coarse sand and stones. Emily had cheered up and we had a nice time together.

The large breakers were very powerful due to a sharp shelf near the shore, booming with every toppling crest. Nick and I screamed and ran when one whopper chased us up the beach after we got too close, narrowly missing a soaking. It was cloudy and windy, but not at all cold. There was a warm gust in the aftermath of every wave, like opening the bathroom door after a shower. I am not sure I would want to bathe even if the sea was calm, as we found several dead spikey fish.

There were some odd boats lying on the grass behind the beach, which are made from large plastic piping but I think modelled on original aboriginal craft fashioned from bamboo poles. These do apparently put to sea, though I would not feel safe in one with the surf so rough. There are many tribespeople on the east coast and they seem to have darker skin than other Taiwanese.

After we returned to the hotel Emily got upset again and was clearly tired after our earlyish start and no nap, plus all the emotional energy used on the train. The nascent resort seemed ill-served with dining choices but on enquiry we were told about a western combo style restaurant 5 minutes walk along the shore road. Emily had a meltdown on the way there so we arrived at the huge establishment with her very subdued and red-eyed. The place must seat a good 150 but we were the only ones there. It is slightly odd, having a goats theme and though they asked if we had come for a drink or food they did not sell beer and only had sweet red wine available. We ordered and Emily pottered around the cavernous place examining every model and plant and playing mazes around the empty tables. At least she was now having fun, and we managed to get some morsels of food down her when she stopped by the table on her ramblings. Our three main courses were massive and actually pretty good so we dined very well. Nick tried the complimentary hot goats' milk but said it was very tangy so I passed. Even as we left, we were still the only customers so I don't know how they survive or why they bother opening out of season.

On the walk back we gazed at the full moon as it appeared through scudding clouds. In the room I settled Emily then left Nick relaxing on the bed next to her (naturally, he ended up falling asleep) while I retired to the cafe provided for guests, where they have internet and free coffee and snacks laid on. It almost feels like a hostel but with superior rooms and the general decor is fresh and attractive.

21 December 2010

We were up at 5.30 and in a taxi by 6.15 with a wide-awake Emily and there was plenty of time to pick up coffee at Shinagawa before we got on the Narita Express. There was not much time to kill in Departures before we boarded the China Airlines plane bound for Taipei.


Even after the meal was served there were still two hours of the four left and Emily was getting quite fracious before the end, which does not bode well for our next flight to the UK. I had hoped the iPod would help but she tired of it very quickly. The 747 was quite an old one and we realised how long it had been since we flew without individual seat-back in-flight entertainment. Emily was in a regular seat so even if there had been something suitable for her to watch she would not have been able to see the single large screen ten rows down anyway.


We landed in a hazy Taipei at lunchtime and soon cleared customs. It felt humid and warm, as you might expect down near the Tropic of Cancer. Nick has an old MBA mate, Gary, who is Taiwanese, and he was great. Although it was a working day, he picked us up from the airport and drove us the half hour trip into the city to our hotel. Emily gave in to slumber on the way but woke when I tried to get her out of the car so she only had 20 minutes' nap. We quickly checked into our very decent hotel, then rushed back downstairs as Gary had offered to drive us into the city centre, our acccommodation being some way out from where we wanted to be. In fact it felt very 'Asian' around the neighbourhood, with lots of ugly concrete buildings, hundreds of scooters on the roads and the odd temple topped with extravagent colourful dragon carvings. Tokyo feels much more westernised and though Taiwan has a high GDP per head (better purchasing power parity than Japan and France) it has the feel of somewhere poorer. As usual Emily was spelling out shop signs, and the first one she spotted, opposite the hotel, was ' Sexy'; a dodgy dive in a run down shack. I was surprised by how few signs were in Roman lettering since English is at least as widely spoken as in Japan, where there are far more English letters to be seen.

It took another half hour to make it through congested traffic to Taipei 101, which until this year was the tallest building in the world (now massively eclipsed by Burj Khalifa in Dubai).

Though there was a fair amount of cloud we decided to go up to the observation deck anyway. First there was the diversion of the mall which occupies the first few floors. Here we found a nice Christmas display and also a Haagen Dazs cafe, where we rather splurged on cake/ice cream/coffee sets.

After our recent attempts to eat small and healthy, I think we both felt we had overdone it. It is hard not to go overboard when on holiday though. Emily was reluctant to go on up to the top as she was enjoying hanging out by the display but in time-honoured parental fashion we employed a diversionary tactic to get her away and were soon whizzing up in one of the fastest lifts in the world : from 5th to the 89th floor in about 40 seconds (top speed over 1,000m per minute).


We spent a good hour looking out at the 360 degree views, though Emily was far more interested in playing around the Christmas decorations and on the soft chairs.


There are few other notable structures to spot from up there apart from the nearby Sun Yat Sen memorial hall

but the city is surrounded on three sides by tree-covered hills and mountains and has a domestic airport close to the centre as well, and the many-coloured hutong rooves make a pretty patchwork.

We were rewarded for our long stay up there by a beautiful sunset, which matured nicely for nearly an hour, during which time we found that we could ascend three more floors to an outdoor deck.

Eventually we called it a day and passed back through a vast coral gemstone gift shop to the down lift. There are several coral reefs around the island and a speciality is the blood-red coral gemstone, which was here presented, along with other precious stones like jade and amethyst, in some amazing carvings such as huge crabs, dragons, turtles.

Back outdoors in darkness we gazed up at the now-lit tower then got swiftly in a taxi to go and meet Gary for dinner. There is a famous dumpling restaurant near his home he wanted to take us to, and we were happy to go along with that suggestion. Emily was tiring fast so we convened at 6pm. While waiting for him at the rendezvous point we strolled around the neighbourhood and I saw Mango, Aldo and Body Shop all in one short stretch of a busy shopping street. One street back it was also bustling, but lined with eateries of varying degrees of luxury. The street stalls with their small plastic furniture reminded us very much of Hanoi. They were vying for position with quite trendy and modern bars and cafes. One corner stall had a glass display case exhibiting wares of cooked ducks' heads, chickens' feet and 'stinky' tofu dishes.

We found the dumpling restaurant and went on in. We were the only foreigners there, though it in all the guide books, and its sister establishment in HK has a Michelin star. Emily was starving so we ordered a few dishes we thought she would like, but she was so grouchy that she initially refused everything and I was grateful I had a pouch of kidney beans with me. Gary turned up with his girlfriend Cindy (most young Taiwanese adopt a western name - one of our waitresses was called Beryl!) and we ordered some more dishes he recommended.

I particularly liked a mushroom and vegetable steamed bun (so did Emily, eventually) and the fish dumplings. Emily finally loosened up when some noodles appeared and she and I ate the very long ones together, sucking in from each end, which made her laugh at last. At 7.30 she began agitating to leave, saying 'I want to go to the place next to here' (at home if she wants to use the loo she often says 'I want to go to the room next to your bedroom'!) so we had to wrap up rather sharpish and head for the hotel.

We really wanted to pick up the tab in recognition of all his help that day, but in typical hospitable Asian style Gary insisted firmly on paying. I don't think that Asians understand that we westerners are uncomfortable with feeling obligated. He hailed us a cab and directed the driver, then we were on our way. Thankfully traffic had died down by then and quarter of an hour later we were back in Sinjhuang, and feeling very grateful to have had a friendly face and local help on our first day.

As usual Emily wanted to explore our very spacious and well-appointed family room (one of the best I've ever stayed in and only GBP 90, so it paid to be away from the expensive centre area). I managed to persuade her to prepare for bed and in fact we were all pooped so we decided to call it a night too. By 9pm we were all in the mega-comfortable beds. It was rather a disturbed night for me as Emily cried out often, requiring me to pretend to sleep next to her one one of the two king-sized beds.

20 December 2010

I held Emily's birthday party a couple of days early due to our trip, ,and was thankful that the four friends I asked were all available. Given the season, it will always be hard to pick a date when guests don't have holiday or alternative party plans. As I had decided to have the party at home I couldn't ask any more or we would have been too cramped, especially as all the other mums have a second child now. It went a lot better than expected and with very few flare-ups on the kids' part, though naturally as they got tired after lunch it did become a little fraught now and again. Mia and Charlize didn't know the other two so I was glad to see them interacting most of the time.


I put out the childrens' food first and they did it justice. I went for finger food: sausages, potato wedges, carrot sticks, animal-shaped omlette slices, star-shaped mini-pizzas and chocolate crispy cakes with fresh fruit. I was glad I had been able to make it all myself, even down to the pizza dough.


We settled the kids in front of a DVD so that we could have a bit of peace to eat our food. I was worried that I would have a lot of food left over since we would be off to Taipei first thing, but the mums did a good job of demolishing the humus and crudites, smoked salmon wraps and mozzarella and cherry tomato sticks.



Finally, I brought out the cake and Emily seemed suitably pleased and surprised. She didn't quite manage to blow out all the candles before the others 'helped' her but there weren't any tears. I had fretted about the small size of the finished article, once all the off-cuts were taken away, but actually it was the perfect size for the number to feed. There was a lot of sticky, red icing smeared on faces and fingers, of course!

19 December 2010

Nick kindly agreed to take Emily out for the day - to the Railway Museum in Saitama - so that I could prepare for her birthday party and for the holiday.




I spent the whole day cleaning, shopping, packing and cooking. My first attempt at a cake ended in disappointment, as when I turned it out I found it had a soggy bottom! Second time around I tried the old faithful madeira recipe and it worked a treat, though it didn't rise very much. It took me several hours to shape and decorate it, but I was pleased with the result.

18 December 2010

In the afternoon we attended a Christmas party at Emily's nursery. It was very well organised, with songs, activities and even cookie-decorating. Emily was subdued for most of it, as she always seems to be when we go to parties, though she warmed up towards the end. I think she was thrown by the rearrangement of furniture in the playroom, and by the presence of so many adults. Jorge, one of the teachers, is Mexican and had made two pinatas filled with sweets. It took the kids ages to break them open. I don't think Emily liked the idea of bashing the cute Rudolph one he'd made though!


I am usually very disciplined and only weigh myself once a week, on a Sunday evening. However, after I had done a 45 minute run (on a very chilly evening, I must say), I decided to jump on the scales and was so happy to get a reading of 62.7kg, which is 9st 12lb in old money and means that I have technically made my target of under 10 stone by Christmas (admittedly before eating a hefty dinner and I know it won't last, but still...)

18 December 2010

After lunch with Nick, Emily and I walked over to Hamamatsucho as I was hosting the TMG playgroup at the jidokan there. On the way we stopped off again at Tokyo Tower, where we played around the Christmas lights display.


Before carrying on to the jidokan we paused a while at the part of Shiba Koen that is just below the tower. Here we found some truly gorgeous maple trees still in autumn leaf.

17 December 2010

It is still bitterly cold but at least it was sunny today, after the gloom of Thursday. Emily has joined the iPod generation (I loaded some of her CDs onto it)...

Nick was asked out to dinner with his colleagues and they went to a fugu (blowfish) restaurant. This fish is known for having a poisonous part that has to be removed by someone skilled in the art. Nick told me that every course consisted solely of fugu - first as sashimi then a fillet; its fins were even to be found floating in cups of flamed hot sake. The piece de resistance was shirako, which turns out to be the sperm sac. Nick ate his, and also drank some mixed with sake! He is certainly not squeamish, unlike yours truly.