From Taiwan with Love

This is long overdue, I know. Been a while since I last blogged. Been busy, maybe. Just not in the mood. Between work, rugby, housework, kids, renovation and more work, its like, all you wanted to do is just get away. Get away from them all, and just relax your mind, free your sprits and just be in a foreign land! That’s what I looked forward to, every year end, and even if that means, it will be a crazy 8 days fully packed vacation, I thought, why not, anything and anywhere, but Here!

And this time, it’s special. Year 2012, was the year, we celebrated the 50th wedding anniversary of our beloved parents. After a warm family gathering earlier in the first half of the year, all of us (siblings) decided to send our parents on a trip together, and the destination they were interested in was Taiwan.

And so, we started looking at the right dates, lots of talks in between, this is almost like contesting for Congress! We must plan, we need a “formula”, and we need strategies! How tough could it be? With us, the Tan’s, anything as simple as ABC can be as hard as flying to the moon (not that I will want to, literally). But that’s just who we are, we are a bunch of thinkers and maybe, perfectionists. Myself and my biggest partner in crime, my beloved and one and only sister :), chose the dates, and to make it more fun and meaningful, decided to tag along.

Lets be honest, I would never even consider visiting Taiwan, I guess its because every day from Monday to Fridays, after work, and when I reached home, my parents will be in the living room, watching Taiwanese programmes, from those long, and exceptionally lengthy Taiwanese dramas (where episodes can go up to a couple of hundredth only to have the ending written in one episode! I was like, what’s that about?) to cooking and travel channels. It became a part of my daily routine, to hear about this, and that and about Taiwan. And, I must admit, places with natural catastrophes doesn’t interest me, either. But I thought, this time, its different. We are doing this, for a special cause. And what is more special than to be with our parents, to create new memories of their 50th wedding anniversary.

So, with an open mind, without knowing what to expect, I contacted Popular Express Travel, now everyone who knows me, just know that I love Popular Express Travel. Been a faithful fan, and to cut it short, I called up friendly and reliable Tony for reservations. All booked, and as we approached the dates, we were getting excited to just “get away”.

As soon as I got the itinerary, I studied it, more than I ever studied for my geography and history lessons in high school. Why? Ignorance could be bliss, but I didn’t want to get caught in a surprise. I need to know what to expect :) You know, when they say how much we can actually learn from text books, in my case, how much can Google actually tells me, in a way a lot, but even the “lot”, was too little as I discover it.

Then, I came to know Mandy. Who wouldn’t love adorable Mandy? She’s probably the friendliest tour leader I’ve ever known, she’s responsible, warm and is always in high spirits-that’s Mandy that we came to know, came to love and we just adore her. We thought what a wonderful start to a journey of discovery ahead of us.

When we arrived Taiwan, we were excited, but it didn’t feel like Seoul. We are so into this Korean Wave thingy, that comparison comes almost naturally.

And then, we met the Tour Guide, Siow Chang (George Chang), a petite, well dressed & fine fair looking Taiwanese, we were in for more surprises. I remember him telling us, in his soft spoken ways, three rules to a happy holiday,

1. Don’t Compare

2. Don’t Talk Unnecessarily

3. Don’t Sleep

I’m a good student indeed!

Throughout the 8 days journey, we traveled from the North to the South, and South to the North. We were on the plane, bus, bullet train, boat, and went up on a cable car. We were basically everywhere, painting the town fiery red. We get to see all possible faces of Taiwan, some of the most beautiful places, sights and sceneries, friendly and unusual faces, interesting and unique cuisines, and experienced some of the greatest hospitality. Most of the nights, we stayed like the royalty and dine like one. Maybe this is not unusual to many, but if you guys were in the same tour group, you will feel that this by far, is very unusual than many. And the difference is –Siow Chang!

Siow Chang is one of the nicest character that we’ve ever come across and not only he does his work professionally, he does it with that extra mile- big S=sincerity. He is tireless, motivated to the max, dedicated, humble, and he could pull lots of stunts one could never ever think of, that includes his tea making ability, his balloons tricks, I could just go on and on-We just love him. My parents love him so much; they wish they could just “pack” him home. My mum sees him just like her SON.

Now, as we got back to reality where everything is familiar again, we still think of Taiwan. Interestingly, we don’t think of the places, the culture, the food, or anything else, but Siow Chang. To love Taiwan is to love Siow Chang. To us, he represents the high spirits of the nation, the true face of Taiwan and we are indeed blessed to have our paths crossed!

So, Siow Chang, this may be long overdue, thank you for the great memories, for making us fall in love with this “foreign land”, and we look forward to seeing you again soon! To all of you, who wanted to experience Taiwan the way we did, please look for the best Travel Guide of Taiwan, George Chang/Siow Chang of Bao Tao Holiday Agency. You won’t regret it!

Taiwan packages may start as low as RM3,500 per pax through Popular Express Travel, but we all know, the experience traveling through the “right” people, not only matters but its all that matters. And the experience traveling with your loved ones, is nothing but priceless!

So that’s how we ended 2012, and as we begin the journey of 2013, here’s wishing all of you an advance Gong Xi Fa Chai! Hope the year of the Snake will bring all of us endless joy, best of health and lots more. As we embrace this New Year, let us pray for a better world, with lesser misfortunes, greater heights of humanity through unity and peace.