Ilha Formosa

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Green and blue.

That’s how I remembered Taiwan when I first visited the country in 2007. Blue skies and green mountains. Nicer people compared to those in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Singapore. Taipei felt like Makati in the 1980s and was teeming with scooters.

It still felt like it but it was much more than what I thought it was back then.

This time I got to know the country better without the trappings of being a princess pampered by TECO, which was trying to promote Taiwan to Filipino tourists that time via Philippine journalists writing about anything under the sun (I was and still am a business journo).

I came back to Ilha Formosa (“beautiful island” in Portugese) last week after nine years. Took me a year to plan this one with a friend who went there last year around the same month (if I remember it right, October).

So I spent my birthday half-asleep, half-awake since I was only able to find my hotel at 3 am that day after arriving at the Taoyuan International Airport at an ungodly hour of 12 am. I queued for an hour (only one salesperson manning the counter) to buy the special prepaid mobile phone SIM (Far East Tone Telecom) for tourists (I think it was free 4G access my entire 6-day stay there) that can be bought only at the airport. I think I spent TWD 300 (PHP 464) for that SIM with free 4G and TWD 50 (PHP 77) worth of airtime/SMS. My Taipei-based editor said it was surprisingly cheap.

So before I left Manila, I called up my hotel, Diary of Taipei – Main Station, to ask what mode of transportation I can use at 2 am-ish  to reach them. The receptionist said to take the bus 1819 (station is just outside the airport to my left) and it’ll drop me off at the Main Station. Ok, seemed simple enough.

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It was around TWD 125 (PHP 193) for a one-way, hour-long trip from the airport to Taipei Main Station. I was tempted to hire a taxi cab but the rate was TWD 400 (PHP 618.5) and I was not prepared to part with that kind of money when my brain was barely functioning because there may be hidden charges and end up paying TWD 1,000 (PHP 1,546). Plus I do not trust cabbies at 2 am.

So at 2 am I was on my way to Taipei and I tried not to fall asleep lest I miss my stop or something. Unfortunately, it seemed like the bus dropped me off on the other side of the Taipei Main Station (which was faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar) and I had to ask at least five people (one receptionist at the train station and four policemen who had trouble giving me directions in English at 3 am). So I was told to go to the ShinKong Mitsukoshi Department Store Taipei Main Station branch and my hotel is just at the back of that tall building.

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So I dragged my sorry butt and luggage and walked to reach the back of that building. Went left, then right, no sign of that Kaifong/Kaifeng Street where my hotel was supposed to be. I was lost. At freaking 3 am. I thank God that Taipei is a very safe place to get lost in. At freaking 3 am. A lone non-Mandarin speaking female foreigner stuck in the middle of downtown Taipei at freaking 3 am.

I was getting desperate and went inside a Family Mart and asked the guy at the counter if my hotel was somewhere near. I showed him my hotel voucher with the address and phone number in it. He couldn’t speak English that well so what he did was to call somebody who can using his own cellphone. He was so nice!

So I explained my situation to the guy on the other line. Then the guy at the counter told me to stay there at Family Mart. About 10 minutes later a heavily perspiring guy introduced himself and got my luggage and he told me to follow him…

Only then did I realize that the Family Mart guy called my hotel and told them to pick me up at the convenience store. How nice of him! He even called out to me that he hopes I enjoy my stay in Taiwan when we were leaving the store.

I told myself I really would enjoy this trip.

*to be continued*

 

ANGER

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Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. (Proverbs 4:23)

If there is one thing that this new administration has inspired, it is anger. And I am not immune to it. My anger has been a long-burning one that caused me to banish temporarily people from my vision (i.e. unfollow on Facebook).

I lost it. I’m losing it.

Dear Lord, save me from my anger.

 

Social media, I now declare, is an evil creature

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As a communicator and as person who lived towards the end of the repressive regime of Ferdinand Marcos, I applaud that the ordinary people are given the power to express themselves and not be subjected to the caprices and sometimes questionable filters used by some media gatekeepers to be able to have their voices heard.

However, there are limits to this freedom: your freedom ends when you are already stepping on another person’s own freedom.

Facebook and Twitter (but more of Facebook) have become toxic places for public discourse as these now sow hate among users. It has become an effective vehicle for misinformation of a population that has become a parody of some sort. The bullies are now silencing whoever is opposing them; sowing fear or ambivalence among those who have become wary or tired of offering contrary views.

And it doesn’t help matters that the owner of Facebook is playing god.

Mark Zuckerberg accused of abusing power after Facebook deletes ‘napalm girl’ post

Norway’s largest newspaper has published a front-page open letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, lambasting the company’s decision to censor a historic photograph of the Vietnam war and calling on Zuckerberg to recognize and live up to his role as “the world’s most powerful editor”.

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Read the rest here.

Silent All These Years

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So a good friend shared this on my Facebook wall.

 “So you found a girl
Who thinks really deep thoughts
What’s so amazing about really deep thoughts

Boy you best pray that I bleed real soon
How’s that thought for you…

Years go by
Will I still be waiting
For somebody else to understand
Years go by
If I’m stripped of my beauty
And the orange clouds
Raining in head
Years go by
Will I choke on my tears
Till finally there is nothing left
One more casualty
You know we’re too easy, easy, easy…”

Home Office

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This is where I stay for more than 8 hours a day, at least once a week.

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I need to buy a comfortable chair. My back is killing me.

 

British National Museum at the National Museum of Singapore Part III

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When I came back to linger at the British Museum‘s exhibit in the National Museum of Singapore, I hopped to the ancient Western Civilization from African artifacts. These jars are Mycenaean.

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Obviously Greek

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Cyprian or Turk, cannot remember.

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Not so ancient but still old. This is a medallion, Queen Elizabeth I of England.

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And this is a very intricate German clock

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Now to Asian Civilization

From India, I believe.

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Funny how the rest of Asia is sewed together by the epic of Ramayana. Some of the artifacts from Southeast Asia have references to it. Even Lanao in Mindanao has its Ramayana. Unfortunately, there was no guided tour when I came back to the Asian exhibit. This I think is from Southeast Asia.

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This one, I’m sure, is from Thailand (I carefully read the label). It’s a five-headed water creature coming out of the mouth of a dragon.

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I skipped the Philippines, which embarrassingly was just a 16th century rebulto of St. Joseph. I was expecting something more, like the Laguna Plate with the ancient script. But no, it was so bland.

Didn’t take photos of ancient China, Vietnam etc. because frankly I’ve seen much better artifacts. Especially since I’ve been to the National Palace Museum in Taiwan, which houses the treasures from the Imperial Palace. Yes, the one in Beijing. Yes, the treasures that Chiang Kai Chek brought to Taiwan when the mainland was being overrun by Japanese troops, and then later the Communist Party took over.

And now on to Melayu and Polynesia. My sister (having worked at the ADB and lived in Australia for a couple of years) told me that people from Melayu (in the Pacific Islands) are offended if they are called Polynesians. They are two different sets of race. The former is smaller in built, like the rest of Asians and the latter are bigger, like the Samoans and Maoris.

This one is a macabre shield from one of the Polynesian island chains. This is displayed in front of a warrior’s house and the protruding sharp thingies there on the sides are where they hang the skulls of those they killed.

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Other totem poles and house guards from Melayu-Polynesia. They look like they came from Ancient Aliens in History Channel.

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It’s not all grim and scary at the museum. There are cutesie stuff for the little kids and there are activity areas at the second and third floor of the Singapore National Museum.

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Dinosaur made of little toys

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And I want one of these

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If you have the time to spare, I recommend you visit the Treasures of the World exhibit. It’s for a limited time, I think.

Next time I’ll check out the National Gallery. It seems like my visits to Singapore would be more frequent than expected now that I have bigger responsibilities at work.