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!