Kaohsiung - Home

Home, Sweet Home!! :) After "detouring" for a month, I finally got to my destination - Kaohsiung. My Dad summarised my 10 days at home as "總統也沒有妳這麼忙!" (Not even the president is as busy as you!). Indeed, I had a very stressful catch-up schedule and I almost had a breakdown during weekend when there were too many social commitments. Wanting to please everyone and utilising all my time with family and friends made me neglected myself and not have enough time for myself sometimes.

All the reunites, catch-ups and conversations can be funnily (and sadly) summarised as

1. Do you have a boyfriend? :x
2. When are you going to marry? :x :x
3. When are you going to have children? :x :x :x

It must be the age thing... :x :x :x :x

Summary

• Family and Friend catch-up. It's sad that I really didn't know how to talk to my grandpa after they had just asked about his health and the exciting politics and elections :( The other grandpa was really in a great mood when I went there. He was dropping a VERY subtle hint of me getting older by telling me a story :x
  
• News (a.k.a soap opera) is not as entertaining as 2 years ago?!
• The heart to heart conversation with Mum went deeper than I was prepared.
  
• Night market! She was so good at bargaining! "$450 的話，就包起來了"
  
• Chat at HSR station. Good on her for going to 泰北. Good on her for quiting her job and have a bit of time-out in her life. Best wishes, my frieads.
  
• Hair strigthen; It took less time than last time, but it was still as painful as last time
• He came to see me with his Mercedes convertible and a suit. We went for a chat and then he joined in. They are so different from everyone else I know. I understand their values and appreciate how honestly they share about their approaches to happiness. He has always been a true friend and looks after me by telling me all the crude reality no one else would have told me. I felt uneasy and heavy though, after our chat because I still want to believe the good in people. The relationships they are involved are way more complicated than I ever experienced. Talking to them tonight and thinking of being back to Taiwan again made me feel really paranoid.
  
• Fortunately, I have done all my shopping in London and Hong Kong. There aren't that many sales at the moment in Taiwan.
• The only day staying at home :)
  
• They drove and showed me around in Kaohsiung and gave me a good rehearsal for the next day
  
• More baby Talks :x
  
• I am surprised at that New Zealand is more conservative than Taiwan in some way.
• Divorce with a child seemed to be the theme for tonight
  
• She came to see me from Taipei!! I ( :o) gave her a river tour and department store tour. Thank you for coming all the way to see me.
  
• My travel expansive has being officially over my over optimistic budget of NZ$5000 due to my new toy - digital camera! Dad loves playing it though. Hopefully he will get himself one soon.
• My best shopping buddy came with me to do more shopping :)
• I had a great talk with my parents about religious, and life in general. They really love me and worry my personality tends to be hash on myself, which I know. "能牽手，也要學會放手" - That must be the biggest parents love!. "我不要當你的父母，我只想當你的朋友"
  
• She is married! :o It was a bit pity that I didn't feel I had a chance to spend some time with her. However, I am glad that they seem able to understand and hold each other well.
• Food: Lots :) (I don't think I can list them all. It would be too crude for some :p)

Hong Kong, Macau

In short, my time in HK and Macao can be summerised as SHOPPING (again?! :$) and EATING! Thanks to all my lovely hosts. She was more happy than I was when I bought anything. Now my HK experience has leveled up to 201 - SHOPPING (Shopping 101 consists of tourist attraction, while 201 is focus on shopping). I passed this 201 paper in 東涌 as I managed to buy a sport cloth while I was carrying my backpackers on the way to airport :o My luggages has on my back, which has doubled since I left NZ (from 8 kg to 16 kg) :o

Life is too short to live in the past and my busy shopping has made me put my sorrow behind me and moved on. Talking about shopping, I am really uneasy when I am in the shops in HK. Shop assistances were too "friendly"and "helpful". They are constantly sitting on my tail and trying to "help". :x

Hong Kong

• Breakfast: 茶餐廳- 港式奶茶、雞肉湯米粉、火腿奄列 (ham Omelette)
• Birthday gift exchange
  
• 尖沙咀、旺角 Shopping, eating (pork neck noodle, pork soft bone noodle, pork feet noodle, 炸魚皮、檸賓 (lemon Ribena)、楊枝甘露)
  
• WHAT? The tea I was drinking was used to clean my utensils by them ?! :#
  
• Dinner: 木瓜焗飯、芥蘭冰鎮、Fried Chicken wrapped with beacon and vege, duck tongue and jelly fish, Fried rice)
  

Macao

• "Wow! Look at the bridges! How impressive!" "Doh! I'm so corrupted by those transportation engineers!" :x
  
• 威尼斯人酒店 (Vantiant Hotel): It's very extravagant, but it completely misses the essential of being Venice.
  
• 氹仔: What is "士多啤梨"?? "Strawberry!" :x
  
• 大三巴
• It was so cold that I ended up shopping even in Macao :x
  
• 媽祖閣
  
• Food: 焗葡國雞、葡式炒蜆、焗馬介休、薑糖、木糠布甸、榴槤雪糕、肉乾、杏仁餅、鳳凰卷、豆花、葡式蛋撻、咖哩蟹、非洲烤雞、葡式章魚燴飯、Tio Pepe

My lovely host told me that she spent HK$800 on average each day when she went on shopping in Hong Kong. Under her intensive supervision, I only spend HK$878 during my two and a half days visit. I guess my shopping skill could still be improved. In order to pass the next level of HK 301, one of the requirement is using 紅白藍 (a bag that ppl used after extensively shopping)

Hong Kong

• Breakfast: 艇仔粥、鹹肉粽、叉燒腸粉、奶茶
  
• We were hoping to check in my lugguge at Kowloon Station so we can go shopping freely. However, I would have to not only take the expansive airport express (3 times more), but also I needed to come back to Kowloon to take the express train. So I decided to carry all my luggage and went to this outlet shopping mall as we planned. Yes, I managed to buy more, even with my 11kg backpack on my back. I think my shopping training has been a good success!
  
• Lunch: 豬扒包、蜜汁雞翅、lemon tea

Happy Birthday in London

It has been a great Birthday weekend with all my friends around Europe. Five years ago we came to a country called Slovakia where changed all our lives. Five years later, 7 of us from different countries all met up in London :) What more can I ask for for my birthday? Seeing them again has been a dream come true. We all have grown up, we all have had different experiences in life, but still we share that special moment/year in Slovakia, which makes us special to each other.

Summary

• Slept in in prepared for the jet lag :p
• Finnish Lottery
• Travelling on the trains (which was delayed) for 4 hours + flying from Finland to London for 3 hours + on the bus for two hours = getting to the final destination at 3 am London time or 5 am Finland time :o
• London was so alive even at 3 o'clock in the morning :o
• Nature history museum - dinosaur and human body (more about babies!! It seems to the theme in the last 7 days)
• Harrods, Hyde Park, Oxford Street (still no shopping! Good self-control!), Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Square and Convert Garden
• I got all mess up with the traffic condition.
• New Zealand - Left;
• Central Europe - Right;
• UK - Left;
• Finland - Right; and now
• back to UK - Right :# (correction: Left :x See all those direction changes really messed up my mind))
• Having British, French, Russian, Germans, Finnish, Hungarian, Finnish/Hungarian baby to sing Happy Birthday and sign my special customised birthday cards in their native languages
• Little party: Talk about past, present and future with all sort of necessary: Kofola, Horalky, Chocolate, Alcohol and more alcohol...
• Pub hopping: Gorden's Wine Bar (very wicked!) and another bar that we can actually sit down!
• Board Game - Cranium
• Walking around London - Green Park, Buckingham Palace, St. James Park, Big Ben, London Eye etc
• Meeting up with the person who inspired me to plan this trip
• I feel sad about the regret in our lives and wonder if the circumstances were any different, would it ever work out?
• Musical: Cabaret. I love it! It was a brilliant tragic plot. However it was powerfully disturbing due to the explicitly sexual depravity and brutal reality.
• After having perfect weather for the last few days, we couldn't possible escape from the famous yucky raining London weather any more.
• I never expected that leaving London would be this emotional even I know it's time to move on. However, it's nice to have him there to comfort me on the train as I know he understands.
• Food: Lebanese lunch, Indian dinner, little party, South African wine, Belgian waffle, French cooking (Raclette - DIY melt cheese with various meat), more wine, Toad in the hole, Pear Cider, Munchies McFlurry (I was more excited at the fact that I got rid of my coins (99p) than the actual ice cream itself :p)

Tampere, Imatra

I love Finland because it has been snowing every single day when I was here! I also learned that there are something like 20 different words to describe snow depends on its size, moisture and so on. Winter is really significant here as the daylight is really short and precious for everyone. I think I'll have to come back during summer as I am yet to be convinced that there are other colours apart from black, white and grey in this country. It has been lovely to be back to Finland again and visiting old friends and new babies (I didn't expect to do all those baby talks!) Oh! And all the Finnish street/name/nouns are still too long and hard to pronounce

Tampere

• I had to take Taxi from the airport to their place. It was scary as I have Taxi-phobia. Fortunately, it was okay.
• They both gave me big hugs. It felt very surreal for him that I am actually here, but I have got over that after travelling for 3 weeks.
• Whispering as the little one was sleeping. He has been the one whose life changes the most among all of us in the last 4 years - got married, settled down and had a kid, but as I looked into his eyes, I felt that nothing has changed between us or at least I still feel the same way as 4 years ago.
• She was smiling at me as I opened my eyes. Hello, little one!!! Surprisingly, she wasn't afraid of me and made me really proud :)
• Sightseeing: SNOW!! Doughnut cafe, tower which made bullets, lakes, forest and more forest, little Prague, Venice place, library etc.
• Baby/Parenting Talk; from giving birth, how to breast feeding, how does it feel, how often, how to have the gender you want for your babies, to what I think they should do to have some rest, which I think I was probably over the top as I should be the last person tell them what to do, but I am really concerned about their stress-level.
• Sauna - I did the Finnish Way this time, i.e. NAKED! :$
• Baby crying night! Maybe it's because that I have been stealing her food (yum!), cloth and toy :$ I really can understand how tired it could be as parents.
• "I'm sorry that I haven't been in touch..."
• When we hugged, I understand how she felt, and he will always be my BP in my heart.
• Food: Salad, cheese, ham, fresh made doughnut, coke ice cream (I am not recommending anyone to try it), salmon, baby food (yum), non-alcohol hot wine, chicken pie, Varrasleipa (Dark bread)

Imatra

• I don't know how they manage it because I was so sleepy after just ONE lack of sleeping night!
• She looked so Finnish!
• Checking out all the shops. Don't worry, I didn't buy anything! I am still trying to justify that dress I bought from London!
• Her new home is so nice and so her. I was starting to get claustrophobia in Tempare, so it was so nice to be spoiled by so much space!
• Last time we watched a Thai movie in Finnish (she translated the whole movie for me). In order to keep this tradition (that we watched unusual programme), we watched Pilates this time! And some normal 007 movie, snowman and Finnish Rolii.
• A nice catch up, again about grieving, life and being survivors
• I met my Finnish kid who I left behind last time. She is four now and she is adorable!!! She thinks I am "nicely" silly :$
• Snowman, snow fight, snow-wash, ice lantern, snow licking, snow angle and ice-skating. Yay! SNOW!
• The church of three crosses (by Alvar Aalto). I also got a present designed by him :)
• What? Finns don't do kisses on the cheeks? :o Those european customs are so different!
• A special tour in Valtion Hotel. Her friend is a professional tour guild, so we had a privilege private tour in this castle-like hotel. It was a very informative tour and I learned all sort of interesting stuff.
• Food: loganberry cake, salmon pizza, Portugal wine, Jaffa (chocolate lemon cookies) from my cute Finnish kid, Reindeer meat with potato mash and loganberry jam, Karjalanpiirakka (rice bread), ice cream (cranberry with caramel - this one is good), many different chocolate bars, garlic bread, blueberry pie
  

Banbury, London

The silly cheap flight was delayed so I didn't arrive Banbury until 8 pm (and London tube is scary! However, I will forgive London this time because it was snowing when I came in!). It was so great to see my bother again after a year! He seems to look after himself very well. And for the first time in my life, my brother cooked for me! :o Surely living by himself has made him a great cook!! I am so pleased to see him enjoying his work and has become more mature in many ways and we even have more to talk than we used to be!

We went to Warwick together. It's the first touristy activity I have done since I arrived Europe. I don't know why, but I was just as happy to walk around the town rather than paying 18 pounds to see the castle. Maybe I still haven't recovered from all the ABC - Another Bloody Castle, Another Bloody Church, and Another Bloody City). I find myself change a lot in terms of what travelling means to me. I actually think it's for the better because I feel more peaceful and much more relaxed when I am not in a hurry to do everything and anything!

I would love to stay with my brother for longer, but I had to move on as there was a little reunite with my colleagues in London. However, I didn't make it :( Thanks to the wonderful British Train (!). There is always something out of order or tube lines are down! But, it gave me the opportunity to spend more time with her :)

I would never expect to do shopping in London, but I did! The sale was unbelievable! (50-90% off). On top of that, trousers fit me so well here! I spent £131.5 on clothes in one day :o There is even a dress!!! :o What a shocker!! Now I just need to find a way to take them home!

Summary

• Flight got delayed
• Circle line was down
• 30 min in the queue to get my Oyster card
• Hello Brother! Brother's cooking
• For the first time in the last 2 weeks, I didn't have any potato or alcohol :o
• Warwick Castle - my first sightseeing after 2 weeks
• Banbury - It's so small and so many sales on at the moment that I just wanted to go shopping. If I can't, I just want someone to buy!
• Train to Reading was delayed, so I went to Oxford instead. The announcement on the station was just so confusing! Victoria Line was down! :x
• Didn't make it for the reunite with colleagues :(
• I am so happy for her that he seems a brilliant partner who relaxes her and makes her laugh :)
• SHOPPING!! :o Unbelievable! I was planning to help her to spend money, but I ended up buying hard out! I blame him because I bought an arty shirt for him, then I seemed not to be able to stop shopping after that :x Trousers here just fit me so well! I am really living in the wrong country! DRESS?!?!? I must be crazy, but I really couldn't help it, but buy it.
• Epiphany (Three Kings Day)
• Food: Brother's cooking (燴飯、粉蒸肉、番茄炒蛋。No potato, no alcohol!), mini doughnuts, Pies, Tia Maria in coke, French cooking (Salad, cog stew with potato and rice, Calfornia and French wines), Crumpet, Pastis (anise based alcohol drink), more French cooking (anchovy pastry, salad, Tagine (some sort of meat ball things) with couscous, kings cake)
  

Trencin, Bratislava, Vienna

We stopover at Trencin to pick up her stuff and then headed to Bratislava. Everyone (including. me) was still recovering from the New Year, so after some cabbage soup and wine, everyone was just sitting, chatting and relaxing.

Walking around in Bratislava alone was really refreshing. I wasn't in a hurry to be anywhere or see anything. I felt I was between a traveller and a local. I revisited every small alleyways, man at work, paparazzi man, man at bench, primate house etc. After few hours, I was feeling more like a local than a tourist and felt ready to show anyone Blava again like I used to. Tracing memory of all the friends who I had spent time with was joyful. I miss them.

I can't quite able to describe the feeling of wondering around in an ancient town full of history alone, but I know he would understand. I wish he was here. Strolling in Blava reminds me of my favour film - Before Sunset. I was taking the train to Vienna and flying out tomorrow. It all sounds like the movie. Maybe I'll even meet someone? :$.

After getting myself familiar to the town again, I decided to have ICE CREAM! You should see the girl's face when I asked for it! She was surprised at my request and she told me that they didn't have any corns :x
"Is in a cup okay?" She asked timidly. I nodded
"Take away or..." "Take away." I said without hesitation. It was snowing outside and I wanted to do it properly - eating ice cream in snow! Crazy? Well, that's me :$ So, in the end, I had two scoops of ice cream in a paper coffee cup with a lid. Oh! They didn't have spoon, so I had a coffee stirrer instead!

I was so tired after strolling for 4-5 hours, so I really just want to rest and didn't have the energy to be social. Funny that my carriage to Vienna was full of Americans.

Again, I was back to Vienna after 10 days. This time, I wasn't so jetlag, so we walked around the center. After dinner and strolling the center, I was again ready for THE ICE CREAM SHOP hunt and he was trying to find THE Chocolate Place. We then found out that it's the SAME place :p I was so full after that!!

Summary

• Trencin - more new year champaign and sweet
• Slovak culture chat: Education system, history, Slovak KIA etc
• a lay-back evening
• Ice cream in a coffee cup with a coffee stirrer as spoon
  
• Strolling in Blava for 5 hours. Revisiting man at work, paparazzi man, man at bench, primate house etc. Randomly walking into second hand shop, gallery, antique shops. It's still snowing :)
• It's cheaper to buy a RETURN ticket to Vienna than a ONE WAY ticket still :0
  
• Walking around Vienna and found THE ICE CREAM PLACE :)
• Food: Her dad's experimental meat cake, champaign, sweet, cabbage coup, wine, ice cream breakfast, potato pancake (yum!), hot chocolate (excellent!), pizza, wine, THE Ice Cream Place.
  

New Year in Oravska Lesna

Oravska Lensna is the coldest village and it was covered in white when we came in. The mother was so energetic and looked after everyone with food. We had some cabbage goulash and I started my drinking of the day with one and a quarter (which was more like a half) of Slivo.

The Silvester was fantastic! The gang all dressed up quite formally for the dinner at the hotel. I put up my best effort to be acceptable good looking, considering that I am travelling and my make-up skill is worse than my ironing skill (I don't know how to iron, but at least I have an iron at home :x). I didn't eat much but had quite a lot to drink. I guess my drinking training in the last 10 days has paid off. I had about 6 glasses of alcohol during the evening (I am not looking forwards to seeing any of the embarrassing picture!! :x). I also danced a lot to try to lose all the weight I put on! Then there was the count down, the firework and more dancing and food. I might not have the White Christmas I wanted, but I definitely had a white New Year. It was snowing when we were watching the firework. I was so exhausted that I fell into sleep on the chair that some girl had to take me home "early"- 3 am. The next morning, I was definitely not able to go to church, but still I got up at 9 am. To start the new year morning, there was again 1 and a quarter (this time it was more like three-quarter) of Slivo. :x

Summary

• Happy White Christmas New Year
  
• Food: Cabbage Goulash, 1 and a quarter (or more like a half) Slivo, New Year dinner, 6 glasses of alcohol (Cinzano (sweet spirit) x 2, white wine x 2 and champagne x 3), 1 and a quarter (or more like three quarter).