Thrice Taiwan: Jiufen

Our memories of Jiufen during our first trip were lovely ones: winding cobbled paths dotted with tea houses, hot soup to warm you up on a cold winter's day, and old houses nestled among the hills. 

Because of those fond memories, we decided to pay Jiufen another visit this round. However, our experience was different, perhaps because we had three grouchy littles in tow, or maybe because we were visiting during one of the peak periods for travel in Taiwan. Jiufen was packed, even on a Monday, and its windy, cobbled streets felt less welcoming with all the jostling tourists, many who were carrying umbrellas because it was raining. A fair number of tourist attractions are closed on Mondays (eg. some exhibits at the zoo, certain museums etc), so that might have explained the crowd there (A side point: do your research on opening hours and days for museums and such when planning your trip). 

I think in general Jiufen is lovely for a visit, but you might want to give this place a miss if you have a few littles in tow. Also, ditch the pram, since the cobbled walkways and crowds usually make it hard to navigate if you have one. And try your best to avoid the place on weekends. 

Crowds aside, it is pretty interesting to shop there (you can read our Taiwan shopping guide here). We usually make a stop to look at ocarinas, and there are at least two ocarina shops in Jiufen. We always like browsing in the there, since it's quite amazing how the ocarinas can come in so many shapes and sizes!

There are shops selling all sorts of merchandise, though of course, these are quite touristy. We did make a stop to buy leather pouches, and the kids were rather fascinated at the process of how the shopkeeper would burn the leather to engrave names on the pouches. 

We didn't make a stop in a teahouse, or visit any of the little museums there, but the kids had some fun spotting interesting crafts dotting the various houses there. They would spot glass pebbles embedded in the steps, upcycled art, and random paintings adorning the houses, and that kept them occupied for some part of the visit. The crowd did get to them, so after awhile everyone was cranky and whiny, so we decided to leave after lunch. (If you're wondering about the photo below, they were trying to mimic the cat painting. But Junior J decided he wanted no part of it, so he hid behind Papa.)

There's food aplenty in Jiufen, but we usually make a stop to eat beef noodles. Most shops do not have high chairs, so do bring a clip-on if you have a squirmy toddler! 

And one thing that helps to keep our kids happy for sure: dessert. We love the taro balls here, and there are many dessert shops to visit after you had your main meal.

I'm not too sure if we'll come back to Jiufen if we visit Taiwan again, but I know we'll definitely not visit in November!

PS: This post is part of a series of posts for our third visit to Taiwan. For our trip itinerary, go here, and you can read about our first and second trips to Taiwan here, and here. 

Legoland with littles (Part 2): 6 survival tips

Much has been written about both the Legoland theme park and water park, and we have also shared about our stay in Legoland Hotel Malaysia. It's a great place to visit as a family, since it's just across the causeway, and day trips are possible. I must say that it's best to go when the kids are older (four and above), since there are a lot more rides and slides they can take when they are bigger, and you don't have to worry about naps. However, for families with more than one kid, you'd probably find yourself paying a visit with a toddler in tow. If so, this post is for you, since this is more or less a guide to surviving (and enjoying) Legoland with littles. Here's our survival checklist of tips (which also applies to those bringing older kids):

1. Check the weather, and pack accordingly:

We visited the parks during the hazy period, and were given one day tickets to the water park and theme park, and advised to visit the water park on the first day if the weather was good. That turned out to be great advice, since it poured on our second day there! Both parks have very little shelter, so be sure to bring along umbrellas if you are visiting the theme park (doesn't matter at the water park since you'll be drenched most of the time). Since the haze was still lingering when we visited, we brought along masks. Those didn't stay on very long, since everyone got really hot and uncomfortable wearing them, so we tried to keep the kids at indoor activities to minimize haze exposure.

2. Get a map, and plan your visit before you go:
If you are visiting Legoland with toddlers or babies, you'll find there is less time to explore the park since you need to factor in nap-time. Also, the rides have different age limits, so if you have more than one kid, you might have to plan to split up during some parts of the visit, especially to avoid the case where you have a toddler screaming that he wants to go for the ride that his big brothers are going for! You also do not want to queue up for a ride, only to find out that one out of three kids are eligible, so do your planning!

The best thing to do would be to check out the rides online (activities for the theme park here, and those for the water park here) before your visit, and get the kids to list the rides they would like to (and can) take. Get the kids to plan a route around the park (this is even more so for the theme park as it is much larger than the water park). I found this post (and the links at the end of the post) by Life's Tiny Miracles very helpful during our planning process.

Try to visit during weekdays, and avoid the weekends, since it gets very crowded on weekends and the queuing times can get much longer. There is a baby care area, and I am told that the younger kids can take their naps there, otherwise, you might want to see if your young ones can nap in the pram. We were staying in Legoland Hotel, so we could easily skip across and back to our room when Baby J got tired, so that was really convenient.

3. Settle your meals in the park to save time.
It can be quite troublesome to leave the park to have lunch before returning again, and I think certain tickets also do not allow you the option of re-entering the parks. So it's best to eat in the park (on the go if possible!), and there are dining options in both parks. If you are worried about food allergies or the price, bring your own food. Otherwise, we found that the Market Restaurant food was pretty yummy, and they had both local and Western options, as well as kids' meals.

4. If you have a few kids with you, check out Lego City:
We found that there were quite a few rides that catered to all ages at Lego City, so we chose to spend quite a fair bit of time there. All three loved boating school, since they got to steer the boat! (Do note that they only allow one adult with one child in each boat, so if you have three or more kids, some kids would have to wait their turn.)

Junior Driving School was another ride they loved, but Baby J was too young and had to be content watching his brothers drive the cars around the circuit.

5. Note the indoor areas in case of rain or haze:
For the theme park, there are indoor areas which are great to visit if it starts to rain, or if there is haze. The kids enjoyed exploring the relatively new Star Wars exhibits, and there were buttons to press to activate the models, which kept them engrossed for awhile.

That aside, the Lego Academy room provides boxes of bricks and guides to building various models. This is a good place to hang out with the younger ones if the older kids are off riding the scarier rides!

6. Be prepared to split up at the water park if you have toddlers:
Many of the fun rides have a height limit. To my surprise, the usually cautious Junior J loved the Red Rush and many of the other slides, and the hubby went with him. I stayed with the younger two since I couldn't do many rides with the big baby bump anyway.

Here were some of the activities we checked out together as a family:

:: Duplo Splash Safari: We probably spent the most time here, since it was just a shallow pool with floating large Lego blocks. The younger two loved their time there, and Lil J spent alot of time trying to construct a raft to ride on.

:: Imagination Station: This allows kids to build and test their own creations against flowing water, but this was more appropriate for the older kids since the water table was too tall for Baby J.

:: Build-A-Raft River: The older two loved this, but Baby J was terrified initially, even though he was being carried all through the ride! However, he calmed down and enjoyed himself the next round.

:: Wave Pool: All three loved bobbing around in the wave pool, and life vests are provided for the kids.

I admit, we were initially a little skeptical if the visit would be worthwhile, since we had to bring all three, and there would be a fair bit of juggling to do, not to mention toddler tantrums! But the kids really had a really good time there, so much so that Junior J was close to tears when we had to leave. He now lists Legoland as one of his favourite places to go, and promptly drew this picture the day after our trip (It show the entrance to the park, and says "I love Legoland")!

Once again, thank you, WTS Travel and Legoland Malaysia for having us!

PS: This is Part 2 of a two part series on our experience at Legoland Malaysia. Click here to read about our experience riding the coach to Legoland, and our stay in Legoland Hotel!

We were sponsored one night's stay in Legoland Hotel, coach transfers, as well as two day tickets to the Legoland theme and water parks for purpose of this review. No monetary compensation was received, and all opinions are our own. 

Thrice Taiwan: What we brought and bought

There are Black Friday sales happening everywhere today, but I highly doubt you'll be finding those in the night markets of Taiwan! But sales aside, I thought our three trips there have warranted at least one post on what to bring as well as the interesting things to buy! 

What to bring

Taiwan gets a lot of rain, so do bring raincoats for the kids, and umbrellas. Or even better, buy an umbrella when you are there, since you'd be spoilt for choice with regards to the range of brollies available! And speaking of weather, check the weather forecast and pack accordingly. It can get really cold up in the mountains in winter, and the best would be to layer since that gives you more flexibility with regards to the fluctuating temperatures. The UV radiation can get quite intense, so do bring sunscreen and hats!

For those travelling with toddlers and babies, you might want to consider bringing a clip-on high chair, as many of the eateries do not have high chairs. Most eateries provide only plastic soup spoons and chopsticks, and do not have forks. As such we found these training chopsticks (from Qoo10) were really useful, if you're travelling with kids old enough to feed themselves. The chopsticks are easy to handle, and even our 4 year old had no problems using them. We also brought along spoons for the toddler, since soup spoons are a tad too large for him. 

The baby carrier would come in handy if you have kids that still need to be carried. Prams can be useful, if you have a kid that can nap in there, and it is relatively easy to navigate the city areas with a pram in tow. Leave the pram behind when it comes to the nature areas though! For more packing tips when travelling with kids, read this post. 

What we bought in Taiwan
Taiwan is quite a great place to shop! We found that in general, you might find similar products being sold in the night markets and tourist spots, but they tend to be a tad cheaper at the night markets. If there is a local market near your accommodation, take the time to check it out first since sometimes you can get some stuff at an even cheaper rate there! (You can read about our local market buys here.)

Unlike places like Thailand where bargaining is necessary, the shopkeepers in Taiwan don't take very well to bargaining. We usually do ask for a discount, especially if we buy more, but most are quite reluctant to lower their prices, so don't push too hard! However, I find most sales people are really friendly and nice folk, and do not show any signs of unhappiness if you leave their shop empty-handed.

Shopping: Clothing and accessories

The night markets are pretty good for shopping for clothes and accessories, and I've heard that the wholesale area at WuFenPu near the RaoHe night market can be a place to find good deals. However, most posts I've read (like this one) have not had very promising reviews of WuFenPu, also do note that the clothes available follows the changes in seasons. We didn't really bother to hunt for clothes, since clothes shopping with 3 littles in tow is quite a nightmare, but we managed to pick up some interesting finds along the way. 

We found our colourful hand-sewn leather shoes at the local market near our apartment in Taipei (more details here), and these were being sold at 40% cheaper than the retail price at department stores. We were told that the stall makes its rounds around the local markets, and can be found at that particular market only on Mondays, when all the usual stalls selling produce are closed. We also bought some cute socks for the kids at the same market, from another stall that only sets up on Wednesdays.

Ximending probably has the most number of bag shops amongst the tourists spots, and has lots of trendy shops selling all sorts of merchandise. We picked up backpacks for the boys at one of these shops, and I love the prints!

We spotted this shop selling these cute leather pouches in Jiufen, and bought some as gifts (I think there were a few of these shops that stocked these in Jiufen). There was a stall over in RaoHe night market selling similar pouches, but at a cheaper price. However, the shop which we purchased the pouches offered the complimentary service of engraving names on the pouches, which I thought was a nice touch. 

Shopping: Home accessories
I've shared before about these little train carriages, which we bought at a shop over in Shifen (a kind IG follower recently sent me the name of the shop: Shifen Handmade Shop, which has a bright yellow signboard). That aside, the same shop sells all manner of pretty wooden musical boxes and other home accessories.

We bought some of these waterproof mats over at the RaoHe night market, then subsequently found that they were also sold at the local market near our apartment, at a cheaper price (they were sold at the same stall selling socks, that sets up on Wednesdays). These are soft and machine-washable, and are useful if you are training your kid to go off diapers at night. I loved how comfortable these felt, compared to the usual waterproof rubber mats or incopads, and their cheery designs that were cute and not tacky looking! 

The Taiwanese really seem to love owls, and you'll find all manner of merchandise with owls printed on them! The hubs picked this fellow up at the museum over at the Toucheng farm, and we spotted some similar ones made of twine over at a shop near the calla lily farms at Yangmingshan. The shop sells all sorts of gardening accessories, and our friends probably bought most of the owls there, but I'm sure they will restock!

Shopping: Yummy food

There are all sorts of snack galore, so I'd say, just try samples as you go and buy whatever your tastebuds fancy! One of the most popular ones would probably be their pineapple pies, which are sold everywhere. Even some bakeries stock their own versions. We also bought these seaweed snacks for the kids at the RaoHe Night Market: these are strips of seaweed with nuts/seeds sandwiched between, and are addictive and make quite healthy snacks. The kids have almost finished them up, and Baby J demands for them everyday!  

Another interesting buy we spotted at RaoHe was this stall selling this sweet ginger herbal drink. You can buy pre-packed blocks of the ingredients to bring back, and all you need to do is pop the blocks into hot water and stir. We purchased some yummy veggie and fruit chips from another stall in RaoHe, only to discover that the market near our apartment sold them in larger packets at the same price!

Shopping: Kids stuff

Eslite is great for shopping for books, and certain Eslite stores also sell toys and games. In general, I find that their other products tend to be more high-end, so we usually only window shop when we are there. We discovered the Lonpos range of logic puzzles at Eslite during one of our earlier trips, and thought those were pretty interesting, and those are worth checking out if you have kids who are into these things. 

The Taiwanese produce their own range of toys, so it can be quite interesting to visit various department stores to check those out. We've spotted a Taiwanese version of Lincoln Logs, and you'd find stationery stores and market stalls selling imitation Lego. We picked up a few sets in the market near our apartment, and those were pretty cheap (by now you would have deduced we did the bulk of our shopping at the local market!). 

We also purchased a few ocarinas from Jiufen to give as gifts to some of the kids' friends. There are at least two shops in Jiufen which sell ocarinas of all shapes and sizes, and you just need to follow your ears to find them. Each usually comes with a fingering chart and a song-book, and I think those with six holes have a larger note range compared to those with four. These days, they come in such cute designs!

And finally, with all that shopping you might be doing in Taiwan, I must add one more thing to bring along: a foldable luggage tote/bag that you can use for all that extra baggage you'd have at the end of the trip!

PS: This post is part of a series of posts for our third visit to Taiwan. For our trip itinerary, go here, and you can read about our first and second trips to Taiwan here, and here. 

Legoland with littles (Part 1)

If you've been following this blog for awhile, you would notice that we are not really fans of themed parks. Children really don't need much to keep them entertained, and I find that the boys are usually content and happy to run about in nature. So we put off visiting Legoland Malaysia for the longest time, even though most of our friends have gone there and have raved (or blogged) about how much their kids have enjoyed it. We felt that it would be better to visit when the kids are older, and we didn't have to worry so much about nap-times, height restrictions, and terrible twos. However, we were recently invited by WTS Travel for one-night's stay in Legoland Hotel, along with passes to the theme and water parks and coach transfer, so we decided to give it a try!

The coach ride was smooth and comfortable. There are two pick-up points for coaches headed to Legoland, and we boarded the coach at the Singapore Flyer. There are quite a few pick-up times each morning, and if you are early, you might find that you are able to board the earlier coach instead, which means more time at the parks later. WTS Travel provides coach transfers, or packages with park tickets and coach transfers, and you can get the details here. 

The journey was relatively short, so aside from Baby J trying to bounce between me and the hubs, the kids were more or less well-behaved, though we were probably the noisiest family on the bus! We had brought along books and our quiet book, so the boys were occupied most of the time. I would say that driving your own car across is more convenient, especially with the kids all strapped into their carseats. However, should you not have that option, the coach transfer is a great way to head to Legoland. Just remember to pack light (cabin luggages are great), since you'll have to bring your luggage down from the bus when you cross the immigration checkpoint. Do also bring something to keep the kids occupied on the bus, and prep the kids mentally about what to expect, and how to behave when going across (very important especially when you have strong-willed kids, as we learnt!). 

Legoland Hotel has a pretty late check-in time at 4 pm, but we managed to check-in much earlier. If you have littles who still need naps, it's best to check with the hotel if you can do an earlier check-in. 

The check-in process was fast, and the kids were kept busy in the hotel lobby, which had many stations for them to build with Lego bricks, both big and small. 

The hotel rooms are split into three themes: Kingdom, Pirate and Adventure, and a lot work has been put in to transform the rooms to fit their themes, from the wallpaper, carpet, and Lego decorations scattered around the room. We were given a Kingdom-themed room (I had requested not to have Pirate-themed room, since the kids get spooked by skull-and-crossbones motifs). 

You could tell that a fair bit of thought went into making the room kid-friendly, from how they had two sinks in the toilet, one which was positioned lower for easy access for the children, to the inclusion of a box of Duplo blocks for the kids to play with in the room. 

I loved how the room was partitioned into two sections, one for the kids with a bunk bed and a trundle bed, and the other for the parents with a king-sized bed, and a sliding door that you can close in between. That was really handy when Baby J was napping on our bed, since the older two could continue playing in their part of the room. Another thing about naps: staying in the hotel is really convenient, since the older kids can stay in the parks to play, while their younger siblings can head back to the comfort of the hotel to sleep!

The beds were really comfy!

Some complimentary beverages were provided in the room, and I loved how they included decaf amongst the tea and coffee sachets.

I think one highlight for the older two was the treasure chest in the room. You are given a list of clues, and solving them gives you the combination code to open the chest. They were awarded with two keychains and a magnet for their efforts. (A word of caution though, for those who have kids who want to work on their Lego sets when staying in the room: do ensure that they pour all their pieces into a box or tray, since the colourful carpet makes it really hard to find any dropped pieces!) 

If you have littles who take ages to eat, and need their naps, then it might be more practical to have your meals at the hotel, or at the parks, to maximize your visit. There is a mall just next to the hotel that has various eateries, but we opted to eat at the hotel for our dinners, simply because we were just too tired to walk! You can read more about the dining options at the hotel here. 

Breakfast is provided with the hotel stay, and is served at the Bricks Family Restaurant. The variety of dishes is quite mind-boggling, and the food is pretty good (what you'd get at most hotel breakfasts). We certainly enjoyed all the local food that was served!

The restaurant also serves buffet lunches and dinners. However, they only open at 6.30 pm for dinner, so we opted to dine at Di Mattoni instead, since that was open from 3 pm onwards (but as such, does not offer lunch options). 

Di Mattoni was a cosy little restaurant that served Italian food, and we found the pizzas pretty good and quite value for money! 

Kid's pizza on the left, and a regular pizza (which is pretty huge!) on the right for the adults. 

One nice feature of the restaurant is this large Lego baseboard, which forms a Ninjago picture after many of these smaller plates are filled up with tiny bricks. The older two spent a fair bit of time working on filling up their smaller Lego plates, and had a fun time trying to find out where to put their plates when they were done:

The kids really loved their stay, from the lifts which got them dancing every time they entered, to the comfortable room with all it's Lego and kid-friendly features. As for the adults, we were quite impressed at the level of service, and how all the staff we met were friendly and helpful. Junior J enjoyed his time there so much, he got pretty upset when we had to leave! He now lists Legoland as one of his favourite places to visit. I must say that the hotel rates are pretty pricey though, but a occasional stay in this hotel might be something we might consider, if we want to celebrate a special occasion. You can go here and here to read more about the experience of other families staying in Legoland Hotel Malaysia. 

Thank you, WTS Travel and Legoland Malaysia for having us!

PS: This is Part 1 of a two part series on our experience at Legoland Malaysia. Stay tuned for our guide to surviving both parks when you have toddlers in tow! 

We were sponsored one night's stay in Legoland Hotel, coach transfers, as well as two day tickets to the Legoland theme and water parks for purpose of this review. No monetary compensation was received, and all opinions are our own.