We made it....

Welcome to Taiwan!

So after a solid 24 hour flight, we finally made it to Taiwan and were greeted by a group of very enthusiastic Rotarians. The moment we walked out of the terminal we heard, "Lauren", "Bryan", "Fred", "Derek", "Whitney"! A banner with our photo and 'Welcome to Taiwan' gave our hosts away among the gathered group. Roses, photos and smiles made us feel like we were right at home.

We met our host families at the airport but were whisked away to The Grand Forward Hotel for the night, which was a beautiful hotel to get re-charged after our journey. When we arrived at the hotel, we figured we would just head to bed, but our hosts treated us to an amazing, authentic Taiwanese bbq at a restaurant around the corner. It was, to us, the best way to start the trip.

The 'bbq' was unlike a bbq in the US--no burgers, but there definitely was beer! With no shoes on we climbed into our seats and ate until our hearts content. Each table had had two coal grills with an attached vent for grilling and a flame for boiling what turned out to be a delicious milk stew filled with meats and veggies. Everything from pork to chicken to beef, we grilled it! Our hosts toasted us almost as many times as we brought our chopsticks to our mouth. Even though we didn't return to our rooms until after midnight, we can't think of a better way to start our adventure! Good food, good drinks and great company....

On to our 'official' Day 1. Stay tuned...

At the Syracuse airport before our big adventure! We are all smiling since we changed our connection to Hong Kong instead of Tokyo. We ended up traveling over the North Pole...

Connecting in Hong Kong!  

Authentic Taiwanese BBQ

Our new friends  

Chef Bryan