First impression of Taiwan is that it is clean. This lady was mopping the sidewalk outside of her store!

If you are going to stand on an escalator, stay to the right…everyone follows this rule

Some street food that we tried that was pretty good

Traveling with a Tech-Savvy guy like I do means checking out electronics. However this was not like Fry’s. Many small electronic stores, but at least they were all near enough to each other at an area called “3C”

SCORE! We found the padfone…one of the reasons why we chose Taiwan as a get-away.

Happy Birthday, Merry Christmas, Happy Anniversary…all in one with a new phone and dock/tablet

Dinner at Din Tai Fung Dumpling House. Really yummy food and a pretty famous restaurant

After dinner, we asked our tour guide if she knew where the “Mormon Temple” was at and she took us right to it. We have a friend serving an LDS mission there now, but sadly we didn’t see our friend.

Ended the day by watching a puppet show and opera at Taipei Eye. We got to take photos with members of the cast at intermission

Started off the day by visiting Mengjia Longshan Temple

Outside of the National Palace Museum with our guide…no photography allowed inside

Chiang Kai-shek memorial hall grounds. He was the former president of the Republic of China.

We were able to watch the changing of the guards in front of the Chiang Kai-shek statue.

Beitou hot-springs. You could smell the sulfur and supposedly you can boil an egg in seconds there at the main source.

We opted for our own private hot-springs at Villa 32…and it was a perfectly romantic location; away from the free and/or public hot-springs.

Last stop of the day was at the Shilin Night Market. We have so much fun trying to get the best deal on things.

We rented a car and drove north-east to the mountains and ocean. The wind and water created these cool rock formations.

From the minerals in the water, these are known as the “Golden Waterfalls” in Jinguashi.

The three of us explored Jinguashi mining grounds.

We walked through the crowded Jiufen market.

We walked around Ping Hsi “Pingxi” branch rail where we saw people “play sky lantern”. They would write sayings or wishes on a paper sky lantern and then release it.

We walked to Shifen falls and it was lovely. If it was warmer we may have been tempted to swim there, but it was a chilly day.

We ended the day by having dinner at Taipei 101. We had this whole room to ourselves for about half of our 7-course meal.

Taipei 101 is super tall with 101 floors…we ate on the 86th floor (or there about).

Good-bye Taipei, Taiwan. It was a wonderful weekend get-away.

My schedule for California. Shopping was very important since I needed to stock up on items not found in the Philippines to last me for the next 1-2 years.

The home I grew up in is surrounded by 3 rice fields and a canal in the back. My dad, uncles and grandpa built our home about 28 years ago. Now my brother and dad are building an “Ag Building” that will be converted into an apartment.

The joys of living out in the country. Exploring for critters with your uncle.

Cousins having fun on the trampoline ages 9, 5, 5, 4, 1

Mason LOVED playing with all of the toys at grandma’s house.

We had a bonfire at my parent’s house a couple of times and even roasted some marshmallows and made s’mores.

I had lunch with my grandma.

Dinner with my friends who I have known for over 25 years…I brought them a “bra organizer” from the Philippines.

Afternoon at a pumpkin patch to choose pumpkins to decorate.

Dinner with ALL of my siblings and their spouse who were in California for the week.

My brothers…just missing Seth who is the youngest.

My sisters…just missing Lei who is number 4 sister.

Ninjas are invading the house. Both kids wanted to have the same ninja costume this year.

Ready to go Trick-or-Treating with cousins. We only lasted about an hour or so, but everyone was happy with their loot.

The family who watched Jeffrey’s football game. He scored 4 touchdowns that night!

The kids thought looking at the stars and running around with other kids was more fun than sitting in the bleachers and watching the football game.

Before we left my sister took photos of the kids per my dad’s request. Here is our Hawaiian princess.

Our Big Kahuna!

Waiting for to board the plane at the airline lounge. There are some perks to flying so much, like the free food, drinks and Wi-Fi in the frequent flyer lounges.

Spent the day at the Monterey Bay Aquarium before everyone arrived.

While waiting for family to show up at the hotel, we decided to take the short walk to the beach and go exploring.

The night before the wedding we had a nice dinner with close friends and family.

While waiting for Matt to arrive from the airport and the wedding to start, the kids enjoyed the nearby park and playing with their cousins.

The wedding was held on the beach at Asilomar where my in-laws first met each other.

Daddy/Daughter dance during a small reception…her dress was lovely. She had commissioned custom sleeves to be made by a tailor, but unfortunately the end result did not properly match the dress.

The best photo that I had with the happy bride and groom…good thing I wasn’t the photographer.

Matt using the decorations for a grill. We got to see him at 2pm Saturday afternoon and then he left for the Philippines at 7am on Sunday morning.

Dinner with Matt’s co-worker and her family at Cuc Gach restaurant. Apparently Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have eaten there.

Our first stop on our city tour was at the local market. Vendors inside and out. Outer portion is food and the inner area is clothing, toys, etc.

Items for sale inside the market.

Thien Hau Pagoda had amazing artistry.

Vietnam War Remnants Museum…not sure how accurate the information is that is being displayed, and some photos and stories are pretty graphic. Still it was cool to see a big tank! (Mason thought all of these were Transformers)

These teenage boys wanted a photo with our 9 year old girl! Kalani kept being told by men and women old and young how pretty she is.

Inside of the Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica.

In Vietnam the farmer’s family members who pass away are buried in their fields.

Ready to go on the Mekong Delta. A long river that starts in China and goes through most of the countries in South East Asia and finally reaches the ocean in Vietnam.

Along the Mekong Delta we saw this lady making rice paper for spring rolls. We also saw them making coconut candy, extracting coconut oil, making rice cakes, etc.

We rode in this smaller canoe to go down a channel of the Mekong Delta.

We went to a pottery warehouse where we saw them molding pots and then firing them in the kiln.

Crocodile feeding. Everyone had a great time give the crocodile chicken meat.

We went to a wet market and there were a ton of snakes ready for purchase…plus other types of meat and produce.

End our second day in Vietnam by getting our hair washed at a salon. My lady felt like she was clawing my head and then she stuck her fingers in my ears a few different times…I could have done without this experience, but at least they straightened my hair for me.

Our last full day in Vietnam we spent the morning at Dam Sen water park.

Our last night in Vietnam we watched the Water Puppet Show. It was only 1 hour long and pretty entertaining although we didn’t understand a word being said.

We drove past about a half a dozen Baskin Robbin stores. Of course we had to stop and have some ice cream…it has been over a year since we had some 31 flavors and we weren’t disappointed!

Vietnam has a TON of motorbikes. I don’t understand the traffic rules and I am grateful we were in a car. Still it was impressive to see so many motorbikes on the road.

Driving to Baguio during a monsoon. So thankful we have a driver.

We either had rain or fog during the drive. It took us about 5 hours to get there with a lunch stop along the way.

1st stop: Botanical Garden

There was a drizzle while exploring the Botanical Garden, but we all had a good time.

2nd stop: The Good Shepherd Convent where we bought homemade goodies

3rd stop: Mind’s View Park

Souvenir item for sale…minus the laptop

Mason was excited to get a wooden snake for his treat and to get a photo with this “cool dog”

It was still raining pretty good while we were at Mine’s View Park. The local way to get rid of the water that collects on the tarps without getting water in all the shops.

4th stop: Bell Church with some history of China on site as well

Leaving the Bell church Matt was asked if he wouldn’t mind taking a photo with some Filipinas

5th stop: Tam-Awan Village

The clouds would come and go on our drive to Banaue…but it was still a beautiful drive

We stopped to stretch our legs and check out Ambuklao Dam on our way to Banaue

Banaue Rice Terraces

Local Igorot ladies that wait for tourist to come take a photo. Matt gave this lady more than the usual tip!

On the way home from Banaue we pulled off the side of the road and purchased some wood furniture at a rock bottom price!

The kids each painted 3 art pieces at the hotel on a rainy day.

Our Manila church friends that were in Baguio the same time as us.

Random lion head we saw on our drive back to Manila

Bridal Veil Falls was a good place for pictures and to get out and stretch our legs while heading home.