After breakfast, we return to AIT where we pick up her passport with her immigrant visa inside and a very large packet of papers which I am instructed to present to immigration upon arrival in the US. Everything is ready when I get there, and we leave a few minutes later. Megan will become a permanent resident upon entering the US. Had David traveled with me, she would have become a US citizen immediately. The rules differ when only one parent travels. She will gain her citizenship after we complete the readoption process in the US. We’ll get started on that right away.
It isn’t a bright, sunny day, but it isn’t raining either so we catch a taxi to the Taipei Zoo. Both my mother and Megan are free, so it costs just under US$2 for us to get into the zoo. Some of the merchandise inside the zoo approaches US prices, but the admission price can’t be beat. The Taiwanese have gone panda bear crazy. The current president accepted the gift of a pair of panda bears from China toward the end of last year, and they went on display in January this year. The previous president had rejected the gift. They give you a piece of paper upon entering the zoo indicating what time you can see the pandas. It’s kind of like the fast pass at DisneyWorld. We wander around the zoo which is beautiful. There is a lot of greenery and beautiful orchids hanging from the trees. Many of the animals have room to roam though there are some exceptions such as the elephants. The zoo is filled with groups of school children of all ages dressed in their school warm up suits. Megan is more fascinated with the children and people in the zoo than she is with the animals. We wander through the zoo until it is time to see the panda bears. You walk in a line through the panda house, and you only have a minute to actually see the pandas. My photos didn’t come out, but they are such beautiful animals. One was munching on a pile of bamboo stalks, while the other was lounging with his back toward us. They were completely oblivious to all the attention they were attracting. I suppose celebrity status gets a little old after a while. Even though both my mother and I have seen pandas before, they never fail to enchant you. There is just something about these creatures that captivates the world. I had read an article on the EVA airlines site about their travel to Taiwan. These animals traveled in style in a temperature controlled area of the plane stocked with their favorite food, bamboo. Every detail was planned, so as to ensure that the animals did not endure any stress during their flight.
We had really come to see the pandas, so after we saw them we depart the zoo to visit the handicraft mart to purchase a few gifts. This is a 3 story building with each story specializing in different merchandise from Taiwan. We had expected to see a lot of touristy mass produced items, and we did. But we also saw some very nice quality items mixed in. We purchase a few things, including some Chinese style dresses for Megan for celebrating the Chinese New Year, but not too much as we have to make sure we have room in our suitcases. Shopping here has been fun.
We get back to the hotel much earlier than the night before. We deposit our things in our room and head for the Japanese restaurant in the hotel. The buffet is incredibly beautiful and unlike any Japanese buffet we have ever seen. Everything is beautifully displayed, and the food is amazing. The variety is spectacular, and the hard part is deciding what to take so that we don’t fill up before we have a chance to try all the things we want to try. The sushi and sashimi melt in your mouth, and we leave very well fed. The desserts look wonderful, too, but we simply don’t have room except for a few spoonfuls of ice cream which we had really gotten for Megan but who wasn’t interested. Even the ice cream was some of the best we had ever tasted. Megan didn’t dine as well as we did. She spit out everything we gave her, and all she really wanted was her formula.
Upon returning to the room, we start to pack up a few things and leave the rest for tomorrow. Tomorrow, we’ll leave the hotel around 4:00 for the airport and try to see the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall in the morning and maybe a temple. I’ll try to post another blog entry when we land in San Francisco.
It isn’t a bright, sunny day, but it isn’t raining either so we catch a taxi to the Taipei Zoo. Both my mother and Megan are free, so it costs just under US$2 for us to get into the zoo. Some of the merchandise inside the zoo approaches US prices, but the admission price can’t be beat. The Taiwanese have gone panda bear crazy. The current president accepted the gift of a pair of panda bears from China toward the end of last year, and they went on display in January this year. The previous president had rejected the gift. They give you a piece of paper upon entering the zoo indicating what time you can see the pandas. It’s kind of like the fast pass at DisneyWorld. We wander around the zoo which is beautiful. There is a lot of greenery and beautiful orchids hanging from the trees. Many of the animals have room to roam though there are some exceptions such as the elephants. The zoo is filled with groups of school children of all ages dressed in their school warm up suits. Megan is more fascinated with the children and people in the zoo than she is with the animals. We wander through the zoo until it is time to see the panda bears. You walk in a line through the panda house, and you only have a minute to actually see the pandas. My photos didn’t come out, but they are such beautiful animals. One was munching on a pile of bamboo stalks, while the other was lounging with his back toward us. They were completely oblivious to all the attention they were attracting. I suppose celebrity status gets a little old after a while. Even though both my mother and I have seen pandas before, they never fail to enchant you. There is just something about these creatures that captivates the world. I had read an article on the EVA airlines site about their travel to Taiwan. These animals traveled in style in a temperature controlled area of the plane stocked with their favorite food, bamboo. Every detail was planned, so as to ensure that the animals did not endure any stress during their flight.
We had really come to see the pandas, so after we saw them we depart the zoo to visit the handicraft mart to purchase a few gifts. This is a 3 story building with each story specializing in different merchandise from Taiwan. We had expected to see a lot of touristy mass produced items, and we did. But we also saw some very nice quality items mixed in. We purchase a few things, including some Chinese style dresses for Megan for celebrating the Chinese New Year, but not too much as we have to make sure we have room in our suitcases. Shopping here has been fun.
We get back to the hotel much earlier than the night before. We deposit our things in our room and head for the Japanese restaurant in the hotel. The buffet is incredibly beautiful and unlike any Japanese buffet we have ever seen. Everything is beautifully displayed, and the food is amazing. The variety is spectacular, and the hard part is deciding what to take so that we don’t fill up before we have a chance to try all the things we want to try. The sushi and sashimi melt in your mouth, and we leave very well fed. The desserts look wonderful, too, but we simply don’t have room except for a few spoonfuls of ice cream which we had really gotten for Megan but who wasn’t interested. Even the ice cream was some of the best we had ever tasted. Megan didn’t dine as well as we did. She spit out everything we gave her, and all she really wanted was her formula.
Upon returning to the room, we start to pack up a few things and leave the rest for tomorrow. Tomorrow, we’ll leave the hotel around 4:00 for the airport and try to see the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall in the morning and maybe a temple. I’ll try to post another blog entry when we land in San Francisco.
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