Wednesday, June 18

Today was our appointment at AIT (the equivalent of an American Embassy in Taiwan) for Myah's visa to the US. After breakfast we got her all dressed up (she looks great in purple) and at 8:30am off we went. Our appointment lasted less than an hour and was much easier than I anticipated. The guy who interviewed us was great - very friendly - and everything went smoothly.

After the AIT appointment, we went back to the hotel to drop off all the paperwork then headed out to the Maokong Tea Plantations in southeastern Taipei. We rode the subway then took the Muzha cable car (gondola) to the top of the mountain to see the tea plantations. I never knew there was so much to know about the art of making and pouring tea. It is amazing and really makes you feel guilty about dunking a Lipton's tea bag in hot water then guzzling it down. In Taiwan, drinking tea is as much about observing, smelling and appreciating the dried and brewed tea as it is about drinking it. After touring the tea museum and plantation, we headed back to the cable car station where we enjoyed a few cups of tea ourselves. We would have loved to drink some at the traditional tea houses that lined the road, but we were out of our element and since we don't speak or read Chinese, decided we needed to wait and find a place that had a menu we could understand. I had Empress Beauty Tea (served hot, very good flavor and nice aftertaste) and Rob had a Green Flower Tea (served cold, very sweet and very refreshing).

At the Tea Museum and Plantation - someone was tired

Instructions on how to purchase good tea

Hoping to get down the mountain before the storm

After our tea, we headed back down the mountain in the cable car. About halfway down the mountain is started to thunder, so they stopped the car at the next station and made us evacuate (you know- that whole thing about lightening, metal and high places- not the best combination). Here is a big difference between American and Taiwanese culture. After we got off the cable car, we were escorted to a waiting area where we were given seats, cold water bottles and a full refund of our ticket. Plus they provided a bus to take us the rest of the way down the mountain. In America, they would have told you where to go, crowded you onto a bus and certainly wouldn't have offered a refund. I am repeatedly amazed at the politeness and kindness of the Taiwanese people. After getting to the bottom of the mountain, we went into a kid's shop and found a few souvenirs for Caleb.

Next we hopped on the subway and headed over to Gongguan Night Market (the one on The Amazing Race where they had to find the 'happy clown'). Needless to say, we were a little disappointed (maybe we just missed the main area or something) so we headed over to Snake Alley to see what that was like. It was pretty neat but by that time we were pretty tired and just wanted to find the booth where they paint the scrolls and find a traditional Taiwanese outfit for Myah for when she gets older. After accomplishing both of those things, we headed back to the hotel and soon went to bed. We have never walked so much in our lives - my feet are killing me! lol

Getting ready for bed