Trip to Ilan

Craig's Mum was given a special birthday present this year. Craig and his parents went for an overnight trip to Ilan, on the east coast of Taiwan. Their first stop was a restaurant that Craig's Mum had picked out of a travel guide to the area. It was every bit as nice as the picture in the guide book suggested.


Craig messed up the cutlery a bit and his Dad wasn't surprised that such a nice restaurant had a note on the menu that said they don't allow customers under the age of 12! Fortunately, when Craig and his parents arrived there were no other customers to worry about so the rules were bent.


This picture doesn't quite capture how nice the little pool with the view behind it looked in real life.


After a very expensive long lunch, (in fact it was the most expensive meal ever shared by Craig's Mum and Dad) the party of three moved on to the bed-and-breakfast place where they planned to spend the night. The room had some very cute cushions on the sofa.


It was already late-afternoon, so Craig and his Dad went out on the balcony to watch the sunset.


Craig was happier sitting on his Mum's lap.


Just before sunset, because the air pollution was seriously bad that day even out in the countryside, Craig came inside to play on the bed with Mum.


Craig's two lower teeth have grown quite a bit but haven't been joined by any others. He's still a six-teethed boy. Four on top, two on the bottom.


After dinner, Craig came with his Mum and Dad for a walk outside. The place had a little lookout but even the night-view was poor due to the atrociously bad air quality.


At sunrise the next morning Craig's Dad heard a commotion outside from over near the lookout. (Lower right of the picture below.)


A large number of hikers (well, at least 20-30) had come to see the sunrise from the lookout.


Later in the morning, after breakfast, Craig went for a walk to the lookout again.


The air quality was marginally better allowing most of the view to be seen.



The place they stayed sits at the top of a hill surrounded by tea farms.


There was almost no traffic on the freeway when they were going home making it a fast, safe trip.


Craig still seems to think that there's no place like home.

Chicken Bones

Craig is now a confirmed lover of chicken bones.


Sometimes he will change hands to give the other hand a rest but the chewing never stops.


Chicken bones are popular with his Mum and Dad too because if there's no chicken bone Craig will just chew on whatever is at hand, like the creamer sachet for Dad's coffee.


Or maybe even the sugar sachet. I don't need to remind anyone how sharp little people's teeth can be, do I?

New High Chair

Craig is now the proud owner of a new high chair. It's very stable for such a light plastic thing and is now receiving good use every day.


At the same time, Craig's parents also purchased a plastic bowl that came with a rubber ring around the bottom that was supposed to stick the bowl onto flat surfaces. You know the type of thing, if the rubber part gets wet it should form a seal and stick quite tightly. Craig made his parents (and the manufacturers) look quite silly because he pulled the bowl out of the ring in no time at all. He then pulled up the rubber ring, even though his Dad had stuck it down quite well, and started waving it around like it was a toy. He's really a super baby!

To the Beach

Craig went for his first ever trip to the beach in Taiwan recently. He travelled with his Mum, Dad, Aunty Bess and Uncle Amitha.

The first stop on the way to the North-East Coast was a small Starbucks near the mouth of the Dansui River. Craig seemed to like sitting outdoors as much as his Mum and Dad did years ago when they first sat on the second-floor balcony.


After arriving at the hotel, it was straight off to the beach (Bai Sha Wan) and Craig had his first taste of ocean water. There aren't any good pictures of Craig in the water. You can just make out his right arm sticking out to the side over his Dad's right knee.


This is his Dad carrying him back to the little rented shelter where the towels had been left.


Even though the sun wasn't very strong, it seemed like it might be a good idea for Craig to stay in the shade. He's very white and not really looking to get a tan just yet.


He had some water, so he could have had a drink. If only he'd worked out which part of the cup was the top, that is.


Then, a late lunch was had at one of the little cafes at the top of the beach. Craig seemed to like the view more than the food his Dad was trying to feed him.


The plate on the table had held the pizza that the four adults had been told would be big enough to feed them all. However, that wasn't what the four adults thought after they had finished it.


So, an early dinner was called for. At the restaurant, Craig's Mum and Aunty Bess ordered one big drink for the two of them. It looked like a good choice.


Craig's Mum and Aunty Bess were very hungry and they needed the food to come quickly.


Craig was sleeping through dinner in his pram. His Uncle Amitha and Aunty Bess were actually a lot happier with dinner than this picture might suggest.


It was a full moon that night. The moon looked quite big to the naked eye but pretty small through the camera lense.


Then, it was back to the hotel where Craig played on the bed for a while. That night was very special because Craig slept with his Uncle Amitha and Aunty Bess. It was the first time he hadn't slept in the same room as his Mum and Dad since he was born!


It was funny how many Taiwanese people would ask if Craig's Uncle Amitha was his father!! They look a little bit different, don't you think?