Taiwan - Day 4

I love complimentary breakfasts! There are always plenty of variety and there's never any pressure to eat more than my stomach can hold. The kids also love the more familiar spread, with bacon, bread, eggs and plenty of cheese. Considering our itinerary, breakfast was the only meal the kids could really eat to their fill. 

The view was stunning and that made us all feel very relaxed and happy during our breakfast time. We finally felt like we were on holiday! The relaxed atmosphere must have some positive effect on the kids... they seemed a lot more docile as well.

In fact, we were in such good mood that CK actually allowed me to take a picture of him and Alfee, using his Leica AGAIN! How thrilling! I was so excited that I trembled when I took the picture.

We drove up the mountainous area after breakfast, stopping at this really gorgeous hotel for some strange reasons. We were not allowed to enter since we weren't guests but we were encouraged to take pictures at the car park area. The whole hotel looked like a European castle and we were told it is the most expensive hotel in this area.

Anyway, we reached a place soon to look at some sheep. They had shearing shows and performances, but we missed all that. Ah Mah forgot her jacket so we had to call the drivers back to hand it to her. In the end, we really didn't need the jackets because it was hot! And she didn't even go up the hills to see the sheep.

The climb was hideously tough on us and we were so worried that the kids would tumble down the slopes or step on sheep waste. We managed to get some feeds for the sheep while struggling under the heat, the fatigue and stress. 

We rested for a long time at the waiting area and discovered their delicious goat milk products. We drank warm milk, ate ice cream and even bought some honey and pollen from their neighbours. We learnt from the seller that pure honey doesn't attract ants because there's no sugar in it. Also, it would not burn under a flame.  

After that, we drove even higher up the mountains. We were told there'll be snow so we were eager to reach the top. However, the kids slept and I was stuck in the taxi with them. Bummer! The area was covered with bits of ice and snow, not fantastic but I was disappointed that I couldn't even get off the taxi. My bubble jacket was brought there in vain!!! CK had to gather some snow and made a 'snowman' (or snowbird) on our taxi, hoping that the kids would see it when they woke up before it melted. 

Unfortunately, they didn't really wake up until much later. Meanwhile, we got separated because the other vehicle attempted to go up to the very top to see some real snow. We stayed behind because our driver didn't want to take any risk, in case the road got too slippery or we got stuck up there. In the end, they were really stuck on the slope. It was too slippery to go up and too dangerous to come back down. They had to engage a tow truck to tow them back. While waiting, an accident occurred. An oncoming vehicle skidded and hit straight onto the a tow truck just besides my parents' mini van. It was a close call for them. All in all, it took them an hour or two just to get back down the slope. 

Meanwhile, we were waiting for them without knowing that they would take so long. However, I asked the driver about them the moment I saw him reading the newspaper. He then told us it would take a very long time because of the queue. By then, it was evening time but the kids were still sleeping. It was unusual but I was glad they were not awake to experience the frustration. Little did we realise, that was the beginning of our nightmare... We then decided to move on without the other vehicle for dinner. The driver was not very willing because he wasn't too familiar with the route back. However, we were very persuasive and soon, we were on the way back to the hotel. 

Unfortunately, we also suffered mild altitude and motion sickness down the windy road. Alfee was awake and very cranky as we went down the slope. I started feeling nauseous and thought about Alfee. He's terrible in cars and he often gets motion sickness. I quickly reached for the vomit bag I left in the taxi but it was too late. Alfee gagged and vomited. I yelled for the taxi to stop and cupped my hand to hold as much of his vomit as possible. CK and the driver were out of the taxi but I had to yell again for them to open the door for me because my hands were 'full'. Alfee puked a bit more on the roadside and appeared distraught.

The three of us then went into a frenzy, trying to clean off the vomit with whatever bottled water we could find. It was very tough because it was getting dark and very cold. CK had to strip, clean and put on a fleece jacket over Alfee as quickly as possible. Unbelievably,  Sophie slept through the entire episode! Again, it wasn't usual for her but we didn't give it any much thought because we were already burdened by the 'Merlion' ordeal. We all stunk of puke but the driver was still trying to take us to some chocolate shop and dinner. We had to declined many times and insist on going back to the hotel. By the time we reached the hotel, it was already 7 or 8 pm. Although the driver denied, I had a feeling he got lost and had to spin a few rounds around the neighbourhood before finding his way again... 

To our horror, we finally found out what Sophie slept so much. She was running a temperature. The poor girl was sleeping because she was feeling sick and lethargic! In the end, her temperature rose to 39.8 degrees. We went into alert mode, measuring her temperature... giving Panadol and Brufen... cooling her down with wet towels. What a terrible night!