Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau: The Adventure Begins!

Our journey began on 12/29/16, fittingly exactly two years since I proposed to Katie on Catalina Island.  After saying our bittersweet goodbyes to both sets of our parents at LAX, and frantically reducing weight in our overpacked suitcases, we were off!  The check in line would be the first, but certainly not the last time we were gawked at by large groups of people due the magnitude of our luggage. 

The flight on Korean air was smooth, especially with unparalleled customer service by the flight attendants who took turns comforting a crying newborn a few rows over, as well as stimulating conversation with ex-pats including the director of an English school in Ulanbaatar, Mongolia.

I found myself agreeing with Donald Trump only once on this trip, and that was upon arriving at the Seoul Airport and stepping into a land of superior technology and free high speed internet.  As you may recall, he crassly bashed American airports in comparison to those found in major Asian cities.  Without the harsh vocabulary, I agree that many places in Asia are literally and figuratively the world of tomorrow.  

We were welcomed to Taipei by Yating, our hospitable host in the Beitou Hot Springs district.  Our first three days on the trip were spent in Taipei, the highlights of which included night markets with plenty of stinky tofu and fried squid balls, Taipei 101, Din Tai Fun, the Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park, and the Maokong Gondola.  At Taipei 101, we were briefly attacked by the South Korean paparazzi (three old ladies) who wanted to take pictures with us.  As Katie said, if you ever need a boost to your self esteem, travel to Asia where you will achieve celebrity status!

At this time, I would again like to thank our wonderful hostel Formosa 101 for agreeing to store our large suitcases for one month for free while we traveled to Southeast Asia before returning to Taiwan.  Formosa 101 will always have a special place in our hearts. 

We didn’t want to leave Taiwan, which would become a familiar sentiment toward every place we visited during this initial month of traveling (except for Ho Chi Minh City), but we were grateful that Taiwan was our chosen country in which to live and teach English. 

Our next stop was Hong Kong.  The food here, especially the dim sum at Tim Ho Wan was delectable.  The baked pork bun with sprinkled sugar on top tasted like Thanksgiving and Christmas combined.  We would eat there twice during our time in Hong Kong.  The next few days were spent with our friends Monira and Rita who were at the tail end of their travels through Asia.  If you have never traveled internationally with our friends Monira and Rita, do yourself a favor and explore the world with two of the most fun and enjoyable companions you could ever find.  Here we enjoyed views of the city after taking the funicular to the top of Victoria Peak.  Other highlights included the bar at Sky 100 (the tallest building in Hong Kong), Monira’s suit fitting by an authentic tailor, the gondola to Big Buddha (which broke down just as we were getting off, whew!), and inconceivably outstanding sushi and seafood at Rita’s Uncle’s Japanese restaurant. 

Our time in Hong Kong included a day trip to Macau where Monira perfected the fine art of baccarat, and Katie, Rita and I stuck with roulette.  We walked around the ruins of St. Paul’s cathedral, and saw an old Portuguese base where they fended off my pesky Dutch ancestors centuries ago.  At the Wynn Hotel and Casino, we saw a spectacular water fountain and light show at night which included Elizabeth Taylor’s “Diamonds Are Forever,” a personal favorite song of mine.  Despite Rita’s request to the immigration officers in Macau and Hong Kong, neither Special Administrative Region would stamp our passports.  That is really the only lowlight of this trip which featured the best of China without entering the mainland.  However, there is no proof of this trip in our passports, so I could have made it all up just now.   

The next day we would say our reluctant goodbyes to Hong Kong, Monira and Rita, see a few lemurs at the zoo and botanical gardens, and depart for Vietnam.  I can see why Hong Kong is one of the most popular destinations in the world, and I would love to spend more time there in the future. 

If you are reading this, please know that you are missed and loved by us.  We hope your 2017 is off to a great start! 

Special acknowledgments are owed to Bradley Baumgartner whose writing I admire and could only aspire to emulate. 

Love,

Matt and Katie         


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