Taiwan sights

Went with my family on a guided tour around Taiwan. It was one hectic trip, as we had to cover all the major cities of Taiwan in one week. so basically we passed one county every night. Quite a feat for the driver and local guide i must say. I salute their hard work and sincerity in ensuring the safety and well-being of the tour group :)

arrived at Taoyuan in the late afternoon on our first day. because it was winter, the sun would set by 5pm. so our first day was just a drive to the hotel for our overnight rest.

The real tour starts and I shall post a series of photos taken with my iphone.

Here we are at Yehliu, Northern coast of Taiwan. notice the irregular rock formations shaped by sea erosion and earthquakes.


My brother exploring a cave hiding slumbering bats. a gaping hole in the rocks formed by strong sea crashes.

A train ride to Hualien.


Our next destination was Hualien with her spectacular Taroko Gorge.

This natural beauty was formed by rushing river waters which have cut straight through marble and granite, creating a ravine with waterfalls.

The walk-ways along the mountain were hand-chiseled by the soldiers as using dynamites would cause the tumbling of higher rocks. we walked through their sweat & blood.

Also at the hills of northeast Taiwan, street stalls of Jiu Fen. Jiu Fen means "9 shares" in English. This place got its name because whenever someone leaves the mountain, heading down to town for purchases, 9 other neighbours would seek him with requests too, as it was a hassle to travel down the steep and dangerous roads to the city. I loved the people in the mountains because they were most sincere in making business.

My favourite part of this trip! Overnight at the mountain peak of Cing Jing. Temperature at the moutain top was 6 degrees. This ride took 8 hours and most of the drive was in the dark. Kudos to our driver who got us safely at our lodge, driving along the narrow cliffs. View from top at day break.

huge vegetables grown in the mountain - my foot for comparison. the fruits were the sweetest :)

Sweet fruits of the mountain - plus the best custard apple i ever had.

CUTEST Cing Jing mountain bunny! Check out its thick fur, warm enough for her cold habitat.

Nantou province and her unique towel industry: shaping towels into cakes and ice-cream, among others.

Jiji in Nantou, visiting the ruins of the 921 Earthquake. Wu Chang Temple devastation left to serve as a memorial.


Jiji train station, built in 1933, has since been closed.


A tourist's authentic railway lunch box at the old train station.

A common beverage in the night markets where we had most of our dinners - white bittergourd. My mum loves it.

Here we are at a night market in Taichung.

Cold winds and warm soup to feed our souls.

My sister's haven: Xi Men Ding shopping district in Taipei.

And not to be missed too, the guards at Taipei's Martyr's Shrine, commemorating those who sacrificed their lives for the building of their nation.

Taiwanese love their beancurd and even made it into a fry.

So these sum up my notable sights of Taiwan. great experience! less the toilets in the suburbs which I absolutely loathed.

some nice, some not

My institution has recently provided a value-added service to our patients. A free shuttle service from Novena MRT, with an increase in frequency timing.

Alas, this morning there was a problem with the bus, and some patients got delayed in coming.

Patient A
"Sorry, I missed my appointment time. It's because your shuttle bus got delayed in picking us. But no worries, I understand my Q number will be pushed back. Not putting the blame on anyone"... And he smiles. Nice!

Patient B
"This is ridiculous!!! I will get a bigger Q number because I missed my appt time??? But it's not my fault leh. YOUR shuttle bus came late. Can you do something about your system or not!"... My poor young temp got so intimidated by this lady.

So, I conclude, some nice, some not. some appreciative, some just mean & self-centred.

May my days ahead be smoother :)

In 3 weeks, the year shall end

A random posting from office on a saturday morning.

This morning, I have 6 doctors running clinic! It's busy and especially hard on the nurses as there are so many procedures ordered. As for me, I can only sit here and monitor the situation as I'm not trained to assist :p

It's going to be a long day as I have to be at a sexual health forum later this afternoon. So my saturday has started at 8.30am, and will end only at 5.30pm! phew.

A thought for the day:
In a place where opportunities are not present, create your own.

of course, such thinking must be attributed to the great men who package God's Word so gloriously - my favourite of all, Dr A R Bernard.

And that's just what I'm going to do for the new year :) start my new year with great thoughts and a renewed mind.

I'll be off to Taiwan from 21-27 Dec. will miss Christmas in Singapore this year! but nevertheless, I'm thankful for a sponsored family vacation.

Hooray! next Friday's pay day and I have BONUS :D

Europe, I miss you deeply

There is just too much of the world I have not seen yet.

How I yearn to visit East Europe... see germany, hungary, ireland, many many countries yet.

God, make a way for me pleaseee? :)

A long night

Was suppose to go for cell group after work yesterday evening. Andrew called me to say his leg is in pain and he can't walk, so i suggested he come to my workplace to meet me and we can take a cab down together.

Alas, when he reached Novena MRT, I saw that he was dragging his right leg as the pain was too severe and he couldn't lift it up. seeing that it was close to 8pm and most GP clinics have closed, we had no choice but to go to Tan Tock Seng Hospital. I put him on a wheelchair, thank God the outpatient walk-in clinic was still open.

After waiting for about half an hour, we finally consulted the doctor at the clinic. He said there's nothing he can do as his clinic doesn't have the facilities to treat such conditions. i reckon this doctor only diagnoses common cold. so he suggested for andrew to be sent to A&E.

Now, his leg was throbbing with pain and every small movement on his leg would make him wince.

The A&E was a horrible experience. I was reluctant to send him to A&E as the doctors there only do triage and treatment of symptoms. so he saw this junior doctor who looked like she didn't have a clue as to what was going on. she sought an associate consultant's opinion.

the a/con's idea of his case was one caused by injury or strain. we explained that he didn't do sports and wasn't on his feet for long hours. still, the a/con felt that strain of tissue was a cause and turned down my suggestion for a blood test and further investigation. wants him to see a orthopedic surgeon for follow up. but...it is not a sprain!!!

we both suspect it could be what a very good GP he saw previously suggested. a heavy intake of protein & beer causing uric acid to be deposited at the joints... he had a week of wedding and company's dinner & dance. perhaps too much rich food. that's why I wanted to do the blood test to see if his blood level is abnormal...

Not much choice, we are under the mercies of doctors and the doctor now suggested a jab to relieve the pain. so, the jab + doctor's observation. a long night of 4 hours at the hospital. the discharge procedure was one tedious process as well. I had to wait soooo long before the hospital released him, even though I have already made payment and picked up the medication.

plus while waiting, i witnessed some patients who had been wheeled in after an accident (a smashed and bloody face), and lady with black lips (probably injested poison for suicide), a man whose hand was dripping blood from the carpark to the registration counter, an elderly man who had bowel incontinence and soiled his mattress...

and I shall remind myself that I should never step into A&E unless it's a matter of life & death!

A really eventful weekend is over

Phew! 7 Nov has gotta be my longest weekend! It was my beloved pastor's wedding :) and I'm so happy to be a part of her wedding by playing keyboard with my dear friend sheena. It was one nerve-wrecking experience as this wedding of the year had many high status guests.

Sunday's matrimony was followed by dinner yesterday night. The hyatt hall was huge and grand! I've never attending such a big scale wedding before. The couple looked fabulous! I was really sick over the weekend. suffered on-off fever and loss of voice. But thank God for sustaining me and I did not miss this great wedding! :)

So i'm still unwell and rested at home today. Again, thank God for a day's break after such an eventful weekend. Hope to be strong and well to embark on work tomorrow once again! I have a load of work waiting for me in office...

Yesterday a wise lady told my husband that we should seriously plan how we are going to spend our precious youth... she asked "Are you going to cruise along for the next 2 years, and when kids come, you realised you didn't have the chance to do what you really wanted to do?"

I gave that some serious thought and the first thing I wish to do is to change my job! It is highly stressful to be held accountable for so many matters and I've gotten quite sick of it. Oh Lord, I rest in Your will & perfect plan for me :)

And to travel! In December, I'll be heading to Taiwan, then Febuary to Bali. and definitely somewhere else.

Wow, it's already evening now... Why does time have to pass so fast when I am not working :(

May my days ahead be brighter!

Ecclesiastes 3:11
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

My prayer is that I'll lead my life to the best that I can in His beautiful & perfect time.

Loyal me has been in NSC for 2 years!

How time flies!

I wonder how long more I'll be here... heh heh.

What's my work about? Very hard to define, because I do everything. from complaints about dirty toilets, getting shouted at by patients, being an assistant to close to 30 doctors, investigating events that went wrong, handling staff squabbles, amongst many other duties.

my most stressful period of the day? say, I'm counting the cash collection of a staff who has closed her counter and is looking forward to going home. with 1K plus worth of cash on hand, the phone rings (doctor needs help to trace blood results of patient). Brain to multi-task: *call lab to trace*. suddenly, door opens and pale-faced staff rushes in, "there's a patient shouting at the counter because he has waited very long to see doctor. wants to speak to in-charge". another staff walks in "patient no appointment, insist on seeing doctor today". yet another staff walks in and presses you to settle another problem.

My heart palpitates so fast that I feel like i'm gonna have a heart attack anytime! work hazard... haha! anyway, can't last too long in this hectic environment without burning out.

Oh no! I'm seeing a bunching of patients waiting as I'm typing this. Gotta zip off once again so that I do not become liable for potential complaints!

won an award...

So, I've won a service champhion award :)

no monetary reward involved, but I'm happy that patients and doctors have commended my good service, thus - me winning this award.

1 Tim 6:6 "godliness with contentment is great gain". I will be happy and take my life in steps to see God's plan unveil. keep praying & staying positive!

it is good to dream

Appreciating this quiet afternoon. Not many doctors on duty, emails cleared, hardly any phone calls. Best time for dreaming :) dreaming as in researching on an aspiration. How nice if we could all have a bit more money and start something we love without hesitation. Heh heh...

Anyway, andrew's cousin managed to get a complimentary room at marina bay sands from accumulating a substantial number of points for his time & money spent 'playing' at the casino. nice place! managed to skip the $20 entry fee and visited the roof garden. paranomic view of the city from the room too. all in all, good experience!

swimming pool with urban vista

night view from the hotel room. ceiling to floor windows!


That's about all to post for now. I shall go back 'dreaming' :)

weekend well spent :)

my weekend was spent accomplishing nothing! zilch! zero!

I should not say that too...

basically, on friday we rested at home. my husband studied for his exams while I washed clothes, ironed clothes, washed the toilets, bought some groceries. then we went to holland v and had a late lunch at Everything with Fries. I must be such a fan because I've dined there 4 times in 2 months!! there are only 2 milkshakes in this world i adore... TCC's nutty shake and EwF's nutella milkshake. heavenly! we were supposed to climb bukit timah but that didn't come to pass due to the rain and part laziness :(

saturday morning was spent swimming at safra before I headed to church. I'm quite glad I've been making time to swim at least twice a week. Sunday, i burnt my pocket on a wedding. and ate ice cream at bt timah. first time visiting udders and I think the cow posters are amusingly cute... hehe

and the weekend went past in a blink of an eye. big sigh.

today's papers and online columns printed the interview done with MM Lee by new york times. there was a strong end-of-life message and I couldn't help but be moved when reading the transcript. we should not take for granted what this great man has built up. his life is extraordinary. may he find the peace he is seeking for. God bless his soul :)

LORD! Grant me YOUR highest favor today! I need YOUR grace and mercy like never before!

*heart burdened by many pending issues but I know all will be well! I will have favor from the highest to solve all the problems!

Just a thought, I really desire to lead a simple quiet life. and periodically have holidays to keep myself sane.

Life should be slowly enjoyed :)

SIAN

sian (or wearied) is the pertinent word for me now...

i was issued a non-compliance form, it is liken to a work-warning form that sounds more tactful. well what happened was, my clinic was expecting a former minister who has stepped down - he does still have some form of status. when he walked in, the first staff who saw him was my young temp and she did not recognise him! told him to get a Q number and join the queue. ahh, as such i was charged for service lapse and not complying to the workflow of managing VIPs... because i'm the supervisor.

sian.

and this morning i just battled with my nerves to make a presentation on customer service to all the non-medical staff in this institution. well, glad it went well and i received positive comments.

another sian thing.

my institution has an incentive for staff who performed well to earn a trip to hong kong, bangkok, vietnam, langkawi, bintan depending on your points earned. lo and behold, my manager informed me that i have had very high points since my joining, but i do not qualify for this incentive trip because i missed the eligibility date by 1 day. sian or not? sian lah!

anyway to end on a positive note, my Lord's grace is sufficient for me! and valleys in life are inevitable. so, like that for now lor. i will still laugh. hahaha :)

GOOD morning!

This morning marked the start of the week of prayer.

I woke up at 6am and struggled with my flesh. It was so nice to stay in bed... BUT against the odds, I made it for morning prayer at 7am. Blessed and strengthened by the presence of God. There is no crisis or pressing need in my life but I still do need God every moment.

After which, I had a wonderful Macs breakfast! My mornings give me hardly any chance to eat something decent, so this meal was much cherished :) The rest of the day shall be well and good!

My verse for today: For in him we live and move and have our being, Acts 17:28

Happy birthday Singapore

I'll be in kukup for the weekend so I thought I'd post my appreciation for this nation before leaving :)

Thank you Sg first of all for raising a visionary like MM Lee! I have witnessed his greatness and humility because I've had the chance to work closely to those who treat him.

Thank you Sg for being the safest nation I could ever live in. Minimal crimes and much peace abound. I'm extremely thankful for this because I had a nightmare of being in a war zone and held at gun point. Gosh... I'd just pray that God put me to sleep before I get tortured!

Thank you Sg for opportunities that I could never enjoy elsewhere. Equality to be given freedom to pursue what I wish to do.

Thank you Sg! There may be millions of complaints from unhappy people who think you have not done things right, but you truly have strived to give the people your best!

Happy national day :)

Better is one day in Your courts than a thousand elsewhere.

I'm proud of my HOME and family. There's nowhere else I'd rather be!

---------------------------------

Some random musings.

We've been eating too much. Eating out almost every day! Bad bad bad... Feeling unfit and lethargic! My husband blames me for his excess flesh. Tsk tsk.

Anyway, we'll be heading to Kukup over the national day weekend for one night. Looking forward to eating fresh seafood and hanging out with my europe mates!

19 July wedding anniversary

Yesterday marked the 1st year of my marriage. Yay, glad we passed the first year and many years to come.

My husband brought me to eat nice food over the past few days. my favourite was a late dinner at Holland village. We had authentic wood-fired pizza, curry fries from EwF and a tall cool starbucks drink :)

had a good time hanging out on sunday eating indian fare with sheena too. How i miss bukit timah where I used to trek and enjoy good food.

Gotta get back to work. Just came to this space to commemorate my wedding anniversary!

Oh, happy day!

I'm supposed to be in bed because I have to get up at 6.15am for work tomorrow, but i'm blogging cos i've had a happy day!

First up, my birthday is in 2 days time! Yeah! hehe :) and I've received my 3 desired story books which I've 'hinted' my husband about.

Secondly, bonus time! it's 0.75 month + $500 for us! plus I've got a B+ for my performance appraisal so that means more bonus too! Yeah!

Thirdly, thank God for His everlasting love and constant care over me! I'm definitely not perfect but He loves me all the same :) My heart is full!

Plus, much love and blessings to thank my loved ones + friends for.

Plus plus, I'm gonna be married for a year in 2 weeks' time!

Oh happy glorious day! He turns my sorrows into joy :)

Dear Lord,

I feel very disheartened today. I was being put down openly, criticized, in the presence of my colleagues and my manager did not stand up for me. This left me discouraged and troubled.

But I thank You for Your loving assurance. You restore my soul and I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff comfort me.

Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

I am blessed and loved. I will be better :)

With prayers,
Your beloved child

Annoying incident this morning

I received a call this morning from an extremely rude medical officer. For those who may not know, medical officers are the 'lowest grade' doctors. they are the fresh medical graduates who feel the strong need to affirm themselves as full-fledged doctors.

Therefore, if you visit a hospital's food court, you will never miss a medical officer strapping a stethoscope around his/her neck, displaying the 'doctor' status.

anyway, back to my point. this MO called and demanded for my name, before introducing herself. Fine, I told her my name, and the rest of the conversation went on like this.

Medical Officer: I need to speak to Dr XXX. (who's a consultant in my clinic)
Me: She's currently seeing patients, may I get her to call you back?
Medical Officer: But I need to check if she's coming to see the patient in my ward.
Me: She'll go over when her clinic ends, at about 11.30am.
Medical Officer: I need to speak to her in case she doesn't come.
Me: Kindly hold on the line, I'll check if she's able to answer your call now.
- I put her on hold -
Me: Sorry, may I have your contact and I'll get Dr XXX to call you back?
Medical Officer: Can you give me her contact so I can call her. Don't make your own decisions!
Me: I'm sorry, I'm unable to release Dr XXX's contact.
Medical Officer: Fine I'll get it from the operator. -slams down the phone-

***I didn't get the chance to tell her that the operator will not release Dr XXX's contact too.

Argh! what an annoying call! Demanding, pushy, impatient... I think it takes people with great patience and capacity to tolerate nonsense to work in my role. No wonder there was high turnover before I joined... Cannot believe I've been here for 2 years putting up with these bad behaviours from staff and patients alike!

After note: I'm fine :) I know how to feed my soul after such uncalled for incidents. hehe...

Dinner at Ma Maison

Celebrated our friend Gary's birthday @ Clarke quay yesterday evening. Dined at a charming jap fusion restaurant. Well I read some reviews that the food there was good, especially the omelette rice with beef stewed in brown sauce. So I ordered that for myself but it was extremely salty! The prawn and scallop au gratin was also too full of flavor, leaving us feeling exceptionally thristy. Probably won't be there for seconds, but the quaint and cozy ambience was a big plus :)
Nice table lamp.

Beef Stronganoff with Butter Rice (SUPER SALTY!)

Prawn & Scallop Gratin

Europe Trip Day 12

Nothing spectacular about this day. It was merely a day of airplane flights, getting leg cramps from space-constraint cabins and elbow fighting for arm rests.

Here's a last photo at Paris airport. we are taking a 7-hour flight to Dubai, and another 7-hour flight from Dubai to Singapore.

I will be back for Europe! :)

Europe Trip Day 11

We had free time today until 6pm before departing for the airport.

So after a late breakfast, we took the Metro to Champs-Élysées, a prestigious avenue in Paris. Rental there can be as high as €1.1 million annually. Most expensive strip of real estate in Europe!

Excited Singaporeans taking photos in a European tube. One platform serves 2 trains heading to different directions, so you had to be careful not to board the wrong one. Paris' web of train routes is also super complicated. Study cautiously before deciding which line to take!


Arrived at our destination!

Pretty flowers as we walked along the streets

Some shots of the streets. Most famous store along Champs-Élysées - LV! It was huge and particularly full of Chinese tourists purchasing in bulk.

Another famous attraction - Le Lido, a cabaret and burlesque house.


Anyway, our purpose of trip there was not to buy anything, rather, to experience walking on gold town. we settled at McDonalds to get a hot drink. See this humble cup of Cappuccino? In Milan, the same drink costs us €1.10. But in Champs-Élysées, it was €2.80!

Nothing else to see already, we were hungry and desperately needed the toilet. Public toilets cost €2 per entry! that's like paying S$4 to take a leak. So we decided to dine in a restaurant to use their bathroom for free. hehe... spotted an italian restaurant in the back alley that wasn't too costly.

Waiting for our food to arrive. We shared a plate of bolognese and the waiter gave us a weird look. I suppose he was thinking we were poor asians from a god-forsaken land. haha...


Time flew by, and we had to rush back to the hotel before the after-work crowd formed at the Metro. Heading to the airport in the coach.

Goodbye Paris!

Europe Trip Day 10

This was a free day before we bid Paris farewell. while 6 of our tour mates ventured to Euro-Disney (which looking back, I may have opted to join them), the rest of us paid 110 Euros to go on this trip organized by our tour guide. lets see if it was worth our money.

First stop was the Palace of Versailles, a summer palace built by King Louis XIV. It was a bright and sunny day! but still cold :(

Excitedly making our way up to the King's chambers with a throng of tourists.

Exquisite Queen's bedroom. which looked more grand compared to the King's room.

The King's study room.

Hall of Mirrors with her chandelier lightings.

King's communal area, and a gigantic painting depicting the victory of a war.


We were all rushing to comb through the palace so that we could have sufficient time to explore the Gardens of Versailles which cover some 800 hectares of land. Judging from our map of Versailles, the gardens appeared to be 3 times the size of the palace!

Alas, when we arrived at the entrance of the gardens (hearts full of anticipation), we were denied access! because our ticket did not include entry to the gardens. our countenance fell flat as we were utterly disappointed. This event sparked a series of grievances that many tour members had against the tour guide. everyone was eager to explore the gardens but our hefty 110 euros fee did not include entry to the gardens! I felt slightly cheated too. Anyway, the rest of our trip was somber after this incident...

Nevermind, still managed to get some shots of the gardens from the palace :)



After an eventful morning, it was time for lunch! the guide dropped us off at Montmartre, a hilly region in North Paris. this was like a heartland of Paris, we saw many locals and cheap goods. Located here was also The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of Paris or Sacré-Cœur, a church erected at the highest point of Paris. didn't have time to make it to the summit.


Lunch was good and affordable! It was a small restaurant at the foot of the church. 5 Euros per person.


saw a carousal outside the restaurant! the ride however, was too pricey.

We went to the Musée du Louvre after lunch, one of the world's largest museums.

View from the inside under the glass pyramid.

There were just too many sculptures and paintings to see! shall post a few which stood out to me. Every visitor at the Louvre cannot miss Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa. Hordes of tourists gather around trying to get a decent shot of the painting.

Portrait of Jesus turning water into wine.

Cupid's Kiss - statue by Antonio Canova. I think its meaning was a cupid awakening a lifeless being with a kiss.

We were getting bored after roaming around exhibition halls. The visit was not meaningful too, as we did not have a guide. Attempted to tag along with a China tour group but it was hard to hear the guide's comments.
So we went out of the museum! To the Tuileries Garden, built in 1559 under the direction of Henry II's widowed Queen.


Sigh, andrew's crooked shot of the Grand Basin!

Maze of tall shrubs!

Still had time to kill so some of us went for coffee shots! 2 Euros per cuppa.

Our dinner was at Galeries Lafayette, a mall built in 1893! Here's the dome of the departmental store.

Had chinese food. the handmade noodles with meat sauce was tasty! but our soup was awful... it was practically salt water with boiled vegetables.

After dinner and much coaxing, I succumbed to pressure from my tour mates and purchased my 1st branded bag. A Long Champ black tote bag. Haven't used it yet. haha

This marks the end of the day! Our night was spent packing as we were checking out the next day and setting off to a long flight home.