Definitely still in the holiday mood and having serious withdrawal symptoms because I miss Taiwan already. Anyway, finally transferred all 5000 (yes, five thousand) images from our 11-day trip into my Mac (I've missed my baby lots ha) so I decided that I will get down to writing about the trip. Counted on this book a lot over the course of the trip because I wouldn't be able to remember every detail of the trip. So there's always this typical scene of me after showering splayed on the nice comfy hotel bed writing furiously in this travelogue and accounting for the day. I'm still deciding whether I should be more informative or informal in the writing of my 11 days in Taiwan. Nonetheless, I'm starting off with this reflection I wrote while waiting to board the flight back home:

20 December 2013
Taipei > Hong Kong > Singapore

You could say we're stuck in transit... At Hong Kong now and Cathay has delayed our flight by an hour. This shall be my final reflection for our Taiwan trip. It's been an extraordinary 11 days and I wouldn't yearn for a better way to end the year off. It was my first time in Taiwan and well, I really like this country and would totally go back again.

Anyway, this trip has been nothing short of eventful yet relaxing at the same time. It's difficult to recall every minute detail of each holiday I've been on but I hope the photographs will be able to trigger very happy memory or a thought back that'll make me smile. Isn't that what holidays are? Just taking a break from our home country and escaping our usual daily routine, exploring another city/town.state/country, learning new cultures and attitudes, understanding another tradition and immersing ourselves completely in a foreign environment with a different structure. Also contributing to the country's GDP, spending like nothing else in the world matters (since the proportion spent is nothing compared to how much the entire trip costs) and eating as if nothing were detrimental and destructive to our healths.

Being in Taiwan these 11 days have indeed got me thinking a lot and there's no doubt that I'm a little more familiar with their history (credits to museums and memorial halls) and perhaps a little less blonde (hahahaha). Singapore is rather similar to Taiwan actually; in terms of military and education systems as well as the way our transport network works. I found how diverse the people are, with those from the towns/rural areas speaking in different tongues (e.g. Hakka, 台语, Hokkien etc). Also, I realised that there's a stinging difference between people from the more rural areas and those urbanites (with no offense meant). I've noticed that the Taiwanese we've crossed paths with by the countryside (southern area) are a little more welcoming and warm towards tourists like us. They never fail to extend a friendly smile or exchange greetings with us. A lot of them strike conversations first and I find that really heartwarming. I kind of like how they don't really get mad at you when you decide not to buy their products after they've promoted it for a long time. The people from the urban areas are nice too (don't get me wrong), just that I came across a couple of shopkeepers who weren't exactly the friendliest.
Bottom line is, Taiwanese are pretty down-to-earth (I apologize for the stereotype if you don't agree but this is based on the people I came into contact with) and a very welcoming. I especially love how they don't scrimp on the ingredients in the food that we order because the portions always turn out larger than what we paid for and so rich with flavour. They're also very generous with their sample products and never hesitate to offer us a sample of their drinks/foodstuff. That's what really attracts me, really.

So I'm going to miss this place although I'm sure I've gained just about 5kg thanks to the last 11 days of non-stop night market food or hotel breakfast buffets or simple Taiwanese fare for lunch. Among other things, I've had A LOT of 麻糬 (muachee), 汤圆 (tangyuan) peanut soup (all them Chinese desserts and my absolute favourites...), peanuts in ice-cream, 面线 (meesua), chicken cutlets and other fried, oily, salty food. Definitely going to miss the food most of course. The grapes and passionfruit (so so so so so fresh I was tempted to bring a kilo home...) are amaaaaazing. For now I'm happy to revert to my old diet of cereal, oats and fruits/nuts and less carbs. Time to get back to exercising (I'm pretty sure my stamina has dropped to negative) and start training for January's regatta.

It was quite a pity we went during winter and also during their horrible rainy season because we could've shopped more if we weren't hiding under shelters and umbrellas (mom's quite thankful for that actually, hahaha). Nonetheless, buying new clothes and new shoes still made me happy. Really grateful that my parents aren't ones that stop us from splurging (at right times) but indulge in us instead. Missing the shopping tremendously but it would definitely have been better if we'd gone in summer because the clothes would be more suited to our own weather.

Well, the best part of the trip was of course spending time with family. I value that the most because I've always believed that family is the most important factor of my life ultimately. They'll always be there if the skies fall and with them I can be comfortable being myself - ugly, unglam and uncouth. They might judge me and mock me but I know it's all part of the love package. I especially loved spending time with Han. We've always been close but I felt that the trip brought us even closer because I was facing him 24/7 and talking about the stupidest of things. With him I felt like we were kids all over again. That was a nice feeling. As he grows older I hope we become even closer because he will always be my baby brother.

I know I'll definitely miss Taiwan but most of all I'll yearn for the carefree lifestyle of eating and buying whatever we want or just hopping on the train and getting off somewhere to explore. When we get back to Singapore, it's the same old schedules, appointments and to-do lists that seem so endless. The hectic lifestyles we lead can never be compared to the peace and tranquility of the lives led at the countryside.

My final wish would be for the hopes we wrote on our sky lanterns to come true (because I'm very superstitious when it comes to things I can bank on).