Hey Everyone!! Upon flying to Taiwan and not wanting to forget the amazing experience, I've decided to set up a blog! Let's start off with some context here.
Before I left Sydney, I had just finished my first semester of uni, and along with it, all of my finals exams. It had been quite a rough ride I must admit, with certain unfortunate events making the start of uni not such a smooth or happy one. But nonetheless, I have learned a lot about people, and about friendship. A few special mentions go out to Will, Sarah, Nat, Terry, and Yi. These special people have stood by me and supported me in dark times and I really appreciate it. Love you guys!
On Thursday night, 2 days before I would leave, I thought to myself - this is my chance to start anew, leave the past behind and have a good time. Thursday was the only day I had to spend with friends and I managed to see everyone mentioned above even if only for a little while. It was a really fun night, and I thank you all for being so patient and cool with it after I took a wrong turn and ended up on the Sydney Harbour Bridge xD. That was a drive I won't soon forget! Friday was family day, plus a tutor's party and Terry sleeping over chucked in the mix! Another unexpected event was a popped tire from the front wheel from the night before. . . but we got it fixed real quick and Terry and I learned how to fix a flat tire! Woot! When your tire goes bust ladies...just give me a call =D
Alrighty, now finally onto the fateful day that I leave. Nat gave me a call in the morning to say bye, and my whole family came along to send me off. It was very touching...and I walked alone into the terminal feeling very very loved =] So from that point on, for the first time ever, I was all by myself for the plane flight from Sydney to Taiwan! I flew Air China and I had requested a front seat (one without any chairs in front) so that I could stretch my legs out since I'm so damn tall. Anyways, to my relief and joy, each person had their own little in-flight computer entertainment system which was more than enough to keep me busy for the 9 hour flight! (I'll post up pics later).
The plane trip was very smooth and I arrived in Taipei international terminal 1 without a hitch. My favourite uncle came to pick me up and we were all smiles when I saw him for the first time since he left for Macau a year or so ago to pursue his career. Thanks to another 'uncle' who drove us to our hotel, I met up with my grandparents who were very happy to see me and then we headed off to the infamous taiwanese night markets! Here I had my first ever taiwanese dish, this wonderfully flavoured pork in some broth with rice and some little side dishes. That was only the first stop, and then we went to a small restaurant to eat Taiwan's most famous dish - the oyster omellete. Personally, it was overhyped for me xD but then again I don't really like oysters and my one had too much sauce x(. Next stop was a desert shop where I had a huge plate of just mango slices, shaved ice and a scoop of vanilla ice cream (took a pic of this) and it was only 4 AU dollars!! In fact, for 3 stops of food and for 5 people we spent about a total of not even 40 AU dollars! Its amazing how the food can be so good and yet so cheap.
In the car trip to the hotel, you can already feel the strong taiwanese culture which just emanates everywhere!! Its the scooters on the road, the dirty alleyways, the late night shops that are always open, it was really awesome. Anyways that was my first night in Taiwan, and there'll be more to come!
