Traveling to Taiwan: Revisiting My Ancestral Home

“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste it, to experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly, and without fear for newer and richer experiences.” – Eleanor Roosevelt.

2022. This year has been nothing short of a roller coaster.

With the pandemic still going on, I never imagined I would be traveling, much less to Taiwan. That was until my father, Shu Nan “Paul” Lin, died at eighty-three. The last time I went to Taiwan was in 1993. I was eight and went with my mom to my paternal grandmom’s funeral. This time was also for funeral arrangements. My father died of natural causes, and I needed to travel to Taiwan to arrange his funeral. I went to Taiwan as an eight-year-old for my paternal grandmother’s funeral. While I did visit different places, I was too young to remember. This time I was going to be able to experience everything Taiwan had to offer. So I took time off from work and went with my mom to Taiwan.

After we arrived, it took us four hours before we arrived at our quarantine hotel. On our arrival, we began our process of being entered into the quarantine system. We got our required SIM card, went through customs, got our luggage, received antigen tests, getting tested for COVID through PCR test. The taxi then took us to our quarantine hotel, which was a luxury hotel. From there, we were checked in and sprayed with a sanitizer, accompanied to our room on the eleventh floor, and delivered a late dinner. We quarantined for eight days, four staying in and four allowed to go out as long we tested negative with the antigen test. The eight days in quarantine weren’t bad; this was the first time I watched a lot of TV in a long time. The food for the first eight days was okay, but it didn’t compare to the food we consumed outside. And boy, we ate a lot of food and meeting with family and friends my mom and I hadn’t seen in many, many, many years.

The best part of this trip was seeing family and friends my mom and I had not seen in a long time, had not seen in a long time. The first of many people that we reunited with was Aunt Josephine. Aunt Josephine was my late father’s earliest patient when he used to have an acupressure clinic. She played a significant role in my life. She helped me improve my English. I probably wouldn’t have learned English properly without her help. Thank you, Aunt Josephine!

Now back to the regularly scheduled program. Ah, yes, Aunt Josephine treated us to lunch. The restaurant served soup dumplings, chicken marinated in wine, spinach, and beef soup. We chatted and caught up on the time we didn’t talk with each other. That first reunion was fantastic, but the subsequent few reunions were even better.

The next day, September 28, my cousin Linda came to pick us up from the hotel. Seeing my cousin Linda for the first time in nearly three decades was surreal because the first time she met me, I was eight, and she was in her twenties. With my dad’s cremation arrangements completed, my cousin took us to lunch at TaiMall. TaiMall (台茂購物中心) located in the Luzhu District of Taoyuan(蘆竹區-桃園市). The restaurant we went to Shanghainese Dumpling Restaurant (漢來上海湯包), where we had fried pork chop, fried rice, chopped string beans, and of course the, pork soup dumpling. After lunch was over, she took us to Chunshuitang (春水茶館), the location where it all started for the boba milk tea. I learned that the owner of that café hit it big when he invented the drink that the world loves now. Following a few more hours of conversations in which we caught up, it was back to the hotel. The following two days were uneventful as my mom, and I went to walk and take care of a few minor errands. We were only out for no more than an hour since the weather was still scorching and with 80% humidity.

During this visit, my mom and I visited a few places we hadn’t seen before. These places were Danshuei, National Palace Museum, and National Taiwan University. Each location is unique and memorable. First up, Danshuei on October 6. Danshuei District is known as the best place for sunsets. It was also a place where movies were filmed. The views from the harbor were terrific! While there, my mom and I walked down the street lined with shops and food stands. First, my mother and I grabbed a bit to eat. I had the fried chicken (or popcorn chicken) and boba milk tea with no pearls (the stand we got it from only had pearls on the weekend, I happened to be there on Thursday). The next place I visited with my mom was the National Palace Museum. Here we saw items Chiang Kai-shek brought over from Mainland China after he was defeated in 1949. There were many exhibits, but the one exhibit that got my attention was a horse that changed colors from within. I have listed two places I visited here. Still, I will discuss Taipei 101 and National Taiwan University in more detail later.

On October 1, my mom and I checked out of the hotel, and we were officially done with quarantine! My cousin Linda came by to pick us up, and this time my cousin Tracy and her daughter and my niece Chih Wen came along. Seeing my cousin, Tracy, was also a surreal experience. Cousin Tracy was just as surprised by how many years had gone by. For Chih Wen, it was the first time we met. We had previously only stayed in touch via Line. Cousin Linda took us from the hotel to HiMall in Banqiao (板橋區). While we were there, my cousins and niece treated us to lunch. This time we had soup dumplings, shao mai, and much more.

During lunch, we chatted just about everything. After lunch, Cousin Linda treated us to coffee and ice cream. There we continued to chat and catch up. Following dessert, we went grocery shopping on the ground level. This is where HiMall differs from all other malls I have been to. My cousins and niece wanted to ensure we had enough food for settling into our AirBnB. Once we got the groceries, we were on our way to Taoyuan, where we would stay for the remainder of the trip. However, what my mom and I didn’t know was that my cousins had another surprise coming. Before we arrived at our AirBnB, my cousins and niece treated us to boba milk tea. We were happy that day. My mom and I settled into the AirBnB for the next few days. Before this trip, neither my mother nor I had stayed at an AirBnB, which was pleasant. The host was super friendly, as were the mother and son staying there at the time. It didn’t take long for my cousin Linda to help us resolve some matters relating to my father.

Then October 8 had been the day that had been a long time coming. That day I reunited with two of my longtime friends, sisters Tanya and Tina Tang. It had been nearly thirty years since I lost saw them. I first met Tanya and Tina in 1991 when their Aunt Josephine brought them to meet me, knowing that Tanya was close to my age. Tanya, Tina, and I did hit off, especially Tanya and I. We had so much fun that summer, and I saw the sisters again in 1993 and played together. This time we chatted and caught up. Afterward, Tanya, Tina, myself, my mom, Aunt Josephine, Tanya and Tina’s mom, Auntie Yiru, and their second aunt (二姨) all went for a walk and continued chatting. Then, we went to visit Taipei 101 in person. I had seen it a few days prior, but it was from a distance. This time it was in person, and it was awesome! We went inside, and I learned the first four floors were a shopping mall, and then further up were office buildings. The visit lasted until about four in the afternoon. It was indeed one of the best days of my life.

Two days before my mom and I was to fly home, we visited National Taiwan University. When I walked in, it didn’t take long before I got the Stanford to feel as a part of the layout of the University was just like Stanford. We took a campus tour with our knowledgeable guides Auntie Yiru and their second aunt (二姨). During that time, one of the facts I learned was while the bell tour rings every day, there are only a few hours each day it doesn’t ring; the not ringing is to signal a moment of thought. After the campus tour, we had lunch. By the end of that get-together, I saw a sample of the type of housing one of my maternal aunts grew up in.

Now looking back, I am glad I went. I could have missed out on many new experiences and made memories that I will remember better this time than last time. Chief Seattle of the Suquamish and the Duwamish Indian Tribe said, “Take only memories, leave only footprints.”