The last day of my Taiwan excursion was spent with Connie & Marissa’s family. We met up at the Songshan MRT station and headed towards Yangmingshan (陽明山) to eat at the Grass Mountain Chateau (草山行館). The weather was a bit inclement and it had just started drizzling, but I thought it was nice. The wind was more problematic than the rain, as it kept catching the umbrellas.

There was a little bit of confusion on how to get there, but eventually we made our way to the restaurant and sat down for a delicious four-course meal.

Each of us opted for a different main course. I chose the Dongpo Pork (東坡肉).

After the meal, we looked around the chalet. It was originally built as a summer home for Chang Kai-Shek. It’s since turned into a museum. In 2007, the chalet was devoured by a fire and 87 years of relics were lost in the blaze. Three years later, a renovation effort was underway in order to preserve a historic site for Taiwan’s culture.

As the weather worsened, we headed back to the city. My aunt decided to take me to a community for military families. My parents would have previously lived in similar housing, and they wanted to show me some of Taiwan’s past.

We looked around, I took some pictures, and everyone got ice cream. After we were done perusing, my cousins had other activities to attend so we bid our farewells. I thanked my family for taking time out of their busy schedules to see me and hoped to see them again!

As the weather worsened, I returned to our AirBNB and prepared my belongings for the long trip home.

What a great trip. It was especially nice that it was all just friends. It’s been a while since I’ve been able to go on such an extended trip that we planned on our own and without “adult supervision”. I look forward to many future trips with my friends to exciting locales.

-Evilmanta