Taiwan…Juz Keziah and Mommy

Keziah's school was piloting an immersion programme to Taiwan from 14-19 May. We took the chance to have some time alone..just Mommy and her. She was so excited about the trip that she was practically telling everyone she was going to be there for 6 days!

We've arrived! The whole team of Mommies and kids….no daddies ya!

First stop was to Shilin Night Market to start the trip with all the glorious food!
Yummy 炸鸡排..everyone wants a bite. First attempt at oyster egg. It was simply delicious.

Everything in Taiwan seemed to be much bigger than Singapore.
First attempt at pawning.

Day 2: We went to JiuFen to try the delicious yam balls. There was just so many steps to climb before we tasted the goodness of the QQ yam and sweet potato balls.
Next we headed down to Yeliu GeoPark where we saw the interesting landforms carved out by the waters and winds.

 Then we headed off to Shifen to write our wishes on 天灯 and release them to the heavens.

Then we went to Shifen to write our wishes on these huge lanterns and fly our wish off to the skies.
Finally, we rested at the Flying Cow ranch for the night. The resort was really comfortable and cozy. Before we rested for the night, we learnt to make the famous kueh in the region from the grass that was fed to the cows.
Loads of messing and our product before and after steaming.
Day 3: We started the day early to milk the cows. Being city kids, all the kids just resisted being at such close proximity to the cow albeit very excited to see the cow. They were in awe when they saw how the cow pooed. Nonetheless, they tried their hands at milking the cow with mommies' help.
Keziah just loved feeding the sheep and goats!
Not forgetting the big furry rabbits in the shed.
We were off to the tea plantation thereafter. However, weather didn't keep and it rained. We had to abort our plans to be farmers harvesting the leaves. We went straight on with processing the leaves to make our very own green tea.
We also used rice to make mochi. It was real handwork. Tasting our fruit of our labour was sweet.
Day 4: We visited the Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village. We saw the tribal dance but aside from that we were busy playing in the amusement park in there. Yes, we knew we should be appreciating the cultural aspects but children are children after all.
We were now at the middle of Taiwan. Rather than coaching back, we took the high speed rail back to Taiwan. It was really fast and comfortable.
This was followed but the local MRT equivalent. Doesn't the subway map look similar to ours?
Day 5: The highlight of the trip - Visit to Nanhai Kindergarten. It was a good time meeting new friends but our kids took awhile to warm up being in a setting where everyone spoke Mandarin. The kids were very warm and independent. Surprisingly, their kindergarten runs like childcare, functioning from 7.30 am to 5 pm. 
Next, we visited the traditional bakery Kuo Yuan Yi which is known for making Chinese wedding cakes.
Making our very own pastry.
Day 6: Up we went to Yang Meng San. We were told it was not just a mountain. It was a dormant volcano. We saw sulfur smoking the mountains, collected on the sides and water bubbling out from ground. Apparently, the bubbling effect was due to underground gases escaping and not the heat.