Our Trip to Taiwan and China

Mr. D and I saved up most of our vacation for the year so that we could go on a big vacation with my parents to visit Taiwan and China. This trip was especially significant to Mr. D because it meant that he could visit the place where he served his mission about eight years ago. Mr. D acted as our tour guide for the first week in Taiwan and we went with a tour group for the second week in China.

When we got to Taiwan, we took a taxi from the airport to the high speed rail station and journeyed from the north side of the island to the south. We looked like foreign tourists with all our luggage. The first photos of the trip were in front of this 7/11 sign because Mr. D told us that in Taiwan, 7/11 convenience stores were popular like Starbucks is popular in the Seattle area. According to Wikipedia, there are more than 5,000 7/11s in Taiwan.

On the south side of Taiwan (Kaohsiung area), we got to meet many people Mr. D served when he was on his mission and they were all very kind and fun to be around. We got to go to a night market, try mangos from a fruit stand, and visit a member's home.

Another big highlight for us was visiting Taroko Gorge. The scenery was very beautiful and reminded me a bit of the PNW.

After visiting Taiwan, we flew to Beijing. We loved our tour group for China. Each day was packed with visits to famous sites and we got to see places like the Temple of Heaven, The Great Wall, The Terracotta Warriors, The Panda Sanctuary, and The Shanghai Tower. Our meals were family style so we got to try a bit of several local dishes at each restaurant we visited.

We loved our trip!
-Mr. D and Mrs. M

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