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The big things are, of course, visiting friends and relatives and my parents eating great Penang food. Today I met a cousin of mine, Amelia, for the first time. And as far as food is concerned, Daddy & Mommy had hawker food, best tasting and cheapest, for lunch and dinner.

But today I also have photos of some little things we did today. One interesting thing I received was a type of skin treatment consisting of traditional Chinese medicine. After an herbal bath, my grand-nanny used a combination of white powder and green herbs mixed into a paste onto my body as a way to heal the irritation caused by scratching and to reduce subsequent allergic reactions. She said it worked for Mommy when she was a little girl, and her skin is fairly good even now! Even Daddy, being the western-trained skeptic, didn’t have any objections given my skin condition and his reluctance to use topical steroids. We’ll see – after the treatment Mommy says it looked better already.

Hello everyone! I’m blogging from the beautiful city of Penang, Malaysia, where we arrived after an uneventful 4-hour flight from Taipei. We felt like VIPs on arrival: Por-por met us at the airport with the hospital van, complete with driver and Por-por’s boss, Dr. Shee Soon Chiew. My parents haven’t been back since October of 2004, but according to them, not much seems to have changed. After an afternoon rest, we went out for dinner with Mommy’s nanny’s family. It was nice to meet people and I was in a fairly good mood throughout. One particular fun part was meeting all the children, who are siblings and cousins aged 4 to 12. Meeting them was entertaining; I enjoyed watching their antics and silliness. It sometimes takes a child to understand a child.

One program note: Daddy doesn’t have easy internet access like he did in Taiwan, so he will be only able to upload my blogs from a coffee shop or other place that provides free wi-fi. We’ll try to keep these updates on a daily basis; he just needs a good excuse to leave home to get some java! Today’s blog is being uploaded at the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf.

As with much of our activities yesterday, today’s activities were still largely centered around food, but more laid back. At about 8:30 this morning we took a 10-minute walk to the eating stall to enjoy what is now our usual Taiwanese breakfast. Then for lunch we met with Daddy’s old friend, John Yuan, and his wife and 2 children. We went to a large mall, called Core Pacific City, right across the street from where Tai yeh-yeh lives to have dim sum. Additionally the 5th floor is exclusively caterered to kids, and we had fun visiting the various shops and attractions. There are several playgrounds and even a separate lounge that has two changing stations, a playroom, and a kiddie toilet to help wean those toddlers off their diapers. Lastly for dinner, we went for noodles at a well-known restaurant near Da-An Park (Taipei’s equivalent to New York’s Central park).

This is our last full day in Taiwan. As a traditional way to celebrate our visit, and this being first time he has seen me, Tai yeh-yeh gave me a hong bao (red packet). Words cannot express the gratitude I have for his kindness and that of Shiu-lan yi-por. I think I really like Taiwan, or at least Daddy thinks I had a great time here, so we’re hoping to keep making an annual pilgrimage here, to remember my relatives and my roots.

(1) In Tai yeh-yeh’s favorite chair, after he gave me a hong bao. Thank you for everything! (2, 3) In the Pacific Core City Mall right across the street, on the 5th floor where kids rule. I am seen riding an animal on wheels and can also be seen in the play area. They should do these in the States! (4) With the Yuan family: Uncle John, Aunty Hope, Angel jie-jie and Anderson ge-ge.

Tai yeh-yeh isn’t my only relative in Taiwan. For dinner we met my grand-aunty Sunny (tai yeh-yeh’s daughter) and part of her family, including her son, Uncle Joe and his new fiancé Rejoice. We also met Shiu-lan a-yi’s sister and her son as well. The restaurant we ate at served Northern Chinese, or Beijing-style cuisine. We all walked back to Tai yeh-yeh’s home to eat dessert, look at photos during our trip, and take more photos.

And with that, I have completed my series of four blogs from Saturday. Let’s hope Sunday will be slightly more restful!

After church, we headed to Xiao a-yi’s place to celebrate her birthday with a lunch that she prepared for us. In contrast to the United States, it is customary in the Chinese tradition for the birthday person to plan and pay for their own celebration. Hmmm, I think I prefer the Florida way myself. After filling our stomachs, we walked along the streets of Taipei. Mommy even got me some books in Chinese that she could read to me. Obviously they are hoping that I can learn Mandarin at a young age.

After a brief early morning nap (as you know I require frequent naps), we headed to Sung Shan SDA Church by the Adventist Hospital for Sabbath School and church, where we saw a lot of Daddy’s old friends. Although to Daddy these are old friends, I haven’t met them before so they are new friends to me!

In its standing among international cities, there are other cities whose skyline and environment are no doubt more aesthetically pleasing than Taipei. But I’d say Taipei must rank near the top when it comes to the scope of activities and food that are available. It is a city truly open for business 24 hours. For us, we were so busy seeing people, running around, and eating that I will need several blog entries complete with pictures to illustrate what we’ve done today.

Given Taiwan’s eastern position within the UTC+8 time zone, the sun rises early here – about 5 o’clock. Since Daddy & I are early risers, we cajoled Mommy into walking with us to have breakfast and visit the morning marketplace, where they sell flowers, fruits, and meats along a narrow street. The parks are already filled with people doing their morning tai-chi chuan.

You’d think that because I live in Orlando that perhaps my first theme park visit would be at SeaWorld, Magic Kingdom, or Disney’s Animal Kingdom, but you’d think wrong. No, the very first theme park attraction I visited was spent today, at Hualien’s Farglory Ocean Park. Although perhaps not on the same caliber as other parks, Farglory does have some unique features not seen in some of the better-known attractions such as being situated on the side of a mountain which boasts a great view of the Pacific ocean. I believe I inherited my Daddy’s love of great vistas, as I really enjoyed rides that allowed me to view areas from the top.

The park visit took the best part of the day before heading back to Taipei. Before leaving Hualien, we were also able to visit a few stores that sell specialty foods, such as Muaji, a glutinous rice cake that is a local specialty. Whew, I’m exhausted!

Hi from Hualien! Our hotel does indeed have internet access so I’m able to give you an update about our day. We started the morning from Taipei with a 3-hour train ride heading south through mountain tunnels and along the Pacific Coastline until we reached Hualien. We were then met by our tour guide; first stop was an ocean park which was followed by lunch. But the afternoon was most spectacular: visiting Toroko National Park. The high cliffs, rock formations, and river below were enough to make anyone feel small but awed at its beauty.

From top: On the train to Hualien; walking along the rocks on Taiwan’s East Coast; enjoying a break with Tai yeh-yeh and Shiu-lan yi-por at Toroko Gorge; a scenic view of the Gorge and river