Day 3 in Taipei. We hopped on the MRT and took the 木柵線 to the city zoo.
Bought the 一日悠遊卡， one day MRT pass, that is inclusive of unlimited rides on the 貓空纜車 (Mao Kong Gondola)。
The MRT took us all the way straight to the door steps of the 木柵動物園。
Tickets to the zoo are cheap and even cheaper for kids and elders. Very wallet and family friendly.
Sarah posing with the 'Panda'.
After the Panda, comes the 台灣黑熊 (Taiwan Black Bear).
There was this interesting olden days water pump for the kids to play.
There were two pumps sitting side by side. The older boy operating the one next to her, was pumping gushing water out effortlessly. Sarah, being younger and weaker, could only pump out tiny streams of water, this despite her best efforts. She could only cast envious glances at her neighbour.
When the boy vacated his pump, she quickly took up his position. She obviously had the idea that it was because she was operating a faulty pump previously. Oh well, to her disappointment, the outcome was the same. So in the end, Mama had to step in to help her with the pumping.
Finally, doing some zoo-esque thing, that is visiting the animals' enclosure. The owl caught her attention, as she has been learning a song about 貓頭鷹 recently.
There was a crowd gathering at the baboon sanctuary. So Papa made himself the bipod and propped up our little girl to raise above all!
A very serious looking little girl.
Sitting on the shoulder now. Very good service from Pa.
Spot the mountain goat. Poor Archie, all he could see from his pram were the over grown weeds, it's no wonder he rather be admiring his feet.
Sleepy black bears.
This black bear even has a personal playground with swimming pool, very different treatment compared to the bears in the above photo. Must be a V.I.B.
Playing with my brother is more interesting than seeing the animals!
Drinking milk is more interesting than playing with my sister.
Mama giving them a lesson on trees. Very attentive audience.
三人行。
We made our way to the children zoo.
After riding bears, how about a terrapin?
She sat on it and complained that the terrapin was scorching her butt. Archie had his shorts to protect his butt from the heat.
Mama joined in the fun with Archie.
A very cute expression, referring to Archie not the old man.
Pride of the Taipei Zoo. The pandas!
This baby panda is extremely cute, he just sat there all the while enjoying his bamboo buffet.
I want to be a panda too!
He did not fancy being a frog though.
Being forced!
An angry boy!
Angry boy turns tired boy. We left the zoo after our lunch and headed for the gondola station.
He might be hidden behind the short flight of stairs but Sarah Yau can sniff a Diego from miles away.
She got lucky, Mama was in a good mood. So along came Diego!
We waited patiently in the queue and irritated fellow queuers in front and behind of us with Diego constantly hitting against them, it being a rather windy day.
We finally made it into the gondola!
Going up the hills.
We had read rave reviews about the ride on the internet. The 4km long trip offers scenic view of the mountains and the skyline of Taipei.
The Taipei 101 can be seen in the background.
The windy + cool weather makes ride even more enjoyable
The gondola goes up to 貓空，which is about 290m above sea level.
Sarah playing with the camera, quite a nice candid shot of Archie though.
Thrilled to be here!
The weather at 貓空, being a hill top, is very cooling and there are a number of tea house and plantations in the area.
Besides tea gardens, there were a lot of hawkers by the side of the road, selling all types of food. We were tempted to try the 台灣香腸 (Taiwan sausage)，made from 台灣黑豬肉. While digging for coins, we witness something that changed our mind. The hawker was passing the sausage to her customer in front of us. While the sausage was being passed, it slipped and dropped to the ground. The hawker kindly gave her customer a fresh one, brushing aside the incident. Then she proceed to pick up her dropped sausage, cleaned it with tissue paper and put it back on the grill!
So we went for ice cream instead, the two of them ate most of it.
Caring and sharing. Great job! Sarah!
An independent auditor / inspector stationed between them to ensure equal distribution in a peaceful and orderly manner.
A satisfied little boy with ice cream in his mouth, hence the expression.
Pa with one of the tea house. We did not managed to visit even one, as they are not pram friendly.
Going back to the ground.
Wonderful view of the Taipei metropolitan area.
They were really really tired. Knocked out by the time we reach 忠孝復興轉換站。
We got lots of stares from on-coming passer-bys.
We took the MRT back to the city and alighted at 西門町.
Being a Sunday evening, the place was all hustle and bustle. The streets were closed to traffic and converted into a pedestrian mall.
All the din did not bother him at all.
Only this busker was able to wake him up from his deep slumber, with his enchanting 二胡 er hu music.
Tried this 魷魚羹 (cuttlefish stew), very nice. Too bad I could not taste it when it was fresh from the pot. With the kids around, I had to pack it back to the hotel and eat it cold after they have slept! But it was still very tasty!
After Thai, Viet comes Jap. We dined at Ootoya for the high chair once again.
After dinner, we explored the other side of 西門町，西門紅樓 Red House.
They had an on-going 創意市集 creative bazaar. There were lots of interesting merchandise to see, made by their up-and-coming local designers.
There was also a live band performance at the end of bazaar.
Archie loves music. He could sit still for the first time.
Sarah was equally intrigued.
So we sat down and enjoyed the great music, our first family concert.
She could barely keep her eyes open, yet she rejected our proposal of going back to the hotel and lying down on her comfy bed.
This is where we spent our money in 西門町。
After a few more songs, we decided to call it a day.
A tiring day for them.
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