Trip to Taiwan

As part of my 'leave away from NDP, NS and Singapore' plan, I headed off to Taiwan with my mother and father to enjoy some time away from the stress of work and from the physical stress of National Service for my parents and I accordingly. My last trip to Taiwan was one taken while I was still staying in Indonesia, so it has to be at least six years ago. Back then it was typhoon season, so I must have left around the same time during that trip, as I leave now amidst the strong typhoons in Hong Kong.

My last trip was spent in Taipei most of the time, so now my father took the opportunity to bring me to many other places, mainly Taichung and to the Nantou County area, only to end up in Hualien just to drive back to Taipei. In other words, I explored the Northern half of Taiwan over the course of just a few days. Being an exploration trip in breath rather than in depth, there was much time spent in the car, and very scenic shots to be taken. Considering my platoon mates' preference of staying in the city to shop and relax in the spas rather than travelling on foot, by train and by car, I think it is safe to say that this travel venture was something that truly reflects my father's thirst for adventure. However, as we had to meet with my father's old colleagues in Taipei, we had the opportunity to stop at a city for two days before flying back, the longest pit-stop we made since our trip to Taiwan.

Taken on S8+ (explaining the weird dimensions of the photo)

Qing Jing Farm, Taiwan

With the weather being in the peak of summer after the wind and rain for the past few days prior to my arrival to Taipei, the weather was a lot like Singapore, and pretty much my impression of it. The train system looked a lot similar to the ones available in Singapore. Even the night markets in Taipei, especially the one in Shihlin, looked a lot and sold a lot of goods similar to many Pasar Malams in Singapore. Had we found the need to move to Taiwan, I would require a lot of time to adjust to my surroundings, as I told my dad during the trip. The only main difference was the Mandarin that they spoke, which was a lot different than the Malaysian-English-Hokkien-Mandarin hybrid that we are so used to in Singapore. 

Many of my father's colleagues walked and talked like many Singaporeans, using an English-Mandarin mix of the language for communication rather than the addition of Hokkien and Malaysian. The difference was the way that they beheld life; I found that they set aside more time for enjoyment and fun than many Singaporeans, who are stressing day to day just to make enough money for themselves (but we know that there will never be enough to please these people). They spend more time instead enjoying the company of friends. They laugh more and joke more, and I find their presence to be very entertaining, not neglecting other members (my mother and I in this context) that were there just to accompany my father. 

Perhaps this calls on us to evaluate why we Singaporeans are so miserable when there are countries whose residents make less money than us, yet are happier and find more time for enjoyment when put in similar circumstances as us (at least weather and environment-wise. The demographic probably is a factor involved as well). Maybe a trip to another country would take the stress off. Can I suggest Taiwan?

South(?) Taipei taken from the Taipei 101 tower

Cheers,

Matthew Tan