Stanley Coastline

As a travel day back to Taiwan, we woke up early to grab a quick breakfast (at Super Sandwich again).  We only had time to do one last thing so we went to Stanley.  Via subway and double decker bus, we arrived at the peninsula town after a sickening hour of being tossed through winding coastal & mountain roads.  Stanley, named after Lord Stanley, is one of the oldest island villages and now a popular tourist town.  It also plays host to a street market filled with fun souvenirs everywhere.

Stanley Market

The town was quiet and abandoned at 9am, but shops were starting to open.  Ashley and I were excited to find exactly the items we had been wanting to take home.  Most specifically a sign with 福 written on it….

Reversed fu character

Before I continue, a quick lesson in Chinese:
福 (fú) is a character that can mean happiness, luck, good fortune, and blessing.
As the Chinese language is filled with homophones: dào, can mean reverse as well as arrive.

With that background, Asians traditionally hang a 福 sign, upside down, on or above their door as an invitation for good fortune to arrive into their home.  To Christians, however, we focus more on the blessing meaning of 福; it is used throughout the Bible to describe blessings, but is also integral in creating the ‘phrases’ that mean gospel and evangelism. Thus, as Christians, we hang the sign as a symbol of receiving God’s blessing.  (Moreover, the actual character 福 can be broken down into elements of God, man, and earth, but I leave that explanation for another day =)

McDonalds GCB

With shopping and sightseeing along the ocean complete, all of us headed back home for one last time to get our belongings.  We said our good byes to my aunt, and hopped into our taxi to the airport.  Throughout the trip, I had been yearning to go to a McDonalds.  I have a fascination with trying crazy McDonald foods of the world, and Asian ones tend to feature an extensive & varying (by country) seafood menu.  Ashley and I found the airport McDonalds, and the only ‘special’ item that we saw was a peppered “GCB” (grilled chicken burger).  We each bought one and I found it to be wonderful.

Dinner in Central Station

After the quick flight back into Taiwan, we met up with my Dad to take the scenic route home.  First a bus, then the Taiwan High Speed Rail (hitting 300kph), the subway, and finally a short walk.  We stopped in the midst to eat dinner at central station, and later went out to a Chinese bakery.  Vastly different from the taste and texture of a western bakery, we purchased a few breads and desserts for Ashley to try.  Our evening wrapped up with packing for the next day’s return stateside.

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Presidential  總統府

Somewhat recovered from the massive banquet of the previous evening, although not quite fully, it was now time for … another one!  This time in celebration of Ashley and my wedding + first year.  Ray booked a private room for us at 晶華軒 Silks House at Grand Formosa Regent Hotel. We made a quick drive-by viewing of 總統府 Presidential Office Building on the way to the restaurant.

Double Circles & Double Happiness

Our room was decorated with a large 囍 character that Ashley and I were to sit in front of.  It means double happiness. Our room also had a double circle above us and as the table.  All of this, including our menu, are a cultural tradition specifically for the occasion. Since this meal celebrated us and not my Grandmother, Aunt Kerri from my mother’s side joined us for this meal.  We would have liked to visit her house and spend more time, but our schedule wouldn’t allow for it.

After the banquet, we split into two cars driven by my dad’s brother and sister…. In Taiwan, this is a guaranteed adventure.  The Hsia family who are brave enough to drive in Taipei are masters beyond adeptness.  From my aunt’s mouth as she zipped left and right through traffic, “driving in Taipei is like fighting a war.”  Traffic lanes are a mere suggestion, horns are used liberally (but never out anger), and traffic lights mean very little.  Then, just for kicks, throw in the hundreds of mopeds all around you that weave around you in circles.  An hour early for a meetup with my Aunt Chieng, Ashley and I killed a bit of time at the Taipei 101 shopping mall.

CX Business Class

Aunt Chieng was going to take Ashley and I to visit Hong Kong where she now taught at City University in Kowloon Tong.  As a Cathay elite, she upgraded us into the business cabin with lie flat seats!  This was quite a treat, given that even as we are skyteam elite with Delta, a trans-oceanic upgrade into 777 lie-flat is a very rare thing and typically only done for operations (and not being an elite).  Our 90 minute flight served a meal beyond anything ever seen in a Delta Business Elite seat, and at one point I accidentally walked into the First Class bathroom.  The lavatory was at least the size of four regular lavatories, and a quick peak into the FC cabin showed that their lie-flat seats were bigger yet.

1010 at HKG

On arrival into HKG, we all cleared customs and continued to the Octopus Card counter so that we could pay for transporation (and even purchases like coffee) through the trip.  A mandatory stop at 1010 was also made, so that we could pick up prepaid SIMs for our phones.  $88 HKD ($10 USD) a piece got us going on a 7-day unlimited data plan.

We headed out to the taxi queue, and away we went toward Kowloon Tong. My aunt chatted away with the driver, as Ashley and I stared into the lights and buildings of one of the world’s most densely (per mi^2) populated cities.  Ashley likened the night drive to what entering Gotham City must be like.

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