An early start with a 4.30am wake up call for a 5.15am departure to the airport. GSE Chair Bill Tsai and assistant drove us and our expanded luggage to the airport.
8.00am successful departure from Taiwan by the GSE team from district 9690, and strangely for the first time it the trip, not one photo was taken of the event.
Destination Hong Kong, for two days of shopping and seeing another country.
GSE Team of Distict 9690
This blog has been established for the GSE Team of District 9690 (Western Sydney) who are exchanging with Disrict 3470 (Taiwan) in 2011. The team wearing their Sunday best!
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Thursday, March 10, 2011
The end is nigh one way or another
The last day began with a very quiet breakfast for the team. Brad and James had bland food to start the rebuilding process. The team caught up on all the excitement of the previous day. Bags were packed to leave the Premier hotel for the last stop.
No visits were planned to occur today except for lunch at a very nice French restaurant with a slightly strange head waiter who personally cut up every one's lunch just to make sure it was ok and cooked well. A very pleasant lunch with the Rotary club of Saccam was held with great humour shared by all.
The team then moved to their final stop on the journey back, at the first hotel the team stayed at. A fascinating, entertaining, wonderful and life changing experience has now come full circle back to the same hotel where we started. .
On arrival at the hotel we were informed of the earthquake that has created a tsunami off the coast of Japan causing massive damage. The tsunami is due to hit Taiwan at between 5.30 and 6pm. We are currently in the southwest corner of the country, with the highest risk area being in the north east and at this stage we are safe here. We are keeping a close eye on the situation. Thanks to all who have expressed their concern.
The team is looking forward to its farewell dinner tonight.
By the time dinner occurred northern Taiwan had been hit by tsunami, with quoted minimal damage although getting a specific answer was hard. We were informed that although Taiwan has earthquakes it has not experienced a tsunami.
A quiet but enjoyable night was had by all. The District Govenor, Assistant District Govenor, GSE Chair and Coordinator were all in attendance. A number of beautiful gifts were recieved and the team bid fond farewells to their new friends.
An early night ready for a big day tomorrow is planned.
No visits were planned to occur today except for lunch at a very nice French restaurant with a slightly strange head waiter who personally cut up every one's lunch just to make sure it was ok and cooked well. A very pleasant lunch with the Rotary club of Saccam was held with great humour shared by all.
The team then moved to their final stop on the journey back, at the first hotel the team stayed at. A fascinating, entertaining, wonderful and life changing experience has now come full circle back to the same hotel where we started. .
On arrival at the hotel we were informed of the earthquake that has created a tsunami off the coast of Japan causing massive damage. The tsunami is due to hit Taiwan at between 5.30 and 6pm. We are currently in the southwest corner of the country, with the highest risk area being in the north east and at this stage we are safe here. We are keeping a close eye on the situation. Thanks to all who have expressed their concern.
The team is looking forward to its farewell dinner tonight.
By the time dinner occurred northern Taiwan had been hit by tsunami, with quoted minimal damage although getting a specific answer was hard. We were informed that although Taiwan has earthquakes it has not experienced a tsunami.
A quiet but enjoyable night was had by all. The District Govenor, Assistant District Govenor, GSE Chair and Coordinator were all in attendance. A number of beautiful gifts were recieved and the team bid fond farewells to their new friends.
An early night ready for a big day tomorrow is planned.
Team splits to go to different hospitals
After getting ready for a 8:30am breakfast, I discovered that half the team had succumbed to food poisoning. James and Brad had very little sleep and looked mush worse for wear in the morning. After it was agreed that a doctor would attend the sick team members in the afternoon, the remaining GSE members left for the days program.
We arrived at the 'Magic School of Green Technology'. It was a building that had cost US $7 million to build and has incorporated many green technologies including a garden on the roof, solar technology, an amazing acoustic auditorium and increased ventilation to improve heating and cooling. The aim of the building apart from to show green technology is to allow school / university students to learn about these new concepts.
Karalyn suggested it was coffee time, so we were taken to a very nice coffee shop next to the university. After the hosts had contacted all Rotarian's that they had in their contact list (it had been discovered that there was not enough people booked in for lunch), we were taken to a traditional lunch were several tables had been filled. Two guests that had joined us "Allison and Jason" were a wealth of information and provided much insight during the afternoon and evening.
We left for Sin-Lau Hospital. During the hospital visit, we were taken through the hospital and shown the historic hospital equipment used. Karalyn was "greeted" by the wife of the Superintendent, an artist, who had been on GSE some years ago. She was an interesting woman, very enthusiastic. The deputy Superintendent was our host for the visit, and was very welcoming and congenial. He was very interested in our trip and our impressions of Taiwan.
We attended the National Museum of Taiwan Literature, where Allison and Jason were able to interpret the displays and the provide much knowledge and information.
We returned to the hotel as James and Brad were being whisked off to the hospital. Karalyn and I attended a Rotary Club meeting and carried the presentation for the team. After dinner and the presentation, we were taken to the hospital to see our team mates (being P21 and P22) sitting in wheel chairs with a drip attached. A comment of James previously was interesting to reflect on 'The only way I will allow any needle in me is if I am unconscious". All tests came back OK and they were released from hospital about 10pm. After being discharged from the hospital, the team headed back to the hotel for rest.
We arrived at the 'Magic School of Green Technology'. It was a building that had cost US $7 million to build and has incorporated many green technologies including a garden on the roof, solar technology, an amazing acoustic auditorium and increased ventilation to improve heating and cooling. The aim of the building apart from to show green technology is to allow school / university students to learn about these new concepts.
Karalyn suggested it was coffee time, so we were taken to a very nice coffee shop next to the university. After the hosts had contacted all Rotarian's that they had in their contact list (it had been discovered that there was not enough people booked in for lunch), we were taken to a traditional lunch were several tables had been filled. Two guests that had joined us "Allison and Jason" were a wealth of information and provided much insight during the afternoon and evening.
We left for Sin-Lau Hospital. During the hospital visit, we were taken through the hospital and shown the historic hospital equipment used. Karalyn was "greeted" by the wife of the Superintendent, an artist, who had been on GSE some years ago. She was an interesting woman, very enthusiastic. The deputy Superintendent was our host for the visit, and was very welcoming and congenial. He was very interested in our trip and our impressions of Taiwan.
We attended the National Museum of Taiwan Literature, where Allison and Jason were able to interpret the displays and the provide much knowledge and information.
We returned to the hotel as James and Brad were being whisked off to the hospital. Karalyn and I attended a Rotary Club meeting and carried the presentation for the team. After dinner and the presentation, we were taken to the hospital to see our team mates (being P21 and P22) sitting in wheel chairs with a drip attached. A comment of James previously was interesting to reflect on 'The only way I will allow any needle in me is if I am unconscious". All tests came back OK and they were released from hospital about 10pm. After being discharged from the hospital, the team headed back to the hotel for rest.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Stages of Life - Humans and Trees
The day began with a visit to a Child Care Centre and Kindergarten run by the YMCA. This is a fantastic facility, with two floors of themed rooms (20 in all), including a library, an exercise room, a room divided in to countries, a sensory deprivation room for children to experience disabilities, a pretend shopping centre, and much more. It is very well attended during the weekends, by both adults and children.
The second visit was to an Aged Care facility, also run by the YMCA. It is very new, and has very modern facilities, and a great design. Some extra care regarding trip and fall hazards may have been appropriate, but it was a pleasure to meet and speak to some of the people who lived there.
Lunch was next - this was in a house which was 135 years old, and filled with all kinds of bric-a-brac and antiques. It was a pleasant lunch, served on beautiful china.
Change of hosts - Allan (who we met early in the exchange) and Nick proved to be very obliging and interesting companions. AnPing was set as the destination for the afternoon.
The historic fort of Anping was first crated by the dutch in the 1600's. Only one original wall remains today as the rest had been removed, rebuilt, changed etc by the Chinese, Japanese and Taiwanese over the following 400 years. The 6 story walk up the main tower was invigorating. After a walk through the local market stalls the next stop beckoned.
From there to the tree house. An abandoned warehouse from the old port days that now has a fully grown tree growing through it. Next door was a wax museum for a quick history lesson. The journey to what was Taiwan's largest department store, for a quick look, finished the afternoon where we headed to dinner.
Dinner was at a Taiwanese restaurant, where the food was very fresh and a variety from the regional areas. One last stop on the way home was made at the Tainan night markets for a last spot of shopping as the next two nights have plans already made for us.
The second visit was to an Aged Care facility, also run by the YMCA. It is very new, and has very modern facilities, and a great design. Some extra care regarding trip and fall hazards may have been appropriate, but it was a pleasure to meet and speak to some of the people who lived there.
Lunch was next - this was in a house which was 135 years old, and filled with all kinds of bric-a-brac and antiques. It was a pleasant lunch, served on beautiful china.
Change of hosts - Allan (who we met early in the exchange) and Nick proved to be very obliging and interesting companions. AnPing was set as the destination for the afternoon.
The historic fort of Anping was first crated by the dutch in the 1600's. Only one original wall remains today as the rest had been removed, rebuilt, changed etc by the Chinese, Japanese and Taiwanese over the following 400 years. The 6 story walk up the main tower was invigorating. After a walk through the local market stalls the next stop beckoned.
From there to the tree house. An abandoned warehouse from the old port days that now has a fully grown tree growing through it. Next door was a wax museum for a quick history lesson. The journey to what was Taiwan's largest department store, for a quick look, finished the afternoon where we headed to dinner.
Dinner was at a Taiwanese restaurant, where the food was very fresh and a variety from the regional areas. One last stop on the way home was made at the Tainan night markets for a last spot of shopping as the next two nights have plans already made for us.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
History, Hoses and Hospitality
Another great day in Tainan! Today we visited some historic sites of Taiwan's oldest city- Tainan. The first stop was the amazing Chihkan Tower which was built in 1653 by the Dutch during their colonisation of Taiwan.
We then stopped by the relaxing 'Eternal Golden Castle' a defensive castle built in 1874 to to safeguard the coast and to defend the island against Japanese invasions. This was a most interesting historic site and a most relaxing place to visit and wind down the pace for an hour or so.
We were then treated to a 5-star lunch which was nothing short of spectacular! A five course meal with a main including duck with caramelised blueberry sauce or angus beef with a black mushroom sauce. Dessert was so well presented that it took an effort to start eating it... but did not take long to finish it off.
After lunch we had a vocational visit to the fire station where we had a guided tour that started with the disaster control centre and eventuated to:
1. A small model demonstration of the fire emergency procedure
2. A ride in the helicopter flight simulator
3. Navigating a pitch dark smoke room... get down low and go go go!
4. Testing the typhoon simulation room... rather windy!
5. Stepping into an earth quake simulation room... rather rocky!
6. Taking the high ropes at third storey level across two apartment buildings.... rather scary!
7. Escaping from the third floor via harness evacuation descent... rather fun!
This was both a fun and interesting visit that we all enjoyed. We then headed back to the hotel for a short break before being treated to another fine meal by our friendly hosts yet again. A traditional Taiwan style dinner, bursting with flavours, spices and variety concluded a great day of GSE.
We then stopped by the relaxing 'Eternal Golden Castle' a defensive castle built in 1874 to to safeguard the coast and to defend the island against Japanese invasions. This was a most interesting historic site and a most relaxing place to visit and wind down the pace for an hour or so.
We were then treated to a 5-star lunch which was nothing short of spectacular! A five course meal with a main including duck with caramelised blueberry sauce or angus beef with a black mushroom sauce. Dessert was so well presented that it took an effort to start eating it... but did not take long to finish it off.
After lunch we had a vocational visit to the fire station where we had a guided tour that started with the disaster control centre and eventuated to:
1. A small model demonstration of the fire emergency procedure
2. A ride in the helicopter flight simulator
3. Navigating a pitch dark smoke room... get down low and go go go!
4. Testing the typhoon simulation room... rather windy!
5. Stepping into an earth quake simulation room... rather rocky!
6. Taking the high ropes at third storey level across two apartment buildings.... rather scary!
7. Escaping from the third floor via harness evacuation descent... rather fun!
This was both a fun and interesting visit that we all enjoyed. We then headed back to the hotel for a short break before being treated to another fine meal by our friendly hosts yet again. A traditional Taiwan style dinner, bursting with flavours, spices and variety concluded a great day of GSE.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Karalyn's Health Day - Hospitals, Coffee and Wine
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| Excercise bikes in the waiting room - great idea! |
The day started out with breakfast at the hotel, then the team headed to National Chen Kung University Hospital.
After three unsuccessful attempts to collect the exchange student that would join us for the day, we finally arrived. We were shown the complete hospital including the in-patient and out-patient area, PET area for cancer detection (where they use glucose reactive) and what we would term in Australia as a private hospital.
We were also given information by a volunteer about the difficulties of getting organ donors in Taiwan. The situation is even more serious than in Australia, with only 200 transplants per year, and over 10,000 on the waiting list.
Rotary is a large donor to the hospital.
It was a very interesting, and well presented overview of how the hospital works, and a very effective vocational visit for Karalyn.
After leaving the hospital, we arrived at lunch. Traditional food was on the menu again with the main discussions being centred around what combination of food would be served in the banquet and how many courses would there be.
It seemed to be Karalyn's day - we visited Yu-Ting's (outbound GSE Team member) cafe. Her father is an architect and had designed the building, the unique features combined with Japanese design has created a stunning work of art. The water features, music and coffee/cake made for a very enjoyable and relaxing afternoon.
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| Photos do not do justice to the brilliance of this cafe! |
We left the coffee shop to visit the Literacy Museum. However, it is closed Mondays! The team spotted retail shops across the roundabout and shoe shopping commenced where I purchased a new pair of shoes.
After a short break back at the hotel to get changed, the team arrived at Tainan Rotary Club. During the presentation, in order to engage the audience, I volunteered Karalyn to demonstrate a kookaburra laugh. After a panicked look, she gave an excellent demonstration. The football demonstration is getting worse - fortunately we have not yet broken anything.
After the meeting, it is traditional for Tainan Club to visit a wine shop for a few glasses and perhaps a cigar. We were included in this. After a short visit, the team arrived back at the hotel to write the blog, relax and prepare for the remaining days.
Four days to go of GSE.....Count down is on.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Team scores a home run
A day off officially, that started late with a leisurely breakfast after the excitement of conference had subsided.For a relaxing start it was nice to go a walking tour of an open space park area, Tainan City Park. Families appeared to be enjoying BBQ’s, badminton and walking their dogs. Much fun was being had by all.
A quick tour of some of the Tainan shopping district was the next stop, specifically electrical items and toys.
After a return to the hotel Jeremy a Rotarian from Yun Lin had come down to visit and take us on a quick city tour. We started at a very large bookstore followed by lunch at Starbucks. A quick (nearly 2hr detour) occurred when Brad found a baseball batting practise area and the boys went to town. Starting with gentle looping softballs and graduating to 130km/h fastballs, to a bit of pitching and some basketball, the boy’s competitive spirit was released.
Onwards to a very large department store where dreams were made and stayed, after looking at the price tags. A quick dash (in the wrong direction to start) back to the hotel, for the standard 10mins to get dressed, look pretty and get out the door for dinner.
The lovely ladies from the Tainan Phoenix club were our gracious hosts for dinner. Another 11 courses of stunning food from chicken to seafood was served. After the obligatory photo and banner exchange the team returned to the hotel for an early night.
All are very excited about the week ahead, with only 5 days to go.
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