Goodbye Taiwan

So I decided that enough was enough for the first overseas work tour. Will there be any more ? We will wait and see.
So what happened between the end of May and now. Obviously I handed in my notice and then fought with PB over just about every issue imaginable.
At the beginning of June, I started my mad month of travel - June 5th Taipei to London via HK, June 9th London to Hong Kong - 4 nights in Hong Kong at Disneyland - June 14th Hong Kong to Taipei with Family, visited various places including 101, Zoo and Dragon boat racing. June 19th Taipei to Hong Kong and back helping Louise with the children. June 24th Taipei to Manila for a few days in the Philippines. June 28th return from Manila to Taipei. Finally, June 30th Taipei to London via Hong Kong. Interestingly, on my final journey a stewardess suggested that "she had seen me before !!!!!".
The Philippines were really good. I had the "pleasure" of doing an expedition up Mt. Pinatobu.
Since returning to the UK, I have been resting, sorting out the house, ebaying stuff, and getting a new job that I start on Monday.
All there is to say is congratulations to Neil and Joanne (great wedding reception on the 30th June), thanks to all those who gave me a great send-off - Vincent, Kim, Chris, Dave, Alastair, Harry etc.
Goodbye Taiwan and good luck - I have left many good friends behind.

Who is next ?

The time has come for Pete Dog and his wife Mel to go back to Australia - Sydney to be precise.

They leave next week and will be missed by us all as quite frankly we had a hell of a laugh. He did have the advantage of a successful cricket team as opposed to us Brits, but all the same. Anyway we hope to meet up again. The picture above of the group that went to Petes' leaving do - an expensive affair- especially the beer that was 80p for drink as much as you can ! Names from left to right are: Pete Doggett,Steve Barclay,Alastair Galt,Chris Cochelin,John Pigeon,Me,Neil Thompson,Dave Marchant,Christoph Schwacke,Chris Williams. Chris (who should be a stand-up comic) told us tales about Chillies and Hose pipes which made us laugh until we cried. Beer flowed (a little) and Seafood eaten.

So what has happened ? Work is becoming increasingly frustrating but very interesting. The only pity is that I will never see the end of what we have started and it would have been great to see the new rule book come out. NT - signed copy at its' launch please.

The scooter has given me a new lease of life since I bought it from Pete. I have been up to Shihmen Reserve (pictures above). A beautiful dam set up in the mountains some 30 minutes from the grimy metropolis that is Jhongli. This weekend I am going to play in a golf competition at Hsinchu which will be fun. Then it will be the FA Cup Final (Taiwan style) and the Final of the Super 14s.

Sunday I hope to go off on the bike again. The trouble is that the rainy season is closing in. So I am now very subject to the weather. Fingers crossed I will be able to go into the mountains or out to a beach.

What of the expats ? Most seem to be ok - some look like getting extensions. As for me I think my time is slowly coming to an end in Taiwan. I am keen to go home to my fantastic family and they are keen for me to return. I have enjoyed most of my time here but there is a point where you say enough is enough.

Good luck Pete and Mel - au revoir

Freedom and the Yellow Peril !!!

This week saw me finally give in to the scooter fraternity. Having put it off for quite a long time, I have finally surrendered. Pete Dog pictured above (laughing too much for my liking - do you think I paid too much for it !!!) is returning to Oz and wanted to sell his bike. It goes very well and is a lot of fun. Hopefully I will see some of the island now.

The other picture depicts a closet fascination of aircraft. AG also shares this interest and we have found a good place to do some spotting. Hope it is not like Greece and we get deported !!!!

So what has been happening - in all honesty not too much.

I have started getting my teeth into my new job which is very interesting but full of frustration. There is always a different opinion out there.

Pete has announced that he is going back to Australia. He has got a new job in Sydney and we are all throwing our email addresses at him in the hope of future employment. He has been a constant source of laughter and help in trying sort out new procedures (along with Neil (NT) who is also helping me learn to ride the scooter).

We have a couple of scares with the tax issues but think we have all got our heads around it.

So, what of the future - Next Saturday sees me play in a Golf competition. That should be a laugh as I haven't hit a ball in a month or so. After that I have 3 or so weeks to wait until I fly back to the UK to pick up the family and bring them to Asia. They will be here for 9 or so days. It will be a good holiday for Louise who continues to amaze me with her strength of dealing with this situation. She is going to deserve a good holiday at the end of this contract, that is for sure !

Hopefully I will lots more interesting stuff to share with you soon.

Language Barrier .........

Not for AG who had the presence of mind to avoid sign language by buying an electronic

dictionary. Not such a bad idea!

So Jason finished off his trip on the 22nd Feb ( a month ago already) and has been spending his time planning his next visit. Before he went back, he did have time for a beer or two in 'Stonehenge (Stone Age)' bar. They play great music there which after a Heineken or two we sometimes find it necessary to sing along with the Rolling Stones, Rod Stewart, Elton John or Oasis to name a few. The boss is an interesting character - he spent time in the US and really looks like he had a hard paper round. The second character there is a barmaid called Sherry who seems to be permenantly drunk. Her favourite saying (and only English) is a raucous 'come on !' which again sometimes we have to imitate ! I think I may have cost JJ a lot of money by suggesting that long-haul flights really shouldn't be spent in Economy class - he apparantly swears by Premium Economy (as do I) now ! Anyway JJ (or anyone else) you are welcome anytime.

A few days after JJ returned, so did I. I had one night shift in 29 days but it was March 1st and had to be done. I frantically managed to change and book new flights so that I could catch the 09:20 flight (straight after night shift) Eva Air to London. This gave me an extra 10 hours at home. On reflection it was very demanding and it meant I was out of bed for 43 hours ! It is a long way to London from here and the extra tiredness only served to highlight this. I was lucky enough to have a window seat on this leg and all the way up through Europe, the skies were crystal clear and the street lamps shone brightly below ..... that is until about 5 mins flying off the dutch coast. Then a heavy bank of cloud, with rain, prevailed and I knew we were not far off blighty ! I didn't need the flash map they show you on the plane, all I needed to do was look out of the window ! We landed late (again) and I wandered through (only hand luggage) to immigration. How can it take longer to get through UK immigration than it does to get through Taiwan Immigration where they have to stamp and check heaps of documents ? Well it does. I finally got through only to be greeted by millions of people at arrivals. Looking for my Dad, suddenly a little child got stuck in the way. I was just thinking 'what stupid parents let there child run around here' when I realised it was my own daughter Hannah. Boy was she a sight for sore eyes. She was buzzing and didn't stop talking all the way back to Ashford from Heathrow. Louise (my wife) had surprised me - thank you.

Whilst back in England I spent much time reacquainting myself with things that non-Taiwan residents take for granted: a) Driving (my beautiful Lexus) b) stopping at red lights c) crossing the road safely d) decent wine e) cooking proper food etc....... and most importantly my family whom I miss very much. I am so proud of the way they cope without me. In fact they cope a bit too well for my liking !

Sadly the time came to return to Taiwan. Needless to say the Eva air flight was late landing (will they ever get it right !). I cannot fault the service though and I did get 5 or 6 hours sleep during the Bangkok leg. Having got back I thought I would go straight to the Amazon to watch the second half of the mighty reds only to find it closed. I had to have a double take but it was closed. Apparantly some people had been in the night before and taken to it with a baseball bat. I don't know why. So I went home to my empty apartment, got unpacked and talked to Louise before crashing out. Louise, myself and little Hannah all want to be together again, so I am now actively looking for work in an English native language country (probably end up in UK). Somebody please give me a job !

My amusing tale concerns an Aussie (CW) this time. He had been out drinking the other night and supposedly ended up with this woman. Whilst back at her place, her son and his boyfriend turned up and didn't like what they saw. Whilst the arguments went on CW wisely decided to pick up his strides and fled the scene. Running for cover, he leapt into the first bar he could. Sadly for CW, he ended up in the Jhongli gay bar. So you can envisage, CW in a gay bar.......... with no trousers on. Apparantly he was far more popular there than his previous location !

Tonight sees me head up to Taipei to go and see the Proteas and the Aussies slug out their final group game in the overshadowed World Cup. We all like our sport - most of us are competitive, but please, it is only a game at the end of the day. Bob Woolmer R.I.P

Well Jason has arrived and seems to be enjoying himself. More of this later but before Jason arrived, it was Chinese New Year.

Having experienced our conventional New Year and as stated in earlier blogs how wild it got, we were geared up for a hell of a night. CC (pictured above - aka Mr.S) invited myself and friends to his for a little dinner party. We had various eats including some roast beef, french cheese and hors d'ouevres. We drank Champagne and french red wine (second in quality only to the Aussie reds (according to the Aussies anyway!). We feasted and got tipsy before heading off to the River for what was going to be an unbelievable night. Just one problem - everyone goes off to join their families for New Year and therefore the pub was quiet !!!

An update on the face - as you can see it is healing quite well. I am however a little concerned that my looks may have been marred forever with a small scar above my left eye (aka a souvenir of Taiwan) and also my left cheekbone seems to be slightly protruding beyond where it should. Some will inevitably decide that this is an improvement !

JJ made it to Taiwan safely. His flight landed early in HKG and also was early in TPE. We jumped in a taxi and headed back to my pad. Sensibly and probably remarkably he had 3 hrs kip before we introduced him to Taiwan food. We went for a teppenyaki which he thoroughly enjoyed (so much so we went again the following day !). From there it was on to the River for a couple of beers and home for an early night before Taipei sight-seeing on Friday. Now I wouldn't like to say that JJ is jet-lagged but he had 10 hrs sleep on Thurs night and 14 on Friday night waking up at 18:00 (just in time for a Heineken breakfast !). JJ stomach also seems to have reacted with the local food - he managed to block the toilet ! Friday night saw Jason struggle with the alcohol. As you can see above - JJ found his favourite Greene King IPA in the Tavern in Taipei. I found it hard to believe that he didn't have one but settled for Strongbow instead. This was done during the afternoon before we went up Taipei 101 for a bit of a view of Taipei at night. The picture above is taken from 370m up! We returned to Jonghli by taxi and had an evening in the by now to Jason 'Amazon' and a couple of the Mafialand bars. We eventually helped Jason home at 04:30 ! It is now Saturday evening - JJ claims he is going to drink Coke all night - One assumes it is because he already has the JD inside him from last night ! Good effort my friend. Sorry Jan, we were going to call you but ................

Time for the sport update - Well the mighty reds were fantastic in Barcelona, The Aussies continue to be magnificent at 1-day Cricket (Pete Dog, why were you not in Taiwan when I needed you to be !). They still reckon they are the best in the world - But then they think they have the best everything .....

That is all for now, Got to take JJ out - omg !

It's not my fault ...........................

if I end up in hospital after tumbling over a barrier which was hidden in the dark and left sideways on next to an illegally parked car and smashing my face into a stone pillar/wall. As you can see I ended up in the hospital, lucky to escape with a badly swollen cheek, a cut eye and grazed chin. I am not sure that I will top of anyones list for the kissing competition (wasn't going to enter anyway - Louise !) on Valentines day !

I must talk about the hospital -NT kindly accompanied me to the medical centre situated opposite our flats. 5 minute is all it takes - we walked into a reception area where they enquired as to whether I had a national insurance card, which I do being a resident of Taiwan. I was advised to go to a triage room where a doctor would see me. Being used to the William Harvey in Ashford I was ready to settle down for a few hours, but no, a doctor saw me within 5 minutes. I had a little treatment to clear up my wounds before going for an X-ray. Surely there must be a delay here - incorrect. Straight in and out. Within a couple of mins the X-rays were back with the doc. He saw there was no cheekbone fracture (surgery probably would have been 10 mins later !!!) and sent me on my way via the chemist. We could not have been there half an hour. The insurance all sorted out and back on my way - the whole process done for 8 quid !

I will however need new glasses. I know this because the ones I used today showed England beating Australia again at Cricket. There must be something wrong with them !

I would like to thank Duncan, Freddie and the boys for recovering and making my workplace far more entertaining. Who are the bunnies now (Sydney Telegraph) ?

On the work front, I have now started to do some support work for the back office. This will at end of this next week become my primary role.

It's not my fault ................... if I get down on one knee and ask a girl to marry me ! Which is what AG did this week. All the 'I'm never getting married' quotes seeem to have gone out of the window. Congratulations to AG and Debbie on your happy news. We have hardly seen AG since Debbie (Galt to be) arrived. I think he is locked away! I guess that will happen to me in June when hopefully Louise and the children come to visit Taiwan.

So, what is coming up in the near future..... Very little work, which is good. Next weekend sees Chinese New Year arrive. I don't know what to expect, but I am hoping for a festive week. Then on the 22nd, my mate Jason arrives from the UK. I have various trips planned for him (mainly involving pubs, as usual!) and will take him on the train on the 26th. The week after that, sees me return to the UK. I cannot wait to see my family - I miss them hugely. I also miss Sausages, Roast Beef, A take-away curry, proper English breakfast etc. I don't miss the William Harvey !

I leave you with this thought. 4 matches ago there was a headline in the Sydney Telegraph -"Worst team in the World beat best team in the World" as England beat Australia in the group stage. It is now 3 on the trot - what will the new headline be ............................ Answers in the comments please - keep them clean.

Schumacher takes me to work .......!!!!!

It has been a while but in all honesty not a lot has been happening. That was until last weekend .
So what is it like to be driven to work by Schumacher (Or BB -

Betel Nut Boy ) ? Well it is outright dangerous and not a pleasant experience at all. The White Van pictured, darts in and out of traffic like you can't imagine, almost hitting anything in sight and careering through red traffic lights. Taiwan is the first country I've been to where it is more dangerous to go through a green light than a red one !!!! On top of this, I was hearing a story about a German colleague - Andreas, who had just parked his car and was getting out when a local scraped down the side. The Police were called and their verdict was that it was Andreas's fault as had he not been in Taiwan , it would never have happened !! Meanwhile back to Betel Nut Boy - I think he is on some kind of mission sometimes - the worse the weather, the greater the challenge and the worse he drives. He seems capable of doing a 15 minute journey in 8 !

Talking of transport, last weekend saw SB and I go to Hua Hin in Thailand for 3 days. Pictured is Steves' house and Royal Hua Hin Golf Club where we played on the Friday. The flight out was ok with Thai but the return was a near disaster. Having arrived late on Thursday night we get in our car at BKK airport and head off on the 2 and a half hour trek to Hua Hin. As the king lives there everything closes at 1am. As we reach the outskirts, SB declares this isn't his usual driver and that he doesn't actually know where he lives !!!! A phone call to Tik later, a couple of wrong turns and we somehow arrive at chez Stephen. A nice place built on 2 levels - he lives upstairs with guest accommodation downstairs.

We warmed up (it was 30 degrees) in the morning at a driving range then played RHHGC in the afternoon. The course itself could have been better maintained and the golf (on my part, at least) could also have been better. But not having played for a while, it was great to go out and play. The joke between the compulsory caddies - not only ours - was how big SB and myself were. In fact, I came back with the nickname 'little elephant' (Thanks, Thailand). However the evening was spent in the bustling town. Many bars and restaurants were there to savour. I really liked Hua Hin - leaves Pattaya standing as a destination - and would like to go back one day. I met up with some of SBs friends who were all very kind to me. Saturday saw SB and I a little bit stiff so we gave Golf a miss. Especially after we found out the courses were really full and that it would take 5 to 6 hours to go around. Instead we went to the beach and had a brilliant seafood meal. We followed this with a trip up Monkey mountain (you can probably work that one out!). So it was back to the tailors before another night out. I got some shirts and trousers made. Sunday saw our return journey, which was ok until we got to the new airport at BKK. In their wisdom, Thai airways decided to have a 'free-for-all' check-in which resulted in us taking over an hour to check-in. I was so disappointed with Thai Airways, as I had heard so many good things about them. We got on-board and our departure time comes and goes. Then the Captain reveals a technical problem which is being dealt with. I don't know about you, but that never gives me much confidence ! Anyway we left half an hour late but thanks to tail winds we arrived on time. I knew I was back in Taiwan for 2 reasons a) It was 8 degrees and when I left BKK it was 30 and b) within seconds of getting into the Taxi, we nearly had an accident.

You have probably noticed that AG has not received much coverage on this occasion. That is because he is getting excited about DS and daughter Emily (pickle apparantly) coming over next week. Hope you have a great time.

That is all for now, only to say a big thanks to Tik, Nan,Porn,Tam, David, SB and the others at PP bar for making Hua Hin so enjoyable. Also a thanks to the England Cricket Team for making my life hell and finally to my beloved Liverpool who are at least trying to keep a smile on my sporting face (brilliant to stuff Chelsea out of sight - looking forward to my tenner Mr. Rutland!).