Mom and Dad Chu Visit Taiwan 2006

Sunday, October 9, 2006 - Day 4

3:00AM! Who wakes up at 3:00AM? We are used to going to sleep at 3:00AM but never waking at that time. It was a nostalgic feeling for Mike being awake at 3:00AM. It was similar to the the all nighter times in university. The required awakening time was so because we needed to catch a 4:10AM train to the summit of Alishan mountain.

We checked out of the hotel as we left since we had no desire to head down the access road again. We headed to the town site where we would need to board the train. Where there used to be a road now existed a parking lot. Cars were parked and double parked for a huge portion of the road making us all think of how much fun it would be to find a parking spot and walk the whole of this dark mountain road. No thanks. So Kathy sweet talks her way in through the gate saying Mike needed to drop off his "elderly" parents close to the train station. After our sly entrance, we parked the car within the town and made our way to the train.

It was an old, rickety train that slowly trudged up the mountain. You could feel its struggle with every scrape against the rails. We made it however to the mass of breakfast shops toting their wares. With only a few stairs to climb, we settled ourselves in a comfortable viewing spot at the top. A madman on his megaphone was trying to liven up the crowd and inform us on every minute of progress the sun was making as though it were an olympian marathon finish.

A lot of waiting happened but it was worth it to see the sun peak and finally bathe us with its warmth. Dad stared a little too long into the sun. When you hear, "I see a green circle around the sun." it can't be all that good.

We had an opportunity to explore the area but mom and dad were acting their age and wanted to head home. On the freeway, we needed to pull over because of a strange sound coming from a rear tire reminiscent of a flat tire. After inspection, everything looked fine but when we were one block from our house, we heard the sound again. As Mike rolled down his window to listen to the sounds, all he could hear was a Chinese man yelling at him about his flat tire and how amusing it was that we had a flat. Praise the Lord that it happened here rather than the freeway since we were also only a block from our mechanic.

After a new tire and a few hours rest, mom and dad decided to treat us to dinner at TGIF. It was the best meal all of us had the whole time.

Next day.