Day 9 -- Tainan, Tamsui old street, Fort San Domingo, 24 hr Eslite bookstore

12/26/2016 Monday

We booked the high speed rail to leave Tainan today as we plan to spend more time with Anthony's grandparents. I love that there is priority seats for the elderly and disabled.

It used to take less than 2 hours from Tainan to Taipei by high speed rail but they have since added a few more stops in between, so it takes about 2 hours now.

The kids working on their Chinese homework on the train.

We reached Taipei around noon and went home for lunch. We spent some time with Anthony's grandparents before heading out to Tamsui. 

There is a bicycle rental outside Tamsui metro station and we were going to rent the bicycles, unfortunately, they required our passports since we were not residents. We weren't able to rent the bicycles as we didn't bring our passports. 

So, we walked around the old street and it was a nice long walk by the water although the sky was foggy. We bought some snacks along the way.

After walking for a while, the kids were craving for something cold, so we got them both an ice cream.

Mason had the extra long ice cream while Maddie had the regular size.

After the old street, we walked to Fort San Domingo. One thing that I didn't understand is that they don't offer children's prices for kids who are not resident. We had to pay full price tickets on the metro and entrance fees for Fort San Domingo. I think there shouldn't be any difference for children regardless where they are from.

After touring the Fort, we left and went for dinner before heading to ZhongXiao Dunhua road to visit the 24 hour Eslite bookstore. It's our first time to a 24 hour bookstore.

Day 8 -- Tainan, Taiwan

12/25/2016 Sunday

Today is Christmas and we are meeting my dad's side of the family. We had lunch with my uncle and aunt's family.

After lunch, they invited us over to their house for tea and snacks.

We chatted for a while before heading home as my cousin was coming to pick us up to go to his house for dinner.

My cousin and his wife prepared both hot pot and BBQ.

We had a fun time together before our departure tomorrow to Taipei.

Day 6 -- Dadong Night Market (Tainan, Taiwan)

12/23/2016 Friday

My cousin was planning to take us to Cijin in Kaohsiung today for a day trip to visit the beach and eat some seafood. Maddie woke up with a fever again. I think we really don't have any luck to have any planned trip in this vacation. Every time we made arrangements with someone, we had to cancel last minute.

I had to call my cousin to reschedule our trip. We took Maddie to my uncle who is a doctor and he gave her a checkup and more medicine to take. He was going to give her a shot to reduce the fever as it will be faster than taking the medicine but Maddie refused to take the shot, so he gave up. 

After the visit, we went upstairs to their house as their clinic is on the first floor of their house. My aunt prepared some fruits for us and it was very sweet and juicy.

The fruit below is called the wax apple. It is a pretty common fruit in Taiwan but we don't see it in U.S. It looks like an apple but doesn't taste like one. It has a very unique texture inside the fruit, like a mesh.

Wax apple in whole below.

One of my all time favorite fruits, guava. It is uncommon to see it in U.S. although sometimes, the oriental supermarkets sell them.

Guava in whole below.

My aunt wanted us to stay for lunch but since the boys were at home, we had to decline her invitation. We bought some lunch on the way home. Most of the stuff below is made of fish paste and either grilled or boiled in broth.

After lunch, we took the kids to the playground for some fun. Later in the evening, my uncle took us out for dinner at a vegetarian restaurant. 

After dinner, we went to Dadong night market. It was even more packed than the night market in Taipei, maybe because today is Friday. 

The kids played some games and won a little prize each.

Again, the food stalls at the night market is the main attraction.

The night market was really packed, so we didn't stayed too long before heading home. In Tainan, their public transportation is not as common as Taipei, so we took cabs sometimes or walk mostly.

When we got home, my cousins and their kids were at the house waiting for us. My cousins' daughters are pretty cute with different poses for each picture. 

The kids have fun playing together and it's funny to watch Mason and Maddie speak in broken Mandarin.