Taiwan Trails

What happens when a group of six school friends from Class of 1987 travel to Taiwan together?  If you're expecting mature elegance and sophistication, you'd be dead wrong!  Read on if you're open to a dose of laughter, silliness and map-cap adventures.

Day 1 in Ximending, the hippest, happening shopping district which was our landing base in Taipei. You can tell we were all very happy to be there!  

While the capital city held all the bright lights and excitement, Taiwan really began to shine for me when we ventured out to the countryside.  The mountain vistas, nature parks and waterfalls were exactly what I needed to let go of work stresses and start relaxing with my friends.  

I wasn't quite ready for the all the walking and trekking that was planned but very glad I went along with the itinerary.  The fresh air and exercise was exhilarating and once I got started, it was quite hard to stop.  Even for photos.

But here's one for the books.  Proof that I really did enjoy the hike to the waterfalls and back!

No trip to Taiwan would be complete without food.  And we certainly had plenty of it!  From night market street snacks; to Instagrammable staples in heart of tourist traps; to a surprising seafood feast in a quiet fishing village.  

We enjoyed the good stuff and laughed away the not-so-good.  There's a deep enduring joy that comes from sharing the highs and lows. Not just of food and travel, but life experiences too.  A true reflection of our friendship over the years.  

There's a quirky charm in many parts of Taiwan. Jimmy Park in Yilan City stands out in particular. Home of a famous illustrator, the colourful whimsical art installations provided us with a full morning of entertainment.  

Some of us are very good at sharing burdens...

...while others are less inclined. Sigh; once a diva, always a diva!

A big thank you to:

• Pat & Jean for planning the itinerary and all the heavy lifting with the logistics
• Pek Yee for being our human we-fie stick and photo editor throughout the trip
• Lu Meng, my long-suffering room mate who has to put up with my idiosyncracies
• Siok Chu, for your endearing nature. You're so funny without even trying:)
  
  

I am thankful to have grown up with all of you and even more grateful that we can age disgracefully together.  

I thank my God for every remembrance of you.
Philippians 1:3

Wet winter day in Hong Kong...

...makes for a great mood photo huh?

(Taken from a tram in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong island)

Random Bali snippets

As I wrap up my holiday in Bali, here are some random things I've noticed:-

• Paradise is not an overrated word when describing Bali
• Every other person is named Wayan. This is because there is a set order of names for Balinese families:- Wayan (first child), Made (second), Nyoman (third) and Ketut (fourth). What happens if there's a fifth kid? The cycle starts all over again!
  
• Having a daily massage is not a bad thing. In fact, it's a necessity
  
• Riding a motorbike along the paddy fields with a fresh breeze brushing your face is the best feeling in the world
• You can live life at whatever pace you choose - scheduled or unscheduled
• Kuta & Denpasar are best avoided unless you like dour aggressive street vendors
• Don't count on getting any service in the tourist areas if you're not "white". We had the worst experience in Ku De Ta, an upmarket club in Jimbaran Bay and Uluwatu, a premium linen shop in Ubud. We were totally ignored at both venues in favour of Caucasian tourists.
  

Cocktails with new friends at sunset

There must be something in the air and water in Candidasa that allows friendships to be kindled quickly. It's only my fourth day at the resort and I know the names of almost all the staff and visitors staying at the resort. It doesn't matter if you're sitting in the pool, bar or dining area, within minutes, you'll find yourselves joking and laughing with everyone there - it's very special.

We wandered out for Happy Hour this evening to enjoy the sunset (and a few cocktails) and ended up having a nice long chinwag with our new friends. They were:-

• Joanna & Li Ki from Singapore
• Carolyn & Larry Bentley from Florida, USA
• Bryan & Marie Harrison from South Australia
• Neil & Marlene Challis from Geelong, Australia
• Tony & Fiona Newstead from Brisbane, Australia
• Vicky Spencer from Canberra, Australia
• Rod & Sharon Wallis from Hobart, Australia
  

You would probably have guessed by now that looking for an Australian in Bali is like looking for a needle in a haystack...NOT! :-P

Snorkelling at sunrise

The alarm clock rang at 5:30am and by the time we walked out to the hotel jetty at 6am, the boatman was waiting beside his jukong. The jukong is a narrow deep-hulled boat with two wooden floaters attached to the sides, giving it the look of a floating spider. We soon set off for a morning of fishing and snorkelling.

It was a beautiful misty morning and the sea was calm as a pond. The sun rose from the horizon and painted the skies bright hues of orange and gold - it was a sight to behold. We sat quietly in the boat enjoying God's handiwork as I hummed a hymn or two. There were other fishing boats out and about and the boatmen started trading tips on where the fish were biting.

After a 30 minute boatride, we arrived at Blue Lagoon for our snorkelling session. And that's where my embarrasment began. Plunging into the cold water, I couldn't quite control my floating devices and ended up flip-flopping all over the place. Instead of being face down, I kept flipping on my back - much to the amusement of my companions. It was such a funny sight that I couldn't help laughing myself.

Eventually, Li Ki managed to get a hold of me and showed me how to snorkel. When I bravely let go of the boat, a new world opened up to me. The corals were all manner of shapes, sizes and colours while the colourful fish were all within arm's reach..amazing! Despite swallowing sea water because of the loose snorkelling gear, I enjoyed paddling around the lagoon. By the way, did you know that plankton stings?

When I surfaced and made my way back to the boat, that's when I noticed queasiness starting at the bottom of my stomach. It was all downhill from there. Throughout our next round of activities, which was fishing, I was struggling with sea-sickness and nausea. Needless to say, I ended up feeding the fish instead of catching them..eeuuuww!

By the end of the morning, Li Ki and Wayan still managed to catch 3 jacket fish and we're both looking forward to a dinner of fried fish with sambal and rice tonight.

Slice of Paradise

I spent this morning exploring the stepped paddy fields and royal gardens of Bali on a motorbike. Before you start conjuring up images of me in a leather jacket riding a Harley Davidson, let me set your mind at rest. I was riding pillion on a kapcai (Honda Cub) with a brave little Balinese man named Wayan. Humble transportation aside, let me assure you that the views were stunning. There was a slice of paradise along every turn as we made our way up the hilly slopes from Candidasa to Amlapura.

I wish we could have taken photos of the green paddy fields and majestic Mt Agung set against a bright blue sky with the azure sea in the distance. But there was just no stopping that determined kapcai. I could almost hear its little engine chanting "I think I can - I think I can - I think I can" as it chugged its way up to the Tirtagangga Gardens.

The water gardens have been part of the Karangasem royal estate for the last century. Set on a plateau surrounded by hills and paddy fields, it is a sight to behold. The entrance, as pictured above, is breathtakingly beautiful. Unlike other royal spaces, this gem of a garden has been open to the local Balinese people since its inception. This is also the site of the holy water springs that provides irrigation for the surrounding farmlands.

Joanna with Li Ki (in pink hat) and Wayan (my brave motorbike guide)

Li Ki and Ayu posing prettily at the water ponds of Tirtagangga

Li Ki and I were blessed to have the company of two wonderful friends, Ayu and Wayan, who proudly showed us round their hometown. Their gentle demeanours and big beautiful smiles reflect a friendship that is heart-warmingly genuine. They were generous with their knowledge and openly shared stories of their lives, loves and dreams. Wayan summed up his philosophy of life for me with these few words " In Bali, there's no stress. What we have, we enjoy as a gift from God".

Wise words which will accompany me over the next few months...

Bali..at last

After a busy month of packing, moving and sorting out finances, I have finally begun my holiday. Over the next few months, I will be taking a mid-career break and writing a series entitled "Glass Half Full". For the last 15 years, I've often defined myself by what I do professionally. Over the next few months, I hope to enrich that definition by discovering new facets of Joanna Yeoh. I'm really looking forward to the adventure and you're welcome to join me. We begin on the island of Bali...

The charming village of Candidasa is on the eastern coastline of Bali. It's far away from the bustling commercialisation of Kuta and one is greeted by these sea vistas every morning. You can literally walk from your chalet, pass the al fresco dining huts and step into a boat waiting to whisk you away for a day of fishing and snorkelling. Yesterday, I was baptised by sea water as the waves splashed against the retaining walls and sent a salty spray all over me as I was taking in my first sea views. I feel so blessed..

My friend Li Ki and I are staying at a 20-room property that is full of friendly staff. The moment we arrived, we were greeted with a loud "Hello...welcome HOME!". Actually they are more like friends rather than staff. I think I'm gonna like it here so stay tuned.

Simple Pleasures

I'm back in Singapore and loving it! This weekend, I even got to try something I've never done before - kite-flying. Yes, I've jumped out a plane, run off a cliff, climbed a mountain but Aunty Jo Jo has never flown a kite until today.

I often spend time with my long-time friend, Jaclyn and her family whenever I'm back in Singapore. Her boys, Justin and Jared, are my godchildren and they have a special place in my heart so I take every opportunity to spoil them with gifts. This time, I brought back a large eagle kite from Shanghai. So, off we went to East Coast Park (ECP) to try it out.

Aunty Jo Jo with Jaclyn, Jimmy, Justin and Jared (yes...we love our "J"s)

Boys being boys, they managed to fit the pieces of the bird together without any instructions. Thank goodness...I would have tied the string to the beak! Very soon, we were proudly showing off our unusual kite to all the Singaporeans dotting the shores of ECP.

Jared, Justin and Aunty Jo Jo showing off our kite

Up, up and away!

We spent a happy hour watching Archie (that's what we named our eagle) soaring in the bright blue sky, while enjoying the delicious sea breeze. We also traded stories and jokes between gulps of green tea and handfuls of Lay's potato chips, while the boys tussled over the latest collection of "cool" songs on my iPod. These are the simple pleasures that I'm so grateful for, especially since I'm on the road so often.

National Palace Museum

Last Wednesday, I visited the National Palace Museum in Taipei. It is THE must-see destination for any art lover. Asianart.com describes the historical treasures residing within the Gugong Bowuguan as:

"The works of art in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, are classified as national treasures; some have been passed down from dynasty to dynasty since the Northern Sung period (960-1127), the era when the foundation of the collection was amassed. The greater part of the Museum's vast collection entered the Palace during the reign of the Ch'ien-lung emperor (reigned 1736-95), and many of the objects, especially those in jade and bronze, are intimately connected with state rituals. Others have served as symbols of sovereign power such as the Emperor's jade seal, which in China is the equivalent of the crown of a European king.

Following the collapse of the Qing dynasty in 1911 and the eventual expulsion of the last emperor from the Forbidden City in 1924, the Palace Museum opened in Peking in 1925. With the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931 and the imminent danger of an assault on northern China, the government took measures to safeguard the treasures in the Palace Museum. A large group of the finest objects was carefully placed into wooden crates and shipped south, beginning a 30-year odyssey that took the art over thousands of miles by train, boat, truck, and even hand towed barge, usually under the most adverse wartime conditions. At war's end, the nearly 20,000 crates, which had been divided into several shipments to avoid detection, were reunited in Nanking for a brief period before Chiang Kai-shek moved a selection of them containing more than 600,000 pieces to Taiwan in 1949. It was another 16 years - during which time the collection was stored first in sugar warehouses and then in specially constructed tunnels, before the National Palace Museum, Taipei, opened in 1965 and the public was again able to see this legacy of Chinese civilization."

The centrepieces of the museum collection: Jadeite cabbage & Jasper stewed pork

I was in awe of the thousand-year old treasures and it dawned on me how advanced and sophisticated Chinese civilization really is. The evidence stretches from the early jade pendants of the Zhou Dynasty to the celadon porcelain of the Sung dynasty to the calligraphy of the Qing dynasty.

Which is why I find highly amusing that the centrepiece of the prized collection is a cabbage and a hunk of stewed pork! At the end of the day, everything still revolves around food. How very Chinese! Now, I know where my love of food really comes from - my genes :-)

Taiwan Treats

I've just spent a whole week in Taipei and discovered a very important fact - Taiwanese food is the best and Taiwanese people are the BEST-est! Every night, I was feted and feasted by my Taipei colleagues and we had such a good time. A BIG thank you to Reco and Jackie for their wonderful hospitality.

Fantastic feast at Hao Ji Restaurant in downtown Taipei

On Monday night, Reco introduced me to John, her husband-to-be who turned out to be a handsome 183cm funnyman. We went to Hao Ji Restaurant, which specialises in Taiwanese food. We had prawn noodles, steamed prawns, fried fish roe, 3-cup chicken, fish-roe omelette and vegetable & lamb soup. It was unbelievably good...my mouth is watering just blogging about it. But the company was even better than the food. We chatted about everything from their wedding preparations to our hometowns to office gossip. Reco and John are a lovely couple and they deserve every happiness in the future...CONGRATULATIONS!

Aunty Jo Jo with her Taiwanese friends - John, Reco, Jessica & Jackie

On the second night, the HR girls took me out for another traditional meal. This time, it was a ginger duck soup cooked over an old-fashioned charcoal stove. It was accompanied by loads of mee suah (noodles), cabbage, mushrooms, and some other indescribable ingredients :-) All of it delicious!

But the real treat showed up after dinner - a gorgeous little boy named Daniel - who is Jackie's son. All the adults were squealing with joy and vying for his attention. And as you can see from the photos - Aunty Jo Jo won. Thanks to her invincible "incey-wincey-spider" trick!

Aunty Jo Jo - the crade snatcher - strikes again!

Pride and Joy

On my travels, I've always envied ancient sites that have been accorded World Heritage status. Apart from the prestige and glamour, these sites also have access to conservation funds and skills of foreign experts. Yesterday on 7th July 2008, two historic cities in my beloved Malaysia were jointly inscribed as cultural World Heritage sites: Malacca and Penang.

From the UNESCO World Heritage website...

Monday, July 7, 2008

The World Heritage Committee meeting in Quebec City has added eight new cultural sites to UNESCO’s World Heritage List on the morning of the 7 of July. With these inscriptions, Papua New Guinea and San Marino enter the World Heritage List for the first time.

The new sites inscribed are:

Melaka and George Town, historic cities of the Straits of Malacca (Malaysia) have developed over 500 years of trading and cultural exchanges between East and West in the Straits of Malacca. The influences of Asia and Europe have endowed the towns with a specific multicultural heritage that is both tangible and intangible. With its government buildings, churches, squares and fortifications, Melaka demonstrates the early stages of this history originating in the 15th-century Malay sultanate and the Portuguese and Dutch periods beginning in the early 16th century. Featuring residential and commercial buildings, George Town represents the British era from the end of the 18th century. The two towns constitute a unique architectural and cultural townscape without parallel anywhere in East and Southeast Asia.

Shopping in Cambodia

Most of you know that I love shopping on my travels. However, I must admit that Cambodia offers a shopping experience that is not always typical nor comfortable. Have a read of my shopping list and you'll understand why...

• My first purchase were some guide books from a man with no hands. Top Vanna is a land-mine victim who was disabled in 1988 while training new recruits on jungle warfare & survival skills. He now earns a living by selling books to tourists outside the Pasr Cha (Old Market) in Siem Reap.
  
• Bracelets from this little girl (pictured here) outside the Ta Phrom temple. She followed me for about 200 meters and I finally succumbed to her sweet smile after she tripped and lost her slipper. Tourists will encounter hundreds of children hawking their wares and begging around the temples.
• One CD of Khmer traditional music by a band comprising victims of landmine victims
• Another CD of cello classical music by Dr Beat Richner, a Swiss paediatrician who has started four Kantha Bopha children hospitals, providing free treatment for the children of Cambodia
• An apsara carving from Artisans D'Angkor - a school specialising in teaching impoverished youngsters the skills of wood and stone carving. The items are pricier than the old market but profits go back into funding the school and bringing more teenagers into the program
• Purses made from re-cycled paper by the street kids of Siem Reap

I bargained very little on this trip.

Children of Tonle Sap

As beautiful and awe-inspiring as the Cambodian temples are, it's good to get away to admire some other natural wonders. Tonle Sap is the largest freshwater inland lake in Southeast Asia and is home to a large population of villagers who depend on fishing for a living. Life is hard and poverty is rife. Rithy, the driver, suggested that we purchase candy and some stationery for the large numbers of children who live on the lake. I'm glad we did. It was only a short 20-minute ride to the lake, but that was enough for me to catch a glimpse of the difficult living conditions for most people.

A little tub of joy greets visitors at Tonle Sap

The boat ride started on a narrow inlet of the lake and we saw house boats, supermarket boats, church boats, school boats - an entire community living on the river. One school even had a floating basketball court - how cool! All manner of boats came floating by selling vegetables, drinks and snacks - although the tourist boats sometimes threatened to outnumber the local vessels. A cheeky little boy came floating by in a green tub and started posing for photos - for a princely sum of $1. Isn't that a great photo?

Aunty Jo Jo visiting children at a floating school on Tonle Sap

We chanced upon a Cambodian boat school and were invited to board the vessel by the teachers. The children, who ranged from toddlers to teenagers, were very excited to welcome us. I started distributing the colour pencils and pencils that we had bought in Siem Riep. They were an absolute hit! I wish we had brought even more supplies and books. I am so grateful that the teachers allowed us to interrupt class to visit and take photos. It was definitely the highlight of my trip to Cambodia!

I must admit to a measure of guilt for slinking back to my 5-star boutique hotel when so many kids have so little. Hmmm....there must be an avenue to contribute more.