2011 Annual Report

By convention, i should be sitting here, typing away furiously and reflecting about the past 364 days. And, i think i should stick to convention, albeit keeping it short since I've covered most of the major events in detail in my weekly posts.

Overview

2011 was quite an interesting year. It has been a year of steep learning. The second year of NS was supposedly an application of the skills we acquired during training, especially since we commissioned in Jan, we had the whole year to play with. I picked up valuable administrative, social, time management, organization and small personal life skills. I definitely became more disciplined, but still have the pinch of procrastination as usual. I learnt the value of money and developed habits to align to the saving culture. However, I would still spend when i see the need to.

Achievements

I achieved a fair bit this year despite being in full time NS. Passed my manual driving and clocked a significant amount of mileage, completed the basics of accounting equivalent to a diploma, brushed up financial management knowledge, completed my NS, went on a vacation to Taiwan, had a go at various jobs associated to different industries, played lots of soccer, and had fun too.

2011 was interesting because i knew it would be a year that i will never have the chance to have a similar year. I was surprised how much freedom I had despite being in NS. My job scope was the main reason for that. I was okay with duties because I knew someone had to do it, and was glad and lucky to avoid doing on important dates. There weren't many significant public holiday during my stint so in a way I was lucky. Here's a salute to all doing duties over this festive period.

Highlights

The highlight of the year would be my birthday because it was the most difficult period this year. I was so troubled and was all alone. I was just glad that I had such a brilliant boss, and now a brilliant friend.

Audit lines up second as it was quite challenging too. Through that, I learnt how organisations or even companies work. The experience was valuable. It was an introduction to office politics and questionable work processes. Being in the middle tier of management, I coincidentally managed to see how things work on either side. It was an eye opener.

Social

I didn't make many new friends this year. I was just glad life was more bearable seeing my course mates day in day out. There were lots of politics going on, but I tried my best to stay out of it and mitigated when necessary. I still kept in touch with my good old friends be it through birthdays or random meetings or soccer or lan or movies. And of course since I haven't been making new friends, there hasn't been much attraction or repulsion. Just waiting for the right one. However, it's amazing how we have moved to this phase of life, watching videos of marriage proposals, talking about who's gonna be the best men, bridesmaids, or even talking about friends and friends ringing the wedding bells. Are we that old?

Decided to spend the countdown to 2012 at home with my family for a change. Traditionally, I should be in town with friends, especially at the Esplanade Bridge (3 years?) but realized it's really quite lame to do that. For the atmosphere probably, but it's really quite disgusting to spend the start of every new year squeezing with sweaty bodies and fretting about transport home. Is this part of growing up and maturing? Or is this just being practical yet boring?

Looking forward

i'm almost a full time student for the first half of 2012, continuing the night classes almost every weekday night. But my day times are still free for work or leisure. And that's about how i'm gonna spend my 6 months. Maybe i'll stick to my list of items and skills to pick up before entering uni to value add before another 4 years of studying commences. Sigh, that's life.

Or, will the world really end in 2012?

Either way, Goodbye 2011, Hello 2012!

May it be a jolly good year for all. :)

a thousand years

life has been good these couple of weeks.

exams over, hopefully results ain't bad.

a couple of kickabout sessions, less cancelled matches due to inclement weather.

yet, brilliant weather when there ain't matches.

an enjoyable stayover with good ol' friends.

some family time in a movie theatre after a long while.

an occasional working experience.

i don't know what else to ask for. in fact, life has been great.

begging vs forgiveness.

I know perhaps by putting this online, it could make matters worse, complicate things, and be just a stupid move at a bad time.

I remember an incident that happened maybe 5 years ago? I probably blogged about it as well. One of my closest friends said something horrible to me. And the worst part was that he didn't even know the damage he had inflicted. I was destroyed completely and even teared in front of the monitor screen. For that few days, I felt terrible. I never imagined to be hurt so badly by a friend and especially a close friend. I was distraught and became cold towards everyone. But then, he realised how damaging his words were and apologized to me. He was remorseful. Without hesitation, I accepted his apology and we remained as close buddies, if not, even closer.

This may be a story similar to a fairy tale, with a fairy tale ending, but it has stuck with me all these years. Not for its happy ending, but for its portrayal of true friendship.

As human beings, we all make mistakes. It's okay to make mistakes, but more importantly to own up and learn from them. It is then to the mercy of others whether forgiveness is granted.

I have never been in a position whereby forgiveness has to be rethought. It may be tough when perhaps someone took away a loved one's life, or even breaking something as simple as a promise. It may be tough, but I don't believe it's not worth considering forgiveness at all, or even declaring a death sentence without even reviewing the story.

This may be way too far fetched from the problem I'm facing. Because I have no idea how a simple wrong turn could cause such a gigantic issue. Yes, it could be a matter of basic courtesy, or even respect. But as friends, as supposed close friends, there ain't no room for error? There ain't no room for forgiveness? There ain't no room for listening? There ain't no room for returning the courtesy and respect that was the root cause of the problem?

I'm sorry, but I'm disappointed.

That's how I'm feeling and I ain't hiding it, no more, because i'm way too affected by it.

oscar. romeo. delta. over.

while everyone's exclaiming how they've finally left, finally found freedom and that pink document. i took a step back to have a look at the situation.

like all phases in life, there is bound to call for the curtains and mark the end of a chapter. undoubtedly, celebrations are called for, and thoroughly deserved. however, there is something i know for sure when the curtain falls, and when we all move forward in life, there is definitely reminiscence.

the word is often related to good or positive times. however, there are occasions whereby an initial judgement was negative, but upon looking back, you realise perhaps everything wasn't so bad afterall. (having said that, there are some things i'll definitely not miss. those experiences of immense displeasure and disgruntlement, i will never forget, nor take back my words, but they 'll remain as good learning experiences)

forget about the bad. but the good. or just the plain routines. they will be missed.

i went through tough times in bmt. but somehow, i still miss the ferry, the heavy weight on my shoulders, the songs, when the cold wind blows, the intense physical training, the 'communal' living conditions, the looking out for one another, the smell of mud, the stupidness in rushing to wait, and waiting to rush, the sweetness of booking out, the preciousness of book out hours, the yearning for loved ones and the shaved head. honestly, i enjoyed bmt. it's harsh in a way, but it's something you will never ever get elsewhere. recruits have a life filled with anxiety and fear, but it's also nice sometimes to rid of all responsibilities and follow instructions. i can do that, and i did that well. but apparently, they wanted me to give instructions, so..

ocs. was scary. the building itself is intimidating enough. i didn't enjoy the start of ocs as much. there were so much more fear and expectations. i was afraid of putting one step wrong and get kicked out. it was tough as well especially since i've met some weird people at the beginning. it was strange. i never felt at home. i started to come into contact with people of extreme personlities and was quite lonely at that time. i felt i was fighting all by myself. despite all that, i'll miss jurong point. hahaha. i'll miss going there for dinner with my family just before book in in my 'penguin' attire, the white shirt and black pants. the long walk or march in to wingline was so peaceful yet eerie.

then came aftc. i was glad to have normal people with me. finally after 3 months, i felt a sense of belonging. a bunch of good guys with a similar goal and mentality as trainees. i will miss the thai officer i took care of for 7 months (maybe not so much, but a good encounter), the chicken cutlet w fried rice (omg, it's god-like legendary), the happy hours,the freedom we had after 6pm, the first parades, the somewhat useless but useful 5bx (5 basic exercises plus run) every 5.55am, our classroom 2-11, our hangar, my signal sets!, the cookhouse, the insane pull up regime, the ridiculous soc, the stabbing incident which was how i got my 'slicer' callsign, the pre-summex, summex, all the exhaust we breathed in, the times trapped in awkward positions in our vehicles when it was raining, the manpacks which i was always the one with a 60kg load, the rooftops we slept on, the extreme sleep deprivation, the extreme fasting fiesta, the extreme bonding we've achieved. people laughed at us, despised us and said air force doesn't go through shit. i can safely say, i went through shit, deserving of the commisioning on 15 jan 11. and that wasn't enough, heavens cried on our batch. we stood firm in the downpour, couldn't throw our peak caps, but commisioned successfully.

posted to unit and was in for a culture shock. it was nothing like our training. to make things worse, we had even more to learn. additional operations, duties, appointments, taskings. there is one thing i'll definitely miss: my bunk. it was like my personal retreat haven, so comfortable and memorable. i remember first walking into it as if walking into a jungle. i spent the build up to cny cleaning the room all by myself with the company of cny songs. i will miss chong pang market. it's like a mini chinatown during cny and on any other day it's an escapade from military life. i will miss the sambal fried rice, the chicken cutlet bee hoon, the teh, the flexibility of my job, my desk, the freedom of my job, northpoint nights out, 2lt nights, chong pang nasi lemak, haha even audit period. i'll somehow miss duties, because it'll be when you realise tv is your best friend. but more importantly, i will miss the people, not all, but certain people. my boss, my guys, even the cleaning auntie. i had a preview of office jobs, and i have to say i kinda enjoyed it, and will miss it. but not 8hr long meetings definitely!

people might comment how ns is a waste of time, stupid, useless etc. however, there are those who really benefitted from it. i'm one. i've learnt so much within this 2 years, and sometimes i wish everyone had this opportunity to go through what i went through, to learn what i learnt, to become a better person than before. perhaps suffering isn't that bad, because you get to appreciate every other joy you had. when you complain about not having shoes, think about those without legs. we lead lives of comfort and convenience, we sometimes forget those in misery and suffering. we might not be able to help them, but the least we can do is appreciate what we have and not live in anger and hatred.

ok i know that's abit off the topic, but i did indeed learn to appreciate every small thing. my bed, clean water, sufficient food, availability of transport, companionship even shelter and clean air. it has been a valuable 1 year 10 months, and yesterday marks the end of it. to sum things up, ns was tough but very rewarding, if i were given a choice to turn back time and choose whether to do it again, i would.

what's wrong with the world, mama?

what has the world come to?

20 year old guys screaming after girl bands??

has planet earth decided to spin the other way round???

so, whatcha wanna be?

don't label me as crazy for posting at this unearthly hour. i'm just inspired.

sometimes i wonder what's our purpose in life?

to aid or be aided?

to serve or be served?

to dream or be dreamt of?

to fight or be fought for?

when i said 'our', i referred to us, this batch of sg kiddos. this manufactured batch of goods to be despatched to the final destination to carry out its function.

like really, what's our purpose? this manufacturing process that i just came to realisation is kinda scary. the education system that is. the one which we all went through and are still going through.

i've seen some of the best of this batch. known them personally. and i've got into contact with some of the 'worst'. notice, mere contact. before i stray further off point, i'd better stop beating around the bush.

perhaps it isn't obvious. obviously it hasn't been obvious enough for me. the stark difference between the widening gap of the two extreme ends of social classes. the system we are in, is biased to pick out the best, groom them, to fill the very top positions. we all know that. but what happens to the rest? i haven't given much thought on that because personally, i'm pretty much resigned to the fact i'm just the average joe, like many of us. it isn't in our daily conversations and of any concern to discuss about what's happening to others not within our circle. in fact it's least of our concerns.

all we care about is what's presented on our plates. we are all tamed by this system, no rebellion, no protests. and that is because we are always pacified and satisfied which we are taught to be. we are too content to look at others. when you are safely in the embrace of people of your class, people whom the system has streamed you into your surroundings. you just take shape. in fact, not requiring any apparent effort to make you mallaeble. you simply fit in.

no one wants to be the the sore thumb. if you are, you are taken out.

i am without doubt in the class of targetted working professionals, like majority of my peers. and being in this band, i've 'unfortunately' seen the chosen ones. the ones who are welcomed to a bigger stage, playing a different ball game altogether.

by nature, i have no complaints whatsoever with the life i have or predestined 'fate'. but it's seeing how cruel this society is that has broaden my vision. i wouldn't elaborate much on this cruelty. but it can be easily inferred.

i'm daunted by this challenge of being able to connect with people outside my comfort zone. you know the system hasn't got this capability to prepare you for that. it's difficult because the mindsets' different, the topics' different, even the language's different.

perhaps, there's one more thing society wants you to learn. nature's selection process? adaptability? i'd say more so of learning to be a chameleon.

work hard folks!

fuel vs luxury

this week is called medical week.

extracted 2 of my wisdom teeth on mon and was in some agony since then. i stared at the 2 healthy teeth and wondered why did i make such a retarded decision to pluck them. they looked so strong with such long roots, and very well taken care of . just because one of it was angled slightly outwards, i went for it. sigh sigh sigh no point regretting, it's irreversible. on the bright side, perhaps it's good to pull them out in case they really cause me trouble in future. whatever.

and of all times, i fell ill this week. i knew it was coming. as usual, sore throat struck first. drew first blood on sat, then sun there were signs of flu, mon cough, tue full blast, wed recovery, today recovery. feeling a lot better today.

but it's this week that i finally appreciate the things i put in my mouth. i don't have much restriction on my normal diet. but because of the scope i'm going for tml, i'm fasting, restrciting, torturing. there's hardly anything that i can eat. no dairy products and i'm pretty much screwed. no red meat, no vegetables, no fruits. what the hell's left?! so i practically fasted for the past 2 days and am a very angry man. a hungry man is an angry man. and i'm a very hungry man. :(

taiwan

I miss Taiwan!! The smell of a hotel and the need for a different culture. The feeling of living smack right in the heart of a major shopping district.

Ok I shall confess. I have been too lazy to blog. But here I am finally, typing something. It isn't just something, it's the somewhat secret 10 day trip to Taiwan. Everyone was saying I just disappeared quietly and reappeared suddenly. I take that as a compliment.

Apparently the photo stats stand at 3000 ++ for the entire trip with an average file size of 6MB each thanks to my friend's borrowed Canon DSLR just for the trip. Alright let's start the long journey of mostly words and the few accompanying photos.

DAY 1 - 16 Sep 11 Fri

Took a 4hr long SQ flight to Tao Yuan International Airport and was kinda lost upon touch down. Watched Source Code and X-Men Origins on the plane and was pretty awed by the former. It's somewhat Deja Vu but a bit cooler.

Anyway we managed to get a bus ticket to Taipei. It's more like an inter city coach where you stuff your luggage in the bottom compartment of the bus after tagging. Gotta admit I was impressed by their system as I didn't expect for a not exactly glamorous bus to actually account for luggages. But kinda pitied the driver as he had to come down at every stop and ensure people don't take the wrong bag.

So it was about 6 in the evening and it was dark already with a pretty comfortable temperature of 26 and we arrived at Taipei Che Zhan which is like an interchange between railway and metro. That's beside the point because we took a cab from there to Xi Men Ding where our hotel was. And I swore I would blog about the traffic in Taiwan. Yes their traffic is horrendous. After being to Thailand, and being able to say that speaks volumes. The drivers are impatient, the scooter riders swarm the roads and there seem to be no traffic rules. The cab ride was kinda scary but somehow I trusted the driver. Even though he was driving against traffic, being centimetres apart from the adjacent vehicle, stopping and starting every few seconds, honking away, visibly pissed off, he was undeniably skillful. By the end of the trip I was convinced 99% of the drivers are that skillful. They somehow know their ranking on the road, who's big and who's small. In the end someone would give way. Throughout the trip I only encountered 1 accident and that's really quite amazing. Back to Xi Men Ding, we had to drag our bags all the way in from the main road as the small roads are closed at night for shoppers to roam freely. It's like a gigantic Bugis Street, only better, yet like an Orchard Road offering cheap stuff. And so we checked into Rainbow Hotel which is really right smack in the middle of XMD. It's located at one of the major cross junctions which allows us to just wake up and step into shopping immediately everyday. We had the first taste of shopping in Taiwan on Day 1 night and did a rough survey of the prices to aid us in the buying decision making in the subsequent days.

Ah Zhong Mian Xian. Brilliant dinner.

DAY 2 - 17 Sep 11 Sat

Day 2 started off with us having a quick breakfast at one of the small shops selling noodles and rice. The speciality seemed to be the fish balls which had meat wrapped by a big fish ball. After that, we travelled to Long Shan Temple for some blessings.

According to my mum, the predictions from there are pretty accurate. And so each of us went to qiu qian and according to the qian I got, it was referring to my love life, which assured me that my marriage would be good, fulfilling and the first born would be a girl. As for now, patience is advised and I could even have met the person. Oh and also very unfortunately I would have pretty bad social networking and interactions, and ultimately, result in lack of wealth.. That's damn sad.

However, life still as to go on and we visited the quite famous memorial. Honestly I wasn't too concerned about the history and stuff but more of being there and taking some photos to show we've been there.

And I guess the highlight of the day finally came! We walked many many streets to finally find the Din Tai Fung outlet that was nearby.

As a rule for all foodies, always try the food where it originated and we weren't let down in this case. The food was splendid. And I have to give special mention to the service because it was pretty outstanding. They were extremely polite and always ensured they are the ones to end off with a thank you.

Sun Xie Zhi from 5566 promoting some show at XMD.

We went back to the hotel for a short rest before touring travelling to Shi Da Night Market.

DAY 3 - 18 Sep 11 Sun

Lunch at Zhong Xiao area, which is like the higher end shopping district ie. departmental stores.

The day's objective was simple. Shop, shop and shop. Wu Fen Pu, the commerical district that's well known for its cheap and wide variety of clothing. So basically we spent the whole day there and shopped till we drop.

Had snacks for dinner and adjourned to Taipei 101, the observatory tower and also the tallest building in Taipei. Yea if you've been to any similar tower, it's the same. And we weren't too smart to go at night. It was almost pitch black. The theme of the tower is the damper system which has this gigantic spherical structure at the centre of the building for stabilization since it's the tallest building and also tw is prone to earthquakes. Don't quote me on this, I was focusing on taking photos of the Damper Babies, their mascots. Hahaha.

Damper babies.

DAY 4 - 19 Sep 11 Mon

Dan Shui is this quiet place at the end of the MRT line. Pleasant place to just stroll through the streets where they sell food and mostly bags or toys. The main attraction of Dan Shui is the Fisherman's Wharf aka Yu Ren Ma Tou where there's this iconic bridge that lovers always frequent.

Tang Hoon wrapped in Tofu. It's really not bad, very tasty.

Stopped by along the way at Fort San Dominigo which is this museum like place just outside a university.

Walked all the way from Dan Shui Street to the harbour which is really quite far. Please be advised to take the bus if you happen to go.

One of my favourite photos for this trip.

DAY 5 - 20 Sep 11 Tue

Mao Kong isn't Mao3 Kong3 like when i first thought it might be. It's Mao1 Kong1 directly translated to Cat Sky. Mao Kong is situated in the hills next to the Taipei Zoo. There ain't Pandas or Cats but just a cosy lazy countryside hilly area where one is required to take the Gondola aka cable car up the hill.

Had our lunch at the eatery near the station up there and has a small quest to search for the tea plantations.

Ultimately, we had tea but the plantation wasn't opened to public on that day. Took lots of pictures especially against the sunset where there's this small lake with animal statues that mimics a countryside kind of life. There are really 'kampung-like' houses where animals are reared and people just sit in their houses and watch time fly by. With the nice cooling weather, it was an enjoyable trip up to the hills.

Took the train back to the Zhong Xiao area where the big departmental stores are for dinner. Perhaps it's under the influence of the Japanese departmental stores, even their food courts don't look like food courts.

DAY 6 - 21 Sep 11 Wed

Alas, we got kicked out of Xi Men Ding and moved to Jian Tan for the remainder of the trip. Sis had a room at Jian Tan Youth Activity Centre which is something like a hostel yet hotel standard.



Couldn't check in and we decided not to waste time and visited Di Hua Street where it is supposed to be overflowing with dried goods. Went there and bought 80% of NON-dried goods and came back. Oh and this is the part where i have to exclaim i love the Ji Dan Gao. I think it was the third time i bought a packet to munch on at Di Hua.

Trained back to check in before walking to Shih Lin Night Market for a sumptuous snacks dinner!

The famous chicken cutlet, humongous taiwan sausages, pau, squid etc. The chicken cutlet queue was insanely long. But i queued anyhow. I wouldnt say the cutlet's out of this world, it's just a very big piece of chicken cutlet and the drawback is that there's bones in it.

The famous chicken cutlet that got the tourists swarming from the tour bus and queuing. Heard it's coming to sg!

Crossed the road to Shih Lin Shopping District where it's another market selling mainly clothes and shoes. Bought a decent amount of clothing and shoes from there.

DAY 7 - 22 Sep 11 Thu

Hmm, Jiu Fen's an interesting one.

We had to take a railway train from Taipei Che Zhan to Rui Fang Station and take a bus to Jiu Fen which is like a village among the mountains.

The bian tang or lunchbox sold on the railway trains. Cheap and good.

The story of how the name came about is quite interesting. Long long ago, there were nine families who lived in that area. As the roads weren't developed yet, everything had to be shipped to the nearby harbour and a representative sent by the nine families would run down to the harbour to collect the supplies. He would say "Jiu Fen" every time to the sellers meaning Nine Portions for the nine families. And after some time, the area became known as Jiu Fen. As the years go by, someone discovered gold buried underground and more families migrated to exploit the land and eventually the place became more and more commercialized.

It's quite chilly up in the mountains especially when you are in the open. But as the shops are all built adjacent to one another in a long alley, it's quite cosy and nice. And here i am again, emphasizing the driving skills of the drivers, this time bus drivers. The road up to the top is very narrow and buses are travelling non-stop up and down the hill. Manual buses. Along the side of the mountain. One wrong turn or loss of concentration will result in an expressway down the side. Amazing rollercoster ride.

Took the railway train back to Taipei Che Zhan and had dinner above the underground station. The mall's concept's quite interesting. There are different sections of food courts. One section will have maybe 8 stalls selling curry dishes, another section will have 7 stalls selling ramen, another will have 9 stalls selling japanese food. And they'll all have this counter above their shop that counts the number of customers they had for the day. It's like a competition, but i'm not sure how exactly it's carried out. And just happened, that we were craving for some.. beef noodles!!

We tried a couple of stalls and they were equally good. The broth's nice, beef tender, noodles springy. Competition benefits society.

How can you miss karaoke in Taiwan? Cheap and insane quality. It's definitely extremely worth it if you go during weekdays before the sun goes down.

The price list for PartyWorld at Xi Men Ding.

A personal toilet.

I can draw some similarities between some newer Kbox outlets in Singapore compared to Taiwan's PartyWorld. But the disparity is still obvious. The service was top drawer, the facilities new and clean. Only original songs were in the selection list, meaning no pirated, no concerts only original MTVs. And it was only then that i realised i haven't been listening to new Chinese songs. It's a totally different chart list over there. Something special about their k is that instead of forcing you to pay some somewhat rights and cover charge, they make you pay (if i remember correctly) about S$30 to ensure you order anything worth that value in the menu. You have to pay more if you order more, but for that money, some real good food can be consumed. We had herbal chicken, fried chicken wings and wedges while singing at the same time. It's like a five star karaoke experience.

Day 8 - 23 Sep 11 Fri

It was time for some mall shopping and we visited this area which was like a Japanese mall district. There were 3 or 4 major Japanese shopping malls within close proximity of each other. Eg. Takashimaya and Shin something something, Xin Guang Shan Yue in Chinese.

Had lunch at a small restaurant in Xin Guang Shan Yue, and almost an immediate tea session at another tea restaurant.

Shopped at Taka for awhile but the prices weren't appealing. Bought some snacks and drinks from the supermarket and cabbed back to the hotel.

Sis had something on at night and we went to Shih Lin again for another round of shopping. We practically combed the entire night market.

Ji Dan Gao!!!! My new found favourite Taiwan snack.

Some promotion event for another drama serial.

Day 9 - 24 Sep 11 Sat

Last day!! Honestly, i wasn't that sad to leave. Because we kinda ran out of places to go. We actually had time to sit in the hotel to watch tv! But their channels are crazy. Almost 100 channels and it's 50% variety shows and 25% news throughout the day. It's a haven for people who are in love with their shows. I observed they are really very good at talking. They can talk non-stop for one topic and make a big fuss out of small issues. Their news can report things like someone's toilet bowl very dirty, someone fall off a motorbike, someone had a public argument etc etc. However, their shows are really quite entertaining. Those showing here are really just a handful of straws in a haystack.

The entrance of Jian Tan Youth Activity Centre aka our hotel, with the Grand Palace Hotel in the backdrop.

Anyways, on the final day, we went to this promising place called the National Palace Museum. It's like a must go for tourists where it showcases the artifacts that were shipped from China for safekeeping when China went to war. Somehow down the line, Taiwan decided not to return the artifacts and bought most of it and now displayed.

No cameras allowed and this was the only shot outside. I was bored to tears staring at random pieces of antique. That's one place that's a no no for me ever again.

Left the museum in glee in search for lunch at Shih Lin Station. And I finally found the renowned Yong He Dou Jiang Da Wang.

Haha another story. Yong He's a place in Taiwan and there used to be a family living there who started to sell snacks, pastries and of course soya bean milk. There were just trying to make ends meet by setting up a small shop then and for the convenience of the working class, they operated from early in the morning till the wee hours. They were famous for the quality snacks but eventually closed down. Since then, a smart guy started using the name and reputation to create a franchise all across Taiwan. There are many branches all over Taipei.

As recommended, the fan tuan, dan bing and dou jiang. It's quite dry to eat all of those at one go. But the dan bing's not bad. Oh but i prefer the road side cong bing, like roti prata! haha.

Next up and the final destination, Grand Palace Hotel. It's an iconic hotel in Taipei and i don't think i'll ever be able to afford the stay. It's surrounded by a park and it's on a hill with a great view of Taipei.

Day 10 Sun 25 Sep

AND WE LEFT. At least for my mum and me. Sis stayed one more day for competition. We ridiculously booked cab at 3.30am to Tao Yuan Airport when the flight's at 7 plus. Reached at 4am and sat around for 3hours plus before finally boarding.

Window shopped in the transit.

Home sweet home.

Alrighty, here's the round up. I had an eye opener in Taiwan, Taipei. I didn't explore much but their culture in general is different and unique in their own way. Somehow, they are clean in general. Ironically they have very few rubbish bins, you can't find any along the streets, there'll probably be only ONE central big bin in a night market but if you patronise the stalls and shops, their service people will gladly clear the rubbish for you. The Taiwanese will hold their rubbish in the pockets, bags and clear at the MRT stations or when they see a bin.

Speaking of bins, Taiwan has a very very distinct toilet culture. In every toilet cubicle, there will be a bin. It ain't for making up for the small numbers in public, but to contain only one type of rubbish - toilet paper. You don't flush the toilet paper when you are done using it. You throw it into the bin. Yes, the one with the brown stuff on it. And not all bins come with a cover and not all bins are cleared promptly. Imagine. And that explains why the toilet can look so clean but smell extraordinarily. Before you say ewwww, the explanation for this practice is that the sewage system cannot support the tough fibrous tissue especially when it's soaked up with water. If you are a good tourist, you'll follow that practice. If not, you know when some day the sewage plant explodes, or toilet bowls start overflowing in Taiwan, i played a part. hahaha. (Come to think of it, maybe they really ran out of bins to put on the streets because all of them are in the toilets.)

The people there. Generally, the handphone culture ain't that advanced. People are still using non-colour phones, but most are using the nokia/ sony ericsson candy phones. You hardly see any blackberries or iphones. At least for the average dude on the street, not sure about the business class.

The young guys are mostly thin, despite the night market snack culture. Thin as in skinny. They do not have much emphasis on physical fitness in schools compared to sg. But definitely, basketball's the more hip sport there. The older guys are still generally thin with signs of typical male aging ie beer belly etc. I don't see many elderly dudes around in the streets. Perhaps it's Taipei.

The young girls are generally pretty. They love makeup, perhaps due to the influence of Japanese trends, they doll up when going up and look good but sometimes overdressed in my perspective. Like all girls in developing or developed countries now, they are obsessed with eye make up or just to make their eyes look gigantic. Having said that, even without make up, the school girls look pretty in general. They have this distinctive Taiwanese look which i believe, compared to Singaporeans who have this kinda failed hybrid look, are more visually appealing especially with sharper features and better skin. And also, 95% of the girls have long hair. Maybe there's a taboo regarding short hair? The women look good for their age especially the working class. And the 'aunties' are nice maciks, who seem to be the type that will take care of you.

I didn't notice carefully but there's an active smoking culture in Taiwan. There seems to be more smokers and i was kinda immune to the second hand smoke during my short stay.

Service standards as mentioned above are sky high. Almost every shop you enter, the sales girls would shout out "Huan Ying Guang Ling!!!" and they will have this trademark phrase if you are in a clothes or shoe shop. It goes something like this "man man kan wo, xi huan de hua ke yi na qi lai kan wo! ke yi shi chuan wo!" They will speak so fast, and in the high pitch sa jiao voice over and over again. Very passionate. Usually the street stalls won't let you try on, but the bigger shops allow. Instead of the lahs and lors, they have their version of wo, ma and the cutesy interjections. It's pleasingly sweet, but your hair will stand after hearing it non-stop.

Lastly, and perhaps the most important take away point. My Chinese definitely improved. After speaking mandarin for 10 days, i had the best oral preparation in my entire life. Visiting Taiwan just before your Chinese oral will definitely help you leaps and bounds. I was stunned to see how ugly my chinese characters were after writing some information for the receptionist. That shows how much i've been using my mother tongue.

I've put in lots of effort into typing this post, especially uploading the stubborn photos. But it's all worth it, for a place so pleasant and so missed. It's definitely somewhere I can live, with the seasons, with the culture (less toilet), and the entertainment! It's only Taipei but i've thoroughly enjoyed Taiwan. Will definitely be back to explore the rest!