Taipei

It’s been ages since Ivan last saw his college friend and ex-roommate Kevin Wong. We took up on Kevin’s offer to host us in Taipei. We requested for more outdoor activities away from the malls, and Kevin delivered and showed us a great time! It was great visiting New Taipei City and its surroundings, as well as meeting Kevin’s kids. Too bad we didn’t get to meet his wife Victoria, hoping to meet her when they come to L.A. to visit us!

Japanese Restaurant

Bi-Tan & dinner

Japanese Restaurant

This sushi restaurant is the bomb!

We took the high speed rail to go to Banquio station to meet with Kevin.

The inside of the high speed rail (HSR) is very nice. The ride is smooth and super fast.

The food here is fantastic! It's super popular, we had to show up before the restaurant opens at lunch time just to get a spot quickly... and this was a weekday for lunch!

Raw oysters. Yum!

Mini corn, still in wraps.

This was the wait when we left. Weekday lunch. Crazy.

Since many kids ride on scooters with their parents, the selection of kids helmets here are impressive.

This was one popular restaurant. Even on a weekday, people line up outside before the restaurant opens at 11:30am! We understood why as soon as we bit into the sushi. So fresh!

Bi-Tan & Dinner

We rented bikes and rode around Bi-Tan. It's beautiful here.

The girls tried out hitting at a nearby driving range for the very first time. Fun experience! They'll need more lessons for sure.

This was a cool obstacle course. Low level of difficulty, which made it fun for the kids.

Crossing a no-car bridge to the other side of the river.

We rewarded ourselves to some nice drinks by the river after the bike ride.

It was great meeting Kevin's kids and enjoying dinner with them. The kids' friend's dad owns this restaurant.

The HSR station is underground, accessible from this plaza. Cool Christmas tree is still up.

Colorful entrance to the HSR station.

We tried using the HSR tickets with no assigned seats. Big mistake. No seats for the first few stops. Ashlyn and I got tired of standing and sat in the luggage area.

Standing room only.

Bi-Tan is a popular spot for weekend-getaway. We rented bikes to ride along the river, the kids were so happy to ride around the bikes and to explore the outdoors instead of the typical walking and shopping. They also tried golf driving range and a bicycle obstacle course for the first time. This was a fantastic place!

We picked up Kevin’s kids with him and headed to dinner together. The kids, elementary-school ages, were picked up from their after-school tutoring places at 6pm! School is no joke in Taiwan.