Unique Taiwanese traits? My observations

My latest observations about my Taiwanese friends

After getting my recent job and meeting more Taiwanese friends, I noticed some interesting things about Taiwanese people and their patterns of behavior. Some of the things mentioned below were noticed a long while ago, while some of them are fairly new observations. Those of you, who also live here, might have come to similar conclusions, but who knows, maybe not. Keep in mind, that I compare these things with the ones from my home country Slovenia. And keep in mind that I am specifically talking about Taiwanese who live and work in Taipei, as that's where I live and where I notice all these things every day.

1 Taiwanese always plan plan plan

The first thing I noticed about my wife (then girlfriend) is that she likes to plan her daily routine. Now most of the workweek, she would spend at work (she's Taiwanese!), but usually right after knocking off, she would go to the gym. And she has a very strict routine. Missing an appointment would make her feel stressed and disappointed. As for the weekends, she will carefully plan what to do and who to meet and at white time. In Slovenia, our working hours are shorter and we have more free time. We usually have a routine during the workweek, but on weekends we're much more spontaneous. If someone unexpectedly calls us to meet, it's usually no problem for us to do so right away. But I've noticed that for many Taiwanese doing something like that is a little stressful. Many like to know about meetings few days in advance and carefully plan every little thing for that day. I'm not sure why that is and maybe that's typical for Taipei or bigger cities, but it's definitely something I noticed very quickly here. Are Taiwanese insecure people or are they just so busy, that they treasure every minute of their free time?

2 Taiwanese always rush rush rush

Taiwanese always hurry! But let me emphasize again, that I mean those in Taipei (but that still seems to be half of Taiwan's working population). I can completely understand, why they do so during the workweek, because I do the same. There's always a traffic jam making you late, a full bus to catch or a small spot in the MRT to contend for. Every morning, especially on Monday, is a real struggle to come to work (based on my own experience). But then I wonder: Why do Taiwanese rush on weekends? Every time my wife and I go out on Saturday, she would suddenly start to walk fast, but we have no deadline to catch, nobody to meet. I usually let her walk away from me until she realizes that I'm few meters behind her and then she stops. When I catch up, I usually ask her: "Are you going to work? Do you have a train to catch?" Then it makes click and she walks slower... for like 5 minutes, haha. I think I need to find the spot, where she hides her Duracells. My Taiwanese friends, I give you a tip: Slow down on weekends and enjoy yourselves, waste time, indulge. If not, I might need to send you to Southern Dalmatia, Sicily or Greece for training.

3 Taiwanese mostly go Dutch

Taiwanese are very particular when it comes to managing money. The concept we have in Slovenia, where one time one party pays (or treats) the whole bill and then the next time the other party does the same in return, is seen as very strange here. Taiwanese count every single dollar (1 Taiwan dollar is 0.025 Euro btw) and if they had pennies, I'm sure, they would count them, too. Of course we also go Dutch in Slovenia, if we eat out in large groups. If we just drink, we go semi-Dutch, which means we do collect money, but don't go into every penny (some give more, some give less...). In Taiwan, if you go and eat out and your meal costs 99 NTD, but you give the person who collects money 100 NTD and tell them to keep the change, they will still return that 1 dollar to you. I've done that several times, but it's like they don't listen or they don't understand what you mean by that, haha. Now I don't bother anymore and count every penny dollar like they do. I think the reason for this kind of money management is that they don't want to owe anything to anyone, not even a single penny dollar. They don't want someone to badmouth them behind their back in regards to taking or owing money (and lose face). Not sure, if I got that right, but that's my impression.

4 Taiwanese way of saying bye bye is different

I don't know, how people say "bye bye" in your country, but in Taiwan (compared to Slovenia) it's very different. If I meet friends in my home country and we're just about to split up and go home after a drink or meal, we usually say "Keep in touch." or "Talk to you soon." (kinda hard to express the exact Slovenian phrase in English, but you get the point) and that's about it. Young people in Taiwan, when they say bye bye, it's always accompanied with smiles, repeated and extended "bye byeeeeees", waving and small nods. And it always feels like both parties are a bit awkward or embarrassed in that moment. No idea, why that is, but that's how I see the situation. I would be happy, if someone explained that to me better.

Ok, I gotta go, I have to rush out after counting my money again. Bye byeeeee ^_^

Related: [I'm becoming Taiwanese! Help!]
[LIFE IN TAIWAN][Photo by MKL, 2011]

Living in a condo in Taipei

What happened to my privacy?

A condominium like many others.

Last year I used to live in this area in a cheap apartment on ground level with a very small window, a bed, a desk, a TV and a bathroom. It was cheap, small and usually very dark. We went to check the apartment out in the evening and signed the contract right away, because we were in desperate need to get something reasonably priced as soon as possible. We had no idea that it will be so dark inside during the day and that was for me very hard to bear in the beginning. I used to live there alone and my wife (girlfriend at that time) used to visit me every evening. And even though the area was noisy, smelly and not very clean, the people were friendly (sometimes the convenience store clerks would chit chat with me) and everything we needed was available nearby for a good price (we even had a night market nearby, within 5 minutes of walk). The only thing that used to be a little troublesome sometimes was waiting for the garbage truck. But I felt free.

This year I'm living in a condo, similar to the one you see on the photo above. I live in one of the upper floors and have a good view of the surrounding area. I can even see the top of the Shin Kong Life Tower on a clear day. The apartment is not that much bigger, it's just one room with a small kitchen and a bathroom, but we pay almost double than for the one I rented last year. We have security guys, a lobby, elevators, a gym, a playground for kids and even a swimming pool (these are of course all common facilities). I like more space and I like the big windows, basically everything's fine so far, my wife chose a great place to live as a couple. But just the other day I was thinking: Where did my privacy go?

As you can imagine, I'm very obvious here. I'm a blonde white man and I'm always very interesting to the local population. The thing is, I can't lose myself in the pool of people like everybody else here. I will always be very easily remembered, people will wonder about me, probably saying things like: "Who's that young white guy every day passing by? What's he doing here?" "I saw him with a local girl, maybe he's married with her." "Oh, I see..." - That's a new situation for me. In Europe I'm "normal" and just one of many, here I'm "different" and one of the few. And not only that, I'm one of those few that are always sparking interest among the majority of people. That's of course very human and I can totally understand the locals, when they see me and become curious about me. I can live with that.

What bothers me more are the security guys. Every day when I leave my apartment, I need to pass through the lobby and greet one or more of them. And when I'm outside, another one will be there managing the traffic in front of our building and I need to say another hello or just throw a nod of recognition, when I pass by. And that basically means they know when I'm going out (to work) and when I'm returning home: I feel so monitored. It's like staying in a hotel with just a reception and no room service (How long could you take something like this?). Sometimes I feel like finding a way to sneak out without anyone seeing me just to get that feeling back, the one where I feel completely free.

Are you willing to trade security for less privacy? It's really hard sometimes, because where I grew up, we had nothing like that. Security personnel would be something you only see at factories, warehouses or government buildings. Growing up in a house surrounded by a forest marked me for life. In my heart I'm not a city person, but I know that living in Taipei is the best thing that ever happened to me. I want to enjoy it to the fullest, but at the same time I should not forget where I came from and where my heart really feels at home.

And the only ones, who monitored me there, were the chirping birds, that woke me up every morning. I hope I will see them again one day.

[My LIFE IN TAIWAN page][Photo by MKL, 2011]

New life, 2011

Greetings readers,

how have you been so far? I'm fine, but very tired recently. I started a new job, which is very demanding, but definitely the best one I ever had. I'm learning so much each day, but I'm at work almost all the time and have no time to do anything else during the week. That's something very new for someone like me, who used to be a freelancer. I'm adapting and learning fast, even though it's a completely new field for me. I have very friendly and supportive colleagues and the company is really top. Not sure, how often I will update my blog, but it will probably be less in the upcoming weeks, because I have a lot to learn and really need to pay attention to everything around me. Once I become "the master of my domain", I'll return to regular updating and reading other blogs. I seriously have no time now. I hope you understand.

I'm also trying to change my blog's layout. I'm currently tweaking this template, but the code is very complicated and making things the way I want proves to be very tedious and time consuming. I'm not sure, if I'll pick this one in the end, even though I love some features like the automatic read more function and the header with two link bars, that doesn't have a border on the left and right. Actually that's something I really want to have on my next layout, but I also want a template, where it's easy to add new widgets in Blogger's Page Elements (the one I mentioned before doesn't support that). If any of you geeks have some tips for me, I'm very eager to hear them. If you have links to great Blogger templates, share with me, but keep in mind, that I want a header like the one I linked to above.

Wishing you a great Sunday.

Your MKL

Taiwan, 1 week later

How I'm feeling so far

It was last Saturday, when I packed my bags and left my home, my home country Slovenia and my native continent Europe to move to the other side of the world: To Taiwan. Even though I am an experienced traveler and even though I've lived in Asian countries for a year before (including Taiwan), it's like none of this really matters these days. Leaving the place where you're one of them, where you speak their language is very different from being the exact opposite of that. I'm a foreigner and that's obvious everywhere I go. Maybe the biggest challenge for me is the change of roles I play in the past days: From being the son, the brother, the friend, I've become the boyfriend, the foreigner, the English speaker... And I will need some time to feel comfortable being the new me. Interestingly, I don't have the same issues I had last year, when I came here for the first time. I remember being annoyed by the scooters and the crazy traffic in general, the masses of people, the staring... This time I feel I have some inner struggles that are not caused by the new environment, they're rather amplified by it. It's a big step for me and it's a lot to digest in a very short time. And on top of it, I just got sick. I have a runny nose and a sore throat. It's raining almost nonstop for the past week and all this has taken its toll on me and my body. I hope I recover soon and strengthen up. I have to.

[My LIFE IN TAIWAN page]

My journey to Taiwan 2011

This is the beginning of my new life

Hello from the other side of the world or to put it another way: Greetings from a gloomy, cold and overly crowded southern Taipei. I guess I shouldn't complain about the weather, since my fellow Slovenians are having it much worse back in motherland. But then again, it would not be me. I always complain about the weather. My 2 days long journey from Maribor, Slovenia to Taipei, Taiwan is over. I am safe and sound and to my surprise everything went smoothly.

My flight Vienna-Taipei was scheduled for 11.05 on Sunday morning. Because there are no night trains in Austria, I had to leave for Vienna a day before and stay overnight. The Saturday, my last day at home, seemed to pass so fast, I started to panic. It was 1pm and I hadn't found a hotel yet, neither had I started to pack. I'm always doing these things the last minute and this time it was really a close call. Right before lunch, my girlfriend gave me a link to a hostel and I wrote down the address. After having lunch with my family, I started to pack as fast as I could. And luckily I managed to do everything on time. About an hour before leaving home, my friend visited me and we talked a little. I seemed fine, but when the time was over and I had to get my bags and leave, I choked up. It was that moment when it hit me, that I'm seriously leaving my home, my family, my country. I couldn't really say much to my friend and my sister, I was occupied with holding back my tears. I said goodbye to them very quickly and left. When mum drove off in reverse and I saw our house getting smaller and further away from me by the second, all dams broke and my tears started to flow down my cheeks.

The ride to the railway station was about an hour long and mum and I were talking the whole time. I guess that was our way to deal with my impending separation. We were headed to Wildon, a small town near Graz. As we were getting closer to the station, that feeling was coming back. I started to get a big lump in my throat, because it was time to say goodbye to my mum. In hugged her, but couldn't utter a word, because all dams and levees broke again. It's always embarrassing for me, when I can't control my emotions, but in that moment there was nothing to be embarrassed about. We waved each other goodbye when she drove by and I walked over to the train, slowly dragging my luggage along and sobbing.

From that moment on, everything went smoothly. I arrived in Vienna at 9pm.

I bought a subway ticket from Meidling Station to Keplerplatz, where the hostel was located. It's called Meininger - and it's a hotel and hostel at the same time. I was really lucky, because they had some beds available that night. It was also very cheap (17 eur for a night), but I had to sleep in a room with 2 girls (not that I'm complaining). But the truth is, I haven't had the chance to meet them, they came back very late and I was already half asleep. I heard them tiptoeing and whispering, but I was too lazy and tired to crawl out of bed and introduce myself. I didn't sleep well, I guess my head was full of images from earlier in the day. I was also worried of oversleeping and missing the flight, so I guess I slept with one eye closed and one eye open. I left my room at 6am and checked my mail and Twitter in the lobby. I left the hostel around 7, went for breakfast and then straight to the Vienna International Airport.

I arrived about two and a half hours before departure and I was very relieved, because I knew the first part of my adventure was behind me. I flew with China Airlines (a Taiwan based air carrier) and I have to say they were pretty good. Last year I flew with EVA Air and there's virtually no difference in comfort and service. I would say EVA has a slightly better food, newer planes as well as a very professional approach, when it comes to on-board service. China Airlines on the other hand had a more attentive cabin crew. We were given lots of drinks and cookies throughout the flight, which was very pleasant. I think, if I fly Vienna-Taipei again, I would choose China Airlines, because it's an 11 hours long direct flight. If you fly with EVA, you have a stopover in Bangkok and have to wait there for 2 hours. It's a bit troublesome.

We touched down on Taiwan's holy soil at around 5.15 am, one hour earlier than anticipated. Maybe the pilot didn't want to miss a date and had to rush, who knows, but that early arrival caused me a perfect meeting with my girlfriend. Instead of she greeting me when I come out, I had to wait for her (that's the second time it happened). But it's ok, I didn't mind at all. When she arrived at the airport, I spotted her first and she was all dolled up for me, looking so cute, but a little lost. She kept looking for me and it took her some time, before she spotted me. Once she saw me, she started to run towards me and I had to smile. Why she had to run, I have no idea. It was cute, albeit not necessary. When we finally touched, we were very graceful: A courteous hug and a cheek kiss and then quickly leaving the airport.

We bought bus tickets to Shilin, Taipei's northern district.

It was rainy and gray that morning, but I couldn't care less. I got what I came for: My sweet girlfriend in my arms. Even though I was tired and sleepy, I was so happy to see her. The journey wasn't easy for me, the exhaustion puffed up my face and I looked something like mix of a zombie and drunk grandpa. I'm happy that my girlfriend didn't mind being seen with such a man next to her.

This Hello Kitty bus told me that I was in the right country.

When we finally came home and I could take a shower and rest a little I felt like rejuvenated. Well, not really. I was tired all day, but we still had a good time. We had a wholesome Taiwanese breakfast, watched some TV, took a long afternoon nap and then went to a night market in the evening.

This was our breakfast. If you want to see more pics, go here>>

One journey has ended and a new one begins. I have no idea, how everything will go, but I'm sure I will have many ups and downs in my pursuit of happyness. I will keep you all updated on how things will go from here. I won't share every detail, I never do that. Things are always complexer and deeper than they seem. Some things will never end up on my blog, which doesn't mean I don't reveal a lot (sometimes too much, I guess...). My next posts will be lighter, I will introduce some new night markets and interesting food to you. I'm hoping to taste food I haven't tried before and I keep pestering my girlfriend to visit as many night markets as possible. So far I'm doing well, but I think it won't be long, when she'll start to pester me to skip night markets and start to work out :-P

This should be fun.

[My LIFE IN TAIWAN page][All photos by MKL, 2011]

Leaving is never easy

I'm leaving for Taiwan very soon

Finally! My passport and my verified documents have arrived. The embassy was a little slow, but I forgive them, since it was Chinese new year. I was a little worried these days, that the mail will take too long and I will have to postpone the departure date and have additional costs as well as waste more time. You would not believe how much more time, money and stress this adventure has cost me so far. I used to go through a lot in the past months, but so has my girlfriend, who I want to thank here for supporting me so much with so many things, it's just impossible to name them all. She's been an angel every day. She's already made a nest for us in Taipei, she only needs this European bird to migrate to the East. And that's soon about to happen. Thank you, sweetheart, I love you to bits.

Every time I went on a big journey to the other side of the world, I felt that the days right before departure were passing the fastest. Maybe that's because I'm conscious of every day now, every hour. I have so many things to take care of, so many people to say goodbye to. I think packing my things and leaving my home here will be very hard. You have to know, I'm an emotional person and I get very attached to people and to an environment, where I feel safe and secure. I know I was living in a bubble for too long. Other people have had great careers in recent years, I on the other side was wandering around the world, exploring the Far East. I was never and nowhere really at home. When I lived in Malaysia and Singapore, I hoped to strike roots for a while, but I had to leave too soon. Same happened last year in Taiwan. I was just getting used to everything, things were starting to get better and better, but then I had to leave. Last year was really the best year of my life. I've seen and done so much and it was totally unexpected. Now I feel a little tired. I feel it's impossible to pull off another 2010. I feel old. At age 30. I miss the days of early twenties, where every experience was so fresh and new, so exciting. It's a big difference when you fly to Asia for the first or for the sixth time. And it's a big difference, if you're 24 or nearly 31. Sure, some people travel more times a year, but for me that 1 time a year was something special, something life-changing, reality-altering, something like flying to the moon and expecting to discover a new part of yourself or to just be someone else, but not by artificially changing or acting, but by finding that adventurous open minded explorer inside you, that finally had the chance to break out of the confines of your suburbia boredom. I loved to be that explorer. But now it seems he's gotten tired. Tired of being released and confined every year. I have to stop leaving. I'm not going to stop traveling, I love it. But I gotta stop leaving the people I love. I hope this is the last time I leave like this. I need a home. And I really hope that for the next years Taipei and she will be the place I can call it one.

I can't describe to you the mix of emotions I'm having these days. Excited about seeing the woman I love, excited to hold her, kiss her, talk with her. I want to see her eat and sleep, walk and smile, I want to hold her hand, tease her, ride the subway with her. She's really my soulmate, I feel so safe around her. Even when we argue, I still love her so much. And then there's that part of me scared of leaving my mum, my sisters, my cats behind. The stupid cats that only annoy me and always run away, when I want to cuddle them a little. Yet, I love them to bits, too. I love everyone here and I love my girlfriend there. I know I want to be there, but part of me will always stay here in this old house and in this boring valley surrounded by forest and with a small creak, that you never hear rippling. I'm Slovenian in and out and we're just not made for big cities. Most of us live close to nature, that's where we feel safe for over 1000 years. Life in Taipei scares me. It's fast, dynamic, it can eat you alive. Especially a foreigner. I know I will have my angel looking over me, I could not survive there without her. She's my lover, my best friend, my guide, my shoulder to cry on, she's my rock, my inspiration, she's everything I ever wanted. I will do the best I can to pay her back every tear and drop of sweat she wasted on me, on us. All I can do is be the best man I can be, the best man I ever was. I have to set the bar higher for myself, I have to surpass my own expectations. Only then I will be able to say "that I made it right", when I'll look back in a year from now.

Frankly, I have no idea what I will write on this blog in February 2012. I'm not sure, if I will be alone and in tears like now or surrounded with laughter and lots of people. I have no idea, if I will be able to survive Taipei's fast-paced reality and meet my own expectations and the expectations of all the people I am about to leave and meet very soon. I worry about finding a decent job, I worry about whether I will be able to learn proper Chinese, I worry about what problems I may face in Taiwan. I'm a very experienced traveler, yeah. But I always left, I always returned to where I was born. But this time it's for real. I'm leaving for real. The stamps on all documents are official and final. I will be able to stay, I will be able to strike roots and live. How all that will be, that's written in the stars. I wish I knew... but then again, better I don't. Whatever will be, will be. I'll try to make the best of it, like I always did. I need to shift my mind away from the melancholic tendencies and back to her. Back to her sweet kiss and warm embrace.

I just want to be happy.

I'm closer to Taiwan

The departure date is set

Today I finally managed to get the air ticket and now I have all documents verified and all forms filled out, I just need to mail them to the embassy and hope that they process them fast. I'm worried a little, because Chinese new year is around the corner and people at the embassy may go on holidays for few days. But I still hope my papers will be done before that and mailed back to me. Another thing is my flight, which is at 11 am and I need between 4 to 5 hours to reach the airport from my home, taking various trains and buses. I have to figure out, if it's better for me to sleep over in Vienna a day before departure or leave home very early and hope to get there in time. That's gonna be something to think about in the upcoming weeks before I leave Europe. I still have some time to go. Unfortunately, I won't be able to spend Chinese New Year with my girlfriend the way we hoped before, but well, things went slower than anticipated. I think a smooth transition is more important than one Chinese new year celebrations. If we make this right, we will spend many Chinese new years together and this one won't matter anymore.

Taiwan, get ready. I will see you soon.

[My LIFE in Taiwan][Photo by LilyChen, 2010]

Another day lost

But I have to keep going...

Today I made a mistake and couldn't get a document. I lost a day, some money and I was home late, but most of all I was almost losing my nerves, I was holding back tears. When I came home, I was so beat up, I just fell into bed and had to take a nap. I couldn't chat with my girlfriend. I felt terribly sorry. It's always hard for me to miss a chat session with her, because I miss her every day. I missed her a lot today, but I was so weak. Tomorrow I need to try my luck again. Guess I will be very busy this month, but I can't help it. I underestimated the time and cost of this dance with the bureaucracy. Frankly, I'm a bit scared now, because almost every week I get some new information or someone tells me I have to come another day or go to a different office. It sucks. But I'm focused on her, I want to be with her as soon as possible. I'm looking forward to Friday, they say we'll have sunny 11 degrees. And another busy week will be over, I can finally sleep longer and get some rest. Wish me luck.

Let's tear down some walls

So long, best year of my life!


This is the biggest wall I ever made. Hope it'll last for decades.

What a year this was for me. A year of travel, love, new horizons, new food and new adventures. A year of many ups and few downs. A year of work, saving and enjoying. I've seen all of Taiwan and Slovenia this year, went on a trip to Macau and Seoul, toured Vienna twice, saw Bratislava, Trieste and Gorizia for the first time. I helped replacing the old roof on our house, we worked on it for 3 weeks. I constructed 3 walls in our basements and helped to pave a 10m long road near our house. I was lucky to buy me a new laptop, which helped me to blog faster and easier. In the end I even won a blog award with the help of my awesome friends. Looks like everything was somehow paying off this year. I wasn't already there where I thought I'll be by the end of 2009 (read my resolutions), but I'm happy how things turned out. I have never thought I would see Seoul and Korea so fast, I never thought I would go on such a big road trip with my girlfriend and have so much fun. There are so many more things I have not anticipated this year, too many to list them here.

So what's next in store for me? I have no idea. I have plans, hopes and dreams for next year. Moving to Taiwan and tying the knot is not something you do every day. And I hope I can have a good career and a happy harmonious life. Although I love adventures, I need a peaceful environment, where I can retreat. And in recent years it's been too much back and forth, so many travels and changes, it affects me. I need to find my base and hope that will be in Taiwan. I enjoyed my life the way it was, 5 intercontinental trips in 5 years, living in Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan all together for a year has given me so many new perspectives on life, has broadened my horizons the internet could never do. I love it, when you guys read my travelogues, but my posts could never really give you that atmosphere, that feeling, when you're somewhere in rural Malaysia in a house of friendly Chinese, who cook for you and make you feel special. Or the feeing to walk in a tropical jungle or to dine on top of a super tall skyscraper with your loved one. How many times I arrived and parted in these past years. I connect tears of joy and tears of broken hearts with airports, I love and hate them. Yet, I can't live without them. It's for me hard to live without my laptop, but even that you can take away from me. But don't take away from me the ability to hop on a plane and end up on the other side of the world the next day. My life's a big journey.

I was never sitting on a pile of banknotes, I always invested them in my trips, which were fueled by my hopes and dreams. Maybe next year that will change, but I think only a little. I'm very eager to see Japan and more of Taiwan. But I don't push myself anymore. Whatever will be, will be, I just hope it will be good. You can't really plan a whole year, you can only hope that some goals you set for yourself will be realized. If it's 50%, it's already more than you could dream of. Don't have too many expectations, but don't be aimless. Don't try to push yourself too hard, but don't lack passion. Embrace a new year with all it's dangers, challenges and possibilities. Don't regret a single thing, a mistake, a quarrel, a mishap. The year will pass too quickly and soon you can make it better in another year... and then another... and another.

Thank you everybody, who went on this journey with me the past year (and the past 5 years). It will never be the same again - it will be different - but that doesn't mean it will be worse. I am now 30, experienced and wiser (or that's what I hope). Sometimes I miss the 24 years old me, who had no idea how the world really looked like. I'm not sure, if I am that much happier now, though. But we can't stop ageing, we can't stop the world from changing. What we can do is make sure, that we adjust our pace to its pulse and hope for the best.

Happy 2011, everyone! Let's tear down some old walls.

PS: I've got another award: Blogger of the year by Netster.

This year just doesn't stop surprising me. Thanks so much, bro. I'm speechless.

My girlfriend is unbelievable!

I've been expecting a package from my girlfriend for few days. She told me she sent some moon cakes prior to the Mid-autumn festival. In the past few days she's kept asking me every day, if the package had arrived and I always had to say no. So today I hear the postman coming up to bring me something. I was all excited and happy to finally try the yummy Taiwanese moon cakes. I sign the papers, bring the package at home and start to open it up...

Looked pretty big, wow, must be so many moon cakes inside.

Then I see this: Taiwanese rice cookies and choco pies. What's that? O.o

And then below the sweets there was a small box. What? A portable external hard drive? Wow! The one I always wanted to have O_O

And on top of that a lovely greeting card. She's just unbelievable!

The thing is, I was considering (but kept hesitating) to buy a very thin portable hard drive to store all my pics, music and movies. I think I have way over 1 Tera of these things all together. And then she sends me one without even telling me, just surprising me like that. She's just pure love, she's simply unbelievable. And she does that all the time. I truly have the best girlfriend in the world. Not only that, she stored some movies, music and pics on the hard drive for me. And she knows I like the choco pies and the rice cookies. Oh, and I'll soon get another package from Taiwan: The moon cakes. I'm speechless. Thank you! 我愛妳!

Does your partner ever surprise you like that?

[All photos by MKL, 2010]

我的道

Exactly 3 months ago my foot stepped on Asian soil and ever since I had the best time of my life. I couldn't be happier and I couldn't be more grateful that I am in this moment. Special thanks to my mother, I'm so happy for the support of my family back in Slovenia. And of course big big thanks to the girl, who made me do this, my amazing girlfriend Lily, who made every of my days in Taiwan at least pleasant, if not special and unforgettable. My path was never straight, it was always winding and unpredictable, but I'm so happy, that I always kept going and never stopped, not even paused. I know that I'll have many great months, no, years in Asia and I hope it'll be with you by my side, in my arms. Let this small anniversary be reason for celebration. Our journey just started, dear. It will be a great year. It already is.

[I ❤ Asia][I ❤ Taiwan][I ❤ You]

Trip to Seoul: My last day

A short but eventful day

The famous Samsung Tower Palace near Dogok station.

My forth and last day in Seoul was quite eventful. I didn't have a lot of time to do much, so I decided to go to one part of the new Seoul and walk around there. That part is named Gangnam and it's full of high-rise buildings with shopping malls and restaurants. Since I'm such a fan of Skyscrapers, I was very happy to get the chance to see the Samsung Tower Palace (above) and Samsung Town (below), two spots with awesome modern buildings that make you aw.

I woke up at 9 am and only had 8 hours till my flight back to Taipei. I took a shower, packed my bags and left soon after. It was over 10 already. My hostel (actually a home stay) was near a subway station, so I didn't need to walk very far. But when I took the train, it really needed a long time to bring me to that other side of Seoul, to the modern part. The distance in this city is always huge and you need a lot of time for transportation. So, my plan was to walk around Gangnam, take photos and try to find Lee Hyori's new album. And I wanted to send some greeting cards to various people.

My room in the home stay near Hyehwa. Will blog about it.

Do you remember the bet I had with my girlfriend? She said that some random Korean girl will talk to me. Guess what, my girlfriend won the bet. Just when I was heading towards Gangnam, a girl came to me in the train and asked me, where I was from and talked to me for few minutes and then left. Well, I must say she was a bit... how to say... weird? Maybe. Well, seems as she had some mental problems, to be honest. Before she talked to me, she talked to herself and made some weird gestures. Or maybe she was under the influence of some substances? I don't know. I must say, she did look good, though ;-)

Once in Gangnam, I walked around as planned and took many pics.

Walking on the Teheranno to the trendy Gangnam district.

The famous Samsung Town in Gangnam.

Then I asked around where to find a place that sells music CDs. And people really helped me, directed me to a building named Kyobo. There's a bookstore inside and a floor below they sell CDs. Just when I came out of the elevator, I saw the CDs and in the middle was Hyori's new album H-Logic, highlighted and promoted. I bought it immediately. It cost 14500 Won, which is around 10 euros. That's quite cheap for a CD, last time I bought one in Slovenia, they cost at least 15 euros or more. But then again, it must have been years. I usually don't buy music CDs anymore, I prefer mp3s, but since it's hard to get her album outside Korea (for now) and since I'm there, I said to myself: I'm gonna grab it :-)

Finally! I have Lee Hyo-ri's new album!

After I've bought the album, I really had to rush back to the station and hop on the train to Gimpo Airport and subsequently to Incheon Airport. I again underestimated the enormous size of Seoul. From Gangnam to Gimpo I needed nearly 1h and a half. I had to stand all the time with my back pack, a bag with a laptop and a smaller one with my Pentax. My back seriously hurt (and still does), but I had no choice. My SMRT card was also near zero and in my wallet I had only 5000 Won (which is about 3 euro) and you don't get much for that. I was a bit (no actually very) worried, if I will make it on time. Guess what? I made it in the last minute. Once I arrived at Gimpo subway station, I had to find the Airport Express train to Incheon Airport. I found it quickly, it was one floor below. I had to run, the door was nearly closing. It was exactly 3 pm and this train always leaves at the full hour. If I missed this one, the next would be at 4 pm! And my flight was at 5 pm! I would definitely delay the flight, because from Gimpo to Incheon you need like 30 mins... and then the check-in, screening, immigration, finding your gate, which is usually so far and eventually boarding - 1h would definitely be too short. So I was sooooo relieved, that I caught that airport express at 3 pm. Pheewwwww...

Taking the Airport Express back to Incheon Airport.

Once I checked in at the Incheon airport, I tried to find greeting cards to send to some people, but that turned out to be another challenge. I only had 30min before boarding and before I found a shop that sells them and another shop that sells stamps and then post office, my time nearly ran out. I only managed to send 2 cards and then I was literally running to the immigration and later to my gate. People were already boarding, it was 4.50 pm. When I queued to board, a Japanese auntie kept talking to me... in Japanese! She had some fun, she laughed and behaved as if we're at a hawker. I had no clue what she was saying, I only understood wakaranai, which meant that I don't understand. She was right. I didn't understand and I didn't care.

The sun was shining over a wing of the plane: Beautiful!

Once I sat on that plane and we took off, I felt so relieved. Seoul was a great experience, I have so much to blog about, but I was happy to see my beloved girl again. She waited for me at Taoyuan airport all pretty and dolled up: She looked amazing! Suddenly I forgot all the Korean beauties and felt so happy, that my Taiwanese sweetie stands there all beautiful just for me. It feels great to be home. Home is where my heart feels warm.

Bench in Hyehwa, Seoul.

On board, I've read a magazine, which was about Mark Twain and I found one of his quotes that I really like and it can be applied to me and my life recently:

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

I cherish every trip I made recently and every moment I spent with my girl. My life is not really a routine now, even if that's what I strive for: A good stable job and pay and security. But going on a trip alone to a big unknown city is a challenge, an adventure... but it's rewarding. Sometimes we should do something out of the ordinary. So if you're given the chance: Do it. 20 years from now you'll say it was the best time of your life.

[All photos by MKL, 2010][My main SEOUL page]

How do you like your coffee?

Musing about life, blogging and my upcoming birthday

*Don't read, if you don't want. Actually, reading this is boring. You were warned ;-)

In 10 days I will be 30 years old. It feels so weird. For a long decade, my age always started with "twen..." and in 10 days, when someone asks me, how old I am, I will have to say "thirty...". Damn, thirty!!! I don't feel like 30! But I also don't feel like 20 anymore! How about staying 29 forever? I don't know what to think, but I do miss the days when I was 24. That seems to be my favorite age. Although I don't have really good memories from 2004, I remember that I was happy with my age at that time and that I didn't have worries like now. But well, at one point, you need to grow up and live your life, right? Sometimes I think I don't really wanna grow up. I don't wanna be someone, who will be called "uncle" by the kids...

"Look at the uncle, he's so old." Or in the train: "Uncle, do you want to sit?" >_<

Dammit, FML, if that happens. I really don't feel old, but I'm really scared of 40. And every time I become a decade older, people say stuff like: Life just starts at 20. Life just starts at 30. Life just starts at... ...just starts at 70 O_o But in real, people think: Wow, he's 30? I'll be 30 in few years. I'm so glad, that I still have few years to go. Phewww... (At least that's what I would think). Basically life starts at birth, if I remember the biology class well. Ok, sure, some will say life starts at conception. But does it really? I mean, everything's taken care of, you don't even need to breathe! You're in a warm liquid bubble, you're constantly carried and fed,

It do not get better than this!

Life starts at birth, because you're thrown out of your bubble. You need to start breathing, you're unplugged from your warm and cozy bubble and so it's no wonder, that you start crying. I'd also cry, if someone cut the electricity, while I'm watching my fav movie on DVD, laying in bed and eating nachos. Ok, bad comparison, but you get my attempt to be funny point. @_@

So here I am, living for nearly 30 years and what have I accomplished? Sometimes I feel I've done nothing. Maybe I'm 30 in the wrong decade. Had I been 30 in 1975, I would've been a well respected professor, my long and excruciating education would've paid off well... (that's what I imagine, lol. But sometimes I wonder, why do we need knowledge now? You have Google, Wikipedia, translation tools. You can learn everything and anything online. Everyone has laptops or fancy cellphones, why do we need books? Why learning by heart, if knowledge has lost it's value?

I don't know, where does this lead to, but it seems that in 2010 it's all about the money. People with no schools get rich, while intellectuals can't find decent jobs! The world as we know it, has turned upside down. When you look for a job, they want you to have the best degree (best is, if you've studied abroad), tons of certificates, recommendation letters, 5 years working experience, all kinds of achievements and you need to be flexible, work overtime and expect to be paid less in the beginning. You're just thrown in there, nobody tells you how things are done. And when you screw up, they tell you off again. You wanna rent a flat, they screw you over. You wanna buy a house, good luck working your ass off for another 20 years, paying off your mortgage and having no life. One mistake and work and your house of cards collapses. Why are blogs full of people bitchin' about their jobs? Because that's how it is out there.

Nothing makes sense anymore these days... and I refuse to adopt the number three for my birthday number. How about I say I'm 29+1 instead of 30 (*cringes)? Sounds way better, don't you think? O_o I'm bitchin' now, but will I be happy on my birthday? Yes. Because I will be with my girlfriend, who says she'll surprise me and I know it will be a great day, cuz she's awesome and amazing. I'll probably be touched and sobbing like a baby seal. I wonder myself. +_+

Another thing on my mind is blogging. I have a lot to share lately, but I don't have a lot to say. I'm having fun here in Taiwan and recently in Macau. I mean, it's not fun every day. Sometimes it rains and I don't go anywhere. The most fun I have here is the time spent with my girlfriend. But I just can't blog about that, Blogger would R-rate me or so, lol. No, just kidding. Ehm, actually not. Anyway, I just feel lately, that I have no mood to write personal posts (this one is an exception). It's more fun to write my travel reviews. And I don't blame you, if you get sick of it. Don't need to read or comment, I totally don't mind. Honestly, these fucktards really sucked out a lot of energy from me, so did this creep. Oh, and special thanks to Carina, who stood up for me there. Sometimes I feel that blogging is constantly redefining itself. And I think you need to change, you need to give something new, if not, it gets boring. I won't blog about Taiwan forever, after the routine sinks in, I will be bitchin' about something else, I guess. Or maybe I will take a break, I don't know. Hopefully something funny will happen at my expense and we can have a good laugh about it.

You know, sometimes I wonder, when I look at posts like this. People, who know each other and had a misunderstanding or a problem, try to solve it online! By writing a post and discussing in the comments. Why. the. fuck? Seriously, where are the days, where we just spoke eye to eye and solve problems? It's another thing, if some random dude attacks you online and you write something back. That's just harmless tit for tat. But if you know someone in real and you have a problem with him, why do you have to go and blog about it? Even, if he's an ass, even if all it's true, why aren't you man enough to say it in real, in his face? I don't know. Now that I'm nearly 30, I feel blogging has become more and more immature, childish and repetitive. The thing is, I have no mood finding new blogs, I sometimes even don't follow back, if someone new comes here. I'm so different than before. Sometimes it's even hard to reply to all the comments, so I disabled some. Maybe I should do like Shingo here, but I love to interact with my readers. We'll see. Seems like I've reached my limits now. I love you guys, those who became my friends or very close followers. I can't wait to read about your next adventures and hopefully I will be able to meet up with some of you in the future. I'm especially ogling my Malaysian friends (*winks).

Anyway, what's the point of debating an issue online? I've become more and more weary of pointless debates, where someone wants to prove you wrong online. Seriously, even if I am. So what? Do you feel like you have won? What? O_o What have you won? You proved a point to a stranger, who doesn't give a s*** about you and totally forgets about you the next day. I must say, I was like that, too. So this is also directed to me as a reminder. I should and I shall not care anymore. I mean, imagine, if you share your opinion on religion, on politics, race, gay rights, New Moon, Justin Bieber? You just divide your followers into two camps, some pro, some contra, in the end you have 100 comments proving nothing. Because commenting on a random blog post is not life. Life is waking up and going to work or school. Life is meeting ends. Life is meeting friends. Life is buying clothes and make up. Life is cooking lunch or raising a kid, filling up the gas tank, cleaning after your dog. These are the instances, where your action does make sense and does have an impact on your life and some people's lives close to you. Vigorously defending your opinion in a comment just doesn't mean anything. Blogs are overrated. At least some are. Do you write down everything that's on your mind without censoring yourself? I guess not, because you're afraid of offending someone, right? Right. But that's actually good, because even if we all said exactly what we thought, there would be nothing good coming out of it. In real life, you also don't say everything you think straight out. Do you say to your friend: "Your new jacket looks awful! OMG, how could you be so tasteless?" Instead you smile and say:"Looks nice, wow, great, good for you..." >_<

Who wants to hear the truth? I mean, the real opinion. There are no truths, only opinions, when it comes to these matters. I like this, you like that. I like soup, you don't. I like pork, you like chicken. It's all preference, all opinions and you can't debate someone's personal taste, right? Even, if 100 people think same as you and 1 doesn't, he's still right in his own way. And what's 100 compared to 6 gazillion people on this friggin Earth? :-P

Anyway, to sum up, my points are: I will be 30 soon, I don't know what to think, I have fun with my girlfriend, everything is random, blogging is overrated, I will bore you with Taiwan and update like a mad man until I find a way to bore you with something else, I'm sick of online debates and dramas and I'm now gonna go out to Taipei city and grab something to eat. And I will have a nice big cup of latte.

And now I ask you:

How do you like your coffee? Black, with sugar, milk, big or small cup?

[ps: Don't say you weren't warned! ^_~]

Taiwan 14 days later...

...about the ups and downs, highs and lows, challenges and rewards

A while ago I wrote about my first impressions of Taiwan. That was written just few days after I arrived here and some of the things turned out to be true and some not. First impressions are always superficial, they may be right, but most likely they're not. So how do things stand now for me in Taiwan?

Well, the first 10 days were really great. Everything was going fine, I was becoming more and more independent. I learned how to take the bus and the MRT train by myself, I went on a big sightseeing tour alone. I was able to order food and drinks by myself. And even though I lived in one of the most traditional Taiwanese cities in Taipei county, which was quite a challenge for me, I somehow found a way to get by. But then I suddenly got sick on the 10th day and everything changed for the worse (at least temporarily).

Being sick and changing apartments

I don't know what hit me, but it looked and felt like flu to me. I was (and still am a bit) dizzy, nauseous and weak with a sore throat and minor headaches. I was stuck inside in my room most of the time. And amid my worst days, I transferred to a smaller room just one floor up (offered by the same landlord). My girl asked the landlord for a cheaper room and that's what we got. It was cheaper and smaller, but still a bit too expensive according to my girl. And we soon realized, that it was way hotter than the one before, so we decided to search for a new accommodation all together. And luckily my girl found a better one very quickly: The room is cooler, it's on ground floor (the old one was on floor 6) and it's located closer to a subway and nearer to Taipei's city center. That means there's no need for me to take buses, I will save on money and time. Taking a bus here is not easy for a Taiwan newbie. You need to catch the right one and alight at the right station. That can be a real challenge, when everything is written in traditional Chinese and the whole environment is unfamiliar to you. Yes, I know some Chinese, but that feels like no Chinese when things get serious.

When they speak Chinese to you

I had few cases, where someone spoke Chinese to me and I had no idea what they're talking about. It's funny, but even though I couldn't look different-er than the locals, everybody assumes that I understand Chinese perfectly. That day, before I got sick, I went out on my sightseeing tour. The stairways were just being cleaned by a man and a young woman. I just left my flat, which was located on the 5th floor, when the young lady, while eating her noodles, started to talk to me in Chinese. I only understood "Are you living here?" and then it was all 漢語漢語漢語 to me O_o. And she went on and on for like 5min, while I kept nodding and thinking about what the *not heaven she wants from me? I assumed she doesn't like that people walk on the stairways while they're being cleaned. Then she started to ask me questions and I replied 我不明白(I don't understand). Finally I decided to call my girl and gave her my phone to talk to me. And what did she want? Apparently she wanted to charge me for the cleaning service, but my girl friend told her, she needs to contact the landlord and discuss the issue with her. No idea, if she wanted to turn a buck from me, but it was a pretty funny situation. Chinese have a saying, that two people are like chicken and duck, when they don't understand each other. So what was I, chicken or duck? :-P

It sucks being sick and about the traffic

My flu really sucked out a lot of energy from me. It put a damper on my initial excitement, made me moody and emotional sometimes. There were times, where I had to go out, but walking would became a real torture. The roads in the area I used to live weren't pedestrian friendly. The sidewalks were occupied by motorbikes and hawkers, so you're forced to walk on the road, where almost every second a motorbike pops up and swings by, missing you by less than a meter. In my previous post about first impressions, I wrote about how smooth the traffic was and how the cars always mind the pedestrians. Well, that impression was wrong, because I observed the traffic during the first days of Chinese new year. Now, that everyone's back to Taipei City, I can see how crazy the traffic can get. The cars are ok, but the motorbikes are crazy: They're literally everywhere. Even in the smallest tiniest lane, there will be someone on a motorbike slowly driving behind you and you have to move aside. You just have to keep an eye on those motor bikers all the time, they come out from every little spot. I've never been in any country with so many of them. Suddenly Malaysian traffic doesn't seem so bad. :-)

There's something in Taiwan that really surprised me!

What would that be? You'll find out soon, but let me fill you in on the situation you may face here. Take-out food is very popular in Taiwan. I mean, why would you cook at home, if you have a hawker virtually on every corner? So you buy food and drinks, bring them home and in a day or two you realize that the plastic bags and bottles stacked up like crazy. So naturally you try to find a waste container nearby to get rid of your trash. And that's what I intended to do. Where's a trash can? Well, there's none near my apartment. Ok, I guess I need to go to the main road and find a public one there, shouldn't be that hard, right? I walk and walk, but there are no trash cans. Weird. I call my girl and ask, where are trash cans located in your country? She says they mostly don't have them. Wow. There are almost no trash cans around Taipei! They have a system garbage trucks driving around neighborhoods once a day in the evening collecting the waste and all the people gather on the streets (you can read more about that here). I seriously had no clue about that. There are some trash cans near the MRT stations and around Taipei's city center, but as far as I've seen, they're rather an exception. So I need to get used to the new way of disposing waste. Will you see me waiting for the garbage truck? Yes, but when I get healthy again. For now, I need to take it easy and rest.

Taipei City is like many small cities grown together

I still don't have a good and proper understanding of Taipei. I still don't feel or grasp Taipei as a city the same way as I have felt Singapore or Penang. But what can I expect after only 2 weeks, right? Taipei seems small at first, but when you take the train to various places around the city, you suddenly feel it's not so small. In fact, it's huge. The whole city feels like a huge chess board, some parts are beautiful and some are not. Take a few steps from a boulevard to a side lane and you will feel as if you left a mega city for a small town. New and modern is beside old and traditional. Food and its smell is everywhere on every corner. I haven't seen many Western tourists and I don't know why. The biggest group of tourists come from China, but I still can't distinguish them from the locals, although my girlfriend says they dress, behave and sound different than Taiwanese. I guess that skill to is developed after living in Taiwan for few months.

There are many beautiful women in Taiwan

Now that the Chinese new year is over, there's much more people in Taipei City. The trains and buses are full, the roads and shopping malls are bustling with people. Many Taiwanese only work in Taipei, but they live outside the city. And if you walk around the city these days, you can spot so many beautiful women, it's beyond your imagination. Of course, that's my subjective opinion, maybe some of you would not be impressed at all, but that's why impressions are called impressions and not facts, right? :-) Well, what I see here, I can only compare to what I saw and noticed in Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong before. I must say beautiful women-wise, Taiwan trumps all those places. The girls here really dress well and there's many of them, you can't not notice that. The most common sight in this winter are black stockings, boots combined with short skirts in all variations. Women here are very feminine and female beauty seems to be very important to the Taiwanese society, at least that's my impression. You don't only see that on Taipei's streets, you see that on TV every day: Beautiful women dominate most of the shows. From daily talk shows to various (sometimes weird) nightly shows of cute girls in bikinis playing some silly games... For me, beautiful women are the most common sight on Taiwanese TV and on Taipei's streets. Of course you have to forgive me my male eyes, they can be so biased towards female beauty, it's outrageous :-P

I'm in my new apartment and I have a problem

In case you're wondering what's up with that photo of the remote control, let me showcase to you, how small things can be a real challenge. My girl went back to her home and I realized I can't turn down the volume on the TV. Which button should I press, it's all in Chinese O_o. I don't wanna press any wrong ones and mess up something the settings or something. So yeah, that's what happens when you're a duck in a chicken country :-P It's just one of the numerous small things that make you chuckle. Anyway, I'll be fine. I'll off my TV soon and sleep. I need to rest and get better. And then my adventure shall continue. I have tons of things to do. Every day lost because of my flu is a real pain, but what can I do? Be hopeful and positive is what I try. :-)

Ps: Hope you're not bored with my posts about Taiwan sights. I want my blog to become a good source of information to all, who are interested in Taiwan. But when I cover all the main and important things, my blogging style will return to how it was before my Taiwan trip :-)

[Photo by MKL, 2010]

8 and 8 is our double happiness

Today it's our 8 months anniversary.............................and it's also my 8th day in Taiwan

You found me exactly 8 months ago, on 23rd June 2009, when you replied to my tweet. Isn't it amazing how time flies? Of course, we weren't more than strangers 8 months ago. I remember, that you didn't even have your photo on Twitter, but instead you had a picture of a Japanese actress. And since you also tweeted in Japanese, I wasn't sure, whether you were Chinese or Japanese. I was like: Who is this girl? She says she's from Taiwan, but is she a Japanese girl in Taiwan? I have no idea.

And that's how it started. We tweeted and tweeted occasionally, for many months we weren't close at all. Until that day, when you sent me a DM and asked me to listen to you as a friend and share my opinion on your then complicated circumstances. We became closer, we became friends. We chatted on MSN every day and discussed various issues. I listened to you, you listened to me. Days passed fast and suddenly we felt an attraction, suddenly we sensed that we're more than just friends. That overwhelmed us and we became scared and we slowed down. We needed time. The year was nearly ending and there weres days, where we didn't know where this was going. But even in the hardest times, we couldn't stay away from each other. And then came that day, when you said you are wholly mine. I won't forget that moment. It was the day where you took a leap of faith and did it. You opened up to me like never before and we became a couple before we even met. We talked about everything, we dreamed, we planned, we hoped. And if you look back on those past 8 months, we made a big portion of these dreams come true in only 8 days. Isn't that amazing?
Today I passed by that spot, where you took that famous photo of the lovers in Taipei and it struck me: Wow. This is real, I'm really here, that's us now! I'm now the one who's walking hand in hand around this bustling city with a beautiful woman.
The most amazing thing about you is how humble you are. You're intelligent, gorgeous, funny, cute, hard-working, caring and loving. You always do good jobs, you always seek perfection in everything you do. You always put others infront of yourself and you always keep your word. A woman like you is hard to find. And guess what, I didn't even look for you, because I feared that someone like you doesn't even exist outside my dreams. Yet you found me. Again, how amazing is that? And it happened exactly 8 months ago and I believe 8 is a lucky number. Not only for you or for the Chinese, also for me. You turned my life upside down, you made me not only dry the tears of my past, but you also made me love again. You made me love deeply, you made me happy again with all the small things you do for [and to] me every day, ever since I've met you. Be it a tweet or a hug, be it your call, when you miss me or worry about me, be it holding my hand or kissing me many times when we come home - you always make me a happy man. Every time you smile, my heart skips a beat. I know it's sounds cheesy, but that's exactly what happens. You make me feel romantic, you make me feel confident, that I'm doing the right thing.
You made me fly half around the world and I don't regret it a single day, a single second. Every moment spent with you is like a dream come true. You're just amazing. I thank you for EVERYTHING you've done to me so far and that was A LOT. I hope people will understand how lucky I am. I feel like the luckiest man in the world. Even winning the lottery can't beat what we have, our closenes, when we lay in bed embraced and when I'm looking into your deep radiant eyes and see how your sexy lips are approaching mine.

You're one of a kind, baby. Simply amazing. I'm so lucky. I hope our fairy tale continues beyond these 8 months and 8 days, because I haven't had enough of your sweet kisses yet.

謝謝你. Thank you so much. 我愛你,寶貝. I love you, baby.

Happy anniversary! :-D

Bye bye Maribor, Slovenia, Europe...

This will be my last post before Taiwan. Now I really need time to prepare everything for my upcoming trip and to say bye to my family and friends. I will be less online in the next days and in case you don't hear from me, please assume that I'm fine. Either I'm in the air or already walking around Taipei with my girl. Most of you will be able to track everything on Twitter and Facebook. Anyway, for my last post, I decided to do something special. I asked my girl to write about how she imagines our first meeting and what she expects and fears the most and I will write about the same topic below her part. Most of you know, that we've found each other online and chatted for many months, but we've never met in real. And after I'm safe and sound in Taiwan, we will write another post and tell you what really happened :-) I assume you won't get something like that to read any time soon, so I hope you enjoy these two posts.

EXPECTATIONS, by her:

I was asked to write about what are my expectations for the first meeting at the airport? Well, that's a good question. I don't have a lot of experience of welcoming friends at our main airport, and I only went there twice. So when I thought about it, this came to my mind:

- How to take buses there?

- Where will be the meeting point?

- What should I wear?

- Should I give him a hug first and then kisses on his cheeks like Westerners always do in the movies?

Hard questions.

I have to say, I didn't have any Western friends before I got to know him. When it came to foreign friends, I only had some from Japan and China, but I didn't need to pick up any of them at the airport. Most of the times, when I met them, was in a group along with several other friends and someone else would welcome them at the airport and bring them to a restaurant, where held a welcome party for them. But this time I have to do it all by myself. And since I'm so unexperienced, my expectations are very basic:

- I hope I don't get lost at the airport and that everything goes smoothly.

- I would like to wear long boots, a short skirt, with perfect make up and hair. I'll try my best to look hot. But I wonder, if the high heels would make me walk like a duck and I also hope that my new boots won't give me blisters.

- I'm still thinking about how to welcome him: I should give him a hug first, right? Then kisses? Friendly kisses on the cheeks or a short one on the lips? If the kiss is on the lips, ehm, that would be our first kiss (shy). OK, whatever will be, I hope I can do it well.

- My bags. I'm just not able to bring only few things anywhere I go. Even on a 2 days short trip I would bring big travel bags! Imagine me waiting for him and wearing high boots, a short skirt and with 2 bags? And he said he would only bring a backpack! I wonder who will welcome who at the airport? That would look like he's picking me up! So I hope I manage to bring fewer things with me this time.

In just few days I will meet him in real! Some of my friends ask me: "You must feel excited! Are you nervous?" I reply: "Yes! Of course." But I don't feel nervous because of him, I'm nervous, because it's my first such experience.

I'm already nervous now.

EXPECTATIONS, by me:

I must say, unlike her, I've done something like that before. Most of you know, that my ex was from Malaysia and so I was in this kind of situation few years ago. The only difference is, that I am a bit older and more experienced in travelling and meeting people, especially around some parts in Asia. It's true, I've never been to Taiwan, so the first fear that comes to my mind is the unfamiliar airport. But from the information I have, it's very modern and visitor friendly and I guess, it can't be that different from Singapore and Hong Kong. All I need to do is pass the immigration, find my luggage and spot her among all the people who wait for their sweethearts at the arrival hall. I told her, she better spot me, because while there will most likely be only few young blonde men, I'm expecting a lot young Taiwanese girls waiting for someone. And I guess I will be the one, who swings his head like a mad rooster all over the place, hehe. Maybe I should just keep my calm, walk slowly and let her find me? I shall see. Maybe I will pass by her and she'll jump on me from behind? Or maybe cover my eyes with her hands and ask: "Guess who?!" Haha.. No idea. I guess I need to pay close attention and start spotting cute girls right on [a skill I've mastered to near perfection by now, hehe]. Anyway, I think we will be fine. I will hug her when I see her, but I'm not planning beyond that, what happens happens. The more plans you have, the more likely they fail [oh, yeah, I've been there...]. I don't really worry about our first meeting, we're so close already, we'll be fine. My real worries are that I won't miss a train or the plane, that everything goes smoothly at the two immigrations and that my luggage won't be lost. I hope there's no delays, no bad food [ok, how could that be, EVA Air is Taiwanese!]. Anyway, my flight will be nearly 15h long and I really wonder, how I will be able to take that. I flew the longest from Paris to Singapore, it took me 13h and it seemed endless! And now even longer? Wow. I just hope I will be able to sleep a little, best would be 8h, but if I manage to sleep for 6, I will be happy already. It's funny, I can sleep like 10h straight in my own cozy bed, but I always have a hard time sleeping on airplanes. Of course coach is not same as my bed, but well. I still see most people dozing off easily and I'm one of the few who keeps turning their head around wondering how can everyone sleep but me. Ah, whatever.

To be honest, I have real fears, but those go beyond the flight and first meeting. Will I be able to get a job? Will I find one fast? Will I be able to perform well? It's a totally new life I'm about to start and so many things are unknown. If I was the old me, I might freak out, but the new me tries to be optimistic. I say to myself: "At least I'm trying. My worst case scenario is coming back from Asia in 2 or 3 months, because I haven't gained ground there. But even in that case I will have one of the most awesome times of my life." So there's will be no regrets. We'll see what happens. I hope I can be as bold as the tiger :-)

Au revoir!

[Related: Hello Taiwan!][Photo by MKL, 2010]

I've recently realized...

1 ...that I can't stand the snow anymore!

This year's winter is crazayyy! Seriously, we didn't have so much snow in one winter for the last 20 years! It's snowing almost every week and the winter services can't keep up with the removal, because it just doesn't stop. They clear a road and 1h later it's fully covered again. It's a vicious circle. But I had to go to the neighboring small town today, because I had to send some packages to my friends. I hope they arrive in one piece in a week or two :-) We'll see.

2 ...that I have the most awesome girl in the world!

Speaking of packages, I finally received another one, this time from Taiwan. My lovely girl sent me many yummy things, but the main purpose was a SIM card, so I can call her upon my arrival in Taipei. Ain't she sweet? Besides that, she sent me many Taiwanese sweets, Japanese Matcha milk tea and two pairs of chopsticks. I was so happy, because I'm a known chocolate addict and as I have mentioned in one of my previous posts, I'm collecting chopstics. She picked very beautiful ones, that are made of bamboo. That's my favorite material, because it's so easy to hold. Thank you soooo much :-)

3 ...that internet is a very serious business.

Regarding my previous post, I have to tell you, it created a lot of buzz. 41 bit.ly clicks and over 60 comments in one day is a lot for my blog. I know some of you said I should ignore all these haters and I totally understand you. But at least I got some more traffic on my blog because of them, since they had a good laugh on my expense before. And the discussion was good, a lot of different opinions were shared. I know that there will always be ignorant and opinionated people, who will see me as someone I am not. That's up to them and most of the time, I ignore them, but sometimes I don't, hehe. That's what this blog is for. And thanks for all Your support, it means a lot to me. It was an awesome day in my Kafkaesque life :-P

4 ...that some of my most recent followers are really awesome!

Big thanks to my Croatian friend Saša, who has a big passion for Japan and always supports me. Big thanks to the Philippine dearies Krissy and R u s s, who just started to follow recently and always give great comments. And Russ was so kind, to help me with a HTML code I've been looking for. Salamat po :-) And another special thanks to a special lady: Ruma. She's Japanese, but guess what? She was born in Taiwan during WWII! And that makes her my oldest commentator on this blog and I feel very honored. Last but not least, big thanks to two awesome guys: Amogh, my fellow blogger from India and Chris, fellow blogger from Malaysia. Thank you, guys :-)

5... that I only have few more days left to my flight.

And a lot of things go through my mind, like: Wow, everything will change! - I'm gonna fly again! - I'm gonna be soon in Asia again! - No more snow, yay! (it was 30°C today in Taipei!) - I'm gonna be with a woman again! - Will I look good on 'the first date'? - I better brush up my Chinese fast! - I'm gonna be a typical tourist again! - Chinese new year is here! All that goes through my mind and much more... Wow, time really flies...

6... that my mom will never learn, how to hold chopsticks.

I'm sure your mom can hold them better :-)

[All pics by MKL, 2010]

I have a severe case of boredom-induced madness

Is this a winter depression or just a random day?

This winter is killing me... it sucked out the last bits of energy. I'm empty.

I need to get back on track, I need to start moving and packing. I need my drive back.

Sometimes the only thing I can think of is _ _ _. But _ _ _ is is still far...

✰ Do you ever feel empty and useless? What do you do then?
✰ Do you have any ideas how to make my day a bit less random?

[Photo1: by MKL, Photo 2: by Lily, Photo 3: Stewardess Xiao Yang]

What I'll miss in Taiwan

And what I'm looking forward to in Taiwan

Image: Where would you rather be now? At my home or in Taipei?

My departure to Taiwan is closer day by day and you can imagine that I have many things on my mind. Some of the most essential questions are how will I like it there and what will I miss from here. And by here I mean my home in Slovenia. It's hard to say, really, but since this is not a scientific blog, I'll try to speculate a little. It's my 5th big trip to Asia, so by now I pretty much know what to expect. On the other hand, it's my first trip to Taiwan, so I can only assume some things. So far everybody says it's a great country and that I will have a lot of fun. But we'll see.

Let me tell you first about the things I will definitely miss while going to Taiwan:

1 My mum and my sisters: I'll definitely miss my family, which is small, but we only have each other. I know they'll miss me, too. They're used to me being in Asia, so it's not a new things to them, but it's still not easy to them and to me. I'm happy that my mum just recently got a new boyfriend and I know he'll take good care of her. My sisters are busy with their boyfriends, so they already don't have time for me. I'm totally fine being so far, if everything here is alright.

2 My cat Miša: This little kitty is 5 years old and ever since she was born, I claimed her as my own. I gave her the name and I was the only one who liked her first. She didn't like to cuddle with others, only with me. At that time, we had 5 cats and my mum and sisters had their own favourites. 5 years later we only have 2 cats and my Miša has become everyone's darling. Now she cuddles with everyone, but I must say we have a special bond and she knows that. I know I will break her small heart: Sorry Miša, but there's a girl waiting for me. I need to leave and I know my mum will take good care of you. Soon there will be spring and you can catch mice and birds and enjoy the warm sun. I will think of you and miss you and I know, you will miss me, too.

3 Some food: I generally love Asian food, especially Chinese specialties, so I won't really miss anything from home. Maybe some of my mum's dishes she makes so well. The pizza is better here, the chocolates, too. And we have different kinds of juices here, but well, I miss so many Asian things like soy drink and all kinds of noodles, that's a real compensation for everything I might not be able to eat or drink in Taiwan.

4 German TV: I'm used to watch German TV since I was a little boy (we didn't and still don't have Slovenian TV, because of the weak signal). I know all the things that are going on in Germany, be it politics, sports or entertainment, so I'm used to watch some of those channels daily. Switching to Taiwanese TV won't be so easy. I've watched Taiwanese channels while staying in Malaysia, so I know what they're all about: Drama, talk shows and music shows. Not bad, but I need to improve my Mandarin significantly to be able to enjoy them.

5 My mum's coffee: I almost forgot about the coffee I drink here sometimes three times a day. We cook Turkish coffee at home in Slovenia, which may not taste good to most of you, who are used to Starbucks or Italian coffee with all its variations. So I really need to find a good coffee place in Taipei. If I don't, I'm gonna make my own at home.

6 My car: I inherited my car from my grandpa, who [by the way] died exactly today one year ago. I know how he loved his car, he always washed it and took good care of it. I didn't really use this car a lot, but I really cherish it. It's a Renault Clio 2002. It's small, but cosy and reliable. Recently my little sister is using it much more than me, because she rides to school every day. I think I'm gonna leave it to her, if I really manage to stay in Taiwan permanently. I don't have the heart to sell it, she really needs it and it would be unfair. I hope she keeps it well.

That's about it when it comes to things I may most definitely miss when I'm away. Now let's see some things I definitely look forward to in my upcoming trip to Taiwan:

1 My dear girl: She's really one of a kind. I haven't blogged about her much, so let me tell you few things about her. She's everything I always wanted in a girlfriend: She's intelligent, hardworking, kind, polite, beautiful, funny and sweet. She's flexible and adaptable, open to new things. And she always keeps her word. That's what impressed me most. Ever since we realized that we like each other, which is quite a long while ago, she chatted and still chats with me every day at the same time. Imagine that! If she couldn't make it, she'd apologize. I'm same like her in this regard, so I also always kept my word and always talked with her at the same time, too. And we grew closer and closer, as close as two people can be by meeting only online and living in two different continents. I must say, it wasn't always easy. We had our ups and downs and days, where we were lost. But we faced all our challenges and we always sorted things out. And the past two months were some of the happiest for me in a long time. We're so close now and we're strong and excited. All we can do now is to wait. But luckily time flies. And so will I, soon. And I know that she's really worth every penny I invest in this trip and every second I spend chatting with her. It's a pity that I won't be flying to her on Valentine's day, because then it would be the most romantic thing a guy could ever do on that day, don't you think? ^_~

2 People: I really look forward to meet many awesome people in Taiwan. I hope I can make a lot of friends, be it locals or foreigners. I will be there with an open mind and with the valuable experience of my previous trips. I may need some time to understand all the local customs and rules, but I have my girl to help me out with that. I hope that major blunders won't happen. Oh, and I might add you in this group of 'people'. Yes, I'm talking about so many of you dear bloggers/readers, who said you'll come to Taiwan this year. If I'm there and you have spare time, I'd definitely be happy to meet you. We'll keep in touch and discuss the meetings before you come. Looking forward to that.

3 Food: Everytime I say I will go to Taiwan, people tell me: Oh, you'll love the food! The food is amazing! We'll see, hehe. I wonder how the stinky tofu will taste and other Taiwanese specialties. I wonder, if the food is really that different than what I ate among the Chinese Malaysians in Penang and Batu Pahat. We shall see. But all this food talk makes me very excited, hehe.

4 Nature: Taiwan is a beautiful island with a breathtaking landscape. Ok, lets be romantic and forget the typhoons and earthquakes and focus on the beautiful mountains and beaches. I hope to make some unforgettable memories with my girl there.

5 Climate: Taiwan is hot most of the year. They have a winter now, but there's no snow and it doesn't go below zero Celsius. That's enough for me to make me happy already, hehe. And I expect not to have that horrible hay fever I have here every spring. It will be so much better for my health to skip another spring here, which would have been yet another unpleasant time of sneezing and itchy red eyes.

6 Mandarin: I love Mandarin and I hope I can learn it well. I need to be around Taiwanese and then I'm sure I'll be speaking it well by the end of year. It's my dream to speak Mandarin (besides Slovenian, German, English and a bit of Swedish, Italian, Croatian and Malay), because I'm awesome like that ^_~

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Ok, I'm gonna wrap it up here. I could go on with much more things, but it's ok for now, these are the most important ones and the post is too long already. Before you leave, please check the short video of me and my kitty Miša. You'll see how close we are and how she likes me.

Ok, one last thing before I go. My dear friend Wenny wrote such a touching post about me, if you have some spare time, please check that post, she wrote a brilliant piece about me and my love story with the name: My Bubble: Where is Slovenia? Thank you so much, sis! ^_^

• How do you like my things I'll miss and look forward to?
• What things would you miss or look forward to?

[Photo on top: by MKL 2009, Lily 2009, Miša photo: MKL 2010]