There’s no place like home – Taiwan

Hector Ó hEochagáin (an feamous Irish speaking TV presenter) did a great job introducing Taiwan in his travel programme on TG4. Here is something different I want to share with you about this beautiful Island, formally called Ilha Formosa, that lies off the southeastern coast of mainland Asia, across the Taiwan Straits from Mainland China.

If you ask me what do I miss most about home, I would say food mostly rather then my family and friends! Food is so different but delicious back home so when it comes to home sickness, the easy solution for me is to make some Taiwanese cuisine myself to cure it. I always have a long list of things to buy and bring back from home and 99% of them are either my favourite food or the cooking ingredients that I can’t get in Dublin like preserved mustard leaves, rice wine, dried bamboo, dried tofu …etc. You probably think I am mad but these things sure taste better than they sound.

There are a few places that are always on my “must visit” list every time when I go home. These include the restaurant that only sells dumplings and nothing else, the Shabu-Shabu (DIY hotpot), the Tepanyaki and the food courts in the shopping centre. The night market is the place I would probably go more then once for the distinctly Taiwanese snacks such as stinky tofu, BBQ squid on skewer, Oyster pancake, salty deep fried chicken, the Chinese herbal medicine ribs, mixed seafood soup, steam bun, tea eggs, savoury pancakes and etc. And of course I must include my parents home in the list – nothing beats home cuisine.

I am not working for the Taiwan Tourism Board but I must say Taiwan is a fantastic holiday destination if you ever want to fly that far to South East Asia. Taipei is the capital and is only few hours away from most European’s main popular holiday destinations such as Beijing, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Bangkok, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur so definitely worth a stop over. Taiwan is known not only for its famous IT industry but also its towering mountains. It is home to the highest mountain in Northeast Asia – YuShan, the height of which is nearly 4000 meters above the sea level. What might have caught your eyes and heart is Taipei. It is a busy, 24 hour, city that never sleeps. The night life is amazing, with 24 hour Karaoke boxes, bowling alleys, bookstores, cafes, convenience stores, shopping centre and cinemas etc. I have to mention the night markets again where you can get pretty much everything you need for the price of half the normal shops. It also is a place where you can try out your bargaining skills.

Having been living in Ireland for 7 years, I think the most common question people always ask is “was it a culture shock when you first arrived in Ireland?”, “not as much of a shock as you would get if you visit Taiwan” is my default answer! You can find a lot of information and facts about Taiwan in the lonelyplanet or the internet so I am not going to copy and paste. I just want to mention a few things that I found where there’s a great difference between the two countries – culture wise.
Festival
Taiwan has ghost festival to fete the departed spirits of our ancestors in the underworld. We would invite all the ghosts and dead out on the 15th of the 7th lunar month and offer them loads of meat, fruit and wine to make peace with them. We would burn the “underworld” money for them to spend. In Ireland, you have Halloween. The difference is there are hundred of uninvited kids that dress up badly and knock on your door asking for food and sweets. I always wonder what they would do if I say “trick please”! Ireland has its world famous St. Patrick’s festival which will attract hundreds of thousands people all over the world watch the very sad parade and it’s so sad that they have to get very drunk and forget about it the very next day. No one can really explain to me why and what this festival is about but I know one thing for sure – it’s to do with the St Patrick who got rid of all the snakes out of this Island. We have a festival and it has something to do with the snake too. The festival is a commemoration of the patriotic scholar, poet, and statesman Cyu Yuan. But I personally like the fairy tale story about this festival. A snake fairy come down to earth to visit as a white snake. A man saw the snake but didn’t kill it. The snake fairy was so happy that she became a woman and married the man to thank him for saving her life.
Wedding
Irish would spend a fortune and more then 12 hours entertaining their wedding guests. The clever Taiwanese would make a fortune by getting married and the ceremony/celebration last no more then 4 hours. This is because the traditional wedding gift is a red envelope containing cash, so the bride and groom get quite a lot of money rather than 50 crystal bowls. For the wedding day itself it is important to pick a lucky date and time slot to get married. This is based on the lunar calendar and a combination of birthdays of both bride and groom. The wedding ceremony normally takes place at the groom’s house; everyone will then head to the restaurant for a banquet or a marquee banquet outside the house. Before the wedding the groom’s party has to go to the bride’s house to pick up the bride and take her back to his own house within the time frame set before for the short ceremony. For the ceremony itself, tea is served, rings are exchanged, and the ghosts of the ancestors are informed of the marriage by lighting incense and saying some prayers. After that it’s off to the banquet.
People
Taiwanese people are often straight talking. They will let you know straight away that you have a bad haircut or when you have gained a few pounds or even when you have funny shirts on you! Irish people do need to talk straight sometimes especially when women go shopping for clothes – they do need an honest opinion “that dress makes your bum look big” rather then “you look grand”!