Travels by Bus
See the world on bus, ON foot & on my own.
Low-res photos as I transferred them from my older site.
For me, Taiwan is synonymous to Taroko Gorge with photos a classmate showed me on her trip to Taiwan. When my Aunt Molly asked what I was going to do that summer 1992, I had no plans but I'd wanted to work abroad so she set me up and sent me to Taiwan and Thailand. With the passport in one hand, I sorted out an airticket on China Airlines (Taiwanese) that let me stop off in Taipei, Hong Kong and Bangkok. That was how I got to go to Taiwan but sadly I didn't get to see the gorge.
First time on China Airlines was really interesting because they made announcement in 闽南语 min-nan-yu or 灣話 tai-yu then Mandarin Chinese. I can't remember if English was announced. 闽南语 is similar to Hokkien so I was able to understand some of it.
Second (rude) culture "shock" was at the passport control. The immigration officer, a woman, lifted her glasses to her forehead to scrutinise my passport. She also looked at the corners to see if it were re-sealed. That was when I thought to myself, who wants to forge her passport to come to Taiwan?! Of all places!! And why would I want to enter Taiwan illegally?! It was actually very insulting because I was young and educated, I pride myself as a Singaporean, I did not think that any of my country(wo)men would want to sneak into Taiwan of illegally. Deep inside, I'd like to give her a piece of my mind but I knew better (thankfully) not to say anything but just answer her interrogations like what will I be doing in Taiwan, how long will I stay, do I have money? Of course.
Once I got past this rude welcome, Taiwan was easy to navigate especially since I was able to communicate in Mandarin although in Taiwan, they use the traditional writing. And it is confusing here because sometimes they write from right to left while we read from left to right. Of course the well-educated will tell you when the reading doesn't make sense, you read it the other way round. Chinese! It was never my strong language. We had some interesting conversation with my aunt's business partner, Alice and her sister on the Mandarin we use in Singapore.
Most interesting discussion was when we came to the politics between China and Taiwan. It was funny how a word can change everything. While I have heard that Taiwan came about because the party led by Chiang Kai Shek fled from Communist China but for the Taiwanese, Chiang chose to leave China. So be careful which word you use: "fled" or "left"! While China is "waiting" for the return of Taiwan, Taiwan sees itself a Republic not belonging to China.
We spent a lot of time in traffic in Taipei. To get to the office by 9 a.m. we have to get up at 6 a.m. Good thing is I have time to take in the sights on the way, passing by the famous Grand Hotel 圓山大飯店 on the highway. The hotel was established in May 1952 to host foreign dignitaries visiting Taipei since there was a lack of 5-star hotels back then. It was designed with a Chinese palace-style architecture to promote Chinese culture. It became a Taipei icon gradually.
On the evenings or my days off, I walked through the city. I was somehow fascinated with the mailboxes in Taiwan. Red is for overseas and Green for domestic. It was the first time I see it differentiated by colours.
There is never a lack of places to shop and markets like Jade market.
Taiwan is famous for its food/street markets but nobody took me to any. I only remember fondly - I can even taste it now! - the 雲吞麺(wonton noodles) just below the office. It was so smooth, you can swallow it and made me realise why the name tun which sounds like "swallow".
I went sightseeing on my own but I'm not at all cultured nevertheless "obligated" to visit the Chiang Kai Shek Museum to see the changing of guards, listen to his speeches, art gallery or chill in the pond area.
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On the other side of the city is Sun Yat Sun Memorial Hall.
We crossed the Tansui river to go to the 八仙樂園 (BaXianLeYuan) Formosa Amusement Park with water slides one day. It was fun to be kids again. Here is Ming kidding around with his cousin. It was summer holiday so the cousins came up from other parts of Taiwan to stay with us. We have a swimming pool at the condominium where Alice live. Unlike the condominiums in Singapore, the condominiums in Taipei are a cluster of terrace houses where you find tennis courts, swimming pools, gym etc in the centre of the compound. I was the oldest "kid" and I became the "natural teacher". I was well respected because I taught them how to dive from a platform, diving underwater and even swim. Considered an achievement because due to my asthma, I only started swimming when I was a teenager.
Ming is caught between 2 families. His mum, Alice is the mistress of my aunt's business partner I call Uncle Dai. He has 3 grown-up sons and a daughter Sophie my age whom I got along very well. We hit it off right away that what was supposed to be a dinner because an overnight stay. Her mum has the same values and habits like my own mother. One of it was the use of semi-automatic washing machines instead of automatic ones because it is more economical and energy saving.
Sophie's mum has a good sense of humour. She said she would be happier if her husband had chosen a pretty woman as a mistress but if you have seen Alice, you would also wonder. Ha! Sophie was an inspiration. She was tall and slim as she was working as an aerobics instructor on her free time. Sophie visited me a few years later and we kept in touch for many years but since she got married and have kids, we lost touch.
It is a pity that Sophie's dad became involved in another woman. He comes across as a good man but in Asian society, it is not uncommon for (business) men to take a mistress. They do not realise how much hurt they do to their family, their wives, their children and everyone around them.
I was taken to The Cultural Centre to learn about Chinese culture including Chinese musical instruments outside of Taipei. Not very exciting for me.
野柳地質公園 Yehliu, Keelung
My favourite place is Yehliu - the wild corals - in Keelung. In 1992, it was quite a "simple" place. They "barricaded" an area into a swimming pool which is made out of natural rocks and water from the sea. We stood there for a while watching the bravest guys dive into the pool. It was a courageous act because the rocks were so dark, you cannot even see to the bottom of the water. I don't remember how long we stayed at this beautiful place but I wish I never had to leave.
阿里山 Alishan
The other "symbol" of Taiwan for me is the Alishan and their maiden and boys because there is a famous song about them:
阿里山的姑娘美如水啊 Alishan's lass is as beautiful as (crystal clear) waters
阿里山的少年壮如山啊 Alishan's lad is as strong as mountains
This is a picture of the oldest and tallest tree here. I stayed in a basic dormitory and was the only person in the entire dormitory that night because the others came with their school or something, they were staying in a hall together.
I woke up at 3am to walk up the mountain to see the sun rise with some of the girls. I don't even recall any of that. It must have been mediocre.
I told my "guardian" Alice that I have to see it. She only told me to get her some "mountain" radish (wasabe) when I return before sending me off on a train.
The route up to AliShan was a very steep climb. As it was raining when I went, the train slid back the track for a few hundred metres. In today's times, that is scary but at that time we weren't even worried.
嘉義市 Chiayi City
12 year old Ming's cousins live in Chiayi so I chaperoned him there.
Chiayi is a quiet little town & people travelled in little scooters. Ming's aunt came to the train station to pick us up. She's a petite housewife whereas Ming & I are miniature Sumo wrestlers so it was a wonder HOW the 3 of us got on a scooter together!
Ming's cute cousin brought me around Chiayi in his scooter later. The most memorable sight was the tranquil reservoir.
Conversations with him was focused on "cultural" exchange mainly the Chinese language. In simplified Chinese, bread is written as 面包where in traditional Chinese it is written as 糆包 . Ming's cousin cannot get past it that the word 糆 has been bastarded to be 面 (face)! Well, in exchange, I taught him some English. It is amazing how much of it I still remember today.
臺中 Taichung
My Aunt Molly established herself a great name wherever she went. People feared her because she expects perfection but they respected her at the same time so when news came that I will be in Taiwan, one of her suppliers invited me to join them on their company annual outing.
It was a trip lasting 3 days to the central part of Taiwan. The employees here were treated like family members, and they readily accepted me too. Many saw my Aunt Molly in me and many were impressed by my bilingualism. I roomed with the owner's daughter Xiao-Chiu and another female employee. We became like sisters. Xiao-Chiu has a great heart and she brought along her little poodle Du-Du (she hopes that the puppy becomes 胖嘟嘟 chubby!) so all the 小朋友 little kids like to surround us and hang out with us.
Taiwanese breakfast includes tea-leaf egg and chicken feet! I can never get used to it when these were passed down to me on the bus. No, thank you.
I went to Taiwan without any expectation and I returned indebted to all the kind hospitality and friendship I had made.