Saturday, March 01, 2008

Welcome to Taiwan!

So, I was in Taiwan for a good part of last week. In Kaohsiung to be exact, which isn't the most happening city to be in since it's more of a business port, but then again, who's complaining? I spent a grand total of S$100, and that's just for shopping alone. Everything else was FREE. Lalalala...Well, it wasn't all fun and games really. I was there for business and my business was to view (and test) a mega-yacht which was freaking 130ft long and 4 decks high.

The minute we arrived at Kaohsiung, we were whisked off for a press conference and given a tour around the shipyard where we saw how yachts are being constructed. When they've made sure that everyone was crystal-clear about the processes (*yawns*), we went to the Splendour Hotel, the tallest hotel in Kaohsiung: my home for the following two days. My room was located on the 66th floor of the building so you can imagine the breathtaking view from the window. After settling down, I met up with the rest of the folks for buffet dinner, hosted by the yacht company. The spread was a good mix of chinese and western dishes. And it was my first time tasting Taiwan beer as well, and let's just say it won't be my last. When dinner ended at 10pm, I headed back to my hotel room to rest and watch the Oscars.

The next day, we were taken to the harbour where the 130ft baby laid. After the official ceremony, we had to sit through another press conference before we finally set foot on the mega-yacht. It's called Miss Rose, named after the owner's mother-in-law. Hmmm, I wonder why. "Boy ah, you better name that yacht after me. Otherwise...." When everyone was on-board, the yacht made its maiden journey out of the harbour and into the seas. Well technically, we didn't go into the open seas because it was the end of winter and the waters were still choppy. So the yacht sailed along the (very wide) river and we got a tour of the city area along the way.

By the time we finished the work itinerary, it was almost 5pm and we headed back to the hotel to freshen up. At dinner time, the hosts brought us to the streets of Kaohsiung for authentic Taiwanese food. We went to this place called the Liu-Ho Night Market (which is something like Chinatown). There, I ate a popiah-like thing which contained duck, veggie, and some crispy stuff. I also ate beef kway teow, mee sua with oysters, crispy chicken, and bubble tea. The food's probably loaded with tons of msg but once you take a bite, you'll forget about all those health tips you'd hear from HPB. Once our stomachs were filled, we had to do some workout, naturally. The shops had quite a limited array of items, but somehow, we still managed to grab several good buys. To cut the long story short, we spent about 2-3 hours shopping that evening, shuffling between two night markets (which btw, opens till 4am!) And since it was our second and last night in the city, we made our way back to the hotel and enjoyed a couple of Taiwan beers. By the time I got back to my room, it was 3am and I made myself pack my luggage before sleeping.

The next morning, we had buffet breakfast at the hotel restaurant. And since we still had some time to kill, we drank more Taiwan beer! Just kidding. We took a separate uber-fast elevator from the ground floor to the top (77th story I think). Paid S$5 for that, btw. Unfortunately, it was quite hazy that morning and we couldn't really see much anyway.

So ya, that's about it: My first overseas work assignment, although seriously, I didn't feel like I was working at all. Here are some pictures: