Catching Up In Taipei

One of the highlights of my year-end trip to Taipei last year was the oppor-tunity to catch up with my friend Felix. The last time we met was at his wedding in Guam in April 2013. Since then, he has become a father, and it was a pleasure to spend some time with his family.

 

I was travelling with a group of friends and decided to stay on in Taipei for the first few days of the trip while the others headed straight to Tainan upon arrival in Taiwan. Other than having the chance to meet with Felix and family, it also provided me with some time to explore the city on my own, having not visited since I was eleven.

 

Felix and I became friends while he was studying and I working, in the ski resort of Leysin in Switzerland many years ago. We used to cook up a storm and enjoyed many meals together that reminded us of home. At times we would invite our Swedish friends Johan and Tom to join us too, and the former is one who I have kept in touch with as well. As always, we had a good time reminiscing about the past and sharing our plans for the future. Most importantly, such meetings cement ties and strengthen friendships that have been nurtured over the years.

 

 

With Felix, Ting and baby Elena, enjoying Ting's birthday lunch in a village in Daxi, Taiwan.

Felix and Ting

When my good friend Felix whatsapp-ed from Taipei last month asking me if I would be available on 26 April, my immediate reaction was 'You are getting married!'. I was right. Despite the short notice, I was determined to attend. I first met Felix when we were both students in Switzerland years ago, I was working a winter season in Leysin and Felix was attending a hotel school there. We would often cook up a storm at my staff living quarters, both of us craving for some Asian food, he Hong Kong cuisine and me a taste of Malaysian dishes. We've kept in touch over the years, and would make it a point to catch up over a meal or two whenever he came to KL or when I was in Hong Kong.

 

I was happy to be invited to the wedding and I thought either Hong Kong or Taipei is just a short flight away. A few more messages later and I was advised that the wedding would be in Guam. I am always game to head to a new destination, but work commitments and flight schedules were a challenge, no matter how enticing the exotic images of Guam were. Once I told Felix that I would do my best to be there, I was determined to keep my word. With no direct flights from KL, I relied on the services of a travel agent who I must say was extremely patient with me. I kept demanding for various route options, trying to strike a three-way balance between work commitments, getting there on time as well as cost. It took a whole two weeks before we agreed on a route that would take me from KL to Singapore, then on to Tokyo before finally arriving in Guam. A trip that would be 22 hours to get there and 26 hours to get back.

 

The verdict? Totally worthwhile. To be present at a good friend's wedding, a milestone in his life, is an experience that we will both share for the rest of our lives. Spending time with the newlyweds and their immediate family for a couple of days will strengthen the bonds that we have already nurtured, and I hope that our friendship will continue to hold strong in the years to come. Once again, congratulations Felix and Ting and may you enjoy everlasting happiness. It was an honour and a pleasure being invited.

 

 

The newlyweds emerging from Aqua Stella Chapel at Hilton Guam Resort & Spa, Guam.

Trip With Godparents

I try to go on an annual holiday with my godparents. Actually we missed last year but were in Ho Chi Minh City for Christmas in 2010. This time round, we headed to Seoul, right smack in winter no less. I normally don't go on winter holidays despite having spent four years in Adelaide, South Australia and almost two in Le Bouveret and Leysin, Switzerland. I very much prefer the warmth of summer. But this holiday was planned last year and coincided with my godparents' trip from Adelaide, so headed to Seoul we did, with bags filled to the brim with warm clothing.

Seoul was cold! Temperatures rarely above freezing did not prevent us from seeing the sights and shopping the streets. We even made it to the demilitarised zone for a half day look see. When faced with freezing weather, one takes the opportunity to indulge in food. Street food, family run restaurants, cafes, tea houses, intimate joints to more fanciful establishments, we made it a point to sample as much Korean cuisine as we could, some we enjoyed more, others less, but nevertheless all interesting experiences.

I had actually been to Seoul before in the warmer months and whilst I am no fan of the cold, it did give me an opportunity to experience the city from a different perspective. Barren trees, frozen ponds, lakes and rivers, remnants of snow, Koreans and visitors alike dressed in winter finery, all made for a different Seoul, but one that still warms the heart and urges a return visit in the future.

Photo of mum and my godparents at Hanok Village in Seoul, Korea.

Friends In Hong Kong

A holiday is made extra meaningful when opportunities to meet up with friends whom we haven't seen in a while arise. I had made plans to see Felix, Elsie, Anna and Arjuna prior to my trip to Hong Kong, but catching up with Phoebe was a pleasant surprise. Felix, friends since my working stint in Leysin; Elsie, friends from the time we were at Flinders; Anna, my business partner at That Special Occasion and her hubby Arjuna; Phoebe, friends from hotel school at Le Bouveret.

I'd have to thank Facebook for facilitating the catching up. Just a couple of messages and I had set up a dinner with Felix, supper with Elsie, lunch with Anna and Arjuna. And when I arrived in Hong Kong and posted that I was enjoying the cold weather, Phoebe's other half and my good friend Danny who is based in Dalian, quickly commented that she was back in Hong Kong and that I should call. As luck would have it, we managed to meet the day before she flew back to Dalian.

Good friends are few and far between and I always cherish the catch up sessions, no matter how much trouble we have to go through to meet, no matter how much advance notice we need to give one another, no matter how fleeting or lengthy the meeting. More so when we live so far apart. We've shared many wonderful memories during our time as students, matured together as we entered adulthood, have been part of milestones in each other's lives. Such bonds that have been nurtured over the years enable us to be lifelong friends, and seeing each other whilst on holiday is always an added bonus.

Here I am with Phoebe. I met up with her the couple hours I had between my cousin's wedding ceremony and banquet.

Good Friends

It is always nice to know that friends are thinking of you. Danny, Phoebe and I have been friends since the early 1990s, when we first met in Switzerland as students and room-mates at L'Institut Hotelier 'Cesar Ritz' in Le Bouveret, a tiny village of only 700 people on the edge of Lake Geneva. A picture paints a thousand words so they say, and this photo says it all really. They were fun times.

So, the 3 of us go a long way back. I was bestman at their wedding, and now with a kid in tow, they never fail to keep in touch. Over dinner and coffee on most occasions, well actually dinner and durian earlier this evening, we would talk about the latest happenings in our lives. Danny, Director of Sales & Marketing at Shangri-La Hotel, Kuala Lumpur keeps me updated on the happenings in the industry that I was once a part of whilst Phoebe, now a 'domestic goddess', shares tales of bringing up their son. They in turn take a keen interest in my work and my personal life, more so the latter I suspect!

What so great about this friendship of ours is that we are still as close as we were back then. We often reminisce about our road trips round Switzerland - Bern, Basel, Zurich, Thun, Interlaken, Leysin - which we hope to do again sometime in the future, when the finances permit. But in the meantime, we have tons of memories and photos to fall back on.

Photo of L'Institut Hotelier 'Cesar Ritz', courtesy of Cesar Ritz Colleges.