Earlier this year, at around May, I had spied on some cheap non-stop tickets from the U.S. to Taiwan and back for $1080 after tax.  I asked my mom if we would possibly be interested in going.  She told me to wait.  I waited, the tickets were snatched up, and I was sad.  That was, until some time in October (I had checked daily from May until then), when by chance, I stumbled upon tickets for $1050 after tax.  However, they included stopping twice (once in Atlanta on the way there, both on the way there and back in Narita, Japan, and once on the way back in Detroit) each way, which is arguably a worse deal.  However, after a little bit of nudging my mom, and after getting the go-ahead from my brother, I bought the tickets, and we were suddenly going to Taiwan over Thanksgiving.  

We spent the following month preparing - not a whole lot, honestly.  I put together a list the week before the trip, and sent it to my brother, for him to make sure he got everything, because he would be driving up from Austin to hang out at our home in McKinney, before leaving with us to Taiwan.  Therefore, he needed all the stuff he needed on him when he came here.  Then, the night before the trip, I packed my stuff (again, not a whole lot, just a few changes of clothes for the few showers I anticipated taking, some electronics such as a laptop, headphones, camera, and their accompanying chargers, and a whole bunch of gifts my mom wanted to give people).  I had learned not to overpack, as last year we didn't wear half the stuff we packed into our bags, and ended up just lugging around a bunch of unnecessary bulk.  

On the fateful morning of Nov. 26, we set out for the airport at 5:45 in the morning.  It was a nice morning.  The sun wasn't up yet.  We were tired, but didn't care because we would have plenty of time to sleep on the plane anyways.  Flying to Taiwan happened without much fuss.  We had already checked in at home, and had our boarding passes printed, so all we needed to do was drop our bags off at the airport, go through security, and wait for the plane to arrive.  The plane arrived, we boarded, and stored our things away, and relaxed.  I listened to my music, my brother and my mom watched movies.  We got to Atlanta, jumped off, ran to the next plane (which was boarding already), jumped on, and relaxed.  We got to Narita and did the same thing.  The only interesting thing that happened on the plane was that they served us three square meals (and I drank a bottle of sake).

We arrived in Taiwan some time in the evening.  Our original plan was to take the bus (while carrying three large luggages - 50lbs each, three small luggages, and three personal items; this combination was the maximum Delta would let us carry for free).  Fortunately, the sister of a friend was there to pick up the stuff her sister had asked my mom to bring her.  We were able to drop her stuff out (took up almost two of the large luggages), hitch a ride, and go directly to the place were we would be staying at (my mom's classmate's home).  We got there at around 9PM, and went straight to bed.

The next morning, we woke up, and were greeted by a couple who we had met in Huntsville, Alabama, something like 20 years ago.  They were happy to take us around in Taiwan and show us some pretty cool stuff.  So, we jumped on their car (a Suzuki AWD which was very much utilized to the max), and took off.  By now, we were only carrying one of the small carry-ons which had our clothes we would be needing for this two-day excursion across Taiwan.

Our first stop was the "Flower Sea" (花海) in Taichung (臺中 or 台中).  Here, we walked around, and took pictures of flowers arranged in a pretty way.  If I knew more about flowers, I would probably appreciate this more.  But, I don't.  So I won't.  In fact, the thing I appreciated most was how the ground was not turning into mud despite the moisture and heavy traffic.

Next, we went to a shady warehouse, where they sold us vegetation of a dubious nature.  These things smelled good, and made people happy when they ate them.  My brother and I weren't that impressed, but my mom really liked them.  I personally would've taken a piece of beef any day over these mushrooms.

Supposedly, the cheaper, smaller mushrooms are actually just as good as the bigger, more expensive ones.  They're just small, and size matters.  So, it goes like this - buy the big ones to gift people, and buy the small ones for personal consumption.  You get the same stuff, but you save some money.

We journeyed on and stumbled upon a museum full of relics of China's ancient history (supposedly the Han Dynasty, to be exact).  There were many interesting artifacts that really intrigued us.  

Supposedly, the official width of a road (literally called a horse road - 馬路) is six horses wide.  This is because, in ancient times, horses were a symbol of wealth and authority.  The emperor's carriage was drawn by horses in rows of six (sometimes two or three rows of them).  It really shows how far civilization has come, that now horses aren't used as a symbol of power (even though they are still pretty expensive).

Outside of the museum was a garden of flowers.  Our host told us that these flowers were special, as they symbolized the Chinese people.  Like the people, these flowers are persistent, hanging onto the tree long after they have wilted, and when they fall, they generally fall as a whole flower, as opposed to one petal at a time (like what we see in the Beauty and the Beast).

Then, we took a look outside.  Taichung is a pretty old place.  And because of that, we see old houses.  Oddly enough, it was quite impressive at the time to have windows (stone slabs with slits in between them running up and down like a prison cell).  Houses that had them meant that they belonged to wealthy people.  Once again, civilization has progressed farther since then.

Finally, for dinner, we ate some strange things (fresh seafood that were sometimes cooked, and sometimes not) in Kaoshung (高雄), where we spent the night.

The next day, we went to Tainan (臺南), supposedly the oldest city in Taiwan, and visited the famous buildings there.  At this point, a brief history lesson is in order.  In ancient times, Taiwan was settled by people usually from nearby Chinese provinces.  Because an agrarian society relied on land to support its population, as the population grew, people would need to find more land.  Thus, the people who went to Taiwan were usually Chinese farmers who would simply go there to live on the land.  Then, in the 17th century, the Spanish came and claimed the northern part of Taiwan, while the Dutch came and claimed the southern part of Taiwan.  This would continue for decades until the fall of the Ming Dynasty.  At the end of the Ming Dynasty, a general decided to go to Taiwan and set up shop there, in order to preserve the possibility of overthrowing the Ching Dynasty at a later date.  Thus, he came and defeated the Dutch and Spanish.  When the Ching came knocking, he surrendered, and thus Taiwan came under the Ching Dynasty.  However, the Ching did not really want Taiwan, as it merely came to quell any possibility of future rebellion.  Thus, when the Japanese went to Taiwan, the Ching did not do anything to interfere, and so Taiwan came under Japanese rule for hundreds of years, until the end of World War 2.  At that time, the Nationalist faction of the Chinese government was collapsing, and went to Taiwan to seek refuge.  They went there, and established the People's Republic of China (PRC), which is what Taiwan is up until now.  Anyways, this history lesson was necessary, because the famous buildings we visited were actually forts built by the Dutch, and later taken over by Koxinga (國姓爺), the Ming general.  Fort Proventia became Chihkan Tower (赤崁樓) and Fort Zeelandia... sort of just got taken over.  Anyways.

After that last stop at Tainan, we headed home.  Thus concluded the first two days of our trip (Nov. 27-28), and a tour of Taiwan.  For the next few days (Nov. 29-Dec. 1), we would chill at home, uploading photos,

eating good food, 

go to a hot spring in Yang Ming Mountain (陽明山), 

visit an old military training ground, 

take pictures of cosplayers, 

visit the "Red Haired Village" (紅毛城) or Fort San Domingo where the Spaniards lived, 

eat with my mom's classmates, 

walk the streets of Taipei (臺北 or 台北),

and visit relatives I never knew I had. 

On Dec. 2, we went to Hualien (花蓮).  Up until then, we had mainly been traveling up and down the western half of Taiwan.  Taiwan is geographically shaped with a mountain in the middle.  Most of the western parts are very developed (even to the point of overcrowded), whereas the eastern half is left mostly undeveloped, as the harsh climate usually hosts typhoons and earthquakes, making it an unsuitable place to live.  But, it is a very beautiful place.

And with that, we bought some dinner for the train ride back, and went back to Taipei.

When we got back, we basically had one day left to chill, and prepare ourselves for the ride back home.  We saw some more flowers, ate with some more of my mom's classmates and friends, looked at some books, bought some stuff, and went home.

The journey back home was not as smooth as going there.  We had to wake up at 5:00 in the morning again to get onto a bus that would take us to the airport.  Our first flight went from Taipei to Narita.  We had to get off the plane, go through security, and get onto a different plane (which had the same flight number).  That part wasn't cool.  When we arrived at Detroit, we had to wait for an hour, only to be told that the crew was stuck in Chicago, and so the flight would take off later at around 5:00PM.  This was pushed further back till 7:00PM or after.  By then, things were looking increasingly unfavorable, as another flight to DFW from Detroit leaving at 7:00PM had already been canceled.  So, despite being weary from the jet lag, I mustered enough strength to run around putting us on standby for another flight to DFW leaving at 5:25PM.  We hustled all of our carry-on luggage over to the other side of the airport, where the flight was, and were the last ones to get onto the plane, due to the kindness of the man at the counter.  The ride was bumpy, as it seemed the entire U.S. was experiencing a cold front.  But, we made it safely.  Then, we found out that our original flight had taken off 4 minutes later, and had arrived earlier than the flight we were on.  We got all our luggage and went home (it was sleeting and the roads had ice on them).  Of course, I survived.  Otherwise, I wouldn't be telling the tale.  Now, it is 2:43AM, and this post has taken way longer than I had anticipated.  If anyone is still reading this, good job.  You made it till the end.

P.S.  In case if you're wondering why this trip is labeled "Two" with no "One", it is because this was actually my second time in Taiwan, my first being in Feb. 2009.  But, that time I had gone with a group of fellow full-time trainees.  In the future, I may retro-post about that.