Celebrating a decade of a thousand more...
This year, 2026, marks ten years of life together for me and Shane. A journey that kicked-off with a challenge of a 14-day wedding project.
The succeeding years were no more less daunting, as we constantly needed to brave a series of transitions from one season to the other. In time, we have become a family of four and we decided to celebrate the milestone in a special way in what has been called as the "land of beauty" (Ilha Formosa) -Taiwan. A beautiful place for a beautiful life that it has turned out for us.
In this post, we are sharing our experience as a family, first as our way of thanksgiving to the Lord who made it possible and secondly, as an encouragement to other young couples to keep on going amidst a world that so easily gives up when the going gets tough.
Top left: traveling with two kids is no joke, we survived with a stroller and a pair of foldable chairs. Top right: this is Yuna's first airplane ride, thankfully we didn't have a crying little lady all throughout the flight. The cabin crew must be happy.
For this trip, we are no longer the happy-go-lucky couple with a serendipitous itinerary. Foremost now in our consideration are the two kids -Yumi and Yuna. So we have to search for a place that is ranked highly not only for being child-friendly but also someplace that they will enjoy as much as we will as adults. Taiwan easily came on top of the list. For many reasons you'll discover later in the blog.
Even though, at first thought, it is but a small island, there are actually lots of things to do in Taiwan. But we decided not to explore everything and we stayed true to our guiding principle when traveling: not to butterfly-hop from one tourist attraction to another but instead to immerse deeply in a few places that resonate with our sensibility as a family.
Our itinerary moves in four clusters of adventure: a zoo day, a city culture day, an astronomy day, and a mountain day. We explored mostly Taipei, checking out its touristy destinations and also checking out some of the more hidden gems. Upper right: the famous tower of Taipei 101. Bottom right: Shifen Waterfall, so called Niagara of Taiwan.
Food. What we love about Taiwan is that the kids have no problem with its culinary offerings. Noodles for Yumi, xiao long bao for Shane, Taiwanese sausages for Yuna, and braised pork rice for me! Must try at the night markets are the colorful potato balls, radish cakes, and black pepper buns (we found the Michelin-awarded stall at the Raohe night market). We skipped the stinky tofu though. Maybe next time when the kids are not so picky anymore.
We avoided the tourist trap restaurants and brave the spots that locals frequent. We used the practical mark of Michelin-level cooking: ordinary Taiwanese, especially Gen-Zs, patiently enduring the long queues! Thanks to Google Translate and improvised sign-languages, we survived sorting out menus and placing orders.
Top center: in local spots, our bill will usually be only around 300-400 NTD per meal for the four of us. It will be the equivalent of just a bowl of noodles in most restos designed for tourists.
Bubble Tea. Taiwan is known for gifting the world with a fresh and fun way to enjoy tea. And true enough, at almost every corner, there will be tea shops and sightings of people carrying their favorite milk teas. My personal quest was to try one at the Oolong Tea Project -considered to be the equivalent of a popular single-origin cafe. Only that at stake are the variety and quality of tea leaves and also the science and art behind making good tapioca pearls. Spells the difference between bobba teas and bubble teas!
Between the popular Xing Fu Tang (priced at 120 NTD) and a local favorite with really long queues every night (only 50 NTD), the latter wins, not only in price but also in taste.
Moving around. As usual, Shane got a good command of the railways, cracking the code of Taipei Metro's train system. Yumi got an Easy Card while Shane and I used the unlimited Metro pass. Yuna happily rode everything for free.
We so love it that the city made it sure that it will be easy for PWDs, people with strollers, and even those with luggages to hop from one train to the next. There is even a dedicated space for families traveling together.
Bottom left: the famed combination of bronze ceiling and bamboo at the Taipei Main Station. We got lost one time and seeing the bamboos felt like finding a lighthouse amidst a tumultuous storm.
We also tried the Gondola at Maokong. We chose to ride the cable car called as the 'Crystal Cabin' which features a transparent (see through) glass floor. As the kids exclaimed, "the floor is nada!"
A day at the Asia's biggest zoo. From the pandas of China to giraffes of Kenya, Taipei's zoo features a wide range of attractions. The main areas are: the Penguin House, Bird World, African animals, Desert animals, Pangolin Dome, Children's Zoo, and Formosan Animal Area. It literally requires a whole day to see everything. But maybe not all things 'coz Yumi failed in her goal of spotting a capybara.
We saw two pandas in the Zoo -the mother (Yuan Yuan) and her child (Yuan Zai).
Escape to outer space. After spending a whole day with fauna and flora, we thought it would be good to have an entirely different vibe the next day. We decided to try the Astronomical Museum and fortunately we did coz it turned out to be the kiddos' most favorite. The great thing about it is that the installations are meant to be interactive, not just things to look and learn at but stuff to be played with and experienced. Also, it is surprisingly not so pricey, being a government service to young students.
Beside the space museum is the Taipei Children's Amusement Park but we skipped it due to lack of time and also because the rain started to drizzle.
Bottom right: An extra ticket will allow you to ride a spaceship that tours the Milky Way Galaxy with unexpected sightings of extraterrestrial beings.
Ascending the mountains. The northern part of Taiwan boasts of having a unique view of peaks and coasts. It is also the location of Jiufen and Shifen, famous for its old streets and railway. For this leg of our Taiwan trip, we decided to avail of a tour via Klook and save ourselves from the complex transfers of buses and trains. People usually go to Shifen on evenings to see flying lanterns lit in the skies but we followed the tip that Jiufen looks magical at night.
Top left: Rock formations at Yehliu Geopark. Top right and bottom left: enchanted old streets of Jiufen. Bottom right: the animation 'Spirited-Away' of Studio Ghibli took inspiration from the streets of Jiufen.
We released a family lantern along the old railway of Shifen, with prayers of good health for the years to come.
Further deep into the city. Since we chose to have our base in Ximending, we spent our final day exploring both its popular spots and its tucked-in secrets as well.
The famous Rainbow Crossing at the shopping district. Street art at Kunming Road. Red lanterns of a 300 year old temple. The bricks of the Red House. The vibrant street of Ximending.
Thank you for reading and for sharing in our joy. Hope we are able to help a bit in inspiring you to check-out our nearest neighbor and perhaps the origins of our indigenous ancestry.
It is very interesting that the artwork and patterns of Taiwan's indigenous people share a remarkable similarity to what we have in the Cordillera region. One theory has it that the aborigines from Taiwan traveled to the Philippines and to the rest of the islands in Southeast Asia. Collectively regarded as the Austronesian peoples -a magnificent group of seafarers- these ancients navigated the oceans all the way to Madagascar, way before the huge galleons of the Europeans reached their other side of the world.
-Rei, Shane, Yumi, & Yuna PS We got some additional tour tips for you after the pictures below.
Center: We made sure we pay our respect to the father of Taiwan by visiting the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall.
Some tour hacks that may be handy: 1. You can use your credit card to ride the trains. Just tap and away you go. Usual fares for example, two stops will cost you only 20 NTD (equivalent to around Php 40). No need to get the unlimited pass if you won't be traveling so much at long distances using the Metro Train system. Using the Easy Card will allow you to ride both trains and buses. Should you decide to get the unli-pass, make sure to take a side-trip all the way to the hot springs of Beitou. 2. Have cash on hand (New Taiwan Dollar) if you decide to try out the local food as local stalls do not always accept card payments. ATM machines at the train stations tend dispense 1,000 NTD bills, if you need less, try the ones at 711.
3. Souvenirs are not necessarily cheap at the night markets. For example, T-shirts at Ximending and Raohe will cost you around 300-400 NTD which you can get for only 200 NTD at the stalls on the side of the Red House (but not inside the Red House for the stalls in there are artisan-level and will cost more, the quality though justifies the price).
4. Travel as you are able. The reality with having two (2) kids is that we move very slow in the morning. We are often able to leave the hotel at around 10-11am daily and so we generally plan for a pace of only a half-day itinerary. We did not stress ourselves so much that we are missing a lot of spots to check out.
For sure, it would have been great to explore the flower fields of Taichung, the Dome of Light at Kaohsiung, parks at Wulai, and the scenic train ride at Alishan. We just tell ourselves that missing all these spots gives us a reason for a possible return in the future. Because why not right?
We wish you blessing to your own trip and adventure in the beautiful island of Formosa. Have fun in Taiwan! ;)
