Taiwan 1: Reunion Trip July 25 – 28, 2013

35th Anniversary Trip of HKUSW Class 1978

Our HKUSW class 1978 is a very special and closely-knitted group. Wecelebrated our first anniversary in 2003 and decided to have the 35^th anniversary in Taiwan in 2013.We had 21 participants in total including 15 classmates and six family members.

Background

I believe in karma. My life has been simple:I struggled when I was a teenager, had a university education and became a career civil servant till my retirement in 2010. During the care-free university days, I met my best friend, Lillian and an extraordinary group of friends from the Social Work Class of University of Hong Kong (HKUSW1978).

We hada 25^th anniversary dinner in Hong Kong and a 30^th anniversary trip in Shunde. This time, we went on a 4-day trip to Taiwan. Participants include 16 classmates (Bibi, Caciano, Ceci, Choi, Donna, Doris, Judia, Kai, May, Michelle, Regina, Sandra, Tsui, Sam, Sandra and I), 5 spouses (Elaine, Elsa, HY, Jonathan and Kwong) and Choi’s son Rex.

Sandra

Ceci & Jonathan

Bibi, Elaine, Tsui & HY (L-R)

Regina, Donna, Sam & Sarah

May, Kai, Judia, Elsa, Rex & Choy

After the end of the reunion trip, ten of us (Choi, Elsa and Rex, Tsui and Elaine, Judia, Kai, May, Regina, and I)stayed for four more nights.

Comfortable villa in the forest

July 25 Thursday, Hong Kong – Taipei – Xitou National Park

We assembled at the airport around 8am. Our flight was slightly delayed and by the time we found our coach, it was almost 3pm. The journey took over three hours and we had a light lunch on the way to Xitou National Park. The weather was hot and we had heavy shower on the way.

We arrived at the park around 7:30pm and had to rush to the restaurant to have our dinner. With the help of Joyce, a friend of Ceci who works for the University of Taipei, we booked two nights’ stay in the park. I shared a room with Sandra. There is only a big double bed. As we are not enormous, we managed well!

First group photo, Xitou

July 26 Friday: Xitou National Park

The park, a famous summer resort provides a refuge for Taiwanese to escape the summer heat. It receives over 1.5 million visitors a year and as many as 30-40,000 visitors visit the park on a single day during the weekends.We had a guide, Kee who is serving his military service as a ranger in the park. He studied in the Agricultural University and is knowledgeable and passionate about flora and fauna. We set off at 9:30am for a 2.5-km trail. Normally, it takes about 40 minutes to an hour. But as Kee tried to tell us everything about the plants, we stopped every ten steps. We did not finish till midday! Weather in the mountain is unpredictable. It started to rain and by the time we reached the restaurant, most of us were wet though we had our umbrella.

The rain had ruined the afternoon. Instead of taking another walk, we had a rest before seeing a film on Yue Mountain. We also visited the Park Museum. Nothing exciting!

2nd Group Photo, 2800-year-old giant tree

Canopy walk

Kee (back), our guide

Kee took us to the ‘Monster Village’,an entertainmentarea outside the park. It was raining and I spent my time in a few shops till it’s time to eat. When the weather is poor, there is not much one can do!

Our classmates love sharing and talking! After dinner, we had an informal and unstructured sharing session. Two couples (Doris and Kwong and Elsa and Choi) told us about their first encounter. Michelle and Caciano revealed their dream to make a film about the days when we were young. Donna teased Caciano for wearing a pair of shorts – a thing that he had never done before! Then Sandra asked me to share my secrets of looking younger since retirement. I do not know whether I really look younger. But I was delighted to share my happy travel experience in the past 34 months. I have seen and learnt a lot and met many nice people who have showered me with kindness. My friends were horrified to learn about the incident when I had my vein cut by falling glasses in Kenya and when I had hundreds of bug bites in Ethiopia. I also mentioned the dynamics and problems in the developing countries in Africa and suggested Ethiopia, Iran and Israel as the three ‘must-see’ countries.

Age must be catching up fast on us. We were tired and soon ready for bed. I remember Paulina and I had once talked through the night in her dormitory 40 years ago! The session ended before 11pm.

July 27 Saturday: Xitou- Taipei

Sandra and I got up early and went to the bamboo nursery. I noticed several types of bamboo that I have not seen before. After breakfast, we had a long group photo session- highlight of the reunion trip. We all wore a navy blue social work shirt which makes us look smart and young. Michelle led the group to do a ‘lion dance’ which was popular during our university days. Those were the days…….

Line dance led by Michelle

Kai, Choy & Sam (L-R, front row); Caciano & Tsui (L-R; back row)

Doris, Regina, Bibi, Donna & Sandra (L-R, front row); Sarah, May, Michelle, Ceci and Judia (L-R, back row)

The weather was fine. Kee took us to see a greenhouse for orchids before heading to the photogenic University Pool. The leafy path is beautiful but too crowded! After an early lunch at 11:30am, we left Xitou at 3pm and arrived in Taipei three hours later.

University Pool

Time to leave!

In the evening, we had dinner in a popular restaurant famed for its creative cuisine and arty presentation. The food is excellent and the arrangement of food on stone, wood and special utensils is remarkable.  We met Joyce and her husband Richard at the dinner. They were very kind and brought us lots of fresh fruits!

Pork & Vegetable

Seamen dessert

We spent a night atthe Taipei Teachers’ Hostel. The decoration and service of the hostel reminds me of Taiwan in the 1970s and the Mainland in the 1980s. A group went to the Shilin night market and I was not interested in the night market. I joined Sandra, Bibi and HY, Doris and Kwong for a short walk near the hostel.

July 28 Sunday: Taipei – Danshui – Taipei

The reunion trip ended today when a group of 12 returned to Hong Kong after lunch. We had a morning programme at the National Palace Museumwhich is said to have the world’s largest collection of Asian and Chinese art treasures. The visit turned out to be a nightmare and the second most horrible museum visit after the Hermitage in St Petersburg in July.

As it was Sunday, the museum was packed. I noted that by 10:30am, some 3,000 visitors had entered the museum. In all fairness, the museum management has done a good job making it less painful to buy a ticket, to get a guide for groups and to queue up for special exhibitions. In order to see the famous jade cabbage, a piece of jade pork, a 3000-year-old bell and pot from the Zhou Dynasty, we had to queue for about 20 minutes. After the bad experience in the Hermitage and National Palace Museum, I vow I would never visit world-famous museums during peak hours. I left without regret at 12 noon.

We planned to go to the Huashan art district for lunch. Unfortunately, our driver hit the coach when making a U-turn. I yelled when I saw the accident from my back seat.Fortunately, the window next to Elsa did not break and no one was hurt. It was clearly our driver’s fault. The police arrived and the two drivers seemed to find a solution after an hour-long discussion. So we lost an hour!

When we arrived at the art district, it was almost 2pm. The district was once a derelict area has now become trendy with outdoor art performance venues, studios, cinemas and many eateries. There were a number of performances going on. Joyce gave each of us a pack of pineapple cakes –a famous souvenir from Taiwan. The coach dropped ten of us at the First Hotel before taking the rest to the airport.