One week in Taipei! — Mika's Photos

Saturday-through-Friday in the lovely city of Taipei, Taiwan. This was our first big destination holiday-with-airplane with these two monkeys, but it went as well as we could have hoped. We di many “firsts”: the Zoo, Taipei 101, the breathtaking Maokong Gondola, a hot spring, the Taipei Children’s Amusement Park, the National Railway Museum, and many fantastic playgrounds! Taipei is a very kid-friendly destination, and we look forward to going back again!

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It's the week we've all been waiting for!

We haven't seen this Naga sculpture in a year, so it's new again.

We got to the airport plenty early, so there's lots to explore.

Lucy would like to ride a "purple one", thank.you.very.much.

Making the most of my +1 into the lounge.

Someone couldn't wait for strawberry yoghurt!

Making progress toward our gate.

And here we are, comfortably in Row 70.

Waiting (not so) patiently to take off, and enjoying the yoghurt she brought for Arlo from the lounge.

Finally in flight. Breakfast time!

Losing our patience now. Good thing we're in the back.

Out, as we prepare to land.

Welcomed to Taiwan with a giant pineapple cake.

Recharging the batteries on the way into the city.

Here we are, at our home for the week.

Bedroom #1, for Mum & Lucy.

And Bedroom #2 (for Dad & Arlo).

These two wasted no time making themselves at home.

That's the entrance to our walk-up right there.

Exploring the 'hood, on the way to the MRT.

Following the tactile tiles inside the MRT.

Here we are, at Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall!

Oh, there she is!

Just one cool solo traveler.

Still getting to their sightseeing shoes.

Well this is not boding well.

Resting and rehydrating before heading up these stairs.

There's President CKS.

As of a few weeks ago, the changing of the guards is at the base of the memorial now, to "eliminating worshipping authoritarianism".

There was still a good crowd.

Heading home - it's been a long day!

And thank goodness for our own kitchen! (And uber-eats, since it was pouring rain by the time we got home.)

Exploring our 'hood -- i.e. a night market -- after the rain has stopped.

This gelato store was directly opposite our apartment entrance, and the giant ice cream cone came to signify that we're home.

The next morning, Arlo was up early to draw in his new notebook.

Waiting patiently for the MRT...

Sitting like a big girl.

"Lucy hold on!"

The mall atrium of Taipei 101.

Every bathroom had fantastic little sinks at a perfect height for Arlo and Lucy.

Here we go, up the world's fastest elevator! (Certified by Guinness.)

The view from the 89th floor is not too shabby!

And we've got a beautiful morning.

Looking west, with Taipei World Trade Center in the "foreground".

The city seaping into the mountains.

And a plane landing at Songshan Airport.

Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall and the giant Taipei Dome right behind it.

A giant MacBook Air...

... and other cool architecture.

Collecting their first souvenir stamps.

Wefie!

The giant tuned mass damper that helps minimize sway during earthquakes or high winds.

(It left an impression. Tuned mass dampers now feature in all the buildings Arlo builds.)

A quick pop up to the outdoor deck on Level 91.

Proving we were here... and now time to head home for lunch.

Heading out again, knowing that it's likely to rain soon. We're heading to Da'an Park.

No shortage of nice cars here.

Interactive fountains in the park. Pedal for waterfall.

A concert of indigenous music in the park.

And here we are!

It's a lovely playground.

But Lucy's not so sure about the wet slide.

Almost all playgrounds had one of these spinny things. But they're all built at floor level.

Another common feature of the wonderful municipal playgrounds -- polished concrete slides.

Lucy really enjoyed this bucket swing. I think she'd forgotten that this was how it all started a year ago.

That's where we were earlier today!

A very sturdy-looking local bird.

Homeward bound, for a second time today.

The NTNU Art Museum peeking out from behind traditional architecture.

In Taipei, not only can you rent pedal bikes, but also electric motorbikes.

Stopping for some snacks as we approach home (and Lucy naps).

Delicious vegan noodles from a seller nearby.

We're off to the zoo!

Through a mountain we go.

Thankful for the very affordable stroller rental at the zoo.

Does every zoo have token flamingoes at the entrance?

First stop are the koalas!

In fact, they had two koala houses.

When the weather is cooler, the koalas are actually outdoors.

Next, exploring the kids zoo.

The meerkats stole everyone's hearts.

Uh oh! Ducks blocking the path! Whatever shall we do?

We were fortunate to get there early. The big panda house had no lines.

Our first time seeing pandas in real lfie. What goofballs.

And giraffes.

Rhino's bum, elephant's bum, Mum's bum...

Wait no, these weren't bums...

It's only 10:30, but this day (and the steep uphill climb of the zoo) call for an ice cream break!

Enjoying the pygmy hippos.

African elephants, which do look distinct after seeing so many Asian elephants.

The aviary area was fun.

This colorful guy eating lunch provided entertainment.

The playful otters were fun to watch, too.

They had so many giant, old tortoises.

Underwater turtles mean business.

Neat chameleons.

And heading out via Southeast Asia.

This lady looks just like her relatives in Hua Hin.

Little Miss, taking herself around.

This giant spider is *not* an exhibit, but rather, living outside the pangolin house.

A snoozing pangolin. The Taipei zoo is the only zoo to have successfully bred & raised pangolins.

All sorts of funky stick bugs in the Insectarium.

Collecting more stamps before calling it a day.

Heading home via train...

... in the driver's eat of these autonomous trains (with rubber tires).

A delicious dinner that night, and then early bed for everyone.

The next morning, we're heading back out...

And this time, we're trying our hands at the bus!

And our new favorite self-driving elevated train.

To the Maokong Gondola!

The route map.

And up we go! It's a ~30-min ride.

The views of Green Taiwan are beautiful.

Happened to snap a pic of the maintenance car.

There's the unmistakable Taipei 101!

It was also very hot inside: in the direct sun, with no A/C.

Tea plantations at the top.

We made it!

Time for some ice cream...

... and a wefie. And then we'll head back down.

Oh my! A glass-floor gondola this time.

Not for the faint of heart.

Hey look! Someone's actually in the maintenance car now!

At least they provide hand fans in the cars...

Back down at the base of the mountain, and we're off on our next adventure.

Checking our route while waiting for the subway.

Off to Xinbeitou, for its famous hot springs.

The last leg of a journey is on a branch line (!), with a hot tub in the elevated subway cars.

There are lots of very scenic parks in Xinbeitou.

A beautiful lotus pond in front of the public library.

Hot springs! Look at the steam coming up from the water.

There was a nice walkway around the pond.

But oh my, it was hot to stand down-wind of the water.

After a rather steep uphill walk, we're finally at our destination: the public hot springs at Spring City Resort.

It's the only kid-friendly hotspring, apparently.

We had to get out for about 45 minutes while waiting for a thunderstorm to pass.

The staff kindly gave Lucy & Arlo an umbrella (and an ice cream!)

Back in we go.

Kudos to Lucy & Arlo for getting into the 39-degree water!

Nice experience; exceeded our expectations!

And heading home after a long day.

The next morning, we're off again by bus...

To the Taipei Children's Amusement Park, a lovely little government-run amusement park.

First up, a carousel. Arlo didn't remember riding one at the Toronto Zoo.

And then a Ferris Wheel! Arlo's been wanting to ride one for ages!

Exciting!

Waiting to see if we'll end up upside-down at the top!

Nice views!

And then Lucy wanted to ride this "swing".

She was a brave little girl!

Brave... but her first words off were, "I don't like it". I guess that's the end of that one.

Then riding a tame little monorail, for a change of pace.

These guys loved the cute little kid-height sinks everywhere.

And then: the highlight of Taipei for Arlo! Bumper Cars!

He had a blast.

60 baht well-spent!

Taking a break under the shade at a nice playground.

Lucy rode the slide over-and-over-and-over.

(This is the end of Gallery 1. Please press "Escape" and then continue with Gallery 2, below.)

Lucy could have played on this slide all day.

Arlo wanted to ride the bumper cars one last time before leaving, but the lines were too long. So he rode the "mini-bumper-cars" instead.

As we left, the skies opened up. So we took shelter under the Taipei Performing Arts Center.

Ice cream break in an underground mall (while trying to avoid the rain).

And then the National Taiwan Museum Railway Department.

This Museum exceed our expectations - we ended up staying over 3 hours!

They had a "show" recounting key moments in history of the Railway evolution, in this giant model replica of Taipei Main Station, every half hour.

It was mostly Japanese and Taiwanese mothers and sons.

Standing atop a railroad.

Collecting our souvenir stamps.

Learning about the system of signals.

A very cool relief map of Taiwan.

Even the cafe sold bottled water shaped like train locomotives.

Last stop: the kids play room.

Picking up some quick snacks at Family Mart on the way home -- like this vegetarian tuna rice ball.

After resting at home, taking a short walk to a nearby playground.

It was too wet to enjoy.

And stopping for some radish cakes and dumplings on the way home.

It's our last full day in Taipei today.

Heading to the bus via a local morning market.

Waiting patiently for the bus...

... to the northern part of Taipei, with lots of great parks and playgrounds.

We were the only ones at this first playground... except for a crew of repairmen fixing all sorts of minuscule defects!

Lucy could've stayed on this swing all morning.

A swing for wheelchairs!

Lucy was wise not to try this slide. Mum did, and boy did it hurt!

Continuing our stroll, past a rose garden...

... and a ginormous hedge maze.

Poor Arlo couldn't walk that day, and so was confined to the stroller.

Then we stumbled upon an *amazing* playground, with all sorts of activities and multiple trampolines.

It's the Huabo Park Xinsheng Park Playground, and apparently it's still relatively new.

Lucy was into this large, polished concrete slide.

And a (wheelchair-friendly) spinny thing.

And another spinny thingy.

And another trampoline of sorts.

And there was an amazing climbing apparatus, but neither Arlo nor Lucy was big enough to use it.

And they had so many different types of swings. Lucy could've stayed here all day, too.

And there was a cool treehouse, too.

Oh, and did we mention that this park is directly under the final approach of aircraft landing at Songshan airport?

Waving to the A330 from Haneda.

Continuing our sojourn, and waiting for the rain to start.

Back through a business district.

This shop looks familiar!

Finally arriving at Huashan 1914 Creative Park.

This old winery is now a cultural hub, with neat stores.

This little shopper wasn't going to let a few drops of rain stop her.

Very intrigued by these "flattened" glass bottles.

We splurged and bought a great new travel backpack.

Lucy also could have stared at these intricate moving music boxes all afteroon.

Heading home in the storm, via Chiang Kai Shek memorial hall again, to collect the souvenir stamps we missed on the first day.

Piping warm soup for dinner, to warm our soggy souls.

The next morning, waiting under the kitchen table, after our second earthquake!

One last outing on our final morning: to Lungshan Temple.

Even the temples spray water mist in the summer.

Columns of amulets.

Lucy was very interested in watching everything.

Saying good-bye to the fish.

And good-bye to Taipei for this trip.

Heading back to our AirBnB one last time!

So exhausted, they couldn't even make it to the airport.

Collecting our final souvenir stamps.

More of those neat wooden music boxes at the airport duty-free shop.

Arlo enjoying his buttered bun and apple juice.

And on the final leg home!