Embracing Taiwan, Leading by Example

With COVID-19 scaring the whole world since the start of 2020, I find myself locked inside my own home worrying about my family.  As the months passed by, I get more and more anxious especially now that COVID-19 cases gets higher in our country each day.

Then I saw an impressive article and video on how our neighboring country Taiwan (oh, how I missed the country!  I was able to visit them last summer!)  were able to fight the pandemic!  

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Taiwan implements effective measures in containing the spread of Covid-19. No wonder, it has gained global recognition as one of the few countries that successfully control the continues threat of the Corona virus.

Now that most countries ease down the quarantine, Taiwan has long been back to living the new normal. Such pioneering act is attributed to the national government's quick and efficient response to the global pandemic. Early on, the Taiwanese government's response to health crisis in the country has been successfully implemented thru timely and reliable programs delivered through humorous, relaxed and emphatic ways.

One of Taiwan's current initiatives is the #WeBeatTheChallengeTogether. It aims to promote discipline, cooperation and unity among its population in these trying times. That Taiwanese

are steadfast and united in addressing and managing the contagion.

The strict implementation of preventive and control measures during the early stage of virus outbreak has minimized cases and mitigated the entry of Covid-19. That's why #Taiwan is considered to be a #globalmodel as it leads by #goodexample in war against Covid-19 pandemic.

Taiwan has instituted a national mask program for its population. And the country even donated millions of face masks to European countries, the United States and neighboring allies including the Philippines. Just goes to show that #Taiwan is #helping to control the spread of the virus.

Today, Taiwan embraces the new normal by strictly implementing the standard protocols: 
frequent hand washing, wearing of face mask and maintaining social distancing, which are effective measures to prevent disease transmission in public areas. 

Truly, Taiwan is in the forefront of successful fight against Covid-19.

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Please watch the impressive video and share to us your thoughts!

Keep smilin'

Stay happy!

 

Things to Do In Taipei with Kids + Tips

We used to travel once or twice a year.  Then when Kyle came along, we skipped going out on out of country trips for the past 4  years.  Then, when we took a plunge last year to a very short Hong Kong trip as Kyle was into Disney characters back then, we realized: "Hey, we can finally travel as a family again!"  

Kyle was amazingly obedient during our Hong Kong trip so this year, after a crazy start of a year and with Kyle's school break in mind, it was late at night when I told Mr. AMW: "Let's go on a trip!  Let's do this!"  With only a week or so planning, we originally wanted Singapore but the heat and humid made us go for Taipei (still hot, at least not as humid!)  

But what to do in Taipei?  That's the first question we had in mind.  I've been to Taipei 15 years ago and Mr. AMW went with his schoolmates for a month-long TAIWAN tour 20 years ago.  I knew we had to go back and refresh our memories on how Taiwan looks like nowadays.

When I searched for Kid-friendly places, I was surprised how Taiwan is actually a kid-friendly country that no one really talks about!  They have their own version of Disneyland called Leofoo Theme Park.  They have their own Ocean Park in Beitou, they have their own Space Museum and a whole lot more!

That excites us so we finally booked a date and time flew by pretty quickly.  We didn't even purchased any tourist pass as we just want to go with the flow and see how Kyle would react to these sites!  And the entrance aren't expensive anyways so this is another alternative for moms and dads who want to bring their kids to a kid-friendly country!  THIS IS IT!  Are you ready?

Taipei Children's Amusement Park

Price: 60NT (kids below 7 yrs old goes in for free!), a deposit of at least 100NT is needed and refunded amount will be given back before 5:00pm

Address: No. 55, Section 5, Chengde Road, Shillin District, Taipei City

How to Get There: MRT to Jiantan Station or Shilin Station and make transfers on a shuttle bus.

Opening hours: 

Tip: Since we booked a hotel at ZhongShan district which is just 2 stations away from Shilin Station, we've decided to take a cab going there since it costs around 200NT only (less than Php400.00 one way).  We want to reserve our energy for fun playing inside the park!  If you live far from the park, take an MRT station to Shilin station and take a cab from there, it will be way cheaper!

This amusement park includes a brand new Ferries Wheel which you won't miss!  There's also Bumper Cars, Ocean Carousel (musical carriage), Dancing Fly (dragon boat), Wave Swinger, Monorail and Spinning Tea cups, Roller Coaster, Crazy Bus, Drop Tower, Pirate Ship, Telecombat and Spinning Chairs.

Taipei Travel: Yomi Hotel Review

I am a researcher by profession, I also graduated with honors Bachelors in Science in TOURISM.  I used to dream to be a tour guide, a travel coordinator, an agent.  That part of my dream did not happen but it happened in so many different ways.

Me touring my colleagues when I worked in China as I speak the language.  

Me creating our special itinerary whenever we travel.

Me doing all sorts of tour guide jobs whenever friends from different countries arrive here.

So yes, that job I take seriously and our last minute decision to go on family vacation while Kyle is on summer break tested my research skill once again!  And so far, my gut-feel did not fail me!  I booked one of the best hotel in Taipei and mind you - it isn't even pricey! 

P.S. NOT SPONSORED.  But totally happy with this 3-star hotel!

A tip to mommies or even non-mommies - start with your daily accommodation budget and stat from there, that way, you won't get overwhelm with a LONG list of hotel.  Next, read reviews via TripAdvisor or Agoda.  Take time to read them one by one before you take the plunge! Thing to note for?  How far it is located from public transport, what can the hotel offer?  Do they have nearby convenience stores?  What are the places you want to visit and if all else's fail, how long will it take to take a taxi/cab from your hotel to the place of interest?   (this is very important if you have kids!  at some point, you may feel extremely tired so taxi will be the last option and you don't want to spend too much if the point of interest is far from your hotel!)

That said, I booked a hotel at ZhongShan district because our points of interest are the ff.: Children's Amusement Park, Children's Astronomical Museum, Shilin Market, Taipei Zoo, etc...

If your points of interests are touristy spots like Chiang Kai Shek, Taipei 101, Ximen, etc... you may opt to look for hotels at Taipei Main Station are, Ximenting, etc..

Now back to Yomi Hotel, I got around 3 hotels fit to our budget to go for.  The reason why Yomi won after reading reviews from fellow travelers who have kids!  Now, with pictures, let me share to you why this Hotel WON!

Kid-friendly room, meaning, good-sized bed and spacious room and bathroom!

Huge TV with several channels that are kid-friendly!  We forgot our Chromecast but yay for Disney Channel (note: you just have to change the language setting as they were originally in Chinese!)  But yes, this kid-friendly TV gave me time to put on makeup, dry my hair, change clothes while Kyle enjoy his own me-time.



Now, the FREEBIES list goes ON AND ON AND ON!  Seriously, I can't find another hotel who offers such!

Free use of WIFI unit, you just have to go to the reception area and make sure to return it by 12:00am.  If you stay for 5 days, you can borrow it every single day FOR FREE!  I did not borrow a WIFI unit as I brought my own Big Sky Nation!

Why It is A Wonderful Idea to "Food Trip" In Taiwan

I'm back from one of the best place to food trip - TAIPEI, TAIWAN!

After non-stop eating (well, you can see that on my IG Stories on Taiwan Highlights), I'm bound to say, if you are into food, you better visit Taiwan because the foodie in me and hubby were happy and contented!

Why?

Let's start with ---

MILK TEA

What's the best place to enjoy milk tea?  The place were milk tea was born!  You see stall after stalls of milk tea from various brands and I randomly tried a couple (6 to be exact) and they are all consistently good!  Not as sweet yet you have the right "bitter taste" of the tea!  That's how I like my milk tea to be.

And guess what?  I also tried their Brown Sugar Milk from Xing Fu Tang and it's the best I've tried to date! 

Xing Fu Tang located at Shilin Night Market

Milk Tea from the shop at Children's Amusement Park

And here's the best part, Taiwan product yummy milk tea even those that are sold at convenient stores tastes just as good! 

I am Back From Taipei!!!

And I need your help in creating a blog post about my wonderful 5-day Taipei Trip!

Which particular blog post do you want me to tackle first?

The hotel I stayed in?

The Taipei Food Trip?