The Ultimate

2/3/16

   
    
    
    
   
   
    
    
   
It is inevitable: I have reached my last country for this trip. As someone famous once said: all good things come to an end (hopefully not a tragic end). It is a weird mixed (like all the shaved ice I have been consuming in Singapore) feeling. For my last stop, I chose the “country” of Taiwan. A simple island with a pretty convoluted history, Taiwan is a country boy recognized by China and many other counties in the world. During the revolution in  China, which occurred right after the Japanese invasion, the communist party managed to push the nationalist party out of the mainland. This exiled party fled to the island of Formosa, and changed the name to Taiwan. Taiwan now exist in a weird spot of global politics: China refused to recognize its independence, claiming it belong to China. Taiwanese’s support for reunification see-saw regularly, with the majority now prefer independence. The world, of course, bowed to China’s whimp and did nothing: neither support independence, but also refuted the idea of a hostile takeover. Under such weird circumstances, Taiwan actually flourished as a modern country, with great food, strange animations for news, and some very entertaining drama. 

I had a great time in Singapore: friendly host family, lots of good food, many great meetings with old friends. The short 4 days visit was actually a perfect length (hehe): it gave me time to do most of what I wanted to do, and yet not long enough for me to dislike the humid weather or become a snack for mosquito. My friend’s father was kind enough to send me to Changi Airport at the horrific hour of 4am, so I could catch the 7am flight. I managed to check in without any issue (well, except I had to pay for my bag: budget airlines like jet star do not include free checked luggage, even if you are flying international). I converted my leftover Singapore dollars to New Taiwan dollars, and spent the leftover on food. At 5am, my breakfast consisted of a plate of chicken rice, curry noodle soup, and a cup of tea. Needless to say, I was stuffed (in a good way…hmm…sounds weird), and managed to get onto the plane. The flight was ok, and we arrived in Taipei taoyuan airport 15 minutes ahead of schedule. Being a Hong Kong citizen, I had to apply for entry permit for Taiwan. The process was short and simple, and I was given a piece of paper: they cannot stamp on my passport, and instead, they just stamped this paper instead. It reminded me a lot of Cuba immigration and how they deal with tourists from US. 

I arrived in my hostel at noon, and since check in is at 3pm, I dropped my bag and wandered outside. Being much further north than Singapore, it is actually winter in Taiwan. Unfortunately, this also meant I was thrown into the cold wind, and I immediately felt tired. I walked around the places, sightsee a little (especially the night market and the 7-11s: they serve whole meals and you can probably live off this convenient store. I may actually have to do that for the day if Chinese New Year). I took a brief quick nap (wait, aren’t naps always quick? Longer naps are called sleep, right?), and then headed out in the evening for one famous sight: the night market.

If you ever visit Taiwan, the night market is a must. There are lots of local food items, mostly delicious and extremely unhealthy. I had sausage wrapped in a sausage, duck tongues, fried meatballs and squid balls, pig and chicken blood (yeah, that is a thing), and many more. I had so much unhealthy food that it made me Lon for vegetables and fruits. While fruit juices are readily available, none of the store actually sell fresh vegetables, but they do seek dehydrated (dried) ones. Feeling a little uncomfortable and a pressing need to find a bathroom, I eventually walked back to the hostel after visiting 2night markets. As I was sitting at the table in the hostel drinking a mango beer (yeah…not good), I actually thought about my trip. Taiwan seems to be a fitting destination: I am actually here but it will not leave a mark on my passport (but it will definitely leave a dent in my saving…). With so much global politics at play, it is interesting to finally visit Taiwan, a place of taboo for China. Actually, Taiwan looks like any other city, and I bet it has more in common with other cities in China than Europe. It is a strange thing: we love to prosecute our own race, but gave so much away to aggressors who invaded the country (I mean, China and Japan are probably on better terms than Taiwan and China). To quote a saying: can’t we all just get along?

Singapore, the place I almost called home

1/31/16 -2/2/16

As mentioned, this blog is taking a break when its writer is in Singapore. Currently, he is just eating a lot, hiding in coffee houses and basically doin nothing adventurous. The blog thinks that it has a certain standard to retain, and so it is rejecting boring or irreverent mumbling entries from the writer at this stage. It will return to a daily blog when the writer gets to Taiwan in 2/3. 

   
    
    
    
   

  

  

  

  

  

Last day in Saigon

1/29/16

   
    
    
    
    
   
   

    
    
 

(An additional note: I met two really awesome ladies when I was in Vientiane, Laos: Devon and Sarah. We have been playing leap frog in terms of cities, but always managed to meet up. Actually, Devon deserve the credit, she stopped me in the streets of Luang Pabrang. They are the most awesome traveler I have met: always cheerful, resourceful, deals everything with a calmness that speaks of their mental maturity: even though they are and look young. For my last nights, I spent dinner and beer time with them and my 2 new friends: Liviu and Leon. Leon and Ihad some great conversation about political systems, and Livius is just a all around cool guy: adventurous and outgoinf. We had a really good time [well, at least I think so] , and I feel disapponted that I am not traveling with them. I really think we will have lots of fun traveling as a group. Just for example, our conversation went from weird sex fetishes to IUDs to war crimes to traffic to motorcycle laws. I sincerely wish the ladies and guys all the best of luck: Sarah in Taiwan, Devon in Australia, Leon in Italy and Liviu in wherever he chooses to be. I miss you all already. Safe travels mates.)

Whenever I travel, I often meet some pretty awesome travelers along the way. Since I am someone who likes to stick to a plan (even if it is not working out well: I call it perseverence, some call it idiotic), I often miss the change to travel with these great people. Actually, i sometimes wonder if it is because I like to be alone. It is often easy enough to change my plans and routes, but I never quite felt the urge to make drastic changes. Even after traveling for so long (or short, depending on how you view time), I am still a big follower of plans and schedules. 

It is quite a shock: this is my last day in Saigon. Tomorrow, I am heading to the airport early to get to Singapore. I am still debating is this blog will continue when I am there, since I won’t be in traveler mode: I am mostly meeting up with friends and just chilling around. (Seriously, this blog could become a boring blog on my dietary preference and general mumbles: wait, that is exactly what this blog had turned into…) I woke up a little later than usual, grabbed the poor man’s breakfast at the hostel and started to get dressed. I ran into Leon and Liviu (yeah, I still can’t pronounce that name), two friends I met at the hostel. We all decided to grab some  breakfast at the nearby ABC cafe (somehow that reminds of of Le Miserable..yeah my kind is weird), and we all indulged in some very tasty pastries and coffees. After that, Liviu wanted to try getting his ear picked/clean, and so we all went searching for a barber shop. While I had gotten my ears clean a few times, I have never watch it live. It was surprisingly fun to see someone squirmed and winced while getting poked in the ear by various instruments (maybe I do have a sadist streak afterall…). After Livius is all cleaned, we all moved onto the local market: Ben Thanh. While the others indulged in shopping, I realized that I really be did not want to carry anymore things. I ended up walking away empty handed. 

In the afternoon, since it is my last day in Saigon, I decided to visit the independence/reunification palace. This restored building used to the presidential palace of the south Vietnam before its fell to the north in 1975. It was like A time warp to 1960s. The furniture, the room decoration, the meeting rooms are all still on meticulous condition. There are also many photographs of the administration and the last days before the fall. With the weather being blisteringly hot and drowning kt humid, it was a welcome relief to stay in the palace and enjoy the occasional cool breeze. After that, it was a quick hot and sweaty hike to the tallest building in Saigon: the Bitexco Financial Tower. Towering at 68 stories over the city, it is quite a sight. Supposedly, the architect drew inspiration from the national flower: the lotus (err…I really failed to see that). Also, there is a helipad, which is rumored to be non-functional die to poor structural design. I went up to the 52 level helibar and enjoyed a nicely overpriced drink and the scenery of the city from very dirty Windows (the melted sand variety, not the operating system). It was a nice way to spent the afternoon, although my wallet did complained bitterly about being much lighter. 

I guess the last day of anything is actually a little anticlimactic. I really wish I can travel with some of these new found friends, but also know that my time in Vietnam is up (according to my travel visa). As I prepare to leave this beautiful but sometimes fustrating land, I can’t help but wonder if I will be back. Like many who left during the war and vowed to return, maybe I will try to return soon and travel across this country more extensively. Now that I know what I know, hopefully I will be more patient, and note prepared for weird situations. One thing is certain: I am sure to meet more friendly travelers along the way, and make lots of new cool friends. 

(Well, I think they are cool. They may think I am an idiot…)