Pic

 

reminder of 不良执念清除师 

a sunny day

departing port for the boat trip where I threw up all the food

台剧们

 不良执念清除师

刻在你心里的名字 https://mojim.com/cny105044x27x1.htm

cicada

 cicada

蝉

台湾萤火虫季

https://www.elle.com/tw/life/travel/g31925842/firefly-place-taiwan/

每年三月下旬至六月是螢火蟲旺季，是數量最多的季節，傍晚太陽下山後就會大量出現，直到隔日天亮前。 林木蓊鬱、清澈水質、無光害，都是適合螢火蟲生長、繁殖，出沒。 1、請著長袖衣服與長褲，避免蚊蟲叮咬。

Taiwan trip

 The short six-night trip has come and gone. I am falling more in love with Taiwan.

But, not-great points first:

1) the guide. 

I have mixed feeling toward to our local guide/driver. We did get chance to take a lot more 3-person family photos. I liked his food choices, all interesting and different places. But, I assume it is our fault that we didn't communicate well with him with the places we are really interested in visiting. We are not visitors who are only interested in food and taking photos. 

Also, the boat trip to see Whale, I got sick and through up all the food, it was not a fun experience. 

He planned too little time for the places we really liked, for example, the liyu lake. Some of the places he drove us are totally not interesting to us.

2) why so much food on the street, but seems nothing else?

Maybe it's related to our guide, the places we visited are all food centric. Crowded, noisy, and many many food. Why there is not much other type of stores? I don't like street food that much.

Chengping bookstore is an exception.

From podcast I listened after the trip, there are interesting more clutury places in Taipei, but we need good guide and more time to find it. Also, we missed out on the street perfomers. Hmm, that was sad. I didn't realize the street performers need license and they are very talented. Else, I would have stopped and looked for them in Taipei.

3) the trip is a bit short. But weather is good. I guess Nan is correct to decide to have this trip in November. It seems the only good seasons to visit is Late spring and Fall.

4) I can plan our hotels better next time. Grand Hyatt is nice, but maybe it is too comfortable and distanced us from getting know the city better.

Good things:

Hualian is so beautiful. Hualian city felt like Liyang.

And Taipei felt like Nanjing. The cities in my childhood and youth. They still have those rural feeling and carries the traces from the old days. Unlike mainland cities (of course I haven't been back for long long time), everything there was transformed, old things left behind, new and shiny things built. But new shiny things are not always best. I love the old charm. I love the in-effeciency. I love the solutions which need compromise.

I love traveling just three of us. We haven't done it for a while. It's sweet to travel as family.

It's so nice we have a place like Taiwan. 

When I first visited Tokoyo in summer, in the Qian-Chao park, with all the sound of 知了, I was struct with feeling of homesickness then. Taipei definitely gave me the same feeling, even though we haven't got chance to see more of the places yet.

We still need visit the lake where it would swamp with fireflies (萤火虫). And the cherry blossoms.