Palo Alto, California

I forgot to bring my residence card while leaving Taiwan for US. Some difficulty at customs and I was almost tempted to go home. To be forced to spend 1 week with my yucky co-workers was not something I looked forward to anyways...

But being the responsible employee that I am.. I went nontheless. :(

And I discovered I love California. It is so me! People here cycle to work on their racers - I drool at the bikes. We tried to walk to the nearby mall - Stanford Shopping Centre, the hotel folks said 10min walk. I am guessing Californians are very athletic people, it took us almost half an hour. Then again, we walked a little, whined about how tired we are, and how we only see trees and no buildings..

And I discovered I do get jetlagged. 1st time in my life. Slept at 1.30am, woke up 3.30am. Nothing I did helped get me into bed. Read newspapers, read Bible, read emails... GROAN! At 6am, I gave up and took brisk jog in the park across the hotel. (Brisk cos it is COLD in the mornings!) Many Caliornians up and about - cycling, jogging... I love it here!

Last night we had dinner at Santana Row. It was so cool.

Now, how do I get myself a job here in Cupertino or Palo Alto? Anybody?

On a similar vein, Steph got herself a job in Cupertino! You go gal! I will be visiting! She's finally making up for the fact that she refused to transfer over to Seoul 2 years ago. (Cos I love Korean food and I need free accomodation when I visit - hey, it's not always about you u know!).

My ride to SF airport was a stretch limo.... Jesus loves me! (see left pix)

My ride home from Taoyuan airport was a van... Sigh! (see right pix)

Turbulence

Clear air turbulence weather (CAT), colloquially referred to as "air pockets", is the erratic movement of air masses in the absence of any visual cues, such as clouds. Clear-Air Turbulence is caused when bodies of air moving at widely different speeds meet; at high altitudes (7,000-12,000 metres/23,000-39,000 feet) this is frequently encountered around jet streams or sometimes near mountain ranges.

Turbulences can be compared to little irks in life that bugs you but what's worse, it causes you to takes your eyes off the more important things in life - that destination you were heading for. We need to keep our eye on the prize and not sweat the small things in life - the air pockets!

It's funny what you think about while flying... ok ok, the digital entertainment on Cathay Pacific sucks. And the fact that it took half a day to get across the Taiwan Straits is simply ridiculous. I hope President Ma gets direct flights between Taiwan and China going soon!

I'm in Shanghai for OOBE (out of box experience). And we rode Shanghai's Maglav trains from the airport into the city. So, for the 2nd time in so many days, I got to ride another high speed train. Unlike Taiwan's version, Shanghai's operate on magnetic levitation to float on rails instead of the conventional steel wheels. It hit top speed of 305km/h - and I just learned that it goes up to max of 400km/h in the day time (I landed at night). Guess I'm on the Maglev back to the airport instead of cabbing in.

And my Hyatt on the Bund hotel room is really nice. Traveling within Asia is always so nice...

Of cos when in China, there's time for a massage every night. They have the best massage spas, at affordable prices and the best part, open til 2am every night. Sharon told me to go to the Dragonfly. That I went back 2 nights in a row speaks for itself.

Halo is cool!

Halo is HP's video conferencing facility, I experienced for the first time today. It allows up to 4 way conferencing and is simply awesome. No lag and it feels as if the various parties are in the same room.
www.hp.com/halo

This morning, the service guys did a teardown of a notebook. I got to see a notebook stripped down to the various components. Very interesting and educational. Essentially everything's mounted onto 3 parts, the LCD, the base pan top and bottom.

Learn something new each day - some days you wake up to a new world of learnings - literally.

There is only one way to put an end to evil, and that is to do good for evil - Leo Tolstoy

Ron Rolheiser's last week's column titled, Hatred and the Gospel was so profoundly written that it is reproduced here for your reading pleasure.

There is a popular theme within Christian apologetics that goes something like this: Christianity is the most hated of all religions and that is a certain proof of its truth. The logic works this way: If we are so unfairly hated, we must be doing something right. Truth and innocence draw hatred. Jesus was hated, and so are we!We need to be careful with that because, among other things, today, thanks to certain radical fundamentalists claiming to be Muslim, Islam is probably the most hated of all religions, and hated not because of what is true and best inside of it. Not only innocence and truth draw hatred. Being hated is not always a good sign or an indication that you (alone among the unfaithful) are holding to the real truth. It may be that you have made a vow of alienation rather than of love. Both eventually make you hated.Being hated is only a criterion of carrying the truth if you have made a vow of love. Jesus wasn�t trying to be divisive and unpopular, he was trying to speak his truth in ways that precisely didn�t alienate and didn�t provoke hatred. But that isn�t always possible. He was trying to love others, purely and in the truth, but it eventually made him an object of hatred.That isn�t surprising.There is a certain proclivity within human nature to hate innocence and goodness. We see this illustrated in many books and movies. Notice how in so many stories that depict the struggle between good and evil, invariably, the bad will eventually train its sights on and fixate on what is its opposite, innocence and goodness. In most every dramatic epic, eventually the guns of the bad guys will end up trained upon the most innocent and loving person in town. It�s the saint who invariably bears the brunt of wound and hurt inside of a community. It is the saint who eventually is the scapegoat. It happened to Jesus. It happens to all goodness; by its stripes we are healed.Why?Because such is the anatomy of hatred. Hatred is a perverse form of love, love�s grief. It�s what love becomes when, because of wound and circumstance, it cannot be warm and reciprocal. Rollo May once famously stated that hatred is not the opposite of love. Indifference is. Hatred might instead be described as cold, wounded, frustrated, and grieving love, love gone sour. You can�t conjure-up a powerful hatred for someone unless at some level you first love him or her. When love is wounded and frustrated, the tears it provokes can be warm and cleansing, but they can also be bitter and cold. Cold grief. Hatred with its children, jealousy, bitterness, murderous feelings. That�s part of the anatomy of love and that�s why love can so quickly turn into hatred and why most murders are domestic. When love breaks down what follows is rarely indifference (a parting in good friendship). What follows is often hatred, bitterness, coldness. Affairs mostly grow sour, not indifferent, and the same is, sadly, true of love in almost all its aspects.What�s to be learned from this?That hatred needs to be understood, whether it�s at a personal level or at the level of whole civilizations hating each other. Hatred is not the opposite of love. It is a perverse form of love, cold grief, bitter disaffection, that needs not to be met in kind, with a reciprocal form of coldness, but with warmth and forgiveness, tough as these are in the face of their opposite. One of the great moral struggles of our lives lies precisely in this. When people hate us what spontaneous feeling rise within us? Feelings of coldness and anger, along with the wish, secret and not-so-secret, that their lives will go badly and that, in the ensuing misery, they will be forced to see their error and have to swallow against their will the fact that they are wrong, particularly about us. Hatred wants the other to choke on his or her own error.But none of that will be productive for those who hate us, or for ourselves. Only if good things begin to happen in the lives of those who hate us, only if they feel the warmth of love and blessing, can their hearts let go of the bitterness, jealousy, and hatred that�s there. Hearts don�t thaw out inside of bitterness and jealousy. They break. It�s not when people are bitter that they admit the error of their ways and the unfairness of their hatred. Hearts begin to see how wrong their hatred is only when the very object of their jealousy and hatred is itself strong enough to not give back in kind, but instead to absorb the hatred for what it is, wounded love, love gone cold when it would want to be warm.Leo Tolstoy once said: "There is only one way to put an end to evil, and that is to do good for evil."

Labour Day Long Wknd Getaway in Taichong & Sun Moon Lake

A few 1sts this weekend.
- finally rode the high speed rail! It is FAST!
- made it out beyond Hualien into Taichong
- visted the much talked about Sun Moon Lake
- scootering

Was pretty fun except Sun Moon Lake was er.. hohum boring. I suppose the heavy rain affected our experience, but I honestly didn't think it was all that it was made out to be. Anyways, the high point of Sun Moon Lake for us were the foot massage - I like all massage :) and scootering which scared me sh__.

I got lazy with picture taking this trip... The hotel rooms were pretty decent, esp the Sun Moon Lake accomodate - it was nice. I would recommend it to visitors. Here're my few pix -
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8062670@N07/sets/72157604879391371/ Kuansie took loads more pix - I'll try to add a link to her website if she parks them up.

Ran in this morning's Supau Cup - no championship tags and it was super crowded. Was warm too (which I suppose is way better than the 14degrees I did in January's Nike Run). Clocked a slow time - 1.01 same as Nike Run. I will work on this - my gym membership starts in June after my US trip.

I live for holidays!

The much talked about Taichung adventure finally. Garin & I been meaning to do this forever.

Itineary
Thu May 1
- high speed rail to Taichung, business class no less :)
- check into http://www.debaohotel.com.tw/en/mainpage.php.
- go race each other at go-karts http://www.taiwanfun.com/central/taichung/recreation/0307/0307wnROSSO.htm
- tour and party in Taichung rest of day

Fri May 2
- bus ourselves to Nantou, Sun Moon Lake
- check into http://www.lakebank.idv.tw/
- chill til Sat evening

Sat May 3
- take the evening train back to Taipei

Sun May 4
- early morning Sports Supau race, 9km

Really looking forward to the May Day long wknd :)

Taiwan's Pacific Coast

Went with Peter's church group to Jinshan's coast - Lion's head rock. It was a beautiful day out, cloudy so it wasn't warm and very very windy. Blew away the political frustrations I felt all week.

The highlight of Jinshan are the 2 islets called Twin Candlestick Islands. The Taiwanese said it's like a couple - 1's male and the other female.

Then we had seafood just outside Yeliu Geopark and another visit to Yeliu Geopark - went there in Jan with Garin. Seafood was barely passable - Woraphot (a coworker from long ago) is right - Singapore has the best seafood in the world. Ok, ok, so I am biased. But really nothing compares to Long Beach.

Was a great day.

Spent the rest of the weekend hanging out with Kuansie, Garin, Kaori and her puppy (we all love Twinkle) and Vincent. It was nice. We were relaxed, ate a lot, had a decent foot massage, ribbed one another alot.. Oh and Kuansie bought a tree - literally. For her new place. It fits in really nicely - her 3 bedroom is beautiful. God is so generous with her. Not fair!

Defeated

Texan Rednecks 1 - Felicia 0

I concede defeat.

My game plan is to last out this year and in December start going for job interviews.

Out of respect to Jessica, I will try to stay 2 years, or at least 18 months in this job.

Been complaining about the work environment, the Texans, the acidity enough. I'll stop from today - along with the decision not to continue with this team.

In search of exercise

Should I join Action Life - the new Alexander gym (new owners who bought over the pack of thieves who almost cheated me out of 18kNT)? Or go with California Fitness?

Action Life is easy, on the way between home and work, too convenient. But expensive. 3800NT a month...

California, need to start price negotiations. But the nearest one is still a bus/train ride away...

Sigh, decisions decisions.

Knifed - ouch...

Back to Taiwan.

As was the last time, I came home optimistic and cheerful.

The cheeriness lasted 3 days.

Mon-Wed I woke up internal body clock at 7.30am, walked to work, at my desk by 8.30am. Stayed positive.

Wed evening in my 1-on-1 with boss - she said that one of my teammates asked if I had gone back to Singapore for a job interview. Ouch!

I had informed my teammates that I was going to go home to settle my apartment matters. So the fact that someone had deliberately gone to ask boss to say something else shows one of 2
- they didn't believe me when I said I had to settle my apartment matters or,
- they were trying to do me in by creating an impression of a lack of loyalty to this team

In either case, ain't good. I'm screwed.

Reinforces how I always felt about this team - that one can only survive so long in an acidic environment without it eventually getting to you.

Home in sunny Singapore 2-13 April

I flew home to settle the legal matters for my apartment. I will own it for a couple of weeks before the transfer to the new owners. Sigh. So much for my 1st apartment in my lifetime, my dream apartment nestled in the rain forests.

I love Singapore, here...
- birds chirp everywhere here, it truly is what our Communications Minister said 'living in Singapore would be like living in a garden'.
- the air is fresh and warm
- people here WANT to eat lunch with me. I take appointments. Sigh...
- co-workers are professional, ok ok, they ain't texan rednecks. No need to draw at high-noon.

And you know what, I realise I've been in Taiwan too long when I caught myself
- missing & NEEDING a bubble tea fix BAD!
- after making payment for purchases, I stand and wait for the sweepstate receipt
- I miss the politeness of service folks - Singaporeans can be way way too brusque for our own good.

One more week of stuffing myself silly with local food and walking around sweating in the tropical heat...

Guitar Lessons

After a mild hic-cup with Yamaha - they kept delaying the start of lessons. The 4th time in a row they pushed out the start, I asked for my $ back.

Went to Kawai - across the street from my place. Incidentally I first checked them out, but somehow assumed Yamaha would be more professional.

The good thing about Kawai, other than distance is that it's 1-on-1 coaching. Considering I'm a complete neophyte, perhaps it's a better thing. I had this mental picture of a sweet mild patient young lady teacher.

Instead this guy in a black leather jacket carrying a coffee - with a bad ass attitude to boot. Like a rocker! And he went on to waste most of the lessons impressing me with riffs from all genres. He likes bluegrass a lot - but I have this distaste for anything cowboy right now :(

He's pretty good and eventually we got to playing some. My rockclimber fingers - which I assumed would be strong, actually aren't! I can't stretch them out far apart enough. He also said I need to practise at least half to an hour daily. Gah!

It was interesting.

It's dark out...

Sometime ago, 2007, in Singapore HP office, end of work day

Felicia - "oo, it's dark out, time to go home"

Singapore co-worker - "don't be ridiculous, turn your headlights on when you drive home"

Today, Mar 17 2008, Taiwan HP office, end of work day

Felicia - "oo, it's dark out, time to go home"

Taiwan co-worker - "don't be ridiculous, it's only 6pm"

As you can see, when it gets dark out, it doesn't necesarily mean time to go home.

Speaking of it being dark out, I was pretty bumped out last 2 weeks. Skipped all exercise, dinners out... stayed home and watched TV and pretty much convinced myself into depression.

Til Karine's realism... she is right - every job has it's ups and downs. And I realised how silly I was. I've forgotten to count my blessings.

Slowly snapped out of it this weekend. Went climbing and then to watch Taiwan's Bike Expo on Saturday (touched and felt all those super expensive racers).

Sunday morning I woke up earlier to watch the last stage of the Tour de Taiwan before going to 10.30mass at St John Bosco's. A deadly combination - speed, muscles and hunks :) I like!

And I have 1 more friend in Taiwan now - Kuansie officially moved over this weekend. And... now I can gatecrash the Far East Shangrila's gym. My muscles are still sore from yesterday - legs and arms from exertion and stomach from overeating at the eat-all-you-can mala hotpot place with Kuansie.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

Yesterday's Responsorial Psalm 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6 was a much needed balm. Oh when will Lent end?

Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
Beside restful waters he leads me;he refreshes my soul.

He guides me in right pathsfor his name’s sake.
Even though I walk in the dark valley
I fear no evil; for you are at my side
With your rod and your staff
that give me courage.

You spread the table before mein the sight of my foes;
You anoint my head with oil;my cup overflows.

Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
And I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come.

Beware the Ides of March

I need a holiday...

The PH level in the office is getting to me... People here are way to acidic for me.

I wonder if it's because it's predominately a pre-merger Compaq organisation. A lot of folks here are long time Compaq employees, some have worked for Compaq all their lives. So this organisation is very very Compaq, with Compaq processes and with long serving Compaq employees. In fact, many still talk about Compaq like it's who they still work for. Truth is, HP bought Compaq - Compaq as a company should be defunct. But the Compaq culture remains strong. And its a very different culture from HP. It is more individualistic, aggressive work culture - almost bothering on hostility.

Or is it cos I am dealing with Texans. The cowboy 'fight-em-all', 'shoot-em-up', 'draw!' mentality is so ingrained that everything's a fight with them. There's verbals fights, there's email fights, there's conference call fights, there's face-to-face fights... At the end of a fight, when my colleagues sit back and say with pride and contentment - 'oh that was a good fight'...
This is way too unprofessional for me.

Or perhaps this is a personal Lenten challenge : remain positive, be a change catalyst.

Or, give up & find a new job, or perhaps return to cPC.

Beware the Ides of March, beware the devils within us all.

Bjork in support of Tibet

The Associated Press
Friday, March 7, 2008
SHANGHAI, China: China will be stricter on foreign performers after Icelandic singer Bjork shouted "Tibet! Tibet!" at the end of her concert in Shanghai this week, the government said Friday.
A statement by China's Culture Ministry said Bjork's outburst "broke Chinese law and hurt Chinese people's feelings."
Bjork shouted "Tibet!" after a passionate performance of her song "Declare Independence" on Sunday. The outburst drew rare public attention inside China to Beijing's often harsh rule over the Himalayan region.
The statement, posted on the Culture Ministry's Web site, also said "there is no country that admits that Tibet is an 'independent country.'"
Bjork has performed the song to support other independence movements in the past. She dedicated the song to Kosovo while performing last month in Japan. The lyrics include the phrase "Raise your flag!"
China's 58-year rule over Tibet has drawn frequent condemnation from foreign governments and activists, often inciting a prickly nationalism among the Chinese government and ordinary people. Many Tibetans consider the exiled Buddhist spiritual leader the Dalai Lama as their rightful leader.
Copyright © 2008 The International Herald Tribune www.iht.com

Living in Taiwan which China views as a thorny renegade province, there're some parallels to Tibet. Except China has not invaded by force... yet...

The Lord's faithfulness

Yesterday's reading was so moving... esp the last 2 verses. I had to re-read a few more times.

Isaiah 49:8-15

Thus says the LORD:
In a time of favor I answer you,
on the day of salvation I help you;
and I have kept you and given you as a covenant to the people,
To restore the land
and allot the desolate heritages,
Saying to the prisoners: Come out!
To those in darkness: Show yourselves!
Along the ways they shall find pasture,
on every bare height shall their pastures be.
They shall not hunger or thirst,
nor shall the scorching wind or the sun strike them;
For he who pities them leads them
and guides them beside springs of water.
I will cut a road through all my mountains,
and make my highways level.
See, some shall come from afar,
others from the north and the west,
and some from the land of Syene.
Sing out, O heavens, and rejoice, O earth,
break forth into song, you mountains.
For the LORD comforts his people
and shows mercy to his afflicted.

But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me;
my Lord has forgotten me.”
Can a mother forget her infant,
be without tenderness for the child of her womb?
Even should she forget,
I will never forget you.

Best Asian expat city - Singapore

From the Taipei Times today, the best asian city according to expats is, Singapore!

And Taipei ranks no. 6 within Asian cities, no mention of what the rank is within global cities.

Majula Singapura!

Day Tour to Yeliu & Junming Museum

Garin & I had wanted to do this tour for a long time. Since Kim and her friend were here, we all went as a 4-some.

Yeliu are rocky outcrop carved out by erosion - the most famed of which is called Queen's Head.

The weather was perfect even the no. of tourists couldn't marr it - we kept getting swamped by the China & Korea contingents...

Next was the Junming Museum. But enroute, we managed to persuade the driver to take us to Teresa Teng's tomb. I have no idea why I wanted to go, guess cos it's nearby and on my tourist guide book :)

Junming is a pretty famous sculptor. When u see his works, then it all looks so familiar. We've had his stuff displayed all over back home. But he really blew me away especially with his wood works. Real creative guy and very very prolific. His works span the whole mountainside, from metal to bronze to stone to wood... I was really impressed.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8062670@N07/sets/72157604018796581/

Was a great tour! Worth every last $. Thank you e-go tour and Garin for making all the arrangements and bookings.

I'm also relieved to have my apartment back to myself.

Rambling

Was kinda busy earlier this week cos Kim and her friend came to crash in my tiny apartment and also work wise, preparing for checkpoint meeting on Tuesday, which thankfully went smoothly.

Managed to get my 1st climb in on Wednesday nite finally. Was starting to feel depressed with office place politic-ing and all. But after the climb, I went with the Taiwanese folks to have coffee - well, I sipped jasmine flower tea while they had coffee (it was 10-ish, drinking coffee would be asking for insomniac-ness). I realise the Taiwanese are really humourous but their brand of humour is not personal, ie not targeted at anyone. Mental note to self, learn that!

Thu was peace memorial day - to remember 228 incident. Had packed Kim and her friend off Hualien & Taichung, so had a bit of space to myself. Went to boulder in Neihu with Peter then jogged in gym for a bit. Felt much more energized with some sports in. Oh Peter took me to see the guitar shop he mentioned, you know you're in Taiwan, when the guitars look like this...

This Sat, we're finally going to Yeliu and the Junming museum. I had wanted to go for the longest time but never gotten around to it until now. Yay!

Lent 2008

Made an unsettled start to this year's Lenten season due to Chinese New Year and returning home since moving to Taiwan.

We're into week 2 of Lent and I haven't even decided what personal sacrifice to do this year. As I explained to a colleague, it is not about losing weight or self-improvement nor deliberate suffering. It is about a step towards our faith, remembering my faith amidst the day-to-day living in a very secular world. Not about own efforts cos really without His Grace, our effort rarely amounts to anything.

- I hope to pray the rosary daily. Thanks to Sister Lily, I ripped the rosary onto my iPOD.
- and more difficult, to be more tolerant in the office place. Folks here are so political and I was starting to allow the resentment to eat into me until last Sat's Gospel Mt 5:43-48.
Jesus said to his disciples:“You have heard that it was said,You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.But I say to you, love your enemies,and pray for those who persecute you,that you may be children of your heavenly Father,for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good,and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have?Do not the tax collectors do the same?And if you greet your brothers and sisters only,what is unusual about that?Do not the pagans do the same?So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

A tough call ain't it?

Year of the Rat

1. In 2 weeks, I start my guitar lessons at Yamaha here. Paid up for first 2 months lesson on the way home today. This ends some 10 years of procrastination that began when I first joined Creative Technology and said I wanted to pick up a musical instrument. I toyed with guitar, keyboards, piano, back to guitar.. FINALLY!

2. I signed up for a half-marathon today - Carrefore Marathon. Dragging with me 2 colleagues. Taiwan has more races. I used to just be able to run the Army Half Marathon (Aug) and Standard Chartered marathon (Dec). The Taipei Running Association has some event going on every couple of months. Woohoo!

Now if I can sustain this momentum...

Flying home

I went home for the Chinese New Year break, 1-14 Feb. I expected to be bored, but it turned out ok. Climbed alot with the Hard Cores (small sidetrip to Camp5 in KL), ate alot, slept some.. I missed people I guess - friends, family mostly.

Being away, I relooked Singapore with new eyes. Singapore is a great place to live in. Everything's nice, green, pretty and efficient. If I were raising a family, this is where I want to be.

However, Taiwan offers more just by sheer size. The 1st wknd back, I went to the gym, caught a movie, checked out the Chinese New Year laterns at the Sunyatsen Park, went shooting (we tried out the rifles this time).. and all at a leisurely pace.

It's still fun I guess. Ask me again in a year's time.

Rip van Felicia

Is it my all to comfortable mattress? (thanks to my family who helped me test numerous mattresses before we picked this 4star one)

Is it the chilly mornings of winter? (I can only fall asleep with the heater merrily humming away)

Is it a lack of morning conference calls? (Houston time difference means all my conf calls are in the night, 10pm to midnite Taiwan time)

Is it lethargy from less exercise? (gym closed down on me ; can't climb cos I pulled an arm muscle)

Is it a slower pace of life? (being in a backend organisation, nothing time critical like closing biz deals as I did in the past)

Is it age? (did I grow older and now need more sleep perhaps)

Why do I need so much sleep since moving to Taiwan? I don't mean the lazy sleep in type... I really feel tired and will fall dead asleep.... Hmm...

My Dream Apartment - available at a price

The Rain Tree. My long awaited dream apartment is up. Francis sneaked in and got some excellent pics. The view is just what I wanted - the rain trees of Bukit Timah.

Should I sell or rent it out? Anybody wanna offer S$1 million?

New Year resolutions, part 2

Did I neglect to mention this?

I wanna be married this year too. Pls God if you are listening, here's where it's all You! :)

My 1st Race in Taiwan and in 2008

I woke up at 5am, walked 15mins into a chilly 14degrees dark, damp morning to run my 1st race - Nike Run 2008 here in Taipei.

It was kinda strange cos everybody was jogging around, up/down, all jiggly.. and when the starting gun went off, they all took off like jack rabbits. I was thinking, wow, Taiwanese run fast... Then at the 4k mark when people starting walking, I realised why.. They were cold. At 14degrees with a chilly wind blowing and wearing only dry fit t-shirts, it was freezing.

Of cos kiasu me wore a jacket. And I kept my windbraker on the whole time. Are u kidding me? It's 14DEGREES C!

It's a 9k run and I clocked just over an hour - not great, but then again considering not running in months, it was good :)

Also, Garin and I found a go-karting place this weekend. We raced.. and came in last and 2nd last. Sigh.. I think we're growing old when racing scares you. Yes, I was scared. These are 270cc karts, and very speedy on a very windy track.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8062670@N07/sets/72157603714269249/

Almost Roadkill

I had gotten used to having my iPOD plugged in all the time, to drown out the sounds of Taipei (traffic, the chimes of the dustbin trucks, scooters bleating away, loudhailer mounted on vans traveling around coaxing Taipei citizens to vote in this Saturday's legislative elections)...

This is such a noisy city.

Went out running yesterday and enroute to SYS Hall, I was hit by a scooter. Waited at a pedestrian crossing, when the green man appeared, I re-started my stop watch, stepped off the pavement and WHAMMO!

I was so shocked - of cos I couldn't hear him coming with with my iPOD plugged in. Took all of 2 secs to recover enough to scream 'GREEN MAN, YOU Axxxx!'.

That was when I realised everyone else on that pedestrian crossing was staring at me like some alien.

Amazingly, my guardian angel took the impact, except for 2 grease stains on my left forearm where scooter met flesh, nothing, no bruise, nothing. It was just so amazing considering the loud crash when he hit me.

Some lessons
1. God's divine protection works all the time, even when you aren't aware of it
2. don't jog on streets with music plugged in, you need to know if there's a kamikaze scooter aiming for u
3. i gotta learn to scream in Chinese here. Nobody knew what the @#$ I said. ;)

My new jogging grounds - 10mins to get there, 5mins to do an outer loop (within the trees). In Chinese, this place is called 國父紀念館 - and yes, I know, that doesn't even translate to SunYatSen.. Sigh. That's another story in itself - how Taiwan gets real complicated for those who can't speak Chinese.

Firsts in the New Year

I did it - I ran.

Stupid Alexander Gym closed on me - pls pray with me that I get $ sorted out.

So I ran to the nearest park - Sunyatsen memorial hall.

Why suddenly so motivated? Becos Nike Run 2008 is next Sunday, I signed up for the 9k. I am so in trouble...

I just wished Taipei citizens would stop gawking at me on the streets.. Never seen jogger on the streets ah :(

The Day I was a human popsicle

Since I was on leave I asked Peter if he'd go hiking with me up to Yangmin mountain.

It was the last day of 2007 and also coldest day in 2007.

I never knew riding a scooter up the mountains can be that cold, plus it was 10degrees out. I almost died.

The view was awesome.. I love hiking!

Then we scootered to Beitou, found a openair hotspring (sorry, no pix were allowed, I couldn't shoot), and I managed to thaw out somewhat. The hottest pool was 50degrees, I couldn't even step in!

Then we came back into the city by MRT, he didn't think I'd make it back alive. And GH, Sharon, Angela, Peter and I watched TV, ate chips, icecream, snacks until the countdown and the fireworks over Taipei 101.

We each chooped a window, leaned out and shot videos and photos. It was awesome



All my pix on my Flickr - my last fun days of 2007. 2008 - I will start to work hard!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8062670@N07/

Hello 2008, Goodbye 2007

And suddenly a new year looms. How time flies. Re-read what I blogged about last year this time - the mood's different this year, for starters, I'm happier. I guess I have much to be grateful for in 2007:
- God for giving me a do-over opportunity with Taiwan
- for a closer walk with Him in sending me here alone cos sans distractions it's easier to witness the Good Lord work His miracles everyday
- friends esp those who were there during the down times. Sadly enough not many, but to those who did, thank u.
- family plus Michelle (who married Ian in Oct 06 - my agent and a great friend)
- good health for everyone in my family
- fresh new adventures here in Taiwan

And this leads into obviously, New Year Resolutions... Thinking thru, I realised the list I made last year this time can be recycled. Not that I hadn't made much progress, but a majority are nontheless still WIP. Recycled from last year's list :
- focus on relationships with people
- Discipline. Discipline. Discipline.
- stop gossiping
- work on my fragile faith
- Be open to new things, new events, new way of doing things
- be a friend to all esp those I don't like
- sign up for musical guitar lessons

Forgiveness

What is it about the year end anyways? Why do people feel melancholy and depressed all at the same time? Why feel the need to reflect upon the year only after the entire year has passed you by and it is too late anyways to do anything about it other than sit and rue?

Despite being in Taiwan where Christmas isn't celebrated much - less of that crazy consumerism that drives me nuts. But yet, I miss Church, I miss Advent, I miss penitential mass, I miss pre-Christmas activities in Church.

Despite being in Houston for a marketing summit where I do get to feel a little more Christmassy, and get slightly caught up in the buying of Christmas gifts.. Yet, things don't feel any better.

Ok ok, I'm a contradiction.

I was listening to music and clearing emails/work that piled up from being away in Houston and also having my HDD die on me last day there. And this song hit me. It's all about forgiveness, letting go.

If there's 1 flaw/sin I have, and those who know me well will attest to this, is my ability to let go.

Don Henley & the Eagles on Forgiveness

Advent - the season of preparation for Christmas

Those who know me will also know that ever since moving to Taiwan, I've been really living it up. Garin once commented with disdain that I led a 'disgustingly hedonistic single' lifestyle. And you know what, I was rather proud of that. Until Friday night's reading. Jesus' words were so pointed.

Luke Chapter 21
29 And he told them a parable, 'Look at the fig tree and indeed every tree.30 As soon as you see them bud, you can see for yourselves that summer is now near.31 So with you when you see these things happening: know that the kingdom of God is near.32 In truth I tell you, before this generation has passed away all will have taken place.33 Sky and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. Be on the alert 34 'Watch yourselves, or your hearts will be coarsened by debauchery and drunkenness and the cares of life, and that day will come upon you unexpectedly,35 like a trap. For it will come down on all those living on the face of the earth.36 Stay awake, praying at all times for the strength to survive all that is going to happen, and to hold your ground before the Son of man.'

I went extra early to church on Sunday.

Pls prepare your hearts for the coming of Jesus this Christmas.

Reunited with the HardCores this weekend

The Hardcores came in on a Thu evening, left on a Sun evening like a tornado. Actually there're 2 typhoons approaching Taiwan right now. Guess God was gracious enough to give us good weather and hold the typhoons back for a while.

Right now, I am nursing a pinched muscle in my right arm, a missing house key and lots of dirty sheets to wash...

BUT BOY WAS IT FUN!!! I climbed 3 days in a row, laughed and ate and hung out like old times. Here's our photographic evidence of being hardcore and enjoying every moment of it.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8062670@N07/sets/72157603288785093/

I miss them already.

Derek - weather forecast is 13-14degrees this week. God loves you! And tonight's news, there are 2 men missing from Longdong (they showed the same entrance we walked in from), they were fishing from the rocks. Rescuers found only their fishing gear... Pls pray for their safety.

Yz - you should've stayed back to see both typhoons.. Damn it is so wet now. Here's a pix of the typhoons for you to imagine...

Jo - I hope you enjoy touring rest of Taiwan. Gimme a call if you need anything. You know how I speak/behave like a local now :)

PS My missing housekeys saga update - landlady passed me her spare keys, but seems like I need to replace the entire lock to be safe, that'll set me back 4500NT. Sob!

Happy Birthday!

God is great - my 1st birthday here coincided with TDC (Taiwan Development Center) Annual Party. It was a formal do held at the Grand Regent Formosa. The theme was 'bling-bling'. I went shopping earlier with Sharon & Angela, didn't find anything bling enough, so I borrowed Sharon's long pearls/shiny stones necklace.

My team knew it was my birthday that night, so predictably, I had to drink quite a bit. Then I won one of the better prizes of the night, 3000NT of Sogo vouchers. Yay! Then I had to drink with more and more people... By the end of the night, I was totally wasted. Ghee Hwee & Sharon walked me home (one on each side)... left me asleep on my couch, can't even make the stairs up to my bed.

The good thing was, I was only really drunk towards the end, so not many people saw me. The bad thing was, word spreads. Monday all day, every meeting I went to, everyone I met asked if I was feeling better. Damn... So much for reputation now.

Climbing!

I realised how my blog is slanting towards my tourist activities over weekends. Lest it be forgotten, I AM A CLIMBER! Here's some evidence of my climbing - typically I manage to climb perhaps 2x a week.

Pix of Peter & I bouldering at 内湖运动公园. 内湖 is an awesome place - wide open skies, the Keelung river flowing by and the winds there are simply awesome. I almost froze to death bouldering in my Prana singlet. Thankfully that day was a warm break in winter - it was 25degrees but after a while, you'd be cold. In the distance of the bouldering area, you can see the Taipei 101 and the city sky line. Just to the side, on the banks of the Keelung river, cyclists are going up and down... Was a beautiful day to be out, bouldering, walking, living life.

My climbing kakis from Singapore arrive this Thursday. Needless to say, our plans are simple - climb everyday. I can't wait.

Taroko Gorge 太魯閣

I wanted to visit since I got to Taiwan - the Taroko Gorge certainly lived up to expectations, it was really beautiful.

Formed 1st by ancient limestone which metamorphosed into marble over millions of years, some seventy million years ago the rock strata under the sea were forced up to form mountains, including the Taiwan Mountain Ranges - exposing the horizontal marble strata, eventually creating the vertical valleys of the Taroko Gorge. -- taken from the Taroko Gorge govt website.

All my pix - http://www.flickr.com/photos/8062670@N07/sets/72157603110029640/

It was a great trip, we stayed in Hualien in a homestay - it shall remain nameless as I don't want to plug for it. It was new and nice - but the owner tried to fleece us while we were there. So, I would not recommend going back to stay there.

Day 1

- Arrived Hualien 10.20am.

- Brunch of Bian-shi noodles - it was good!

- Bulowan

- Tunnel of 9 Turns

- Tiansiang

- Eternal Spring Shrine

- Dinner in a Hualien restaurant - including 3layer pork. Good!

- Hualien night market. Garin outshot me at archery, shooting and ball throwing. It sucks!

Day 2

- Road trip down the East Coast with views of the Pacific Ocean

- Baci Viewpoint

- Jici Beach

- Lunch at Guanfu village

- back to trainstation and home.

I had a great wknd at the Gorge, the slimey owner of the minshu fleecing us was the only thing that marred an otherwise fantastic wknd. Again I ate lots, laughed lots and got a good break away from Taipei.

Will be back - this time might be easier to stay in Tiansiang and be closer to the hikes - I want to do at least 1 good one - like the Baiyang hike.

Taroko Gorge - I'll be back!

Jolted dreams...

I experienced my 3rd earthquake this morning. Shaken awake again. Didn't think it was as strong as the last one which was about 3 on the Richter scale in Taipei, but disconcerting to be shaken awake nontheless.

BUT, I am going to visit Taroko Gorge this weekend. Yay! Finally! So what if it's cold and wintery already. Damnit, I've been wanting to go there since I got here.

Booked this homestay or 民宿, SeaBlue Sky. Bought our train tickets to Hualien. Took Monday off work. ALL SET! Mountain hiking here I come!!!!

---
Thu, Nov 08, 2007 - Quake rattles north Taiwan, no reports of damage
TAIPEI

A MODERATE earthquake measuring 5.0 on the Richter scale rattled northern Taiwan on Thursday, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage. The epicentre of the quake, which struck at 6.54am was about 46km east of the north-eastern Ilan county, at a depth of 4km, the Central Weather Bureau said in a statement. Earthquakes occur frequently in Taiwan, which lies on a seismically active stretch of the Pacific basin.

One of Taiwan's worst-recorded quakes occurred in September 1999. Measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale, it killed more than 2,400 people and destroyed or damaged 50,000 buildings. -- REUTERS

Hoping Island

Garin & I intended to go to Yeliou rock formations beyond Keelung. But the tourist information folks at Keelung told us we were a little late and as it gets dark by 5.30pm in winter time, it was not advisable to still proceed. Instead they recommended Ho-ping Island, about half an hour by bus from Keelung.

Ho-ping Island was not bad - the coasts were pretty spectacular. As with most weekend when Garin and I find a tourist spot outside of the city, the coast, the waves, the sea breeze was a fantastic break from working/living/being in the inner city all the time.

The winds were pretty strong today and it drizzled the whole time... so it was pretty wet and cold. Good thing kiasu me had my winter jacket on already :) According to the lady who sold us the entry ticket to Hoping Island - it was grade 6 waves, rough by their standards.

Happy All Saints Day & All Souls Day!

Thu was All Saints Day - strangely there were no extra masses in the churches here. I had to call just about every Catholic church within the Taipei city district. At least now I know where all the churches that has English masses are! Anyways, Aaron and I attended 8pm mass at St Christopher in Little Manila. We tried to get Fillino food before mass but they were mostly closed - ended up with Subway.

All Souls Day - Aaron suggested night market as he was returning to US for thanksgiving and someone in Houston asked him to get the stupid bobbing head dolls. We ended up eating way too much fried food, then Aaron bought 2 pairs of jeans - he refused the jewel studded ones Sharon kept insisting on. They needed time for alterations - we ended up buying the dolls + sit thru a foot massage session.

The 2 of them were hilarious.. they kept complaining, wincing and then exclaiming when the masseur tell them it's for their brains, liver etc... No wonder boss always complains about having 2 Sharons & 2 Aarons on the team...

I now know where to take the HardCores when they come for an excellent foot massage - plus they close at 5am. Cool or what?

Happy Halloween!

My new condo - looks almost ready. Thanks to Francis who sent me the pix.

Hopefully I'll be able to rent it out easily.

Happy Halloween! My team decided to celebrate the occasion!

Phiten-ed

Decided to check out the Phiten shop since it's on the walk home anyways.

The lady at the store was pretty nice - I still have the Phiten plasters on my left shoulder (she says leave it for up to 7 days) and she also applied the Phiten fluid onto my sore shoulders. I climbed the night before - the bloody sloper route killed me. I feel like Ms Hardcore - got 'koyok' on my shoulder 1st time in my life.

I bought the wrist band afterall. Hopefully it will cure my achy fingers of my right hand. Wasn't too expensive - NT490.

Lee Ang's "Lust, Caution"

Ashley gave me free tickets! Yay Ashley!

Taiwan being a more sophisticated society, showed the movie in its entirety - read no censorship.

Personally I thought the sex in it was pretty unnecessary, isn't the movie about war and the underground resistance against the Japanese occupation? The steamy sex scenes took away some of the message - or at least I assume that's the message Lee Ang had.

Garin seemed to enjoy those scenes alot - he even noticed details like how she didn't shave her armpit hair, how you can see Tony Leung's balls... Maybe the Catholicness in me blocked my vision, I caught nothing!

http://www.apple.com/trailers/focus_features/lustcaution/trailer/

Vanity thy name is woman...

The weather's gotten colder - it's now 22-25 degrees celsius. I had to go shopping for warmer clothes.

Tagged along my colleagues expecting to just buy a jacket or 2. I ended up spending almost $500SGP - bought all the furry stuff I always wanted but couldn't in tropical Singapore. I even bought boots that stop just shy of my knees. Garin thinks it makes me look slim. Hee...

It's only Oct and I'm cold. Probably I'll just die in Dec... Brrr...

Important milestone - my first scooter ride last night. Peter whom I met at the climbing gym gave me a ride to the MRT station after our climb. I had wanted a scooter so bad when I first got here, but everyone else tot it a bad idea... well, i guess scooters are really overrated. It was er.. dusty.

The weekend I forgot my camera...

The weather turned cooler - it's now average 22-25degrees, grey, drizzly mostly. This affects my brains - I am more forgetful now. Ok ok, it's an excuse. I missed numerous photo opportunities this wknd.

Saturday
Promised the hardcore folks to do this. Buy Longdong topo guidebook. Once done, went to climb in the gym in Beitou - Idea. It's way bigger than Y17 and open in the day (Y17 only open to public evenings) and allows leadclimbing. Cool!
-- forgot camera, no pix. Imagine.

Sunday

I tot I saw rafting at some activity centre near Shilin. So Garin and I went to verify this unreliable info. So I'm wrong. There IS an activity centre, but no rafting. The Keelung river nearby stinks and is too pathetically narrow there anyways.

We were right by the Grand Hotel so went up to check it out. It is beautiful! I want to get married here! First I need a guy to marry, small technicality - sob! :(
-- forgot camera, no pix. Kicked myself. Imagine.

Then we went to Tienmu for dinner as Garin's never been there. This is like little America, actually it's rather nice. Quieter, nestled again mountains, just no MRT station nearby and a little far out of city. Lots of little restaurants and stores. Saw a Hello Kitty store and spent some time giggling thru it.
-- forgot camera, no pix. No cutsy shots. Imagine.

There's also a Phiten store there. I was tempted.. but resisted.

We eventually ate at a Chinese restaurant that had Peking Duck in its signboard - but they bluff us, they ran out of duck! Dang...
-- forgot camera, no pix, no duck anyways. Imagine.

Messy then massive cleanup week

Calvin came to visit Monday shortly after I returned from Houston. He bought a birthday cake - awww.. how sweet.

Also gave me some cushions for the couch so the place looks more homey.

The whole apartment is so small - with their luggage and me sleeping on the floor downstairs, it got a little cluttered and messy. I took 4 hours to clean up after they left and felt so good - it's true, housework is rather therapeutic.

Nontheless they left Friday early morning, and on Friday evening when I came home to an empty home, I missed them. Missed all our night chats. Sigh. I miss my big bro... Comforted myself with the last slice of my birthday mango cake - cake is good... and he's right, my fridge is set too cold, i had to thaw it out a little first before gobbling it down.

Greeted home by Typhoon

Another typhoon - 4th this season greets me. It's nice to have someone (thing?) meet you at the airport. I did however get a great taxi driver who literally backed into the main door & deposted me and my 60pounds of lugguge dry and at my doorstep. Can't ask for more. I have his name card - the best taxi driver I've met thus far in Taipei.

Typhoon Krosa lashes Taiwan, halting air and sea traffic - from the China Post. It's stronger than the last one which gave us a holiday ;) but as it hit Yilan - which is real close to Taipei, it's really windy and rainy right now. Probably stay in, unpack, nap and do chores like laundry.

The last 2 weeks in Houston was nice. It was good to meet the extended team in Houston, plus I got to eat my brains out with hamburgers, tex-mex (I love tacos and enchilladas), pizza. I added 1 kg butt (pun intended) my body fat went down - probably due to the 3 guilt induced gym visits. The Hilton Garden Inn gives you free access to a huge 24hr gym just behind it.

Nice to be driving again - I miss driving! Just that driving on the wrong side of the road took some getting used to.

Working on my butts

I'm really blessed. Aaron sent me a list of where to go, what to do, where to shop and where to eat cheat sheet of Houston. That plus the fact that I have a GPS (trusty lil' old thing) and a car. Hmm...

Working on Aaron's list...
Red Robin - 8/10
the hamburger is just aweeeesome! I ate the whole thing and was so done. Plus
there're free refills for drinks and my server gave me 2 at 1 go. Ooo....

Papasitos - 8/10
boss & I shared 1 appetizer & 1 main. The quesidillas/fajitas are so good... And, she drank the Wave magarita. I was too jetlagged to drink, but I took a sip out of hers. It is strong stuff!

Goodsons -6/10
authentic Southern food. I had the Chicken Fried Steak - which begged the question, is it chicken or beef? They all laughed at me. It's steak - battered up and fried like chicken. Typical Southern style, it came as 1 hunk of meat. I much preferred the bun, very dough-y.

Red Fish - 6/10
Japanese. Ok, this ain't on Aaron's list. It's a Japanese seafood place. My skin's already trying to adapt to the drier air here, I didn't want shrimp which will aggrievate my eczema balance. Went with Salmon - was ok.

Papa BBQ - 7/10
Copied Donna and had the BBQ beef. It was so tender, it falls apart when I stab it with my fork. This one I could finish...

I'm sorry I have no pictures - I'm with my co-workers and/or my boss and didn't want to appear like some teenager with an incessant need to take pix and blog about it afterwards. Well, I do have an incessant need to take pix and blog about it afterwards.... but it's about the IMPRESSION. I am a professional on a work trip in Houston. If I say this often enough, I will believe it and so will the world.

Oh and I did try 1 feeble attempt towards countering all that food - I get free access to Life Fitness which is just behind the hotel (by American standards, it means you drive 3mins down the street). It was a huge gym full of machines which I cannot work - where is Yz when you need her?! Oh and they have a rockwall too but it was closed that evening. Dang.

I'm a resident of Taipei

I keep forgetting that - I'm now a resident of Taipei.

Am in Houston for 2 weeks and every customs form I fill in and each time someone asks me where I'm from - I get it wrong. The answer should be Taipei, Taiwan - not Singapore. This takes some getting used to.

The other thing that takes getting used to is driving on the wrong side of the road. Yes - I am driving in the US. All you Singaporeans be glad I am far far away. Not only am I a slow driver (I'm doing 40-50miles and astutely avoiding the freeways), but I am a bad one - each turn I make, I gotta remember - keep right. Yesterday was dicey, but this morning I started to drive to work and feeling a little more confident, then yeah, I turned onto the wrong side of the road and had to pull back in a hurry in a busy intersection close to HP. So, back to using the GPS and no radio and just keep to my "keep right, keep right, KEEP RIGHT!!!" mantra.

Happy PDC 5th Anniversary

This week the office (called PDC) celebrates 5yrs of being in Taipei. We had this pretty glam dinner where the food was so-so, then everyone got so drunk. I stayed sober - remarkable record considering I'm such a teetoller. Guess I don't feel that comfortable with my colleagues yet.

The very next day we had a teambuilding event which involved 10 games (mostly of the silly run-around screaming juvenile sort). It was held at the Nangang Sports Hall which also had a rockwall in their hall, so naturally rockclimbing is 1 of the 10. They found out I climb rock so I most gracious (inwardly I was thanking God) to be Game 3 - rockclimbing, game marshall. Plus I tried out the wall 1st before everyone got there, hey someone has to ensure it's safe! Then I stayed back after everyone left to boulder on my own. So yeah, it was a good day.

Another Touristy Wknd

I've been here 7 weeks and still feel like a tourist. Guess it doesn't help that I am a tourist every weekend.

Saturday - slept in then went out to the top of Yangmingshan to this classy restaurant for dinner. Like gazebos/marquees built into the mountainside facing Taipei city. Pity it wasn't a clear day - barely making out Taipei 101. We were celebrating Sharon's birthday - naturally we overeat then went to Roxy99 and overdranked on vodkas then tequilas. I drank little - wasn't me who got drunk :)


Me with the birthday girl. Yes, in case it doesn't show, we got pretty wasted...

Sunday - after church, checked out the outdoors shop along Chungshan North, need a chalk ball (not that I climb a lot, like twice since I got here) but they were closed on Sundays. Then walked around the nearby Peace Park where most of the political rallies are held. Inside the peace park is a monument commemorating the 228 incident - an uprising in Taiwan of the then locals vs the Nationalist soldiers that settled in Taiwan during the war. The same scism continues til today - bet local Taiwanese and the descendants of Nationalist soldiers - pretty much situation between DPP & KMT. More colorful history to come during next year's elections. Boy, am I glad I'm here to watch 1st hand.

(L-R) 228 Peace Monument, Statue, Old gates

This horse actually reminds me of a friend. Horse (it's an inside joke) but also cos of the spirit & vigour within it, u can see the veins popping on its neck.

This is dedicated to Ms Hardcore!

Just outside the Peace Park, along Ketagalan Boulevard, if you look straight to the end, tadah!.. the Presidential Building & in front of it, the East Gates (also called Jingfu Gate 景福门). One of 4 ancient gates to the city.

(L-R) Presidential building with the UN referandum posters ; Jingfu men in the intersection of Xinyi, Zhongshan, Ketagalan & Renai.

Enough history & culture and I was hungry - called Garin out for lunch.. the guy is such a sleepyhead.. Once he was conscious, he took me to this cool secret restaurant called People's restaurant. Nondescript stairs, secret bronze doors, magic way of opening it...

Interior decor is very very cool, I tried to take pix, but it was too dark...

Then we went to ride the Miramar Ferris Wheel (美麗華摩天輪) - cool! But too short a ride! Built into the side of the Miramar movie theatres.

Unfortunately it was drizzling while we were there, the doors to the cable car were wet, there were windows but they were covered with nettings.. these were the best I could do under the circumstances. But believe you me, the view from the top was spectacular.

Yangmingshan 陽明山

My Taiwanese collagues, Candice, Ashley & Tony were nice enough to take me up Yangmingshan one evening after work. It was a pretty long drive thru Neihu, Tienmu, up Yangmingshan and into a spa place where the food was great. They talked, I ate, my spoken Chinese isn't all that great, so predictably, I ate too much. Also ordered black chicken soup to boil on a cooker on the table. And we drank it after hot spring, came back for the soup when you all airy/lightheaded from the soak. Awesome.


Unlike Beitou's hotspring, Yangmingshan's smelt less of suphur. At least at night it was cool outside and hot in the water. As I can only get naked with Ms Hardcore, and she ain't here, so individual cubicals it was.

Place is worth re-visiting, perhaps when Steph gets here
http://www.kawayu-spa.com.tw/how.htm

MaoKong Cable Car

Taipei launched this during June - when Ms Hardcore & I were there. But there were long lines for it, it kept breaking down and trapping people in, it was 40degrees in the height of the Summer heat wave, probably closer to 50degrees in the little cable cars with no ventilation save 4 small round holes...

Siew Bee's here for 2 weeks biz trip and wanted to go. Weather's a little better now and 2 months on, you'd think they've resolved all their teething problems.

Perhaps my expectations were really low, but the views were fantastic. And it by far a safer & more fun way to get to the top of the mountains in Muzha. I say that cos I had to travel down via a mini-van. Yes, the good folks of MaoKong cable car shut down the service due to "lightning warnings". Of cos they didn't have the good sense to stop people entering before telling us. We climbed 4 storeys up to the platform only to walk back down after much confusion.

Nontheless, a good trip - albeit I didn't get my round trip :(

Muzha area is famed for its oolong tea plantations. We ate lunch at one of the numerous tea houses - picked the farthest one (read highest up the mountains) to avoid the crowds. Food was passable, but tea was nice, here's us brewing tea.

Earthquake!

I experienced my 1st earthquake.

It happened in the night, I only remember waking up to think "EARTHQUAKE!", and I'm on a wooden floor (upper storey of the loft), then went straight back to zzz. Ok, I climbed til 11pm, I was tired!! Gimme a break! :)

Key takeaway - do not sleep naked in case your neighbours need to dig you out.

The 6.6 magnitude temblor struck at sea, 74 kilometers (44 miles) southeast of the eastern city of Ilan at 1:51 a.m. (1751 GMT Thursday). Ilan is about 80 kilometers (50 miles) east of Taipei.
** from the China Post.