Back to the U.S.A.!!

We have been back to CA since Jan 12. Our return flight was delayed by more than an hour and half. Both Simon and Shaun were getting over their colds, so they slept for more than 7 hours on the flight. Shaun and I adjusted back to the U.S. time right away, but Simon has had a hard time getting over his jet lag.
Last weekend, we were very happy to meet up with grandpa and grandma in Vacaville & enjoyed a great lunch at Panera Bread. http://www.panerabread.com/ It has great sandwiches!!

More pictures from the trip to Taiwan:

(My lame effort to bring some Christmas cheer to my family in Taiwan:)





There was a major storm in the Sacramento area while we were gone. Luckily, we didn't have any tree fallen on our house, but this was what our backyard looked like when we came back.

Cambodia- Angkor Wat

Cousin T got us a great deal, so we decided to join a 5-day tour to Angkor Wat, Cambodia (Jan 6 to Jan 10.) Since there was too much climbing and walking for us to carry a 27 lbs toddler, we left Shaun with my aunt and brought T's baby girl with us. It's a 3-hour nonstop flight from Taipei to Siem Reap; there were 26 people in our tour group. Cambodia is finally recovering from a long period of civil war and tourism is now the biggest industry; according to our local tour guide about 2M tourists visited Angkor Wat in 2007. Angkor Wat is a very popular tourist destination for Koreans, Japanese and Taiwanese. There is hotel construction everywhere in the city of Siem Reap. Overall, I felt it was a very safe place to visit. There were many backpackers from Australia and Europe.
I was sadden by the poverty and divide between the rich and poor. Many children start helping with the family income at very young age by begging or selling souvenirs to tourists. I was amazed by many Cambodians' friendly smiles and the sparkles in their eyes whether they were poor or not. I am more appreciative of our comfortable life in the U.S.

We had a great time visiting all of the major sites listed on this web site: http://angkorwat.org/

(The historical tour of Angkor Wat must have been too boring to Mei-mei! She slept through it:)

(Our local tour guide: Shiao Liv who is a Chinese descendant- his family moved from China to Cambodia when Cambodia was still a French colony)

(When we were touring Tonle Sap in a boat- this kid jumped onto our boat from another boat to sell us some ummy bananas and soda)

(Our bus driver's son traveled with us and made sure we found our bus in parking lots always full of buses!:)

(Banteai Srei Temple)

(Angkor Wat)

(Ta Prohom)

Trip to Taiwan II

Simon joined us in Taiwan on December 30. Cousin T. took some time off to show us around. We decided to go the Lalashan which is a National forest in Tao Yuan county. T. was afraid of driving in the mountain, so S agreed to drive. Towards the last half of the trip, we were driving on one-lane mountain road. S quickly got used to driving in the mountain road, but I was scared of being hit by another car head-on! We spent the night in a small hotel with an amazing view of the valley. The next morning S and I hiked in the mountain for two hours. S commented about how I have more energy after becoming a mother! :) We had a great time in Lalashan. The air was fresh and we saw 20 trees that were more than 1000 years old. No, it's not a typo, the oldest tree was 2700 years old!! Don't ask me how the park rangers figured out the age of the trees.
T also took us to Yang-Ming Shan for a nice lunch plus hot spring spa- all for $15 USD per person. It finally felt nice to be on vacation when S joined us...

(Auntie with mei-mei)

(With my friend's baby in Yang-Ming Shang's hot spring hotel)

(B&B in Lalashan)

(Lalashan hiking trail)

(2700-year-old tree)

Trip to Taiwan

Shaun and I flew to Taiwan without Simon as planned on Dec 13. Even though I only paid for a lap ticket for Shaun, he got his own seat in the Business Class, because it was not full. That was the best deal I have ever had!! :) Shaun loved climbing the stairs and kept walking up and down the isle, so it was not a relaxing flight for me until he finally fell asleep. Our fellow passengers surely did not appreciate having a toddler around... In order to keep Shaun quite, I let him have his pacifier again.. :-o

My friend D decided to fly to Taiwan with me to attend her court hearing and we had 5 fun days together. D had no choice but to start using chopsticks, because my cousin didn't have any fork in her house!! D was very gracious and was so brave to try some authentic Taiwanese food.

Cousin T's house was crazy with three babies in the same house. My knees and legs were hurting from climbing the stairs of a four-story house (sometimes chasing after Shaun.) However, Shaun got really good at climbing the stairs. I was amazed to see how fast he learned to climb the stairs safely, so he didn't fall and he could climb up and down one story in one minute. After D returned to the U.S., we moved to my aunt's where the house is smaller, but much easier for us to care for three babies. I also enrolled Shaun in a nearby kindergarten for the month. He is placed with the 3-year old class. It's funny to see him walking around and playing among a bunch of "serious" 3-year old busy "reading" their books.. :) I really missed my car and Shaun's car seat by this point. My trip to Taiwan was no longer as enjoyable as before with a mobile and demanding 20-months old toddler!! However, my family was very happy to see him again. They all missed him and was amazed by how much he has grown in 8 months.





(Shaun with Cousin Ting-An aka mei-mei)


Shaun having fun at his new school