3 week panic 2 kids!

Taiwan Parenting
1

We’re in Taipei in 3 weeks. Today is my hit-the-wall day, my oh-what-am-I-doing day.

What do I do when I get there and my husband goes to work. I get to be a stay at home Mom, and I’ve NO idea where to start (other than the swimming pool at the hotel) when we get there. Can I just hop on the bus with the kids and get to yangminshan? Museums, THE memorial. Is it going to be totally overwhelming just to walk around the block when we get there?

How about this? Does anyone have any good adventure stories about their arrival in Taipei. I’ve lost every visual I had and have gone completely blank. I’ve a 2 year old boy and a 5 year old girl who just wants to dance- they are outside creatures. We really want to love it there!

2

Do you know where you will be living or what hotel you will be staying in at first? That might help people answer your questions.

3

[quote=“seattle”]We’re in Taipei in 3 weeks. Today is my hit-the-wall day, my oh-what-am-I-doing day.

What do I do when I get there and my husband goes to work. I get to be a stay at home Mom, and I’ve NO idea where to start (other than the swimming pool at the hotel) when we get there. Can I just hop on the bus with the kids and get to Yangmingshan? Museums, THE memorial. Is it going to be totally overwhelming just to walk around the block when we get there?

How about this? Does anyone have any good adventure stories about their arrival in Taipei. I’ve lost every visual I had and have gone completely blank. I’ve a 2 year old boy and a 5 year old girl who just wants to dance- they are outside creatures. We really want to love it there![/quote]

Yes, you can just get on a bus and zip off to Yangmingshan (or anywhere) and then go for a walk. No problem. Buses are numbered and signed in English now. And there are many resource books (Lonely Planet and the locally produced Taipei Day Trips I and II) which take you by the hand and tell you what bus to take, where to get off, and what to do once you are there. Birding in Taipei is a good resource book also.

The weather is warming up and you will be able to take them to the beach in under an hour. Lots of day trips to take to places close to Taipei.

There are 100 km of bike paths along the river. Lots of places for kids to run around and play. A great walk is to get off the MRT at Hungshulin and then walk along the boardwalk to Danshui. You pass through a mangrove swamp. The kids will love looking at all the life sprouting up and zipping about.

Where I live in the southern part of the city near the zoo is excellent for kids. The zoo is good but there are lush forests with clear wide trails and a few clean small streams for them to splash about in. Also, in another month or two the fireflies will be out. Don’t let them miss that.

At every MRT station there are booklettes in English telling you about hiking and bikign trails you can get to from MRT stops. There are many, most just pleasant strolls of an hour or two. The maps are detailled and there are little posts along the trails so you can’t get lost.

There is a lovely trail called the Fairy Footprint which isn’t well known by the foreign community but is a wonderful little oasis in the city. It’s a five minute walk from an MRT station to the trailhead. Then it’s up a safe, clean tral to a lookout over the city. In spring butterflies and dragonflies abound. Perfect place to take kids up on a nice afternoon to run around and explore nature.

Look, Taipei is really, really easy to get around. All the streets and alleys are signed in English. So are the buses. The MRT is all in English, too. With any map you will be fine. And anywhere you want to go will be listed in a guide book telling you how to get there. The Taipei Day Trips books I mentioned above are especially great.

And if you get lost just show a taxi driver your hotel card and he will take you back. That’s what I used to do when I first arrived. I explored freely and then if I found myself lost took a taxi back home. Simple.

The city is very safe. There are almost no “bad” neighborhoods to accidentally wander into.

4

You are most welcome to join our cityplaygroup! There are two groups meeting during the week, one Wednesday mornings, the other Friday afternoons. I’m pretty sure there is one on the weekends, too. I can’t remember the mailing list address but I am sure someone will pass it on. We go to lots of different places around the city, indoor and outdoor, and have very detailed instructions about how to get to each place.

This site might also be useful: http://www.parentpages.net/ - lots of information about raising families in Taiwan. Lots of expat parents share information here.

If your kids love to dance, you can also join kindermusik, there is one run right in Taipei city and it’s great fun.

It may a bit overwhelming getting used to getting around on public transport with children at first. The good news is, taxis are very cheap and if you are in a hotel, the staff can help you get where you want to go. The MRT is very easy, and there are many fun stops on the lines, but the bus system could be a bit tiring with kids at first, waiting for the right bus, having to get off if you go the wrong way and so on.

If you are in central Taipei city, you may want to start with CKS memorial, Da-An Park, 228 Park, then DanShui/HongShuLin (a great walk between those two stations), NTU university grounds, all on the MRT lines and pretty good for kids to run around.

For indoor spaces, there is Playspace, the Transportation Museum, the Science Museum, Read and Play… they won’t mean much to you now but once you are here you will find some of these places on the map. Oh, and the Taipei Municipal Children’s library on GienKuo South road is a great resource with lots of English books. Rental is free if you live in Taipei.

I didn’t come here with children, but i imagine you would want to stock up on snacks your kids like if you are in the hotel to start with, so you don’t have to go running around looking for things your kids love the first week or so. There are a couple of good supermarkets that stock foods that will be familiar, but you may not want to HAVE to go there just as you settle in.

Once you know where to look, there are lots of places for families here. I hope you enjoy your Taipei adventure!

5

Taiwan can be terribly frightening due to the language barrier. Public transport is AMAZING…you can go anywhere and it’s relatively cheap. MRT and buses are in great shape…aircons etc.

It is very difficult to get around without knowing Chinese…most people here don’t speak English. However, once you get good maps, have a cellphone so that you can contact your husband who can give the phone to someone who can translate…it’s really fine.

It’s very safe here too, if you do get lost, very little can happen. Just relax, take it as a learning experience and enjoy!

Where in Taipei are you going to stay?

6

Thanks everyone the forum is extremely helpful- I’ve contacted the parentpages.net site. I’m finding myself relying on playgroups I’ve not been to yet!

We’ll be staying at the Westin for a month or so in Taipei city.

My biggest problem currently is leaving. The 5 year old is showing some stress and her friends are replacing her before she is gone. Makes me sad. Hopefully, she can find some friends quickly.

We’ll be ok, and definitely will find the play spaces, libraries, and playgroups as fast as we can.

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My office is right around the corner, and I’m often free for a few hours in the afternoon. My wife and I would be happy to take you and the kids out for lunch when you get here. My number is 0935-560-995. Don’t stress too much coming - everything will fall into place the way it should. :wink:

Anthony van Dyck (Maoman)
Forumosa Admin

8

If you plan on joining our wed playgroup there are several other children around two years old and on Fri afternoons there is another playgroup of mostly older kids. We usually meet downtown so it will be pretty easy for you to get around. Also if you ever want to meet up for a playdate feel free to contact me.