Taiwan - home

Mom spent 2 weeks in Taiwan. I thought she'll like it here since people here are genuinely nice. And especially respectful of older people.

Plus mom as a shopper is a really difficult one - I believe we got yelled some choice Cantonese words in Hong Kong some years ago - just from her style of shopping. Frankly, I think she sometimes deserves it.

But in Taipei, you can stand in line to buy a latte in the mornings and then change your mind a couple of times and still be served with a smile and an easy 沒關係 (it's ok).

To my chargrin, it didn't quite work out so rosy. She explored as far as my neighbourhood and refused to venture beyond. No taxis, no MRT, no buses. Anywhere on foot she was ok with, but having to take some form of transportation scared her. And this is the same mom who quite happily rode the London double-decker buses to downtown High street during my MBA days not too long ago - alone. She asked around to find out what buses takes her whereever she wanted to go to in London.

Yes, she was scared in a city (Taipei) that is possibly the friendliest in Asia - my sincere opinion.

Despite Taiwan's warmth and genuineness, it could not compensate for the low levels of spoken English on the streets of Taipei.

Mom was afraid of getting lost and then not being able to communicate with anyone. And that fear alone stopped her from venturing beyond the small radius of home.

It is a pity.