Back to the last bit on Lola's birthday - it was so nice to see Lola enjoying the children's indoor playgroup that we visited on our first day.
Going back to the very beginning of the trip, the first part of the first day of this Taichung trip will probably go down in history as one of our worst travel experiences, ever. Having traveled to four different countries with Lola to date (this one being the fifth), we managed to forget to pack her pacifier. Like, entirely. Not just in the carry-on diaper bag, but also in the regular suitcase. On the one hand, our helper messed this up so, so badly because even though she told me she had checked the packing list and assured me we got everything, it was clear we didn't. She ended up leaving behind not only Lola's pacifiers (perhaps the most essential thing) but also her toothbrush. On the other hand, this teaches me and Michael a very important lesson - no matter how much we double check with our helper, we need to double check the suitcase itself. This one faux pas made our journey to Taichung hellish, which coupled with a bunch of other crap just made everything horrific.
We were catching an early morning flight, so we had to rouse Lola from her peaceful sleep at 7:50 am (which was already the last possible minute, really). We ordered an Uber, which took nearly 15 minutes to show up, and when it showed up, we were dismayed to see it was the tiniest possible car (with no trunk space). Not happening with two adults, a baby and suitcases and carry-on bags galore.
We waited another 15 minutes for an Uber black to show up. By this time, we were cutting it pretty close.
Then, just a little bit more than halfway to the airport, we came to a complete standstill. The tunnel had been shut down - no traffic coming in or out for approximately 10 minutes. In my entire seven years here I have never encountered traffic on the way to the HK airport. But this time, the one time we were really cutting it close, it looked like there were cars backed up for miles. By now, Michael and I were panicking because we were certain we were not going to make it. We even tried to call the airport counter to tell them that we were on our way, almost there, and to please hold the check in counter open for us. We finally pulled into the airport at 9:15 am for a 10:10 am flight. By the grace of God (and the efficiency of the Hong Kong airport) no one even blinked an eye as we proceeded to check in three huge bags and make our way to the boarding gate. It is insane how closely you can cut it here and still make a flight.
We boarded the plane, and poor Lola just wanted to go back to sleep. Usually she needs her first nap around 10:30 or 11, because she can't last as long in the morning. Well, this was when we discovered we had absolutely nothing to soothe her during takeoff or landing, or to calm her to sleep. Horrors. I cringe even typing it right now. It was heartbreaking because she kept saying "nei nei, nei nei" which is her word for her pacifier and cried inconsolably, leading to Michael locking himself in the bathroom with Lola for nearly 30 minutes as she made herself nearly delirious from wailing and screaming. He was so distracted that, forgetful at the best of times, he lost his phone on the airplane, only discovering the loss when we were at baggage claim. Then he went to lost and found to try to get them to locate it, they could not find it but also only looked after other passengers had already boarded the plane... all while we still had to pick up our rental car, and procure a pacifier for Lola, etc. etc. I'm going to stop dwelling on this part of the trip now.
Here we are when we just arrived in Taichung. Lola is going on nearly 6 hours without a nap at this point, but still very curious about her new surroundings.
After we finally got our rental car, we drove straight to a baby store to pick up her pacifiers. We bought two, even though they were 20 dollars each (!), just in case. Trust me, we were not taking any chances. As soon as my mom brought the pacifiers to the car, Michael rinsed them off with water, and we popped one into Lola's mouth. She zonked out in about 15 seconds flat, on my shoulder, snoring slightly. She has never fallen asleep like that before. When we got to the hotel, I reluctantly got out of the car which, as I suspected, woke her up and she refused to sleep again. All in all I think she probably slept 30 minutes. But that was enough for her to recover to her usual happy self again.
From our hotel, we headed to Island Aurora, a cute indoor playground for kids (that also served food) to play from 4 to 6. Here Lola met my family members for the first time and discovered how much she loves slides (the answer is, a lot)!
She is such a little adventurer. I love this smile - it's just full of gumption and energy and mischief and spunk!
She liked the ball pit, the various play areas...
...and she is really independent and pretty fearless when it comes to ledges, steps, and various play contraptions...
She didn't want to be held even though that's all my dad wanted to do!
Lola was clearly exhausted after everything because she fell asleep in a recliner in the lounge. Our return flight home was significantly better than our flight to Taichung, but then again, I'm not sure how it could have gotten any worse.
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| Playing together. So freaking cute. |
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| Lola clearly loved her cousin at first sight because promptly gave "jie jie" (meaning older sister) all of her toys |
Here, Lola is in good spirits after the briefest of power naps.
We were catching an early morning flight, so we had to rouse Lola from her peaceful sleep at 7:50 am (which was already the last possible minute, really). We ordered an Uber, which took nearly 15 minutes to show up, and when it showed up, we were dismayed to see it was the tiniest possible car (with no trunk space). Not happening with two adults, a baby and suitcases and carry-on bags galore.
We waited another 15 minutes for an Uber black to show up. By this time, we were cutting it pretty close.
Then, just a little bit more than halfway to the airport, we came to a complete standstill. The tunnel had been shut down - no traffic coming in or out for approximately 10 minutes. In my entire seven years here I have never encountered traffic on the way to the HK airport. But this time, the one time we were really cutting it close, it looked like there were cars backed up for miles. By now, Michael and I were panicking because we were certain we were not going to make it. We even tried to call the airport counter to tell them that we were on our way, almost there, and to please hold the check in counter open for us. We finally pulled into the airport at 9:15 am for a 10:10 am flight. By the grace of God (and the efficiency of the Hong Kong airport) no one even blinked an eye as we proceeded to check in three huge bags and make our way to the boarding gate. It is insane how closely you can cut it here and still make a flight.
We boarded the plane, and poor Lola just wanted to go back to sleep. Usually she needs her first nap around 10:30 or 11, because she can't last as long in the morning. Well, this was when we discovered we had absolutely nothing to soothe her during takeoff or landing, or to calm her to sleep. Horrors. I cringe even typing it right now. It was heartbreaking because she kept saying "nei nei, nei nei" which is her word for her pacifier and cried inconsolably, leading to Michael locking himself in the bathroom with Lola for nearly 30 minutes as she made herself nearly delirious from wailing and screaming. He was so distracted that, forgetful at the best of times, he lost his phone on the airplane, only discovering the loss when we were at baggage claim. Then he went to lost and found to try to get them to locate it, they could not find it but also only looked after other passengers had already boarded the plane... all while we still had to pick up our rental car, and procure a pacifier for Lola, etc. etc. I'm going to stop dwelling on this part of the trip now.
Here we are when we just arrived in Taichung. Lola is going on nearly 6 hours without a nap at this point, but still very curious about her new surroundings.
It turned out my mom and I wore the same shirt! And look, Lola was still smiling! She was so happy to see her LaoLao and LaoYe.
After we finally got our rental car, we drove straight to a baby store to pick up her pacifiers. We bought two, even though they were 20 dollars each (!), just in case. Trust me, we were not taking any chances. As soon as my mom brought the pacifiers to the car, Michael rinsed them off with water, and we popped one into Lola's mouth. She zonked out in about 15 seconds flat, on my shoulder, snoring slightly. She has never fallen asleep like that before. When we got to the hotel, I reluctantly got out of the car which, as I suspected, woke her up and she refused to sleep again. All in all I think she probably slept 30 minutes. But that was enough for her to recover to her usual happy self again.
From our hotel, we headed to Island Aurora, a cute indoor playground for kids (that also served food) to play from 4 to 6. Here Lola met my family members for the first time and discovered how much she loves slides (the answer is, a lot)!
but she clearly, definitely, really enjoyed the slides the best!
Lola also enjoyed the baby meal (pasta with meat sauce, a steamed egg and a bowl of fruit) while the adults dug into individual hot pot portions (so delicious).
So that was our first full day in Taichung. On each morning of our trip, I met my parents in the basement of our hotel to enjoy a plentiful buffet breakfast with Lola. There was a lot of variety so plenty of stuff for her to try. She really, really loves corn on the cob. I think between that and the sweet potatoes she was in foodie heaven.
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| So happy! |
On our last day (Sunday), we gathered with more friends and family for a huge (there is no such thing as a small meal here) lunch at a Beijing duck restaurant.
I love this picture, taken just after someone asked Lola how old she was. Her response was one, as indicated by her little index finger.
Michael is really popular with the aunties here, and after parking the car was accosted for a group picture. It's very sweet and while he may pretend otherwise, he loves feeling like a celebrity.
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| Lola, me, and my mom! Three generations, three sets of pretty flower prints. That's our way! |
Here, Lola was really trying to walk. She likes her new shoes.
When we landed in Hong Kong airport, Lola was so tired (having refused to sleep on the plane at all) yet she still insisted on dragging her father everywhere while we waited for our bags.
All in all, it was such a great trip and I'm really glad we got to celebrate over such a fun filled weekend! We loved it so much I came back and promptly booked us for another long weekend in Taichung over Easter next year.
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