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My first trip to Taiwan was a gift given by my son, Kirk, for my retirement. Actually, it was made possible by cashing in miles from the airline I most favored. My son spiced it up by arranging a Taiwanese guide for me who spoke excellent Japanese. My son spoke to his Taiwanese colleague at work in San Diego and surprisingly it was his colleague's father, a recently retired UN worker, who helped me tremendously - starting with meeting me at the airport, traveling downtown together by bus, and walking to the reserved hotel close to Shin Guang Mitsukoshi Department Store. I have made trips to Taiwan almost 10 times since then, and I always stay at the same hotel.
I appreciated his discretion not to accompany me constantly. He suggested minimum necessary tips and gave me an overall orientation. At the University of Taiwan, he politely let me walk around the campus and study at the library. It was the day before the MRT subway systems came online. The crazy bus trip to Gugon Palace became a memorable story when I experienced a frantic moment boarding the bus. He and his wife were excellent hosts. The welcoming dinner was at Hai Pa Wang, and the farewell dinner was at Shinyeh, all serving local Taiwanese dishes. I fondly remember their warm hospitality on my first visit.
My second visit was to Fenyuang, north of Taichung. I visited my first e-mail friend, who is a dentist. It was my first visit to Taiwan's Toastmasters Club there and I was thrilled to see a club which boasts more than 50 members. They met in the basement of the hotel where I was staying. I am grateful to him for the early morning ride from Fenyuang to the Taoyuan International Airport, as I had to catch an early flight to the U.S.
On my third visit, my wife accompanied me to Taipei where we met Michelle Chen, who was a contestant speaker at the Toastmasters Convention. I never imagined Michelle had such a passion for traveling abroad like I did. My interest in Czech Republic was inspired by her trip to Pardubice. I got a lot of information from hearing about her trip there.
It rained hard in Taipei the day the convention was over. A gentleman with whom we sat together noticed us and instructed his chauffeur to take us to our hotel. We sent him our letter of appreciation. We never saw him again at subsequent conventions.
On my fourth trip, I was in Taichung for the Toastmasters Convention at Tunghai University with another Japanese delegation staying at the University dorm. It was the Taichung Central Japanese Club who offered to take us sightseeing to their historic Lukang Port. Lukang was the trade port of deer skins during the Dutch colonial days where the terms e-kang and teng-kang originated, referring to north/south of the port respectively. Dennis Chen, the Club founder led a fleet of cars with volunteer drivers one full day enabling us to tour Lukang's Longshan temple and see Maz, the Goddess of the Sea.
Talking to Dennis, I learned that he planned to visit Sun-Moon Lake the following day accompanying his New York physician friend and his wife and I made a bold request to get a one way ride if at all possible. He called me later, granting it as if it was my once-in-a-lifetime wish. I wanted to see the after-effects of the Jiji Earthquake that hit in 1999. I sent a small check as a contribution to the victims through the Fenyuang physician friend.
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Dennis Chen had stopped at the Muh Sheng Museum of Entomology in Puli on our way to the Lake and that gave me a good reason to return at a later date to the museum to write about the Chestnut Tiger, the butterfly that migrates between Taiwan and Japan. I met Meili Chang, while on the trip to Lukang and was struck by the beautiful Japanese she spoke. Later I learned that she had studied at the University of Kyoto.
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On the sixth visit, Tainan Chenkong University was the Convention venue. My wife and I flew to Kaohsiung and took a train ride to Tainan. DTM Y. H. Chen, the legendary southern Toastmaster leader, accompanied us to Tainan. Before moving on to Tainan, he and his Kaohsiung Toastmaster member gave us a tour to visit Cheng Ching Lake, a man-made water reservoir turned beautiful lake (about 300 hectares) and Tsuo Ying Lotus Pond and the nearby Confucius Temple. Cheng Ching Lake was undergoing quite a renovation and the lake was half dry when we visited. That night, the three of us returned to Kaohsiung and wandered through the famous night food stands to enjoy "eel shao-chi (small bite)".
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The latest Yangmingshan Convention was my 9th trip to Taiwan. I thought I made ten trips but not quite. I could not have made these trips without the help of many, many friends mentioned above. A real Big Salute and thank you! All of you have motivated me to return to Taiwan. I thank my Kitakyushu Toastmaster colleague Masaki Oshiumi who joined me on my trips to Taiwan these last few times. His son-in-law was stationed in a plant in Touliu and he visited the family there. He is very interested in Taiwan and is a great fellow traveler.
So, I am now looking forward to my double digit trip. Hallelujah!
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