A Spring Day in Monterey

 

Our sister is on spring break and we thought it would be nice to take her to Monterey. We made a list of several places to visit, including the popular Crepes of Brittany and the Aquarium.  We Parked at the Old Fisherman's wharf (where Crepes of Brittany was located). Parking was $1/half an hour.

 

Right away we can see why the place was popular. The decoration, choices (ice cream, coffee, crepes) and the view were refreshing!

For ~ $7, you get a small crepe. Having had crepes from other places in Northern California, we're not sure why the the crepes are are so popular. The quality and taste of the crepe was nothing extraordinary.

strawberry nutella crepe

 What a beautiful day it was!

making chocolate!

There are rows and rows of stores and eateries to see. We wish we had headed out to Monterey earlier in the day!

Tips:
1. To fully enjoy Monterey, dress in layers.
2. wear comfortable shoes
3. Rent a bike-we were envious of the bikers in the area
4. Traffic is quite strange when you enter the city. You can avoid such traffic if you head there early!
5. The Aquarium lets you enter and exit if you get a day pass. Arrive early and take a break outside. There are plenty of eateries next to the Aquarium. Return when you're full and ready to enjoy more of the Aquarium.

Have fun!

to Napa, CA

Napa Red Carriage

Visiting Da Nang, Vietnam

1/5/13-1/6/13

Da Nang is the only city in Vietnam to be recognized as on the world's 20 low-carbon cities( ILO). 

view as we exit one of the caves

After a long hike, we decided to dine at Lifestyle Resort. The service was great and the food was well presented. 

mi quang, a specialty in the region

deep fried spring rolls

If there's one thing I liked most about the cuisine in Vietnam, it's the use of rice paper instead of egg paper for their deep fried spring rolls.

Tips for traveling to Da Nang:

1. If you're going in the winter, bring a portable umbrella (it rains sporadically).  

2. Bring a lotion with DEET (prevent mosquito bites) and/or drink grapefruit juice everyday two weeks before traveling (tip from an Australian traveler on our flight back to Saigon)

3. Tripadvisor app can be your best friend 

4. Taxi: avoid Mai Linh (our driver took us to a fancy restaurant instead of the one we wanted to go to because he traded his integrity for a commission). VinaSun was better. Use your tripadvisor app to locate sites.
5. Da Nang is a beach town, try to not go during rainy season.

While Da Nang has much to offer, customer service and taxi driver honesty need improvement. While at the airport, I had the irrepressible urge to hijack the loudspeaker to ask, "why is your customer service so bloody unfriendly!?"

Visiting the Old City, Hue, Vietnam

Hue was definitely our favorite city in Vietnam.  Everything was very affordable, the people super polite and the historical sites beautiful.  Our taxi driver describes the city as a college town because many students go to Hue for college.

we were greeted by swan hearts upon entering our room <3

Our hotel room had a beautiful view of the city and the famous Perfume River.  It was also near a nice salon where one night, I went there to straighten my hair. My husband also got a haircut while waiting. They did a great job. We found that in Hue, you definitely get a lot for your money.

Unlike many parts of the world, Hue has not changed much because a major part of it became a UNESCO site. There were many cyclo drivers (an old part of Vietnamese travel) who asked us if we needed a ride. While we felt guilty to have someone bike for us, it was more sad to not use their service.  They helped us find neat places to visit and were eager to answer all our questions. We invited them to eat lunch and dinner with us and in doing so, learned about their lives.

visited Dai Noi (Citadel) on the first day in Hue

Dai Noi (former place for imperial government) was larger than I had imagined. We did not have enough time to tour the entire place, despite using a horse. 

elephant in Dai Noi (Citadel)-the Emperor used to ride this!

one of the many views from  Tomb of Tu Duc

Emperor Tu Duc was a writer and poet. This is one of the places where he sat down to write

We ate Lien Hoa Temple. The food was clean, cheap, delicious and service was impeccable. We wish that we had scheduled more time in Hue to visit all the sites, especially the beaches. It was such a nice experience!

Tips for Hue:
1. If you stay at Orchid Hotel, ask for their deluxe room or honeymoon suite.
2. If you have a chance to use the cyclo, do take them up on the offer. They're all licensed and will show you their license. They only charged us each 140,000 VND (~$7) for the entire day! That price just seemed absurd so we tipped generously.
3. Stay at least 4 days there to fully appreciate the city--beaches, river, mountains, parks, historical sites, restaurants...
4. Try to avoid summer (heard it's very hot)
5. Fly into Hue-fast & the flight was nice
6. It's cold in the winter and also sprinkles. Dress in layers.
7. If you're vegetarian, try Lien Hoa Temple.
8. If you're a food, check out restaurants on tripadvisor. Hue has many wonderful restaurants which you can try. Many offer Vietnamese French cuisine. Next time, we're definitely checking out one of the highly rated restaurants, e.g. Les Jardins de La Carambole. 

Ending 2012 in Taipei

We spent our days in Taipei visiting family and roaming the streets for food. My favorite? the warm sugar cane juice at the Shihlin night market and grilled squid at Keelung Miaokou.Taipei was definitely a food paradise. If only we have the same 7-Elevens in America...they have fresh food, dumplings and even ramen!

Despite having a giant camera on our back, we did not take too many photos. With so much food around us,  I decided to use the camera for video instead. Perhaps we should've carried two cameras instead of just one.

bamboo was everywhere!

oyster and egg

vegetable soup

fried food in Taipei was exceptional--perfectly crispy tofu and basil w/ chips

egg and bitter melon

We're thankful to have Danny's family as our hosts, especially Aunt May who arrange for our hotels, her husband who drove us everywhere. I'm thankful to have met so many of Danny's relatives and see his old home. 

Good Eats in Taiwan

Din Tai Fung 
 Sogo Mall

vegetarian dumpling

taro buns

Tip: go there before 11 AM to avoid the rush Miao

Keelung Miaokou Night Market

My husband's aunt and her family took us to Miaokou and we wish we had four stomachs each to eat the food. We were surround with so much variety!

fried within fried food :)

Tips: 

1. Try their peanut ice cream, grilled squid

2. Go on an empty stomach...there's a lot of food to try!

December 2012, Hualien, Taiwan

Hualien was completely different from Taipei. There were fewer people and more natural sceneries. We took a day tour with a friendly English speaking guide to Toroko National Park.  He told us about the history of Hualien and Taiwan. His stories were quite interesting, especially that of the headhunters who inhabited this island (see photo below).

this sign is for the men's restroom. I mistakenly went into it :(

signs for restrooms in Taiwan are different than the States. They are more creative!

inside one of the many tunnels built by Chiang Kai-Shek's veterans. The writing is of the names of hundreds of veterens who died from the construction of these tunnels

aboriginal statue

eternal shrine

gorge

eternal shrine

one of the many bridges

view from our hotel  room

the gorge

lots of tunnels

tour bus!

Cimu Bridge(Motherly Devotion Bridge), built by  President Chiang Jing-guo, in memory of his mother

head hunters in 1904

entrance

climbing the tower

we traveled to Hualien via train

view as we headed back to Taipei