I have had the two kids for over a week now (Moses is on winter break for 3 weeks) and I have managed to survive. Thankfully, Moses is interested in learning to write his numbers so he is happy to trace and draw and Seraphine does not mind copying everything he does. We stayed in for the morning then went out for some afternoon diversions.
We stopped by our favorite fry shop which sells freshly fried french fries sprinkled with salt and pepper, went to pick up High Speed Rail tickets, and then stopped by my favorite dou hua stand for steaming sweet soft tofu with red beans and barley.
On the way home we walked through the Teacher's college. Moses suggested we explore the art building. At first I was not so keen, but he was insistent. And I was glad we decided to go in. We explored the art studios and pretended to be painters and sculptors. I introduced him to the various supplies in the studios. We admired the paintings on the walls, and even got the chance to observe a student producing a huge ink painting. An hour passed quickly and before long we were on our way home in time for dinner.
Except for Seraphine's temper tantrums on the way home (good thing the college is just next door), it was a nice and easy afternoon with the kids.
--Tina
The daily life and adventures of a Taiwanese-American family during their extended stay in Taichung, Taiwan.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
English Playgroup and Engagement Cake Sampling
Joined and English speaking playgroup today and felt so much at ease just speaking English.
Speaking Mandarin all the time has become tiring and I feel like my Chinese is getting worse. My cousin Andrew gave me his itouch and I now have a program that helps me read and write Chinese. I just draw the character on the screen and I get the translation immediately. Can do the reverse. So now I am suddenly far more literate! I am probably more literate than most of my American born Chinese counterparts, but there are still so many words that I do not know! Anyway found out one of the moms adopted her son from Home of God's love in Luodong! What a small world. Another mom, Beth, who invited me started a unique English immersion student ministry training program in Taichung 4 years ago. Here's a link to their school: www.taiwan.wolsyme.com. Met another mom who also studied at TaiDa many years ago. Her husband is also Morrison graduate, like Steve. My friend Apple joined us with An-An. We had a great morning. I tried so hard to live like a Taiwanese and not have only foreigner friends, but I did miss the connecting in my own language so am glad to join this group.
This afternoon we went sampling cakes for my sister in law Jasmin's engagement party. It was great fun. We were given some tea and asked to sit down. We could then sample all the Chinese cakes we wanted. I have never seen anything quite like this, for the samples were self-serve! So Seraphine, Steve's mom and I tried (black) sesame mochi, taro mochi, redbead and mung bean mochi, butter green bean, some other ones, traditional meat, vegetarian, sesame mochi, sesame mochi, and taro mochi, and I guess we like the sesame mochi the best! We were getting so full but needed to try them so we knew which was best! End up buying a couple and bring back for Dad and Steve to try and the resounding favorite was the black sesame mochi! By the way Jasmin and Lawrence are coming to Taiwan end of February for their engagement! This is all Steve's mom talks about all day. It is a lot of fun.
Went to yoga class this evening. I go M and W nights. Some moves are impossible but I do feel improvement and much less pain in neck and shoulders. Best thing was I came back and the kids were all washed and in bed! Nothing is better than a clean smelling child to hug! Stayed up late with Moses to read his history book. Decided to make an exception to the schedule on my exercise days. Moses prays in Chinese now and I enjoyed those bedtime prayers. Seraphine fell asleep fast. Her new blanket wrap is just wonderful. I need to take a picture of it.
Tomorrow one of my favorite people to hang out with is coming: Susan Chen. She is an Engineer with a computer science degree from Syracuse University who works in Hsin Zhu. She was my bosom buddy years ago when I lived in Taipei. I am going to to go to small group tomorrow and then take Susan somewhere nearby for lunch while Seraphine naps.
--Tina
Speaking Mandarin all the time has become tiring and I feel like my Chinese is getting worse. My cousin Andrew gave me his itouch and I now have a program that helps me read and write Chinese. I just draw the character on the screen and I get the translation immediately. Can do the reverse. So now I am suddenly far more literate! I am probably more literate than most of my American born Chinese counterparts, but there are still so many words that I do not know! Anyway found out one of the moms adopted her son from Home of God's love in Luodong! What a small world. Another mom, Beth, who invited me started a unique English immersion student ministry training program in Taichung 4 years ago. Here's a link to their school: www.taiwan.wolsyme.com. Met another mom who also studied at TaiDa many years ago. Her husband is also Morrison graduate, like Steve. My friend Apple joined us with An-An. We had a great morning. I tried so hard to live like a Taiwanese and not have only foreigner friends, but I did miss the connecting in my own language so am glad to join this group.
This afternoon we went sampling cakes for my sister in law Jasmin's engagement party. It was great fun. We were given some tea and asked to sit down. We could then sample all the Chinese cakes we wanted. I have never seen anything quite like this, for the samples were self-serve! So Seraphine, Steve's mom and I tried (black) sesame mochi, taro mochi, redbead and mung bean mochi, butter green bean, some other ones, traditional meat, vegetarian, sesame mochi, sesame mochi, and taro mochi, and I guess we like the sesame mochi the best! We were getting so full but needed to try them so we knew which was best! End up buying a couple and bring back for Dad and Steve to try and the resounding favorite was the black sesame mochi! By the way Jasmin and Lawrence are coming to Taiwan end of February for their engagement! This is all Steve's mom talks about all day. It is a lot of fun.
Went to yoga class this evening. I go M and W nights. Some moves are impossible but I do feel improvement and much less pain in neck and shoulders. Best thing was I came back and the kids were all washed and in bed! Nothing is better than a clean smelling child to hug! Stayed up late with Moses to read his history book. Decided to make an exception to the schedule on my exercise days. Moses prays in Chinese now and I enjoyed those bedtime prayers. Seraphine fell asleep fast. Her new blanket wrap is just wonderful. I need to take a picture of it.
Tomorrow one of my favorite people to hang out with is coming: Susan Chen. She is an Engineer with a computer science degree from Syracuse University who works in Hsin Zhu. She was my bosom buddy years ago when I lived in Taipei. I am going to to go to small group tomorrow and then take Susan somewhere nearby for lunch while Seraphine naps.
--Tina
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Schedule a Success
It's 8:31. Both kids are asleep. Pushed through with the schedule and it worked great. I am so proud of myself.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Not Too Different from Days at Home
There are days that are not too different from days at home, except for our location.
For example, wake up, get Moses to school, clean up the rooms, do laundry, change Seraphine because she spilled milk all over her new outfit, try to make an outfit out of the leftover clothes, admire her cute new boots, look for a few lost items, tell Seraphine she may not play with the suitcase, let her cry and then distract her, realize she is hungry and go out to buy lunch, get a call to pick Moses up because he is sick, pick up Moses and take his temperature, ask Steve to buy lunch, bring the kids back home, feed Seraphine, put Seraphine down for nap while singing a Chinese song and helping Moses memorize the words, help Moses get into bed for his nap, do more laundry, download some pictures, pick up and comfort Seraphine from truncated nap (brother woke her up), eat snack, help Moses with setting up his new sorting recycling chore, let Seraphine go crazy with markers (used to label our recycling boxes, pick up the markers and look for the caps, make snacks for the kids, do poetry homework with Moses, get lessons from Steve's mom so I can help Moses with the homework, draw with Seraphine, resolve a couple of fights, teach Seraphine not to bite, pinch, or pull hair and teach Moses not to push his little sister, watch a few minutes of TV, explain what a chef is to Moses, correct his Chinese ( he was calling chef a piece of toast), eat dinner, clean up Seraphine's huge mess, put away laundry and do laundry as Steve gives baths, pick up laundry (we go to Steve's dad's clinic to do laundry so this takes a lot of time), make hot drinks, clean up mess, talk with Cousin Tony on phone for a few minutes, threaten Moses with a time out if he doesn't respond to request to go brush his teeth, floss Moses' teeth, put on Seraphine's snugsnug wrap, give Seraphine more milk, wait while she eats apples with grandma, wait some more as she eats duck with grandma while Moses and dad are reading a story, get both kids into bed, sing out family song, pray, let Steve pray some more, because I am too tired to talk, give Seraphine to Steve while she cries for more milk, take her back after she cries for a few minutes, start praying very loud and singing worship songs from college(this usually works), put sleeping Seraphine into her crib, send Moses to his own room to sleep, take a shower and wash my hair (finally!), read book of Matthew and Master Your Money with Steve, try to convince Steve to do the financial goal setting with me, wonder if he is on board, go away and journal a little, read the news and look up Tunsia (it's the northernmost country in Africa) on wikipedia, and then make a couple household schedules and checklists, such as the following: Our NEW and IMPROVED Bedtime routine which I will post for all to see: 6:45 Bath 7:15 PJs and ointments 7:30 Milk and Story 8:00 Family Prayers 8:25 HUGS 8: 30 Lights Out. I am pooped. I have to be at school at 8:30 to cut turnip cakes for our big Chinese New Year celebration at school. Hope Moses is well enough to make it. Hope Seraphine sleeps through the night tonight. You see, today the day is just like one at home. For us stay at home moms with very young kids, this is what life is like anywhere I suppose. Good night!
For example, wake up, get Moses to school, clean up the rooms, do laundry, change Seraphine because she spilled milk all over her new outfit, try to make an outfit out of the leftover clothes, admire her cute new boots, look for a few lost items, tell Seraphine she may not play with the suitcase, let her cry and then distract her, realize she is hungry and go out to buy lunch, get a call to pick Moses up because he is sick, pick up Moses and take his temperature, ask Steve to buy lunch, bring the kids back home, feed Seraphine, put Seraphine down for nap while singing a Chinese song and helping Moses memorize the words, help Moses get into bed for his nap, do more laundry, download some pictures, pick up and comfort Seraphine from truncated nap (brother woke her up), eat snack, help Moses with setting up his new sorting recycling chore, let Seraphine go crazy with markers (used to label our recycling boxes, pick up the markers and look for the caps, make snacks for the kids, do poetry homework with Moses, get lessons from Steve's mom so I can help Moses with the homework, draw with Seraphine, resolve a couple of fights, teach Seraphine not to bite, pinch, or pull hair and teach Moses not to push his little sister, watch a few minutes of TV, explain what a chef is to Moses, correct his Chinese ( he was calling chef a piece of toast), eat dinner, clean up Seraphine's huge mess, put away laundry and do laundry as Steve gives baths, pick up laundry (we go to Steve's dad's clinic to do laundry so this takes a lot of time), make hot drinks, clean up mess, talk with Cousin Tony on phone for a few minutes, threaten Moses with a time out if he doesn't respond to request to go brush his teeth, floss Moses' teeth, put on Seraphine's snugsnug wrap, give Seraphine more milk, wait while she eats apples with grandma, wait some more as she eats duck with grandma while Moses and dad are reading a story, get both kids into bed, sing out family song, pray, let Steve pray some more, because I am too tired to talk, give Seraphine to Steve while she cries for more milk, take her back after she cries for a few minutes, start praying very loud and singing worship songs from college(this usually works), put sleeping Seraphine into her crib, send Moses to his own room to sleep, take a shower and wash my hair (finally!), read book of Matthew and Master Your Money with Steve, try to convince Steve to do the financial goal setting with me, wonder if he is on board, go away and journal a little, read the news and look up Tunsia (it's the northernmost country in Africa) on wikipedia, and then make a couple household schedules and checklists, such as the following: Our NEW and IMPROVED Bedtime routine which I will post for all to see: 6:45 Bath 7:15 PJs and ointments 7:30 Milk and Story 8:00 Family Prayers 8:25 HUGS 8: 30 Lights Out. I am pooped. I have to be at school at 8:30 to cut turnip cakes for our big Chinese New Year celebration at school. Hope Moses is well enough to make it. Hope Seraphine sleeps through the night tonight. You see, today the day is just like one at home. For us stay at home moms with very young kids, this is what life is like anywhere I suppose. Good night!
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Home of God's Love - An Orphanage in Luodong
I took last Friday off to travel to Luodong for a visit to the "Home of God's Love" orphanage. Luodong is a city in the northeast of Taiwan in Illan County. One of my high school classmates grew up there as her parents (Ted and Bev Kiles) are missionaries running the orphanage. Tina and I have an interest in adoption so we thought we'd go up for a visit as we have some 'guan shi' (relationship) there through my classmate. We also had some friends visiting from back home who are quite serious about the adoption process and have been on the wait list for a China adoption for some time now.
In the end, Tina decided not to go as Seraphine had a bad cough and it would involve leaving Taichung quite early. Thus Moses and I got up at 5am and headed out to the HSR station to take the first train to Taipei. It was a smooth trip up there and we met our friends at the Taipei Train Station for a 'normal' train ride down to Luodong. That part of the trip took 1 1/2 hours but time passed by quickly as the boys (our friends have two boys about Moses' age) played and I enjoyed the beautiful scenery despite the gloomy weather. (We traveled through a mountain pass along a river for half the journey and then along the coast.) Arriving in Luodong, we took a 15 min cab ride as the orphanage is actually out in the countryside by a place called "May Hua Hu" (Plum Flower Lake).
The orphanage is on a relatively large plot of land located near the lake and hills and surrounded by rice paddies. I think the orphanage has been developed organically as the Skiles have been serving here for forty years having some here in the late 60's / early 70's and raised their own seven children here as well as countless local kids. The first thing we saw were the seven or so infants that were currently in the orphanage. They ranged in age from 3 months to 10. We got to 'play' with them and hold and feed the little ones while Mrs. Skiles gave us a tour of the orphanage. The older kids were all in school but we were able to see their desks and play area. The facilities are quite good and the staff (both paid and volunteer) are extremely caring and loving. We learned that actually a small percentage (20%) of the kids at the orphanage are actually available for adoption. Many of the birth parents refuse to relinquish their parental rights though they are not raising the kids themselves thinking that the kids will eventually grow up and be able to provide support for them. ("Yeah, right.", I thought ... But who knows?) Domestic adoption placement is pretty low due to cultural stigmas (unfortunate as domestic takes priority) so most of the adoptions that do happen tend to be international. The Skiles do screen prospective parents closely as they only place children to Christian families. They also do not charge fees makes this easier for parents involved in ministry. Due to the low birthrate in Taiwan and great demand for adoption, this particular orphanage is not taking applications right now. However, we found out the adoption process in Taiwan, unlike China, is not centralized so other orphanages may be more open. (Like they say ... being at the right place and right time ...)
We spent a few more hours there and had lunch at the orphanage before heading home. I'm glad I went as it was an eye opening experience and I think our friends were encouraged and felt renewed to press on with the adoption process. Moses liked visiting the orphanage as well and said he wanted to come back a second time and show Mommy. :-)
Steve
In the end, Tina decided not to go as Seraphine had a bad cough and it would involve leaving Taichung quite early. Thus Moses and I got up at 5am and headed out to the HSR station to take the first train to Taipei. It was a smooth trip up there and we met our friends at the Taipei Train Station for a 'normal' train ride down to Luodong. That part of the trip took 1 1/2 hours but time passed by quickly as the boys (our friends have two boys about Moses' age) played and I enjoyed the beautiful scenery despite the gloomy weather. (We traveled through a mountain pass along a river for half the journey and then along the coast.) Arriving in Luodong, we took a 15 min cab ride as the orphanage is actually out in the countryside by a place called "May Hua Hu" (Plum Flower Lake).
The orphanage is on a relatively large plot of land located near the lake and hills and surrounded by rice paddies. I think the orphanage has been developed organically as the Skiles have been serving here for forty years having some here in the late 60's / early 70's and raised their own seven children here as well as countless local kids. The first thing we saw were the seven or so infants that were currently in the orphanage. They ranged in age from 3 months to 10. We got to 'play' with them and hold and feed the little ones while Mrs. Skiles gave us a tour of the orphanage. The older kids were all in school but we were able to see their desks and play area. The facilities are quite good and the staff (both paid and volunteer) are extremely caring and loving. We learned that actually a small percentage (20%) of the kids at the orphanage are actually available for adoption. Many of the birth parents refuse to relinquish their parental rights though they are not raising the kids themselves thinking that the kids will eventually grow up and be able to provide support for them. ("Yeah, right.", I thought ... But who knows?) Domestic adoption placement is pretty low due to cultural stigmas (unfortunate as domestic takes priority) so most of the adoptions that do happen tend to be international. The Skiles do screen prospective parents closely as they only place children to Christian families. They also do not charge fees makes this easier for parents involved in ministry. Due to the low birthrate in Taiwan and great demand for adoption, this particular orphanage is not taking applications right now. However, we found out the adoption process in Taiwan, unlike China, is not centralized so other orphanages may be more open. (Like they say ... being at the right place and right time ...)
We spent a few more hours there and had lunch at the orphanage before heading home. I'm glad I went as it was an eye opening experience and I think our friends were encouraged and felt renewed to press on with the adoption process. Moses liked visiting the orphanage as well and said he wanted to come back a second time and show Mommy. :-)
Steve
Where did December go?
November and December flew by. What happened? Moses' Mandarin has been rapidly improving and by December he began speaking to us in Mandarin for much of the day. He now goes back and forth between the two languages. He can express himself quite well on a conversational level and was even chosen project leader by his classmates. He was to lead the designing(yes, they are doing this in preschool) of a advertising placard for the breakfast shop that the class was going to open. They designed the pictures, drew, them and then Moses presented it to the class. Pretty good for a four year old in a foreign language!
We attended his school Christmas party which was nothing like what we'd have in the States. The kids stayed after school until 6:00 upon which parents and families arrived for the potluck dinner and performances. There was an opening ceremony drum performance and the school was completely decorated in student work. Then families joined the students in their classrooms for Bible readings, music performances, and a talent show. We had dinner together and then Santa came to visit and passed out presents. We did not leave until close to 9pm!
School does not go on holiday for Christmas, but we did. We spend a few days in Taipei going to the big city zoo (we saw pandas), the Flora Expo, and Baby Boss. It was very tiring but fun. I'll try to post some pictures.
The weather here has been unusally cold, and grey and just terrible. Finally bought a heater today and that is why I can actually sit down and type without my fingers freezing. I was literally malfunctioning for days and weeks because I was so cold. Darkness enveloped me.
Seraphine is up from her short nap. So I must go now. She ran around Carrefour the entire morning in her squeak squeak shoes, but I guess that did not tire her out enough. Seraphine now says MaMA in a very Taiwanese accent. It is so very cute. And bao bao (for hug). We bought her a japanese blanket wrap around robe which is working well this winter. We call it her snug snug. That's all for now.
--Tina
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Flight Report - Taipei to Bangalore
I went on a business trip earlier this month to Bangalore, India. It was my first trip to India and first business trip in almost 2 1/2 years due to cost cutting at work. I love airports, airplanes, and pretty much anything else that has to do with transportation and travel so was happy to find out my flight would be on Singapore Airlines with a connection at Singapore's Changi Airport. Singapore Airlines is one of the top airlines in the world and the country's airport is one of the top airports in the world; I could easily spend hours if not days exploring the place, eating the foods, and going window shopping. Unfortunately, my layover was only two hours long so I had to make the best of it. Anyway, for those who like this kind of thing, here's my trip report in (as Tina would put it) excruciating detail ....
Taoyuan Aiport
The trip began at 10am on Sunday morning when my sedan driver came to pick me up for the trip to the Taoyuan Airport (formerly known as Chiang Kai Shek International Airport). I would have preferred taking the High Speed Rail but, with a suitcase, it was more expedient to hire a driver as I wouldn't have to transfer from taxi to train to shuttle bus. Plus it was only NT700 (a little over US$23) and they threw in an (older) Mercedes S class car too! Tina and kids joined me on the ride as they were going to church so the driver dropped them off there before heading on the freeway. Two hours later I was dropped off at the airport (Terminal 2). I had already completed the check-in process two days earlier online so merely had to drop off my bags, get through immigration and security, and find some lunch.
There, surprisingly, aren't a whole lot of dining options at the airport. I saw a Burger King in the public area, a noodle place past security, and a cafe. I chose the cafe as it had a view of the runway and I really didn't want any Chinese food. Lunch was thus a semi-decent spaghetti with meat sauce and a Diet Coke.
TPE to SIN
Feeling much better after lunch, I headed to the gate. I had noticed quite a large number of Mainland Chinese visitors throughout the airport and it had shocked me to hear boarding announcements for flights to Beijing and Guangzhou. Growing up in Taiwan in the mid-Eighties it was just about forbidden to talk about the People's Republic of China. I'm glad to see things have changed but it is still a shock.
The flight to Singapore was on an Airbus A330-300 in a two-class configuration. I was looking forward to this flight and this bird is one of Singapore Airline's newer planes and has an upgraded entertainment system. Upon boarding, I was surprised that the seats felt a bit cramped. According to the Seat Guru website, seat pitch on the A330 is 32" and width is 19" which is pretty standard. I was somewhat spoiled as my flight into Taiwan was on a Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 with a pitch of 34" (plus we got a bulkhead seat for the baby crib). I wish I had a ruler as it sure didn't feel like 19". The seats are in a 2-4-2 configuration which I like as I got a window seat. The AV system is pretty darn cool. There's a huge 10.4" screen, tons of audio and video on demand, and, if that's not enough, ports for you to connect your own DVD player or an iPod! This last feature pretty much pushed over the edge to buy an iPod Touch. I asked for a special iPod cable upon boarding (free but first come first serve) which plugs into the bottom of the iPod and then you insert the other side into the round port next to the screen. I did that, turned on the AV system, and got ... bupkuss. Nothing. Nada. Hmmm ... I checked the configuration and manual and everything looked right. None of the video on demand programs were working either. Bummer.
Dinner was being served so I ate the Asian chicken selection (not much worth writing about here) but I did enjoy the after dinner dessert of a small strawberry Hagen-Daz ice cream. I also told the purser about my issue and he promptly reset the system on my seat. (Geek alert - My screenshot of the bootup system shows they are running on a Linux platform.)
After the reset, everything ran fine. I watched a few short videos on the iPod and then started to watch "Inception" on AVOD. The screen, while nice and large, is a bit lacking in terms of brightness and contrast. The video system is relatively low res (I guess that's how they manage to have over 100 films onboard) so it's a bit jerky too. Still, there's more than enough entertainment for a 4 hours flight and I was only halfway through the movie before we had to shut things down for approach. I posted a video on YouTube of the landing which can be found here. (Sorry for the vertical orientation ... I'm still figuring out my iPod .)
Singapore Changi Airport
Many others have written about this airport so I won't spend too much time here. Suffice to say this is one of the best airports in world. Where else can you find a fern forest, a butterfly room, and a swimming pool in transit? My stop here was brief as I only had 90 min to make my flight to Bangalore. Landing at Terminal 2, I quickly made my way to the AirTrain to go to the new Terminal 3 (T3). T3 is relatively new and I hadn't been before. It's impressive. Lots of light, lots of room, and plenty of shopping and dining. Dining was my main objective here and I found the 24 hour food court located above the main shopping plaza. My objective? Hainan chicken rice and chili crab which I found at the Prima Taste restaurant. I quickly got both 'to go' and headed back to T2 to find my flight to India. Changi is a bit odd in that security (X-rays and metal detectors) are installed at each gate instead of centrally located. The security staff made me dump my newly purchased and unopened can of Diet Coke (bummer!) and almost made me throw my contact lens solution away. At the gate, I suddenly felt a bit out of my comfort zone as I was one of a handful of non-Indians boarding the flight. There were a few other Asians and a smattering of Western business types but everyone else was an Indian business person or their family. Boarding was quick and efficient (and SQ Boeing 777-200) and I was off to India.
SIN to BLR
Though it has the same seat pitch this older 777 supposedly has narrower seats (17.5"). I think someone at seatguru.com messed up as this seats definitely felt wider and more comfortable. The's much more overhead space on the 777 as the overhead bins retract into the ceiling. Score one for Boeing! As this was an older plane, the AVOD system had not been upgraded. The movie selection was the same though so I finished watching Inception while digging to my chili crab and the vegetarian selection on the flight. The bumpy flight as well as the sudden infusion of spices into my system made me feel a bit queasy so I skipped the ice cream (Nestle drumstick) and tried to get some sleep. The rest of the flight (4 hours) was uneventful and we had a smooth landing in India.
Bengaluru International Airport
My seat mate happened to work for HP in India and was a local Bengalorian (sp?). He gave me a bit insight into the city (exponential growth in the last 15 years! Real estate up 20x!) as well as the brand new airport we were landing at. The old airport was close to downtown but the new airport is a 1 - 2 hour drive depending on traffic. It was quite nice and clean though it was your typical metal structure with high ceilings and lots of windows. Immigration and customs took a few more steps than usual as you had to go through a security X ray before you picked up your bags. (Little did I know that security / X rays are a big deal at all the major hotels and shopping malls ... I guess terrorism does that to you.) I met up with my coworker and we made our way outside to the surprisingly cool night air to find our driver. One of the local managers had arranged for a 'rental car'. What I didn't know is that all 'rental cars' in India come with a driver for free. This is a good thing as the drive from the airport to downtown was pretty harrowing. (Imagine six to seven lanes of cars on a three lane expressway driving down a break neck speed while weaving in and out of each other.) Traffic in Taiwan is pretty down staid and orderly compared to this! That said, our driver knew what he was doing, the car was small but very clean, and we were at the Leela Palace Hotel in under an hour. We were greeted by a security check (mirrors checking underneath our ride) and then a lobby with a huge Christmas tree and Christmas carols. Check-in involved one of the hotel staff personally escorting me to my room to make sure I did not get lost. (This was a recurring theme ... Service levels were high ... Almost too high.) And there I was in India after a 14 hour trip from home. After a hot bath and some CNN I was down for the night.
Steve
Taoyuan Aiport
The trip began at 10am on Sunday morning when my sedan driver came to pick me up for the trip to the Taoyuan Airport (formerly known as Chiang Kai Shek International Airport). I would have preferred taking the High Speed Rail but, with a suitcase, it was more expedient to hire a driver as I wouldn't have to transfer from taxi to train to shuttle bus. Plus it was only NT700 (a little over US$23) and they threw in an (older) Mercedes S class car too! Tina and kids joined me on the ride as they were going to church so the driver dropped them off there before heading on the freeway. Two hours later I was dropped off at the airport (Terminal 2). I had already completed the check-in process two days earlier online so merely had to drop off my bags, get through immigration and security, and find some lunch.
There, surprisingly, aren't a whole lot of dining options at the airport. I saw a Burger King in the public area, a noodle place past security, and a cafe. I chose the cafe as it had a view of the runway and I really didn't want any Chinese food. Lunch was thus a semi-decent spaghetti with meat sauce and a Diet Coke.TPE to SIN
Feeling much better after lunch, I headed to the gate. I had noticed quite a large number of Mainland Chinese visitors throughout the airport and it had shocked me to hear boarding announcements for flights to Beijing and Guangzhou. Growing up in Taiwan in the mid-Eighties it was just about forbidden to talk about the People's Republic of China. I'm glad to see things have changed but it is still a shock.
Dinner was being served so I ate the Asian chicken selection (not much worth writing about here) but I did enjoy the after dinner dessert of a small strawberry Hagen-Daz ice cream. I also told the purser about my issue and he promptly reset the system on my seat. (Geek alert - My screenshot of the bootup system shows they are running on a Linux platform.)
After the reset, everything ran fine. I watched a few short videos on the iPod and then started to watch "Inception" on AVOD. The screen, while nice and large, is a bit lacking in terms of brightness and contrast. The video system is relatively low res (I guess that's how they manage to have over 100 films onboard) so it's a bit jerky too. Still, there's more than enough entertainment for a 4 hours flight and I was only halfway through the movie before we had to shut things down for approach. I posted a video on YouTube of the landing which can be found here. (Sorry for the vertical orientation ... I'm still figuring out my iPod .)Singapore Changi Airport
Many others have written about this airport so I won't spend too much time here. Suffice to say this is one of the best airports in world. Where else can you find a fern forest, a butterfly room, and a swimming pool in transit? My stop here was brief as I only had 90 min to make my flight to Bangalore. Landing at Terminal 2, I quickly made my way to the AirTrain to go to the new Terminal 3 (T3). T3 is relatively new and I hadn't been before. It's impressive. Lots of light, lots of room, and plenty of shopping and dining. Dining was my main objective here and I found the 24 hour food court located above the main shopping plaza. My objective? Hainan chicken rice and chili crab which I found at the Prima Taste restaurant. I quickly got both 'to go' and headed back to T2 to find my flight to India. Changi is a bit odd in that security (X-rays and metal detectors) are installed at each gate instead of centrally located. The security staff made me dump my newly purchased and unopened can of Diet Coke (bummer!) and almost made me throw my contact lens solution away. At the gate, I suddenly felt a bit out of my comfort zone as I was one of a handful of non-Indians boarding the flight. There were a few other Asians and a smattering of Western business types but everyone else was an Indian business person or their family. Boarding was quick and efficient (and SQ Boeing 777-200) and I was off to India.SIN to BLR
Though it has the same seat pitch this older 777 supposedly has narrower seats (17.5"). I think someone at seatguru.com messed up as this seats definitely felt wider and more comfortable. The's much more overhead space on the 777 as the overhead bins retract into the ceiling. Score one for Boeing! As this was an older plane, the AVOD system had not been upgraded. The movie selection was the same though so I finished watching Inception while digging to my chili crab and the vegetarian selection on the flight. The bumpy flight as well as the sudden infusion of spices into my system made me feel a bit queasy so I skipped the ice cream (Nestle drumstick) and tried to get some sleep. The rest of the flight (4 hours) was uneventful and we had a smooth landing in India.
Bengaluru International Airport
My seat mate happened to work for HP in India and was a local Bengalorian (sp?). He gave me a bit insight into the city (exponential growth in the last 15 years! Real estate up 20x!) as well as the brand new airport we were landing at. The old airport was close to downtown but the new airport is a 1 - 2 hour drive depending on traffic. It was quite nice and clean though it was your typical metal structure with high ceilings and lots of windows. Immigration and customs took a few more steps than usual as you had to go through a security X ray before you picked up your bags. (Little did I know that security / X rays are a big deal at all the major hotels and shopping malls ... I guess terrorism does that to you.) I met up with my coworker and we made our way outside to the surprisingly cool night air to find our driver. One of the local managers had arranged for a 'rental car'. What I didn't know is that all 'rental cars' in India come with a driver for free. This is a good thing as the drive from the airport to downtown was pretty harrowing. (Imagine six to seven lanes of cars on a three lane expressway driving down a break neck speed while weaving in and out of each other.) Traffic in Taiwan is pretty down staid and orderly compared to this! That said, our driver knew what he was doing, the car was small but very clean, and we were at the Leela Palace Hotel in under an hour. We were greeted by a security check (mirrors checking underneath our ride) and then a lobby with a huge Christmas tree and Christmas carols. Check-in involved one of the hotel staff personally escorting me to my room to make sure I did not get lost. (This was a recurring theme ... Service levels were high ... Almost too high.) And there I was in India after a 14 hour trip from home. After a hot bath and some CNN I was down for the night.
Steve
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