Just Married...
It's finally here! After an amazing and memorable June wedding in Key West, FL, our honeymoon has finally arrived. Yes, 4 months has passed: We decided to wait, because the weather is better this time of year. June would have been scorching hot and humid. Also, it was nice to have plenty of time to research and plan.
Why Taiwan? Everyone does tropical, but how often do you have an amazing reason and opportunity to branch out a little further? During our research, we found out Rob Schneider and his wife opted to take their honeymoon in Taiwan in 2011. A little fun fact for thought ;-)
Furthermore, I was born in Taipei, leaving for the states at 5 yrs old. 25 years later, this will be my first trip back. My grandma, dad, aunt and uncles, and cousins still live in Taipei. Having lived there for several years, I can understand conversational Mandarin. But, I hardly speak it, and I barely read it. Fortunately, we were able to convince my mom to come along to help translate for us. Although, it really didn't take much convincing, because my mom loves coming back to see the family, eat the amazing food, and SHOP!
I must preface this by saying that my husband had just the most brilliant idea to stay up the night before, in order to sleep on the plane (heading to the airport at 5:45 am). So, we watched TV, annoyed each other, went to the gym at 12:30 am...Consequently, I will admit (but he won't), that this was not the most brilliant idea. I hardly slept on the plane, because I was so filled with excitement. In addition, we hit the ground running upon arrival to Taiwan, making it a couple days before we saw our first full night of sleep.
Here we go. Departure from Kansas City, total travel time is about 20 hours. Taiwan is 13 hours ahead of us; so, we leave Thursday morning and arrive Friday evening. First stop is Chicago, 1.5 hour flight, easy peasy. Sidebar - In addition to travel, I love food. Thus, naturally, we sought out the Rick Bayless's famous restaurant, Tortas Frontera, in O'Hare International Airport. Pepito Torta, mmmm...
From Chicago, we took off for Narita, Japan, a whopping 13 hour flight. It was pretty rough, especially with my husband and I having long legs. Fortunately, he was thoughtful enough to grab the row with 2 seats so we can sprawl out a bit. And that we did! We came equipped with eBooks, iTunes movie rentals, and games. There were also in-flight movies and free alcohol, whaaT? And when all else failed us, we simply just entertained ourselves. Our stewardess found out that we were on our honeymoon and opened a whole bottle of champagne for us! Such a nice lady.
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My only disappointment with the United flight was the food. I was expecting some Japanese or Chinese food, since that was our destination, but no such luck...
My mom and friends told us to try to fly China Air or Eva, now we know why. How does that old saying go? Oh yeah, mom is always right! By the way, no, my mom will not be accompanying us the entire 15 days. We are heading South to Kenting Beach for 4 days, and we have another tour to Hualien County booked. So, we will have several days to ourselves. At one point during the planning process; however, she did think it would be a good idea to stay in a 2-bedroom condo together...I had to remind her that this trip was our honeymoon. She lives in Rogers, AR, and will be flying separately. Since my step-dad ended up not coming, she will be staying with Da Jo (my older uncle). So all is good!
By the time we got to The Narita International Airport, we were exhausted. It was about a 3 hour layover, with 3 hours of air time left to go. Of course, our flight was delayed, it never fails. Eventually, we made it to Taipei. It wasn't too hard to get through customs, just a bit of a wait. We were able to exchange money after we grabbed our bags. My mom said it is usually a better rate in the airport, and less of a hassle, rather than to run around town looking for an exchange location.
My mom, Da Jo, and Ama (grandma) were were waiting for us. They have aged and look different, yet still the same. My grandma is 80 yrs old and is healthy as a mule. She was wheeling the luggage cart around like it was nobody's business! What a great feeling it is to re-unite with loved ones. I feel so privileged to have my immediate family in the states who care about me AND relatives halfway across the world who care about me. We are truly blessed.
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