21 October 2018 - Farewell

Our last morning in Kaohsiung.

We walked around the corner for one final Egg Cake w/ sweet butter toast & a garlic toast

 

The temple around the corner from the house was hosting a blood drive

Setting up for a political rally in the middle of the street...it is election season here too

Stopping for a rice ball and a milk tea

 

It's a 1/3 mile walk from home to the Kaohsiung Metro stop. We'll take the metro to the Taiwan High Speed Rail station

 

Waiting for our train

Speeding along at 180 MPH to the Taoyuan Airport in Taipei

   

One final meal, I had spicy seafood noodles

And an excellent passion fruit tea!

 

The elusive and rarely spotted "empty seat."  Don't see many of these in the wild, the species is nearly extinct

 

Really disappointed in EVA Airlines food offerings on this flight. Generally, the food on any non-US-based carrier is pretty good. EVA's meals on this flight were not good...for a Taiwanese airline, it was a letdown

After a ~4-5 hour layover in SF, we made it to ABQ just before midnight. I got about 4 hours of sleep then headed back to the airport for a business trip which is why I'm several days late in finishing up this travel blog. We had a great trip and hopefully do not wait 2 years to do it again.

For those who made it to the end of this blog, I ask that you say a prayer for the ~200 people who were killed or injured in a Taiwan High Speed Rail accident on the same day we were traveling. We were saddened to see the news after arriving home that an express train bound for Taitung, where we enjoyed the spa last week, derailed at 5PM Sunday while we were enjoying our last meal at the airport. Initial reports were that, of the 360 passengers, there were 18 deaths and ~178 injuries. Our hearts & prayers go out to these individuals and their families. 8 of the deaths were from a single family returning from a wedding.

Farewell to Taiwan, we will see you again!

20 October 2018 - Feast X2

Two separate feasts to mark our final full day in Kaohsiung.

The sesame bread & youtaio was closed so had to settle for a "mixed" egg cake (this time with meat) and a chocolate toast

 

Lunch was at the Dream Mall with several generations of college friends

 

Started with a Cranberry Apperitif and the food kept coming....too many dishes to capture, several spicy

Yi-Jiun was the first generation graduate from her college program...which makes her the old lady of the group. She's had lunch with them several times over the years and the group always gets bigger with more kids

 

Taiwan is gearing up for Halloween & a Dia de los Muertos party

Outside the Dream Mall...just one of many HUGE malls around Kaohsiung

 

Biking home after lunch

 

Dinner in a private room at a nice restaurant...arranged by former students of Yi-Jiun's mom

An unusual combination that worked well!  Mango nectar on top of a layer of taro & seaweed. Mix together and the saltiness of the seaweed went very well with the sweet mango. 

好吃

The dishes came too fast to capture.  

  

Good Food & Good Times

19 October 2018 - Friday - Hot Hot Wasabi

Hot hot wasabi, goes great with sashimi, don't you agree with me?

  

Garlic toast, french toast, and egg cake for breakfast in Taitung. The french toast was pretty good, a first for me to eat in Taiwan. We ended up eating at a table next to the owner. Seemed nice.

     

Before heading back to Kaohsiung, we stopped at a place on the coast to feed the fish

The area we were driving through is the Buddha Head Fruit (Custard Apple) capital.  Very sweet fruit, good flavor. Inside is mushy like a custard.

  

Lunch at Dong Gang in Pingtung, so many choices for fresh seafood

Had to go with the fresh Sashimi

  

With spicy sea snails for a snack before our drive back to Kaohsiung

Rice noodles for dinner