The swim meet was sponsored by the Taipei American School (TAS). But, don't let the name of the school fool you. The school, as did all the others who participated, had an international student body. We spend the weekend with families from across the globe and it was unlike any swim meet that we've ever attended.
First, TAS ran a tight ship. I've never been to a more efficiently run event that dealt with swimmers from the age of 8-18 years. And, secondly, I've never been to a meet where the parents of swimmers from other teams cheer for your child. It was meet that embodied sportsmanship on every level.
TAS was located one block away from our lovely hotel and the very long street on which the hotel and school lay was full of shops and eateries. We had a great time window shopping and were able to enjoy the amazing culinary experience for which Taipei is renowned.
On one evening we had time to wander through on of the famous night markets of Taipei. Sensory overload doesn’t quite describe the experience: There was the assault of smells coming from the many food stands...both good and not so good smells. The crowd, the cacophony from the many competing merchants and the rain created a throbbing beat known as the Shilin Night Market.
Please enjoy some photos from our trip:
The older swimmers playing cards at the airport as we await our flight to Taipei.
I loved the style of Hotel Dandy! This was the area in which we ate breakfast. The hotel accommodated our swimmers' early morning schedule by providing breakfast an hour earlier. Now that is customer service!
This is the view from our 8th floor room at the hotel. This district of Taipei is known for being the home to ex-pats and those from around the world that work in Taipei.
The Cafe Market restaurant at which we had the most amazingly fresh, cook to order meal.
John is enjoying his own noodle creation.
Choose your noodles, broth, meat, veggies and it was cooked to order at the noodle bar.
At a lovely 9 floor mall we enjoyed the elevator operator who was dressed for the holidays and bowed each time a door closed as the elevator departed.
Not the best photo, but lucky that we were able to get the picture taken without anyone walking in front of the camera. We are about to enter the maze of the Shilin Market.
A little gaming at the Shilin Market.
As my dear friend said, "Wow... No!" I couldn't agree more!
How my head felt by the end of the evening!
This was located nearby our departure gate at the Taipei airport. What are they trying to say?!
