it's so freaking cold in shanghai, i think i will turn into an ice block if i were to step out of my apartment. so i will not entertain any possibilities of leaving my sofa and blanket!!! until tomorrow, when i will meet my best friend and have a shopping spree.....

i've just returned from taiwan. a gorgeous trip with my beautiful family & friends in a wonderful island (:

i had never taken the name Formosa seriously because i thought the Spanish simply wanted to market it, just like the explorers who named an icy, barely hospitable region Greenland to entice politicians and businessmen to go there...but Taiwan has proven itself to be a true Formosa (Spanish for "Treasure Island"). i think i understand why the Spanish, Portugese, Japanese (and several other nations which i shall not name) scrambled over themselves to claim the territory.

you see, if you want good shopping, there are the trendy, cheap wu-fen-pu street stalls as well as Taipei 101 and her neighbours. taiwan street style seems to emulate japan's, but to good effect. in fact the taiwanese do kawaii so well, they have a special way of pronoucing ke-ai. =P

also, all towns have night markets that serve delicious pearl milk tea, juicy lu rou fan, fragrant fried cuttlefish and other local fare at its best, provided (of course) you choose the stalls with long queues. my favourite is Shilin Ye Shi because it is the biggest, and it is sheltered - a very important feature in winter because it rained every day when i was in Taipei! i think everyone has to like ye shi at least a little bit, but my father absolutely fell in love. he explored the night markets like a child unwrapping his christmas presents!

for nature-lovers, there is the Taroko National Park with grand mountains and treacherous white-water rivers. and 20 mins from the Taipei CBD, there is Yangming Shan - gorgeous waterfalls and refreshing scenery for anyone who wishes to take a break from the bustling city that never ever sleeps.

should you feel like resting in a hot spring, Yilan (just a few hours' drive from Taipei) is waiting with all her natural springs and cute little hotels.

for a dose of culture and exquisite beauty, there is Gu Gong which is more valuable in terms of the importance of relics from China's 5000 years of jade, porcelain, painting & other fine arts than the whole of PRC Mainland itself because Chiang Kai-shek had exercised great foresight when he selected the most gorgeous pieces from Beijing's museums during/before he sought refuge from the reigning Communists in the 1940s.

and for crazy festive celebrations? the New Year's Countdown at Taipei is fantastic with a hysterically happy, young audience that seems to know the words to every single song that A-Mei and Mayday performs.

a definite plus for Taiwan = her people, who provide such great service that it is hard not to believe that the Taiwanese are just born hospitable and gregarious. anyway, i always think you can tell how developed a city is by judging the quality of the service people. in Singapore, Manhattan and HK, a hotel receptionist would politely decline your request because of a company policy, and then offer an alternative. in China, you simply have to ask to see the manager or maybe insist a little bit more. then you will get your way, because the systems are new and not fully established yet. in Taiwan, the hotel receptionists are the most polite and cheery - the people are just naturally charming. even the random passerby would help you with street directions, with no hesitation whatsoever and many warm smiles.

also, Taipei and her neighbouring towns are beautifully planned, partly due to the almost-fastidious obsession with perfection that is a most distinctive idiosyncracy of the Japanese, who ruled the island for 50 years from 1895 to 1945. however i hope it is an influence that the Taiwanese will soon outgrow, because the architecture and customs of the island bear too much of a resemblance to have an allure that is authentically and absolutely Taiwanese. but i suspect that many will say such things about Singapore too. after all my beautiful homeland was, essentially, a British colony made up of immigrants from all over.

regardless, Taiwan is a charming island and i cannot wait to return to see the beautiful places in the central and southern parts of Taiwan - treasures that i could not see within the 8 days i was on the Formosa!