Our son told us to look out for a surprise at the central flower display (totally set up for selfies on Instagram, as were a lot of places in Taipei and Singapore) on the third floor of Taipei 101. And what a surprise indeed to find Gore dropped among large famous cities of the world and World Heritage sites. The only NZ names – Auckland and … yes, I had to read it twice … Gore (and by the way, that is Alexandria as in Egyptian city beside, not the New Zealand town of Alexandra.)
The tower in Taipei that boasts 101 floors is known as Taipei 101. I was never going to go that far up into the near stratosphere; not if it wasn’t flying and I didn’t have the aisle seat, no; so while Robert went up, I remained firmly stationed on the ground floor among the hordes of people (family groups mainly) arriving through the doors on a Saturday morning.
I found a corner of a bench and zoned out as much as I could, humming Pōkarekare Ana to myself (only I could hear myself in the general hubbub) which served to calm me – I am far from comfortable in crowded areas and it’s only getting worse the older I get.
While communing with what should be New Zealand’s national anthem, I pondered on why Gore was there? Is there another more famous Gore in the world? Google could not tell me. But no matter how much pondering Googling I indulged in, I was still none the wiser.
The Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall impressed with its stately grandeur surrounded by peaceful gardens and sculpted trees.
The humidity was taking its toll on me so once again I opted to find a shady spot to sit and cool down while Robert climbed the steps.
The riverside offered respite from the clatter of the market. A river will do that. I like rivers.
Pretty lights down by the river.
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Singapore was mixed bag. Terrible accommodation. Which shocked us because isn’t Singapore’s reputation all about clean and neat? The hotel we booked was far from that. Luckily it was just for the one night.
Trains and their timetables, line transfers, exits, crushing, rushing crowds … ugh!
Indoor waterfalls were something of a theme for our day in Singapore – I was not complaining. Cool, calming and welcome.
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Arriving back on home soil is always a little surreal. Lack of crowds and a higher percentage of relaxed and smiling people …
Returning to cooler temperatures was also strange, switching back to autumn after the spring blossom in Japan.
The last time I travelled was about five years ago. This time I felt older. Timetables for trains, crowds, concrete corridors were just that bit more challenging. Lots of walking became more tiring. I started looking for the lifts whereas previously, stairs were fine.
The consideration of kind people are the good memories of this trip I will keep. The attention to detail in Japan. The care. The careful service. And spending time with family discovering and re-discovering things together.
Our son said we were adventurous. I guess I’ll take that, even though at times I felt more like a dead duck than anything akin to intrepid.
11th Letter In 