Merrily merrily merrily merrily.... life is but a dream: 我的 2005 臺灣冒險

It's been a year since I was in Taiwan.

Last year this time, I was still the blur and un-streetwise dodo bird who cried on the 1st night I was in KaoHsiung. (well, in fact, I cried every night cos i missed home so much) First time away from home, in a faraway land, for two whole weeks. Had to travel from KaoHsiung to Taichung to Taipei and then back to Taichung and KaoHsiung. Interview schedule was super packed. There were some really nasty interview respondents, though most of them were really helpful and cooperative, which made my job so much easier.

I love meeting people. Humans can be really interesting.

It's amazing (as I think back) how I managed to do all that travelling on my own. I booked my air tickets, planned my schedule to travel south to north and back. I took the 火車, buses, cabs and the Taipei Metro (which is like our mrt).
路是我自己走出的
方向是嘴問出來的
and with a map by my side, I didn't really get lost (well, most of the time).

I kinda enjoyed it actually. Made me discover a whole new side of myself. Made me have time to think about things happening around me.

I lurvvve the train/火車 rides, against the backdrop of the sunset and the farm lands that whizz past.

And the people, they're really nice and friendly. It's true when their tourism slogan says... "Taiwan-Touch your heart" The people are so warm and helpful, it makes you want to go back again and again. I made friends with a Taichung taxi driver uncle. He was basically my chauffer in Taichung for the days i was there. He was also the one who brought me to the REAL Taiyang Bing (太陽餅) store and lent me his discount card. And I met my friend's singaporean friend in Taipei, who brought me to meet with his Taipei friends, who brought both of us around-sight seeing, try out taipei local delicacies and visit nice places. I particularly liked the Miramar ferris wheel. It looked really beautiful at night.

And i think with such nice backdrops, you can't help but miss the ones you love back at home. And it's no wonder Singaporean 偶像劇 can never fight with Taiwan's 偶像劇.