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Date: Wed 31st Dec 2008 19:27 It's New Year's Eve - everyone's out celebrating the end of the previous year (or the start of a new one). Well, almost everyone. I'm not. I don't see the point. Every "day" that passes we, the planet and the universe age by another "day" (I'll come back to that), but we don't celebrate that - what difference does a year make? I can sort of understand the birthday thing - celebrating living another year, though I think that gets a little old (groan) as one ages.
I disagree with the whole nature of time anyway. Einstein (and Galileo before him, among others) describes the universe in 4 dimensions (3 space and 1 time) - Relativity it was called. It automatically gives time its own dimension - a universal variable that moves. The universal constant is "c" - the speed of electro-magnetic radiation moving through a vacuum. So, the less one moves in the 3 spacial dimensions, the faster one is moving in time and vica-versa.
It's a good model - the tensors of relativity have thus far stood the tests of time and many experiments have shown it is very, very accurate. But, I'm always troubled with the measure of time. How do we measure time? A day is one rotation of the Earth on it's polar axis. One year is one circle of the Sun by the Earth. The rest are subdivisions created for simplicity. Why, in this decimal, metric age are we still running a 24-hour clock, each hour based on 60 minutes of 60 seconds? At least a second is made up of 1000 milliseconds.
If the universe were to cool to absolute zero (zero Kelvin), would we experience time at all? I read an article once that described relativity without time - but where time was a function of motion. I like that idea. Time supposedly started at the big bang, the same time as the first movements of particles.
Calculations using General Relativity and ever more accurate astronomical measurements have yielded an extra second is needed this year - so the 31st will be one second longer this year. So we can celebrate that the Earth is still circling the Sun. Gravity is still working! Einstein is still right! For now...4 Comment(s) -
Date: Mon 29th Dec 2008 13:12 Well, it's been a while. Seeing as how I failed to keep this as a diary, I'll change the philosophy of this blog to one that gets updated whenever I have thoughts that I'd like to write down or share.
This entry is inspired by a conversation I had with Steven a few weeks ago about politics/economics and such. He said "Anarchy doesn't work". Something about that statement didn't sit right, and now that I've had time to think about it (the cogs turn slowly), I'll right it down.
I want to qualify the statement a bit more, first - change it to "Anarchy doesn't work for everyone". Anarchy doesn't work in Capitalist government. But, if everyone of its members were chaotically working towards a common goal, it could work. I suppose that's why "In theory, Communism works".
However, I did say that it doesn't work for everyone. I also think that structure and conformance will suit different people in different contexts - some people suit leadership, others suit supporting roles. Anarchy comes into play in the creation and destruction of these social structures - they should be free to appear and disappear. Part of a radical idea I'll call "freedom of choice". Some people don't suit social structures at all - and they are not unproductive or unruly.
To me, one of the biggest problems with social structures is greed. Capitalism works to people's greed, which is why it's been so successful. If we as a race could strip out greed, social structure would be needless - money would become useless. A lot of stress would be removed. A little idealistic - but hey.4 Comment(s) -
Date: Sun 2nd Mar 2008 20:20 This entry is part 2 of 2. For part 1, see the entry below this one.
Day 15 - Sat 16/2
Our flights pass without incident. All 4 bags are waiting for us at Adelaide, and we arrive on time. Katharine (David's daughter) and Nick (her husband) are waiting for us at the gate - smiling and waving frantically as we walk up the slope into the arrivals lounge.
As it's already late afternoon Adelaide time, we just unpack a little, have dinner and then sleep - as we didn't get very much on the plane overnight.
Already, the difference in weather is astonishing - blue sky from horizon to horizon, and almost no breeze at all. Very uncomfortable. Adelaide is surrounded by desert, where it isn't surrounded by sea. We are informed by Nick that Adelaide has had 0.2mm of rain so far this month.
Day 16 - Sun 17/2
David rose early to attend a cricket match between Australia and some other team that wasn't England. Katherine and I rose late, and we, with Nick, Katharine and mum, went to Glenelg beach for the afternoon - 38 degree heat! We arrive at the beach where there are lots of other people working on their tans - and there's no wind coming off the sea. The sea temperature, according to the surf 'n' rescue notice board, is 21 degrees. We stayed for a few hours, Katherine and my mum taking turns sunbathing, with all of us taking regular trips into the sea to stay cool.
Care must be taken in this un-protected sun light, as it only takes 11 minutes to burn at this time of year - it is the height of summer here.
Day 17 - Mon 18/2
A culture trip today - we drive into Adelaide's town to visit the art gallery and History museum.
The art gallery is mainly works from post-colonisation (late 1700s) onwards. Katharine pointed out that the original works still look very European, with bright green trees, but this does not reflect South Australia's landscape accurately at all. SA is a drought-ridden state, and so most of the trees are mainly brown in colour - dust-ridden, not dead. Later, more recent works of landscapes better represent the colours and condition of the vegetation. Artists began to capture the magical, raw side to SA's scapes, and created some beautiful paintings around them.
We wandered the history museum, looking over the aboriginal exhibits, showcasing the evolution of the hunter-gatherer cultere, and the development of the tools they use, such as spears and spear-throwers, medicines derived from plants and herbs, and the duties of the wives and children in keeping the villages and communities going. Trade routes were established between neighbouring groups, and occasional conflicts and battles raged between them, usually over territory or resources.
Day 18 - Tue 19/2
My sleep is interrupted by the bleeping of the alarm on my watch. Today, we are taking an early flight to another city, where we will spend the next 2 nights. We are staying in a hotel on Oxford Street, near Liverpool Street. Just down the road are Hyde Park and Regents Park. The city: Sydney.
Sydney is much more like London: crowded, cars and people everywhere. Most streets are lined with either offices, retail outlets or diners/restaurants.
We wander into Hyde Park, where we sit and write out previously purchased postcards. The park has many aerial visitors, the most dominant of which is a species of Ibis, which skulks around the floor like it owns the place. None of the birds seem afraid of the human presence. I suppose after several decades, they've grown used to us.
Several species of palm tree, as well as other vegetation, are scattered around the park providing protection for the Sun's harmful rays. The park is beautiful, oozing peace and tranquility. As we near the Southern entrance to the park, a large statue comes into view. The statue is that of Captain James Cook, who claimed Australia in the name of the Empire.
As we continue South, the unmistakable sails of the Opera House come in to view - clearly visible over the canopy of park's trees. We decide on a tour of the Opera House, where we learn fragments about its architecture and history. I'm interested enough to purchase a book on the details of the design, influences, and procedures of the Opera House's construction.
Earlier in the day, we passed a Jet-boat cruise around the harbour, which is too much for my mum to ignore, so she and Katherine embark on a 30 minute dash. They return later, drenched but with smiles on their faces. The captain, wearing a smug smile, comes over to us and asks the ladies if they enjoyed their ride - they answer positively.
We dabble in the idea of going to see something at the Opera House, but after getting up at 4am for the flight, we decide to call it a night instead.
Day 19 - Wed 20/2
The plan for this morning is to walk through the botanical gardens. A huge variety of plants, some endangered, others just for show. One of the maintainers start up a lawnmower to trim the grass. The noise sends a swarm of Fruit bats into the sky - hundreds of them all screeching angrily at the noises from below - disturbing their rest. The sound was deafening, both from the mower and the bats.
As we move further through the gardens, the bats are replaced by a species of Cockatoo - turning the trees white with their numbers. A slow moving eagle on the far side of the gardens sends the cockatoos into a frenzy, and they now take to the sky, screeching at each other. The level of activity is fascinating, and apparently very rare. After around 15 minutes, the cockatoos settle in a single tree, still wary - the leaves can no longer be made out between the birds.
The afternoon sees us heading for the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Mum and David are getting tired from all the walking we've done in the morning, and so don't want to take the trek to the bridge - but I find myself unable to miss the opportunity to see one of the world's largest steel spanning bridges up close. The structure is monstrous, with some of the rivet heads almost as wide as I am tall. The view from the bridge is also spectacular - a view across the harbour to the bays and, to the right of my position, the Opera House, in all its glory.
We also take a cruise around the harbour, lasting 2 hours, with brief commentary from the ship's captain. The views are fabulous, but I am more interested in the water itself - though I cannot explain why. I spend most of the 2 hours just gazing at the waves around the boat. So peaceful.
I spend the evening with Scott, my old boss from Kodime (my year's placement), who lives in Sydney. I had a crocodile pizza - an interesting texture, much like the tendons and muscle tissue in pork joints. No, it didn't taste of chicken.
Day 20 - Thu 21/2
To satisfy my mum's and sister's desire for shopping, we head for the Harbourside shopping centre. I spend the following 3 hours holding, or otherwise guarding, handbags and rucksacs while Katherine, David and my mum do shopping - I have no interest in shopping, especially for clothes, which this is primarily.
The afternoon is our return flight to Adelaide, so we way goodbye to Sydney and return to Katharine's place.
Day 21 - Fri 22/2
Nick has kindly offered to take me to the Clipsal 500, which is a 4-day event where Adelaide's city streets are converted into a race track, and various different classes of vehicle race around the street-circuit.
As this was day 2, it wasn't either of the main races, as they happen on days 3 and 4 - but we did see several qualifying sessions, and practices.
The GT exhibition - Porsche 911 GTs, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, the Koenigsegg and the Bugatti Veyron grace the track - but none of these cars pushes very hard, as this isn't a race.
Next, the old classics race - this is an actual race. Ford Falcons, and Holden Commadores from the late 60s/early 70s. Some great cars in this race - the loudest of which is the old Escort. I should note though, the Falcons and Commadores have 5 litre engines, and the Escort has less than 2, and still able to keep up (relatively).
The main events of the weekend are the V8 supercars races. It may not be as intense as the main race, but the qualifying session is still very lively, with every car trying to put a fast lap-time down. For this session, Nick and I are sat 3/4 of the way down the main straight. They are at full speed as they reach us, and brake just right of our position - at which point, lots of unused, unburnt fuel escapes into the exhaust system, sometimes not exploding until out of the pipe in a deafening bang. Chavs can try to make their cars sound like this - and many do - but nothing comes close the real thing, these engines are literally roaring.
I don't know how exciting a trip around the markets of Adelaide would've been - but I'm glad I chose to accompany Nick to the race.
Day 22 - Sat 23/2
We take a walk into the hills of Adelaide. Katharine wins the competition by being the first to spot a Koala in a tree, sleeping soundly. Unsurprising given the temperature today. As we wander further up the hills, the views across the gorge get more and more spectacular - iron oxide covering the rocks on the cliff edges making them look aflame. From our elevated position, it is clear that there is a channel of more moist soil down the centre of the gorge, as the trees are noticably more green.
During the course of the walk, we spot 8 different Koalas, several different species of parrot, a couple of tiny lizards and several species of ant. The colours of the parrots are astounding - they look painted. Bright greens, reds and yellows - so vibrant.
In the evening, we drive up to the summit of Mount Lofty - the highest point in this range of hills - for dinner. I have something to do with chicken and mash potato, but David tries Kangaroo. I have a taste off his plate, and the meat is very good - cooked like a steak to medium-rare, and very tender. I regretted my choice almost as soon as I tasted that. Never mind, I know for next time.
Day 23 - Sun 24/2
The agenda today is a trip to Cleland Wildlife park - part of Cleland National Park - a conservation park for both animals and vegetation. We wander around the park carrying food for the Kangaroos, Wallabies and Emus, who all eat off our hands quite happily. We also have our photograph taken holding a Koala bear - very cute.
Day 24 - Mon 25/2
Katharine takes us to the Barossa Dam, so we can witness the physical marvel that is the Whispering Wall - the damn is 140m across, and it carries the voices from one end to the other, without attenuation. Made possible by the shape of the curve, causing the reflections of the voice to constructively interfere with the previous reflection, allowing the whisper to travel round the damn wall.
From here we drive and visit several wineries, starting with Jacob's Creek (which has dried up because of the third year of drought) and moving on to other, less commercialised plantations. Not particularly interesting to me, as I don't drink wine, but I do enjoy reading about the creation process, and the evolution of the technicalities and tools around fermentation etc.
Day 25 - Tue 26/2
Another early start, as we had to be at Glenelg dock by 0830. Our chosen activity: swimming with wild dolphins in the bay. 8am on the sea is very cold - especially when wearing nothing but a wetsuit. Upon entering the water, we are to hold onto the rope, connected to the ship. This rope is going to give me blisters! I duck my head into the sea (I'm wearing a snorkeling mask as well by this point) - it looks very murky, I'm not sure the water is particularly clear. My fears are laid to rest when I see a dolphin swim under my sister - several metres below the surface.
Several hours, and a few dolphin sightings later we return to shore - I decide that next time I'll stay on the boat and watch from the surface. My skin is very cold, and shows no signs of warming.
My sister and mum return to the beach to sunbathe - I have no interest in that, so I go with Katharine and David to the shark museum, which has been set up by someone who was bitten by a Great White in the 60s. Full of interesting trinkets such as Great White teeth, and facts about the different sharks - a Great White can replace up to 26,000 teeth in a lifetime! Apparently, only 10 people a year die from Shark attack - over 100 get attacked, but only 10 die. I expected the figure to be much higher than that.
Day 26 - Wed 27/2
We take a drive South today, to McLaren Vale, where we have "tea and cakes" in an old railway carriage. I had a caramel-flavoured thick-shake - devine. We contiue South to Port Eliot, where a restaurant called the Flying Fish does glorious fish & chips, in a bay. The sight as we enter the car park is very surreal - the bay's water is a glowing blue, contrasting the white sand of the beach, and the waves are breaking angrily onto the shore. A perfect place for surfers, though, there aren't many about as we arrive. The fish & chips was delicious.
We continue round to Victor Harbour, where we are spending the evening on a walk around Granite Island (an island made of granite). The walk doesn't start until after dusk, as we are waiting for the penguins to return from their days feeding, to Granite Island where they nest. We see several penguins and possums, but not as many as Katharine was expecting - wrong time of year.
It is after midnight when we arrive home.
Day 27 - Thu 28/2
A trip to Port Adelaide, and the Maritime museum. I'm a full hour behind the rest of the party as I look around the exhibits in this exhibition - naval history has always fasinated me, especially when tall ships are involved, rather than the more modern iron-clad monstrosities. The most intersting articles refer to an event called "The Encounter", which was a meeting between two ships, captained by Boudin and Flinders. Baudin of France, and Flinders of Britain. They exchange information, and then continue on their respective voyages, charting the Australian coastlines. It's another example that enemies can treat each other with respect - given that this encounter happened during the time of Nelson vs Napoleon.
As this is our final night in Adelaide, we eat out at a Thai called Cafe Michael 2 - not sure if there is a Cafe Michaek 1. Red Beef curry with Rice - beautiful!
On to ColdRock - an ice cream shop with about 50 different flavours of ice creams, and even more "mix-ins", to combine the perfect ice-cream. White chocolate with Toblerone pieces mashed in for me - perfect.
Day 28 - Fri 29/2
We start the long trip home - 30 minutes car ride to the airport. 55 minute flight to MEL. 8 hour flight to SIN. 13 hour, 30 minute flight to LHR. We were over an hour late departing SIN. 22 hours flying, more than 24 hours inside an aircraft - a very long day.
Some general conclusions about Australia:
Everyone seems more laid back here - no one is rushing to do anything for anyone, which suits me very nicely.
It is far too hot here during summer, I'm coming back in spring or autumn.
The road system of Adelaide is based on the US block system - with most major roads 2 or three lanes through and around the city. Most drivers obey the 60km/h limit around the city - but most ignore the 110km/h limit on the freeways - so similar to London. Here, no one lets you pull out of a minor road, you just have to push and hope that the person you push in front of is paying attention.
Most road accidents only involve the one car - which is odd considering there are very few corners on these roads.
Most people drive very large, lazy V8 engined vehicles such as the Holden Commadore or Ford Falcon.
Money: Petrol is a little more than half England's price. But everything else is fairly similar - about 10% cheaper across the board.1 Comment(s) -
Date: Sun 2nd Mar 2008 10:30 Another long gap between entries...but this time I have an excuse. I've been away on holiday for 4 weeks - 2 weeks in Taiwan and 2 weeks in Australia. This entry is part 1 of 2. These entries may be awkward to read, as I'm going to experiment with a more descriptive writing style, mixed in with my usual analytical, objective style. Who knows, I may get bored with that during this text anyway.
Day 1 - Sat 2/2
A screaming pierces an otherwise uninterrupted slumber, the sound amplified by the silence of the early morning. As my ears adjust, the screaming transforms into the familiar ring of the alarm on my mobile. It is 0530, I've had about 3 hours sleep.
The following 2 hours are swallowed by last-minute panicking from the other three members embarking on this trip - my mum (Caroline), step dad (David) and sister (Katherine) - my suitcase has long been packed, ready.
The ringing of the doorbell signals the arrival of the taxi. We load up, wave goodbye to the house, and depart. The journey to Heathrow Airport is uneventful and quiet, each of us lost in anticipatory thoughts of the flights and activities of the next 4 weeks.
Check-in, security and passport control all pass without incident, and we are left with about an hour to wander the terminal shops. Magazines and confectionery are purchased - I bought some water.
Boarding commences. I explain to David the segmented boarding - so we don't board until they call our row number. He returns to his seat. Our row is called, and we board our QANTAS flight to HKG. Katherine and I are by a window, David and mum are in the middle somewhere.
Our departure time comes and goes. Another 10 minutes, we still haven't pushed. 25 minutes later, the captain speaks over the PA system, informing us the delay was caused by an imbalance in the weight distribution of the hold - that corrected, we will refuel and then be on our way. Almost 3 hours after our scheduled departure time, we push back from the gate, and head for the Eastern horizon.
Day 2 - Sun 3/2
We land 2 and a half hours late at Hong Kong - we have missed our Taipei connection. A young Chinese gentleman is waiting for us, our names listed on a white board. He guides us to the lounge, where he organises a later flight for us - essentially we are to return at a certain time, and wait for 4 spare seats. The wait is a little over an hour - we board a Cathay Pacific flight to TPE. This time we are 2-by-2, in the middle somewhere - impressive, considering they were spare seats.
We arrive finally at TPE, about 6 hours later than scheduled. We go to baggage reclaim, where 3 of the 4 suitcases are waiting for us. Katherine's is missing. It didn't get transferred to our Cathay flight, so it's still in HKG somewhere. Mum reports this to the appropriate desk, an we proceed through to the arrivals lounge.
Philip (David's son) is waiting for us, waving a board marked "Burl Ives fan club" - David is the fan. I can't help but laugh, a refreshing change for the last few hours. The mood lightens.
Also with Philip are Yen's 2 sisters and other assorted family members. Philip's wife (Yen) and 2 children (Joshua and Rhea) are waiting for us at home.
Our luggage gets put on a coach, and we start the last leg of our journey to Philip's house, where Katherine and I will be staying. Mum and David are staying in a small place around the corner.
Initial reflections: Taipei's weather is very similar to London - cloudy, breezy, wet. The drivers are maniacs - red traffic lights are a guide, there's no such thing as an indicator and lane dividers dictate where to put the wheels - one each side. But they all seem to obey the speed limits.
Philip's flat is fantastic. Plenty of space for 4 people, and it is clear they have picked functional over aesthetics. All the walls are painted a basic white or cream colour, and the walls are littered with bookcases. There's only one Tv in the lounge - and the computer isn't connected to the interent.
Day3 - Mon 4/2
Very little to do today. Mum has a migraine, and we still await the arrival of Katherine's luggage. We take a walk to the local supermarket for food and supplies, as we're away for the next 3 days apparently.
The first thing that hits me is the smell of stagnant water - unsurprising in a city where there's no moving air, where the humidity is constantly thick and close.
The second thing I notice is how close everything is - the streets in the city centre are very narrow, and blocks of flats tower around everywhere - a little claustrophobic.
6pm, Katherine's suitcase is delivered.
Day 4 - Tue 5/2
My alarm again signals an early start to the day. We have hired a driver for three days, to take us around the East coast of the island. Embarking on this three day trip are the 4 of us, Philip, Yen, Joshua, Rhea and Yen's sister Jin Ling.
Our first stop is Lalashan, and a small forest containing some of the world's oldest redwood trees. The scenery is stunning, rolling hills, plunging cliffs - and still the trees hold on, flourishing in the warm, wet climate of the sub-tropical island.
Day 5 - Wed 6/2
Feeling thoroughly refreshed after a peaceful sleep in the hostel that was our chosen quarters for the night - we headed for Taroko gorge.
Having seen the tops of the cliffs from above during yesterdays drive, I thought I would be prepared for the sights that awaited me - how wrong I was. The marble walls of the cliff stretch further than my eyes can see, into the clouds. The gentle breeze moving through the gorge is causing the wisps of white to snake their way up the mountains.
My eyes follow the sides of the canyon down until it meets the cause of this beautiful sight - the river, flowing ferociously through the gorge, still carving into the rock faces, as it has for millions of years before. The sight is awe inspiring.
Day 6 - Thu 7/2
Our third and final day on the East side of the island. We embark on another walk through the gorge - this one less commercial. Everywhere there are signs warning of rock falls and potential landslides. Our destination: an opening in the gorge, much like a thicket in a forest, where the two main tributaries join together at the river. The junction is spectacular - waterfalls surround us, and below, the river rages its battle with the rockfaces to meander towards the shore in the East.
There is also evidence of a recent collapse in one of the cliff faces, and as we watch, rocks begin to fall. They slide down the sloping edge, then begin their freefall to the river below - announcing their arrival with a loud crack, revealing the river is very shallow in that area.
Our journey continues Northwards, following the very picturesque coastal road, with plunging cliffs to our left, and lofty mountainside to our right. The sea, an almost glowing shade of blue. The shelves of the edge of the island clearly visible through the clear water.
We make a stop at a small fishing village, where the Chinese New Year celebrations are in full swing. Yen purchases a Parrot fish from one of the vendors in the market, and we watch them remove the scales. The scraping sound as the fish's scales are stripped from its skin reverberates through to my bones. A disturbing sound, one I won't miss if I never hear it again.
On arriving home, Yen prepares the fish (steamed) with rice and noodles and an array of stir fried vegetables. The fish tastes wonderful, but my stomach is unsettled for the rest of the night.
Day 7 - Fri 8/2
We take a trip to Shimanding - a popular shopping pavilion, Rhea's favourite. It's much like any other shopping centre, littered with clothes shops and various hobbyist shops. One to note: a shop is filled from floor to ceiling with comic books. I've never seen so many in one place. Another difference I note, there are many electronics shopped - a miriad of different types - selling laptops, computers, mobile phones and cameras. Everything here is much cheaper than back in England, obviously.
For our evening meal, we have been invited to Yen's parents home, for New Year's, along with the rest of Yen's family, who are visiting from mainland China and Hong Kong for the celebrations. I note that Chinese New Year is more about family than partying. The fact that Yen's parents would invite strangers from England into their home for New Year is just another example of how welcoming and generous these good people are, a trend I am noticing across most Taiwanese people.
After a delicious meal, we take a tour of one of the city's night markets. An interesting experience - just like any other market, with food vendors, antique vendors, fruit/vegetables - just at night time instead of early morning.
Day 8 - Sat 9/2
We visit the home of a Mr. Gour, the father of 3 children, 2 of which are friends with Joshua and Rhea. Mr. Gour is professor of law at a local university, and has an avid interest in gardening, especially with orchids and lillies. Very passionate about his garden, we took the tour and he showed us some of his more unusual variaties, ones he had bred together himself.
The afternoon finds us wandering a Jade market. Jade is very important to the Taiwanese (and other Chinese variants), and so it is unsurprising that there are many different kinds of trinkets and collectables available.
Day 9 - Sun 10/2
Today we visit the National Palace Museum - China's greatest historic collection of artefacts. At the end of WW2, and while America and Russia were having their Cold War, the Communists in China tried to get their hands on this collection to destroy it. But those who strived to protect it sent it here, to Taiwan where it stayed hidden. Now, some of it is on display for the public to see - and it's astounding. We couldn't see all of it, so we picked several galleries to visit - history of caligraphy, pottery and ceramics, and architecture.
Joshua proved a valuable resource during our tour of the museum, translating the caligraphy for us, and adding additional descriptions to some of the artefacts that he'd learnt from school.
Later in the afternoon, we visit a Portuguese fort, built during the occupation, and altered more recently as it was used as a consulate.
Day 10 - Mon 11/2
We visit Taipei 101 - the world's tallest building (for the moment). It is only the tallest because the measured height includes the spire, which is several tens of metres tall, taking the total height to 508m - 101 floors. The viewing gallery is on the 89th floor. The elevator gets us there in 37 seconds, the fastest in the world, apparently. As expected, the views from the gallery are magnificant - the entire city mapped out around you, and in the distance, the mountains that mark Taipei's Northern edge.
As the morning draws on, the clouds descend around us, and the views are masked by the thickening gloom. We depart for the Chiang Kai Shek memorial.
Originally a shrine to the leader, the government have placed hand-made kites and other decorations around the ceiling, and erected poster boards around the room to lighten the mood. However, to me, this makes the whole room very tacky - it would be more beneficial to fill the room with information about his reign as leader (of ROC and Taiwan).
Later in the evening we join Yen's parents and sisters again for dinner - at a restaurant this time - where the food is brought uncooked to the table, along with a "hot pot" of boiling water (and a flame) to cook the food to your own liking. A different approach, but interesting, none-the-less.
Day 11 - Tue 12/2
Once again we arise at an indecent hour of the morning to take a trip to the South-West of the island. It's a 4 and a half hour train ride, but I am unable to sleep - it is my birthday after all, so I indulge on some doughnuts that Rhea gave me eariler in the morning.
I received a variety of cards this morning, from my mum and David, Katherine, Lee, Joshua, Rhea and Philip and Yen. Yen also gave me a traditional bar of soap.
Our first activity upon arrival is Anping Fort, built by the Japanese during their occupation to protect the Southern city of Tainan. The fort was well placed at the time it was built, as it was surrounded on three sides by water - now the shore line is several miles away, and so the fort is little more than a tourist attraction.
While we wander the streets of Tainan, we come across a sign for an old Merchant house, that has been "converted" into a tourist showcase of what life was like. We take the detour, and find there is a tree house as part of the showcase - so named not because it has been built in a tree, but because one or more banyan trees has taken root and grown around the old house. Like the creeper from War of the Worlds, the tree is entwined everywhere - the roof, walls, doorways etc. A fascinating sight - but very difficult to describe.
The merchant house provides lots of information about how the city has developed over the decades and centuries, moving with the times from industry to industry. Originally a popular state for salt production, many of the salt flats remain - that is on tomorrow's itinerary. Now, there are rice plantations every where, and most villages and suburbs rely on Oyster farms for their livelihood.
At some point during the afternoon, I drink a glass of look warm water - and it didn't settle in my stomach all afternoon/evening. When sitting down to dinner, I realised it wasn't staying down, so I made a break for the public toilets. Unfortunately, I didn't make it - all over the floor. I remained sick for the rest of the night, until around 2 am.
Day 12 - Wed 13/2
I awake at around 7am - at least I have slept some. My stomach feels better, but not completely. Philip recommends some diluted energy drink to help rehydration, and to build my stomach up again.
Before embarking on bus/taxi trips to the salt flats further North, we decide to head for the tourist information centre to find out where the High-Speed-Rail station is. During our discussions, we decide to hire a mini-bus for the day. It is all arranged, the driver is an English-speaking tour guide - his name, Jackie Chang.
Jackie drove us to Cigu lagoon, the home of the endangered black-faced spoonbill. We had a look around the research centre and watched a video documenting the progress made in conserving the species.
For lunch, Jackie takes us to a small resort, after which, a member of staff there takes us around the owner's private collection of artefacts, and adds stories and descriptions to a selection of the items - the stories are real, and bring the items to life, given context. All of us so engrossed in the tales, none of us notice the afternoon disappear, until someone points out they are preparing to close at 1600 to prepare for a party that evening.
Later, we arrive at the salt mountain and the salt flats - remnants of a once prominant industry capital, now just exhibits in nature's museum.
The day closed when Jackie dropped us off at the HSR station, where we returned home - in an hour and 40 minutes, high speed indeed, and very smooth.
I have some toast, my only food all day, before retiring for the night.
Day 13 - Thu 14/2
This morning we take a trip on the Maokong Gondola, a cable car which rises into the hills of North-Western Taipei. Again, the scenery is spectacular, looking over the thick forest of the hillside, the city now an insignificant dot in the distance compared with the splender of the dense woodland beneath us.
We spend the morning looking around the village at the top of the hill - the major trade up here is tea, several hundred different variaties. I don't even drink tea!
The afternoon sees us at a handicraft centre in Taipei, where we make several purchases. I have bought myself a glorious aboriginal silk painting of the mountainside, attempting to capture the magnificence of the skyline.
Day 14 - Fri 15/2
Our last day in Taiwan. Katherine has awoken with a stomach ache, feeling sick, so she won't accompany us on our expeditions this morning.
We visit the Museum of Natural History, which contains several exhibitions of Jade carving, as well as the historical development of the island, charting civilisations migration to and from the island over the centuries. The museum also explained how trade routes affected the population and trends of the island.
Philip takes us to lunch at an Italian restaurant, where the manager is a friend of his - a very enthusiastic Italian named Alberto. Again, he is all ease and friendliness, and welcomes us to the restaurant. The food is excellent, as I expected, and possibly the most expensive meal we've had since we arrived.
We return to Philip's where we complete our packing. Katherine is feeling much better, and all ready packed waiting. We depart for the airport by taxi, and then coach ride. We part from Philip at the airport, before boarding our Eva Air flight to Brisbane, and the 2nd installment of our adventure.
Some general conclusions about Taiwan:
The culture here is very different. Everything is built on respect - self-respecct as well as respect for others. People can leave cars parked with the keys in the ignition, and still find them there when they return, possibly hours later.
Scooters rule the roads, which reminds me of the city of Amsterdam, except it is bicycles there, instead of motorised lawnmowers.
Padestrians are signalled to cross the roads by green men, however, these green men are animated, and there is a countdown. As the countdown approaches 0, the walking green man increases pace into a run - very amusing.
Money: The equivalent of £12 is enough to feed 10 in a Chinese restaurant - and there is food left. The price of petrol is roughly half what it is here.
The underground in Taipei is unlike anything I've experienced. Each coach is about twice the width of a Tube coach, and fully air-conditioned - even when it's packed, the temperature is cool and fresh. Also, during busy times, passengers still queue up in 2 neat lines, marked out by white markers on the floor of the platform, and wait calmly while passengers on board disembark, before getting on the train themselves. The cost of a trip is determined by distance, irrespective of how many lines you need to change onto to get there - with the most expensive fair we experienced being NT$55 per person - approx. 80p. This price will probably increase as the complexity of the network increases (currently, it's only 5 lines), but it's a long way from the £12 we Londoners have to pay.1 Comment(s) -
Date: Sun 23rd Dec 2007 12:15 I'll attempt to cover the highlights of the last several weeks...
I went out with my mum several weeks ago to a Classical Spectacular at the Albert Hall. Spectacular was definitely the word to describe it! It was fantastic. They opened with Carmina Burana (O Fortuna), which got the evening off to an explosive start, and it went up from there. Everyone in the crowd waved a union jack to Elgar's Pomp & Circumstance while singing "Land of Hope and Glory". We also heard Rule Brittania - where everyone in the crowd knows the chorus, but no one knows the verses.
We also heard Turandot from Nissan Dorma, the Can-Can and Hall of the Mountain King. As expected, the night closed with the 1812 Overture, the crescendos overlayed with musket and cannon fire. Though, I think the cannon fire spoilt the performance for me, I couldn't actually hear the music.
I went to see the Lord of the Rings stage show a few weeks ago. I just wanted to see what it was like. I think if I'd seen the stage show after reading the books, but before seeing the films, I would've enjoyed it more. But, because the films were so good, the stage show seemed a bit lacking. Part of me thinks Lord of the Rings should never have been attempted on stage - it's just too big, too complicated. On the other hand, some of the characters were done really well. Gollum was done brilliantly - maybe better than the films. They had him climbing all over the stage, up and down the walls and across the branch-littered ceiling, which was quite cool.
Lord of the Rings is meant to have the most complex stage ever constructed - people have been injured using it, apparently. That's all very impressive, but I don't think it added that much to the atmosphere of the scenes. Most of the stage movement was for show more than anything, it seemed. One thing that did impress me though - they managed to get Bilbo to disappear when he put the ring on at the beginning. That did impress me.
A couple of weeks back, I went out to the pub after work - my first "Friday night out" with work. I only meant to stay until about 2130 - owing to the fact I had shopping and ironing waiting for me at home. Alas, I got talking to a few people and then it was 12. By the time I got to Clapham Junction, I'd missed the last train to Surbiton, so got a train to Kingston and walked the 40 minutes home. It was about 0230 when I finally walking through the door - to angry questions from James and Steven. I hadn't told them where I was, and they were getting worried. I do feel guilty about that - and I've made sure I'm home at a reasonable hour since, with one exception. And yes, we did go shopping at 3am. Anyway, since that night, I've been labelled a drunk by James. I wouldn't mind normally, but the last drink I had was half a glass of red wine at Christmas dinner 2 years ago.
Last Saturday was the Christmas Party at work. A black tie event, so I went in a Tux. Yes, I was dressed up! Here's the proof. On the whole, I don't think the evening was my kind of event. We all met at the Victoria & Albert museum in South Kensington for a champagne reception - I had a glass of water. Then we were all sat at tables. I was on the opposite side of the table to my friends, with some odd ice sculpture thing in the middle of the table, making cross-table talk impossible. The whole point of the evening was "social"! How can you have social without conversation?!
The food was also not really to my taste. I've no idea what the starter was - lots of long words, with a tomato, which I don't like. But, I tried it all, and recognised the Rocket. Main, again, lots of long words. It turned out to be chicken with mashed potato and vegetables. That was quite nice - but I prefer my mash :). Dessert was rhubarb crumble with the smallest portion of cream you can imagine - it didn't fill a teaspoon. What was the point in giving us any?! After dinner, we all moved through the bar where we had a band - the Red Hot Chilly Pipers. A guitar, a couple of drums, and, you guessed it, bagpipes?! An interesting choice, but not mildly entertaining. After about an hour, the DJ took over. By this point, I don't think it mattered what he played - everyone was so drunk. Yes, I was on water all night. As is typical of me, I spent most of the evening talking to the more senior members of the teams (ie. those older than 40). A coach picked us up at about 0130, and dropped us back in Clapham where I'd left my car earlier in the evening. I then drove home. Steven and James were both still up, unsurprisingly. Here's the kicker, I woke up Sunday with a headache! I was not happy.
Sunday turned out to be really good fun. The three of us (Steven, James and myself) attempted a roast dinner for our flat "Christmas dinner". So much food! We cooked a turkey, roast potatoes, some sausages in bacon blankets, some other smaller sausages, some stuffing balls, carrots, peas, swede, cauliflower cheese and Steven did the gravy. The nicest gravy you will ever taste (so I hear - I didn't have any)! A great success, I thought. Very nice food. Followed by a very rich cheesecake. Gorgeous!
Monday evening was the Product Development Social Committee Christmas meal. Much more my kind of event - much smaller venue, more intimate. Able to talk to people without it hurting one's throat. Food was great, as well. I had mushroom filled tortelloni followed by some apple-filled wrap thing with ice-cream. I left there at around 10, so I wasn't too late to bed that night.
Thankfully, I had Tuesday night off. Wednesday was the QAS Social Committee Christmas drinks - another chance for everyone to get drunk on the company. I'm starting to notice a pattern. I wasn't going to go after Saturday night, but I was talked into making an appearance. So I went for an hour, but again, lots of people drinking, standing at a bar. It was a very small venue, barely enough room to breath. Conversation wasn't easy, and it wasn't going beyond "what are you doing for Christmas", so I got quite bored quite quickly, and left.
Thursday again, I had free. Friday, I went with Steven to Milk and Cookies - a kind of gig that David Ford does for charity. A fantastic show! He's an amazing musician, a natural entertainer. I didn't recognise many of his songs, but some I knew because Steven and James play them a lot. He also played a few covers, such as Britney's Toxic (he introduced it by talking about Strictly Come Dancing, and playing something in the Tango style), and Phil Collins' In The Air Tonight. The drums were replaced by a suitcase, which actually sounded quite fantastic! It was also in a great venue, Bush Hall in Shepherd's Bush - very good acoustics. A very informal gig, which only added to its charm. We (Steven and I) got home around 12, and went shopping - it was a Friday).
Now, I'm resting. I'm working every way except the bank holidays :(...3 Comment(s) -
Date: Thu 1st Nov 2007 21:12 It's been a while (again)! Sorry about that. I want to say I've been busy, but I can't think of what.
...where to start.
On a Friday, sometime ago, the company I now work for (QAS) hosted their National Company Meeting at a hotel in London. Basically, a day out for all GBR staff (the employees from Manchester came down as well). I'll admit, I was expecting a day of Powerpoint slides about Sales...but it was a lot better than that. A lot of the speakers actually made the effort to make their presentations funny - and most were really funny - but only if you knew the people involved (which I also liked).
QAS provided lunch and dinner, plus an undisclosed amount behind the bar at the end of the day. Goodness knows how much they paid, as the bar was still going at 2200 apparently. I left about 2030. It's quite fun seeing one's boss pissed.
Since then, there's been a restructure at work, so I'm not in a different team with a different manager. My new team is great! We're basically 3rd line support - so we have to go into code and trace crashes. I've had to fix several bugs that have resulted in new releases of products which has been really interesting.
I've had several weekend visits from Imran, which have been great! Been to the cinema a couple of times. Films were ok, nothing much to comment on really.
Weekend just gone Karl came down, we "hung out" in the afternoon, went to the cinema in the evening and then went out for a meal. Sunday, I went out with Adrian and saw the LSO performing pieces of music written by Patrick Doyle for various films (Henry V, Much Ado About Nothing, Sense & Sensibility, Harry Potter 4 etc.) - was very good. Very different to what I'm used to. For example, at the start of the show, everyone stood up while the LSO played the first 2 verses of "God Save The Queen", the we all sat down again.
I went to a quiz on Tuesday with work colleagues (local pub). Was a good laugh. It finished at about 2300, so I didn't get home until after 0000 - I was tired Wednesday. I was quite pleased with my performance - I got a few questions. We didn't get one that pissed me off a bit - "Don't Stop Me Now" (name the artist and title), and it wasn't Queen, it was McFly. I knew it wasn't Queen, but couldn't remember who - it wasn't a very good version in my opinion.
Wednesday night was our Derpartmental Restructure/Hallowe'en Party - food and bar funded by QAS again. It was great. But, I needed to go back to work to finish some stuff off - so I left the party about 2000 and went back to work for half an hour.2 Comment(s) -
Date: Sat 22nd Sep 2007 21:30 Another update - doing well this week.
I sat up last night with Steven and watched the IT Crowd for the first time. It was mildly amusing, but not overly funny. Then we watched Me, Myself and Irene. I'd forgotten how funny that film was - and it has the romantic happy ending that I crave from every film.
Today has turned out quite interesting for having nothing planned. I washed my car and did other general house tidying/cleaning in the morning. I (we) decided over lunch that I needed a spindle of blank CD-Rs, and that warranted a trip to PC World, Guildford. After exiting with my purchase, we agreed that Portsmouth was the next logical stop - so we went.
We arrived about 16:30, and wandered along the beach a way. We watched a hovercraft depart for the Isle of White, had fish (sausage) and chips on the seafront, wandered by the peer, went into the archade and put a couple of 2p coin in those machines and then wandered back to the car. Got back about 20:00. A really fun afternoon out, by all accounts.
Oh, and my average fuel consumption so far this tank (I've done a little over 400 miles) is 50.2mpg. I'm quite pleased!2 Comment(s) -
Date: Thu 20th Sep 2007 23:09 I was thinking the other day about identity. With people changing so much as they grow up, how can a person describe their identity? I consider the possibility that a person can only describe themselves at a given time, place or other general context. But I think this is incomplete.
I consider identity to be fixed throughout your whole life - something you are born with. The low-level processing capabilities of the mind are fixed. As we grow, we learn to use them more and more. The part that changes as we grow are our core values. It behaves like a function in code, with the core value as a parameter. The return is the decision on whether or not to take the job, try that food, go on that date etc.
I went out last night and had dinner with my old boss from Kodime. It turned out to be a really nice evening, myself and Scott chatting about nothing much. I may be visiting him in Sydney in February when I go over with my family.
I'm really busy at work at the moment - the days are passing really quickly. Don't get me wrong, I love being busy, having to juggle multiple tasks. I also enjoy the fact that the only pressure on me is that which I put on myself, really. Obviously there is a certain amount of pressure to get the jobs done in reasonable time, but it still feels more relaxed, which I think is the important thing.1 Comment(s) -
Date: Mon 17th Sep 2007 22:32 It's funny the things one remembers. I was walking home from work, along Wandsworth Road, when I walked past a pub. The smell emanating from it reminded me of the place that my father used to take us on "holiday". We used to stay above a pub, where dad would go and drink with his friends, and I'd look after Lee and Katherine. It was nice, just the three of us. We used to get on rather well.
Anyway, more fuel to Tor's theory (with which I agree) that the brain works on association. Built up over the years, layer upon layer of associated learning. What I don't understand, is how the reverse process works. How does the brain "look up" memories? I used to think it simultaneously accesses everything, and picks the right one. However, if that were the case, one would be able to remember everything experienced straight away. Whereas, in reality, recall times can vary greatly.
I had quite an exciting weekend, this weekend. I went to Brighton on Saturday with work colleagues. There were too many of us to all stay in the same hotel (it was booked before I started), so Kai (who started at the same time I did) and myself were staying in a TravelInn 20 miles away. So, to save needing a cab etc., I drove down, while the rest came down on a coach from Victoria. We wondered along the pier - bought Donuts (obviously), followed by ice-cream (obviously). Some of the group went on one of the rollercoasters that sits at the end of the pier. We went to an Italian for dinner. Really nice food. I had Tortelloni with ham and sage, followed by the richest chocolate thing I've ever had.
After dinner we "hit the town" - we went to one pub :) I was on water for a while, but switched to coke about 9:30 - 10. I'm hardcore. Around 11:30, I drove Kai and myself to the TravelInn. That was after spending nearly 30 minutes locating the car park that held my car.
Sunday, I dropped Kai in Brighton and then drove back here.
Sunday afternoon, James, Steven and myself drove down to Knaphill to see Anthony, Matt and Hayley. We played some basketball - I'm really rubbish, but, I was able to out last everyone else. At least the getting up at 5:30 in the morning to go running before work is helping.
I love my new car.1 Comment(s) -
Date: Sun 9th Sep 2007 13:49 Ok, time for an update
Works going really well. I'm basically doing 3rd line support as my main job. This could include things as mundane as telling customers to use the correct version of a JVM (Java Virtual Machine), but can also include compiling debug versions of whatever program version and trying to recreate the crashing conditions, then stepping through the code to find the problem.
My other duties include the installers for the Windows version of the applications. We (myself and my team-mates) are responsible for using InstallShield to create and maintain the installers. That gets quite difficult at times, considering there's about 15,000 lines of InstallScript code dictating its behaviour! I had no idea it was so tricky.
A couple of weeks ago I went to see Dirty Dancing on the stage with work. Its fantastic! The crowd were really enthusiastic, which made it so much better. The dancing was choreographed very well, and was very true to the film. It also surprised me to see how rigorously they kept to the dialog of the film. I can't decide if that's good or not.
I bought a new car yesterday! A Mondeo. It's black, has climate control, power steering, cruise control, remote central locking, and is so comfortable to drive! My Fiesta is being scrapped. My insurance hasn't gone up by as much as I thought it would. I was expecting about £1,000 for the year, but it's less than £700!1 Comment(s)
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