Our family and friends in Asia

We have been back in the US for about five days now. Lina is taking a while to get over jet-lag - can't really force it with a 16-month old (can't very well give her melatonin or Ambien!). As such, Liz and I have been on her schedule as well. We are taking our time getting settled back into our apartment and into a more regular schedule. And we are obviously still processing our trip. It was a great trip - a bit rigorous, but a great experience nonetheless. Still going through the pictures, so I think I"ll have a few more posts left regarding the trip. Here's a quick one on the people we saw in Tokyo and Taipei.

The best part of travel is of course the people - reconnecting with family and good friends, and sometimes meeting and making new friends. Here's a sampling of people we spent time with on our three week trip to Asia.

Albert and Brenda Lin are our good friends from Taiwan. They are currently living and working in Shanghai, and were able to schedule a trip to Taipei at the same time! When Liz and I lived in Taipei in 2002 and 2003, Albert and Brenda were our constant companions! In retrospect, it was a much more care-free time in our lives, and we have very fond memories of endless hours of hanging out and talking about everything under the sun in cool cafes and restaurants around Taipei. We've kept in touch since we left Taipei - Liz and I were back in Taiwan a couple of times, including for their wedding, before this last trip and they came to visit us in NY while they were living in Chicago for grad school. Great to see you guys! Which city next?





Some of you know that I actually have a lot of family in Japan. My maternal grandfather moved his whole family to Tokyo from Taiwan some time after the war, to practice medicine, and so half my cousins are in Japan. Below are Kazen and Karin (sp?), my eldest cousin Weili's kids. And below that is a picture of my cousins and a couple of their spouses.

(Picture below: from left to right (phonetically) - Kaori (Nobu's wife), cousin Dr. Nobu Asai, cousin Isa Asai, cousin Weili (our eldest cousin on mom's side), cousin Weina, and her husband Ken)


I spent most of my childhood summers in Tokyo living with my grandparents, so I kind of grew up with all of these cousins even though we've mostly lived across the Pacific from each other. It's always great to spend time with them even though the opportunities are fewer these days and the time short.

While we were in Taipei, we also got to catch up with our old friend Linda from LA, and got to meet her husband Campbell for the first time. We went to Din Tai Fung - the best xiao long bao place in the world - and had a really great time talking about life, marriage, having a kid, and God. Good times...


Lina was very into this "xiao long bao" statue as you can see...


And last but not least, it was really great to spend time with Liz's mom in Taipei. Due to a last-minute change in her work travel schedule, she was able to hang out with us in Taipei. Lina was just so happy to have her A-ma around. It's always cool to hang out with our parents in the motherland.

Comfort food

When people think about Taiwan, they invariably think about all the great food. Now, I'm no expert in what exactly "Taiwanese cuisine" is, but I know that a lot of what we consider Taiwanese food is the simple comfort foods that one can get in just about any neighborhood in Taiwan from street vendors and small mom and pop operations. I don't mean to limit "Taiwanese cuisine" to this, as I'm sure there is a higher-end cuisine than this stuff, but this is the stuff that I love. When I'm in Taiwan, (and even when I'm not), I crave the simple stuff. Today, I walked down our street and just collected a bunch of stuff for lunch. It was so satisfying!


(Clockwise, from the top) [note: pinyin spelling as well as english interpretation may be inaccurate]
1. "cong you bing" - onion pancake, 2. "shui jiao" - pork dumplings, 3. "guo tie" - fried dumplings, 4. "cao fan" - pork fried rice, 5. "xiao long bao" - small dragon dumplings (another type of dumpling, like the kind from DTF), 6. "lu ro fan" (or, "lo ba beng" inTaiwanese) - don't even know what to call this. Some sort of minced pork thing over rice. My personal favorite.


close-ups


I just love this stuff. Call me a peasant - this ain't exactly dinner at Bouley or Babbo - but this was a FEAST for me!

Lina in her ancestral homeland

There was a frog at Taipei airport to welcome Lina for the first time to her ancestral homeland! Actually, I don't think you're supposed to take pictures in the customs area, but oh well. Lina was just thrilled to see this huge frog after a flight from Tokyo. She kept waving to the frog. Angelina is a 3rd generation Taiwanese-American, and this is her first trip back to the motherland. Come to think of it, I don't think I came to Taiwan for the first time until I was six or seven, so she's already ahead of me!

Lina waiting for some "tswa bieng"(sp?) (Taiwanese), or shaved ice, by the popular "Monster Ice" shop in Yongkang Street. We have been staying in this neighborhood, which is known for some great eats, including this shaved ice shop. It's also the neighborhood of the original Din Tai Fung.

There's a park near where we are staying with a slide and some other of these things I don't know what you call them...things you ride on...We are OCD w/ the anti-bacterial stuff b/c of all the potential H1N1 action going on here...

We found a Toys 'R Us today and let Lina run around to blow off some steam. She was so happy when she found this toy giraffe - it's the exact one that she has at home that her Uncle Jimbun gave to her!

Lina in Asia

Our little urban traveller, taking a stroll at night in Tokyo...


So how is this trip going for Lina? What has she been up to? We often wonder what is going on in her head. Does she know we're on a trip? Is she wondering why every day is so different and crazy now (no more disciplined schedule!)? Only God knows!

We know she definitely misses the people that she is constantly around - her grandparents, her aunts and uncles, and of course her cousins. Her cousin Noah is only two months older than her - she used to see him several times a week until the Lee family moved to Kansas City recently. I brought along some home videos (short clips) on the laptop and on DVDs on this trip, and she often points to the people she recognizes (esp. the kids!) and wants to see them! We think she's heart-sick over her cousins/friends! I'm no psychologist, but I'm pretty sure the distinction between video and reality is probably still kind of blurry. It's like she wants to jump into the video and play with Noah! Today Liz's mom (Lina's maternal grandmother) arrived in Taipei as well and Lina was beside herself!

She also misses her crib! She has a nice crib at home. We are traveling with a light pack 'n play crib, which she likes too, but she definitely misses her spacious bed at home. We've come across a couple cribs in department stores and changing rooms and she goes crazy trying to get in them.

Otherwise, she is being herself. Roaming around places, making random noises, and smiling and pointing at dogs and other babies. Here are some random pics of her playing around town (in Tokyo).



Riding the tricycle (I'm really doing the work here) at a baby store in Omotesando Hills.


Outside the Anniversaire Cafe on Omotesando.

Liz "reading" a Japanese book to her.

Some good food in Japan

Traveling w/ a kid (a very young one esp.) is a new thing for us. We've only been on one other trip requiring air travel previous to this trip. We are so thankful that we are able to bring her to Japan and Taiwan. I love watching her absorb new surroundings and introducing her to our beloved homeland! But traveling with her definitely is a lot different from when it was just the two of us. Obviously! For one thing, it's not as easy to sit down and have a long and relaxing meal. Those of you who have eaten out with us know what I'm talking about. Lina is very active - which I am of course thankful for (better than lethargic) - but she definitely won't sit through a meal. She's sixteen months old! Also, she was never one of those infants that slept quietly in a car seat (w/ a blanket covering over) through a long meal. I think she did it exactly once (at Eunice (Liu) Hui's birthday dinner last year). So, it was a pleasant surprise that she fell asleep during two nice meals for us in Tokyo this past week!

This first place is an all-you-can-eat shabu place in Kichijioji, a bustling town about twenty minutes from Shinjuku, or central Tokyo. As you can hopefully see, the beef is thin and carefully presented. You get four trays of these at a time, and you can keep going for up to 90 minutes. Above is the pot w/ some veggies and the sauces. It was very tasty, and also very relaxing b/c Lina happened to be so tired she passed out in the Ergo baby carrier, and then on the bench next to Liz!

The next day, we were on Omotesando (Ave.? Bvld.?), the "Paris of Tokyo," and she fell asleep again while Liz was wearing her! We stumbled up on this fusion restaurant called Miyashita inside the posh Omotesando Hills shopping complex. We only found out later that it was a highly recommended place. We had to sit at the counter because the wait for a table was over an hour. We had minced beef cutlet, but look at all the other greens and garnishes that are so carefully prepared. This isn't Curry House on Sawtelle anymore! Again, very tasty. And it was nice to have a moment to relax over a meal! Thanks, Lina!

Travel and Self-Torture

Recently, we've been busy with some weddings in the family. Eunice, Liz's third sister, (& Ben) married in July, and my cousin Henry (&Naomi) were married a few weeks ago. They were all very smart - they went to Hawaii for a very relaxing honeymoon. My cousin Sam (&Karyn) are planning a relaxing getaway to Maui as well. Many of you know that Liz and I had a very rigorous honeymoon. You've all heard me talk about being nearly mugged twice in Spain, and taking a very romantic and intimate overnight coach train from Paris to San Sebastian with four other smelly travellers (one of whom stripped down to his tighty-whities). Well, we continued this proclivity towards self-punishment when we travelled on this trip. Here is a short clip of us after our 1.) 11 hr flight (w/ Lina being awake MOST of the time), 2.) 1 hr. 10 min. Narita Express ride into Shinjuku (w/ all our luggage and a very tired and fussy baby), AND 3.) transfer to a local JR train to our apartment. By this time, we were both pulling from DEEP reserves!

Lina in Tokyo

Lina was jetlagged for quite a while. Those of you who know her know that she is a light sleeper. The picture below, of her passed out on the changing mat, is HIGHLY UNUSUAL. Anyway, here she is, passed out even after we picked her up from her pack 'n play.




Some more pictures of Lina goofin' around in Odaiba overlooking the Bay.

Tokyo! Some initial pics

Here are some initial pictures from our trip. I'll provide more details later as we're about to run out to meet some friends for lunch. The picture above is at the Ghibli Museum in Kichijioji.



Here's Lina and I on a boat/ferry going from Toyosu to Odaiba.
Standing out on the deck at one of the huge shopping complexes in Odaiba overlooking some bay or harbor. Not sure what it is. I want to call it Tokyo Bay, but I can't be sure!

Lina biting into a corn at a yakitori house!


MOS Burger! One of our favorite fast food joints in Asia! Here's Lina getting ready to chow down on one of their yakiniku burgers (the patty is made of rice). This picture was taken our first morning here, at like 9 in the morning. Lina at LAX getting ready for her 11 hr. journey. Pictures a bit blurry.

OK. More later!