Change is the Only Constant

As cliche as it sounds, we have no choice but to truly embrace change. Changes occur daily. Even if I wish, there is no way in which I can stop changes from happening.

I am about to undergo changes in portfolio. Yes, again. Ever since I started work, I have never stayed in a single portfolio for longer than 2 years. Sometimes, the changes can occur after a few months.

I used to be very affected by staff attrition and turnover, especially colleagues that I have bonded well with. Now, it just becomes another facet of life. Colleagues come and go, but the jaded me is no longer as emotionally affected.

Changes in personality can sometimes be so subtle and gradual that they escape detection. Environment and personal experiences can shape personality. To say I have remained the same as 4 years ago will be an outright lie.

Since I cannot stop change, I just hope all the changes are for the better.

Out of Touch

Writing also requires practice. Ever since I stop blogging on a regular basis, I find my writing deteriorating rapidly. The rustiness of writing can never be quite compensated with any amount of reading which I try as hard as possible not to slacken.

Where in the past, the writing will come to me naturally. The thought sometimes can be so overpowering that I wish I can type as fast in order not to lose the thoughts. Now, I need to pause and mull over how to better express my ideas for them to be comprehensible.

The first to deteriorate is certainly the vocabulary. I often find myself stumped for the appropriate word to use, often ending up using the same few words and resulting in monotonous and dull writing and conversations.

Apologies, if you are already yawning at this point reading. Just bear with me while I sharpen my pen again. *Wink*

NUS

I have been a true blue NTU-ian, having spent my three years of tertiary education in the Nanyang grounds. NUS, to me, conjures up a vague memory of cramped blocks of building claustrophobically close to one another with little greenery. Indeed it is so.

My first stop was at the Business school where I was greeted by a long flight of stairs to reach the canteen. Despite walking around, we could not spot any lift. My goodness, were the talks to make Singapore more friendly to the elderly and less mobile people just talk? How could a world-class college which educated some of the elite students of Singapore be so lacking in basic infrastructure? Moreover, that was not the only long flight of stairs I have to climb for the day.

In case, you think this was going to turn up to be a whiny complaints of a bad day spent at NUS, you are completely wrong. In fact, the trip to NUS was the highlight of the day.

The various canteens had so much to offer at so cheap a price. I had the western food from the Business canteen. Wow, the quality was good. My friend had the Mediterranean food and it looked exotically delicious. Most of these were below $5. Amazing!

As it was V-day, the school grounds were occupied by many stalls set up by the students in celebration of the day. Of course, for those of you who had ever joined any club in poly or U would know that V-day would be one of the best days to canvass for the much needed funds for your club. The flowers and cuts gifts sold to fellow students who wished to impress their girlfriends or who wished to profess their loves to their crushes all meant potential dollars to us.  Many years on, I could see that this still remained one of the most lucrative occasions.

As it was still a school day, touring around the campus also provided an opportunity to look at the youngsters of today. My friend pointed out to me the differences between the students of the Arts, Business and Engineering schools especially in terms of dressing. I was surprised that there was indeed marked differences among the cohorts. Well, I was certain the Engineering students were late bloomers and sooner or later, they would catch up with their Arts or Business peers. I wonder the apparently different dressing sense was also replicated in NTU. Hmm.

Time flew especially happy times. We could not believe that we had spent close to 4 hours at the campus. If the opportunity arose in future, I would definitely come back to try more food and to people watch.

Lo Hei at Ah Yat Abalone

Yusheng

Sharks' fins




Fried Prawns

Fried fish fillet in corn sauce

Abalone - whole

Stir-fried chicken

Fried Noodles

Almond paste

Let pictures speak for themselves. I have decided to let you salivate over the sumptuous lunch that I have had with my DnD colleagues.

Fruit Tarts at Fruit Paradise

I have passed by it many times across its many outlets all over Singapore. I always thought it was slightly pricey. Not until I tried the fruit tarts was I delightfully surprised. To rationalise, it was about the the price of cakes in a nice cafe or confectionery and bigger in size. Hence, it should certainly be value for money. Alright, I was merely doing lame justification for my indulgence. However, it would certainly make the top position on my list of comfort food.

Another Surprise Another Year

I  never expect it again. Flowers on your birthday seem to happen only to the prettier girls. They only exist in Korean dramas. All girls like flowers and I am no exception. The flowers really cheered me up and made me feel loved and remembered. Ok, I know it sound abit bimbotic, but it is afterall my birthday, so indulge me a little. Smile.

Day 4 @ Taiwan - Nine Tribal Village

Nine Tribal Village was a theme park on the nine aboriginal tribes of Taiwan. The park was packed with many local primary school students. The park provided a good introduction on the various cultures, practices and history of the various tribes. It was definitely educational. The park was located on mid-mountains which also provided a scenic place for strolling and taking pretty pictures.

There was a park devoted a large area to cherry blossoms. There was also a large field of lavender. Althought the scale was much smaller than Hokkaido, it was still pretty impressive. As it was a smaller scale, there was no smell from the lavender. I was very attracted to the lavender set up in front of a mansion which was used as the mansion for My Princess's series. The beautiful mansion also attracted many of our shots. We nearly went crazy with taking pictures of the beautiful mansion and reliving the scenes of My Princess.

The cool weather also helped enhanced the strolling experience.

Day 3 @ Taiwan - Taichung's Feng Jia Night Market

Feng Jia Night Market was one of the largest night markets in Taichung. In terms of scale and variety, it is definitely smaller and more limited than Shilin in Taipei. However, I thought that it is also less crowded and the things are also cheaper than Taipei.

We were especially attracted by the variety of foods which certainly were more value-for-money and less touristy and commercialised than Shilin. As we were not very hungry from lunch, we decided to just buy back to hotel to eat more leisurely and spend more time on shopping.

Of the many local snacks of Taiwan, we thought we had yet to try their braised meat rice. Hence, we decided to go for an alternate version - black pepper pork cutlet rice. We thought at the price of SGD3 per set, it would be just a generous serving of black pepper pork cutlet. Never did we know that the set also included a choice of 3 other side dishes which included stir fried vegetables and tofu.

Compared to Shilin, the food here was certainly more valued for money.

Day 3 @ Taiwan - Taiwan High Speed Rail

Finally, we got a chance to take the Taiwan High Speed Rail to travel from Taipei to Taichung. With the high speed rail, a 3-hour journey by coach has been shortened to only a mere 45 min. It was supposed to be able to run up to 300km/h but somehow the speed was not felt when we were inside the train.

Day 3 @ Taiwan - Ximenting

Ximenting was the shopping district in Taipei where the youngsters normally gathered on weekends. This was THE place to see and be seen. This place boosted a cineplex, many famous eateries such as the Ah Zong Mee Sua and Lao Tian Lu marinated innards. During weekends, one might even be lucky to bump into some superstars who might be holding their autograph session here.

(Ah Zong Mee Sua)

(Ximenting is a popular shopping area among the youngsters)

Day 3 @ Taiwan - Grand Hotel Taipei

I have seen the facade of this hotel numerous times, be it from TV programs or my previous trip. It is almost like a dream come true to be able to admire its beautiful architecture up close and personal. No matter which angle I look at the Grand Hotel Taipei, I seemed not be able to get enough of it.

The inside was equally luxurious in rich red and gold. I was attracted to an elderly doorman with his starched bright red uniform. When I requested for a photograph with him, he jokingly commented that he could recommend other handsome younger doormen for me to take photos with. I politely declined his goodwill as I mentioned I would prefer to take my photo with him as he was handsome.

Even if I did not get a chance to stay in this hotel, I was already contented with this brief visit.

Day 3 @ Taiwan - Martyrs' Shrine in Taipei

The National Revolutionary Martyrs' Shrine in Taipei was dedicated to the people who died fighting for the Republic of China. Many visitors were attracted by the young soldiers who were standing guards at various checkpoints of the Shrine. Of course, how could we miss having our shots taken with these handsome hunks? A fellow caucasian tourist even volunteered to help us with a family portrait with the guard.

(Entrance of Martyrs' Shrine)

(Martyrs' Shrine)

(Changing guards)

Day 2 @ Taiwan - Shilin Night Market

Shilin Night Market was the most well-known night markets of Taipei. There were many famous food / snacks that could be found in Shilin, eg the big fried chicken cutlet, the fried oyster, smelly tofu and oyster mee sua.

Walking across the road from the food section, the shopping belt which stretched for miles fascinated all visitors with its variety and many stalls. As the skies darkened, the crowd only built up.

Day 2 @ Taiwan - The National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall

The National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall commemorated the former president of Taiwan - Chiang Kai-shek. The Hall stood at one end of the Liberty Square and was flanked by the Concert Halls of Taipei.

(The Liberty Square Pristine White Monument. Passing through the Monument led us to the National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall which was visible behind the Monument)

(The National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall which also housed the Museum devoted to Chiang Kai-shek)

(The statue of Chiang Kai-shek)

(The Facade of the Concert Halls)

Day 2 @ Taiwan - Chiufen Old Town

Chiufen referred to nine portions in Chinese. It used to be an old mining town which housed nine families. The family members used to buy groceries for one another. When one bought anything, they would ask for nine portions as they would buy on behalf of the other families. Soon, the town became known as the town of nine portions - Chiufen.

(Splendid view from Chiufen)

Chiufen now became more of a tourist attraction with the many well-known eateries. Some of the representative food included fishballs and yam balls. In addition, other well-known Taiwanese food could also be found - such as wild boar sausages, almond tea, barbecued squids and Japanese pancakes. The winding steps also housed many popular restaurants and themed cafes.

When we were eating at one of the fishball eateries, we met an elderly uncle who engaged us in chitchats when he found out that we were tourists from Singapore. He also shared his views on Singapore and the brief history of Taiwan. It seemed that Taiwanese were still as friendly as 5 years ago.

(The winding steps)

Day 2 @ Taiwan - Yehliu

Yehliu was one of the geological parks in Taiwan which boasted many rock formations.

We were deeply impressed by the vastness of the place with the many naturally formed rock formations.

The most well-knowned rock formation was the Queen's Head.

As it was near coastal areas, we could see water at some of the low-lying areas.

Day 1 @ Taiwan - Wu Fen Pu / Rao He Night Market

Wu Fen Pu
Wu Fen Pu was the wholesale garment market of Taiwan. During our last visit, we spent an entire afternoon exploring the streets of Wu Fen Pu fulfilling every shopaholic's dream of being surrounded by clothes and more clothes. During the last trip, we nearly got lost in the maze-like bazaar.

With the last experience, we were attempted to be more organised when we walked around. However, after half an hour, we were getting abit worried about whether we could find our way back to the entrance we came in by. We were also slightly confused whether we have already walked past some of the shops that we saw.

My mother and my sister made some purchases at Wu Fen Pu. I was the only one who left empty handed. Fortunately, this time round, the stall owners no longer insisted that we needed to buy in bulk.

Rao He Night Market

Rao He Night Market was a short distance from Wu Fen Pu. Rao He Market boasted many well-known eateries and snacks which were typical attractions of night markets in Taiwan. The most famous stall should be the pepper bun where long queues could be snaking in front of the stall. We queued for a good 15 minutes before we reached the end of the queue in the drizzling rain.

As it was raining, many stalls were either not opened or it would be difficult to eat in the rain.

In the end, we were lured by a little eatery tucked away in the back of the roadside stalls. It was known as the "Three Mothers Smelly Pot" which served a hot pot of tofu, cabbage and pork. Hot pot was the perfect food for a cold weather. As we were still feeling full, we decided to just order a pot to share among the 3 of us. We thought the pot was served without rice and we needed to order separately. Alas, when the waiter served 4 bowls or rice did we realise that each pot came with a bowl of rice. Fortunately, the waiter allowed us to cancel the order of one serving of rice. In addition, there was free flow of winter tea and water.

The pot was full of ingredients and definitely very good value of money. We wondered how the very slender Taiwanese could consume one pot per person.

It was only afterwards did we realise the true meaning of smelly pot when the hotpot has not bad smell at all. Smelly pot referred to smelly tofu pot. Hence, the tofu in the pot was in fact smelly tofu.

Rao He Night Market was interesting in terms of culinary offers. However, in terms of scale, it was certainly smaller than Shilin Night Market.

Day 1 @ Taiwan - Taipei 101

Taipei 101 is the landmark of Taipei. It used to be the tallest building in the world until it was surpassed by Burj Khalifa in Dubai this year. The lower floors of Taipei 101 consisted of high end boutiques while the basement's anchor tenants of the foodcourt and supermarket still remained even after 5 years.

This time, instead of dining at the foodcourt, we decided to just grab munchies to eat as we explored the surrounding area. We spotted a nice confectionery where the mouth-watering aroma from the freshly-baked bread overpowered all passerbys. Maybe we have found another 'Yamazaki' in Taipei? (Yamazaki is the bakery which sold very nicer bread near Hotel Shamrock in Kowloon, Hong Kong.) Indeed, the bread tasted as nice as they smelled. The bun below was crispy on the outside but juicy on the inside as the melted chocolate oozed into your mouth as you took a bite into the bun. Oh, delicious!

As we walked outside via the sheltered walkway to New York New York - a mall beside Taipei 101 and further up to the Cineplex nearby, we were feeling excited by the cool weather which we could never enjoy in Singapore. We were deeply envious of the citizens of temperate countries where they could enjoy such natural aircon a few months a year. It was a reprieve from the hot humid weather that we have left behind in Singapore.

Despite hearing so much about New York New York, we were disappointed that the departmental store was not a large scale store and the range of goods offered was noticeably smaller than most departmental stores in Singapore.

As it was a Saturday night, the Cineplex was thronged with youngsters queuing to buy tickets to movies. It seemed that one of the favourite leisure activities of Taiwanese on weekends might be to catch movies with their dates or friends, just like many Singaporeans.

Day 1 @ Taiwan - Taipei Taoyuan International Airport

Finally after all the apprehension surrounding the rather unpredictable weather of Taiwan and the sudden earthquake which struck the southern part of Taiwan, we were finally on the flight to the the beautiful island. Relative to a 6-hour flight 5 years ago, the flight time was significantly shortened this time to only slightly more than 4 hours.

It seemed so long yet CKS International Airport which was now known as Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport seemed as familiar. As we strolled from the airbridge to the inside of the airport, nostalgia welled inside us as we recalled some of the interesting and memorable incidents from our last visit to Taiwan. For instance, we recalled being 'baked' inside the departure hall previously as the waiting lounge faced the afternoon sun.

We were slightly disappointed to note that Taipei was covered in ominously looking grey clouds. The falling rain showed no sign of subsizing. We were hoping that the rain would turn to drizzle when we reached Taipei city in an hour's time.

It seemed our first day in Taiwan would be a wet one.

Earthquake in Taiwan

There is a major earthquake in the southern part of Taiwan - affecting Kaoshiung, one of the cities I will be visiting in the upcoming vacation. It certainly sends some jitters to my family, especially there are often aftershocks following a major earthquake.

Some of my colleagues are also teasing me about my seemingly eventful holidays. I experienced first hand a shock of a major earthquake when I was in Hokkaido in 2008. My Yunnan trip was cancelled in 2009. Now, my Taiwan trip was also fraught with some hiccups, from the inability to book the tour that we were originally interested in to now the earthquake.

I personally am more laissez faire about the earthquake as I know that Taiwan is very experienced in handling and minimising calamity associated with earthquakes as it is one of the countries in the Pacific Ring. Moreover, once the earthquake has hit, the chance of major quakes hitting it so soon is often reduced. In fact, one should worry more if an earthquake-prone countries has not experienced earthquake for sometimes as the impact of a pent-up tectonic stress can be more sinister and deadly.

I should prepare to pack my luggage to enjoy myself in Taiwan.