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We find out later that the replacement Delta flight was scheduled to take off 8 hours after the China Airlines flight.  By then, we had already landed in Taipei.

The comfort of the lie-flat seats and comfy bedding is ridiculous.  So is the gourmet menu and amenities.  The service was also top-rate.  Lobster salad, barbecue pork and fragrant rice.  Taiwanese snacks.  Traditional porridge with all the fixings.  I slept for four hours after the first meal service and missed the snack service of noodles, but woke up for good coffee and breakfast. The pods were in a 1-2-1 arrangement.  Pete was in the center, and I had the last pod on the right with a window.

China Airlines is the official Taiwan Airline, the last time I flew on one of their planes was May 1972 from Taipei's old airport to Tokyo.  Then it was Tokyo to Honolulu, Honolulu to Los Angeles, and from there, Mexico City. That was also when I realized I wanted to see the world, eight years old and damn the nausea!

Why this trip?  In January 2019, Blue and I met up with mom in Taipei for a two-week trip.  Mom wanted to show Taiwan to Blue (and me). She thought it would be her last trip to Taiwan, and she wanted to stay through Chinese New Year and finally visit the tombs of her grandparents around the Qingming Festival(Tomb Sweeping Day). Mom was in Mexico when her grandparents died. The Hakka people begin the visit anywhere from the Lantern Festival (15th day of then first lunar month) to the actual day of the Qingming Festival (the 15th day after the Spring Equinox). That year, her brothers and sisters were going to trek to the tombs, and mom wanted to be there, to pay her respects, and find some closure.

Blue and I could not stay with her. Blue was in her final year at UMd, and I was still working.  We all stayed with my Aunt Lyndel and visited the old clan homes and rode the train to Taichung and Hualien, visited with family and friends and had an absolutely fabulous time.  I found the city vastly transformed from 1972 and 1998 (last time I visited Taiwan).  It was modern and very easy to get around in the days of Google maps and Uber. I wanted to bring Pete back, and somehow, along the way, others expressed interest, especially Amy and Kathi.  Chau-Wen, who visits Asia on a yearly basis, was also interested.  So we set a time frame of January 2026.

Then in 2023, mom died, and for a while there, all desire to go to Taiwan perished with her. Memories of the trip with her overwhelmed me and I could not imagine being there without her guidance, her memories, without her prodding, her constant remember-whens... I was a bit panicked, more than a dozen people were now interested... I did not want to be Michelle Zauner crying in H Mart. I dragged my feet, but all the time gathering information in the background, slowly changing the trip from visiting all the places I have been to, to all the places I have yet to see.

And the trip came together after the Rice Reunion in Lake Placid in early august of 2025.  I talked to Julia, who loved her stay and was so enthusiastic about Taiwan. I think it was partly her enthusiasm that finally propelled me to sit down and plan this trip.  Amy, Deborah, and Blue had noticed my reticence, but no one pushed, all simply wanted me to be sure I wanted to do this. It took me a month, but by early September, the trip was on. Nine people sent in their deposits to Asia Odyssey Travel.  The hotels were booked. We will have a local guide and a driver, our own bus, and a theme: TEA.

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