Being a Freelance trainer never fails to surprise
me. I got the chance to go further east than I ever have before: to
Taiwan.
I had to dig out the atlas to see
exactly where it was. It's an island of the coast of China and although
it seems to desire independence, it is still part of the P.R.C. at the
time of writing. Finding a time window for ten days that was mutually
acceptable wasn't exactly easy, but at the end of August i found myself
at Heathrow boarding an EVA airlines 777-300 for the 12 hour flight to
Bangkok. There, one has to leave the plane and await a crew change and
for the plane to be cleaned (I counted 25 girls climbing the aircraft
steps for that purpose!) Then, its another 3 hours to landing in Taiwan.
I was whisked to a very nice hotel: The Royal Biz,
Taipei for the duration. Interesting to note that Taiwan is about a
third larger than Wales but has a population of some 23 million!!
Bangkok airport is a pretty cool place to spend an
hour or so.
In the lift at the hotel, some interesting
instructions that raise a smile.
The hotel is one of the nicest that I have ever
stayed in, nice room and excellent breakfasts.
Omelettes freshly made to order.
Sam is my translator and chauffeur for the trip. He
drove with impressive skill and nonchalant ease through the often
tangled traffic.
This was my place of work: TBS has been formed about
14 years ago by the government in response to the many commercial TV
stations. A sort of latter day BBC, perhaps?
Its a busy old place. Signs have always
amused me, sometimes because they dont always translate too well.
If you cant afford a car, then you have a scooter.
There are millions of them in Taipei.
and if you cant afford a scooter, then its gotta be a
bike. And with one of the worlds largest manufacturer of bikes (Giant)
that suits most people here.
They are often seen carrying some
strange loads.
It can suddenly turn from hot and sunny to hot and
rainy as I found out on one of my little excursions from the hotel.
Ah, those wretched scooters. They are
everywhere in their thousands.
Interesting that ladies often hold a brolly aloft
even when walking on the shade.
Stood waiting for my lift, there was always something
happening.
In a nearby park, people just relaxing and enjoying a
bit of peace and quiet.
