Grandma and Shen Ao

Two days after I visited my grandmother, she was admitted to Keelung Hospital because of a persistent high fever. All of us were worried and took turns visiting her in hospital and keeping the other family members informed of her situation. Today, my mother and I went to visit my grandma in hospital. My 1st aunt was there earlier said my grandma was sleeping and her fever had subsided. My 1st aunt helped to look after the girls in the courtyard while my mother and I went to the ward. The girls didn't go visit my grandma because their father and family are superstitious about going to hospital. When my mother and I were in the ward, my grandma was awake. She kept looking at me when I talked to her. When I told her I was going home the next day, she teared. I am going to take that as indication that she might know who I am after all. I really hope my grandma will get well soon.

We left the hospital after half an hour as my grandma was drifting off to sleep. My aunt brought us to Miaokou to have lunch as it was 11am. Even in the day time, Miaokou is fairly crowded. Imagine when it is night time, Miaokou Night Market would be packed! We settled at one of the food stalls for lunch. Both my mother and my aunt had Braised Sea Eel Noodles, Juliane and I shared Lu Rou Fan (again haha) with Pork Rib Broth, Marieann had Dry Noodle and we all shared Fried Chicken Roll and Stir-fried Vegetable.

Food stalls at Miaokou

The temple at Miaokou

Braised Sea Eel Noodles

Pork Ribs Broth with Lu Rou Fan

Just before lunch, Juliane and I also bought more clothes lol. :P Marieann bought her hair accessories. :)

After lunch, we went back to Shen Ao, my aunt's place and also my mother's old home to rest. My mother and my aunt were going to bring us to the cliff at the end of Shen Ao to see the eroded rocks and coast which have formed special shapes by the wind and sea. We set off at 3pm and it took us almost 30 minutes to climb up to the cliff. The journey was tiring as the path was rocky and uneven and we had to pay attention to where we put our feet. Marieann was fairly independent and adventurous climbing on her own but Juliane was clingy haha. Main reason being she was spooked by the sea cockroaches that were all scurrying away from us when we got near. I must say it was quite scary at first to see so MANY sea cockroaches scurrying about, thank goodness they were scurrying AWAY from us.

The view was beautiful when we reached the top of the cliff and the exhausting climb was worth it. We could see the Pacific Ocean and the eroded rocks and coast which were nature's art works.

View of the Pacific Ocean

The girls with their grandmother and their 1st grandaunt













We spent an hour up on the cliff top, admiring nature and taking photos. My uncle-in-law was most nice. Knowing we were going up to the cliff, he bought us some food, climbed the cliff and gave us all a pleasant surprise. :) We started our climb back down the cliff around 4:30pm. We took a different route down which brought us next to the beach. My aunt and the girls picked seashells while I pick pebbles lol. My aunt kept us for dinner. We had soup noodle, simple but the most fulfilling because it is home-cooked with love. :)

We left my aunt's place after 7pm back to our hotel. I started packing our luggage with my mother's help. She is really good with stuffing things haha. :P When we were done, the girls and I have 3 check-in luggage and 2 hand carry bags, not including our own personal bags! Haha.

It is our last night in Taipei. The girls were sad about leaving. They wanted to stay on with their grandmother who will be staying on in Taipei until 29 June. I myself am feeling a little sad. I am ashamed to admit that I have not interacted much with my Taiwanese family during the last 18 years, except the occasional phone calls. During this trip, I finally learnt that blood is thicker than water, even if it is diluted blood like mine, only half Taiwanese. I shall endeavour to keep in closer contact with my Taiwanese family.