Personal Blather!

Only my second Taiwan post and I'm already getting ready to go back. Taipei has been a lot less hectic than the previous parts of the trip, with mostly only shopping on the list of things to do.

Places we visited: Ximending, Shilin, Taipei 101, Danshui and Liufoochun. Don't know if I missed any other place.

In as few words as I can: Lots of things to see, not a lot of things that made me want to buy. Fun. Tiring. One can only do so much shopping.

I think this trip taught me that I'm more suited to shop at 'higher class' places, because as great a bargain as Bugis street lookalikes may have, they serve nothing that suits my tastes, nor is the shopping experience particularly suitable for me.

Heading back tomorrow. As great as Taiwan is, after a while, you kind of get a little tired of the dreary weather. I'm particularly averse to wet weather so yes, I'm also particularly unhappy about the weather. It was still very fun though, and I'm quite glad I came along for this trip. Too bad it's time to bid adieu!

So I've been in Taiwan almost a full week and here's a short little report on what we've done since arriving here.

We touched down in Hong Kong and waited 40 minutes on Monday for our transit flight to Taipei. We finally arrived in Taiwan, and it was raining... it was about dinner time, so we just had time to check in and go for shabu shabu. We were leaving early the next day, so we hit the sack.

The next morning, we awoke early to start our journey around the entire island. It was early but the sun was already up, and it was drizzling, which could pretty much describe most of our trip so far. The nine of us packed into a van and headed to Alishan. Pictures are not with me yet, but I was told it was the Taiwanese version of Cameron Highlands. As usual, the cold did not agree with me, but somehow I managed to come down from there ok. We tried to catch the sunrise which was supposed to be very magnificent from up the mountain, but again, due to rain, we went back disappointed.

We visited the Sun Moon Lake too, which had a lot of nice sceneries. Taking the boat ride across the lake was fun I suppose, but hardly as exciting. Still, the lake was quite impressive. We stayed over there for a night.

The next morning, we went to an aboriginal theme park, ostensibly to see the different tribes that lived in that area. Interestingly, they reminded me a lot about our very own Iban and Kadazan tribes. The theme park also had lots of fun and exciting rides, and I really enjoyed one ride; my first time on a hanging coaster. Sitting right in the front was really exciting!

We rushed a little to catch our train, which was a High Speed Rail (Read: Somewhat like a bullet train, although just a little slower... ). That was pretty impressive IMHO. The train flew like one quarter the length of the island in an hour.

We arrived and caught a bus to Ken Ting, the southernmost tip of Taiwan. It's a seaside area famous for its street stalls, sort of like a daily night market. We had a lot of Taiwanese finger and hawker food. They also had various unique things not usually found in a night market, like game stalls and temporary tattoos. Still, it was quite fun walking around trying out the various unique food... like wild boar meat (which we have officially dubbed TK).

Ken Ting is also famous for its beach and water sports, although not quite the water sports that you think. They have jet skis and banana boat rides, but they also had other more exciting rides, like the donut, or the 'popeye'. Both are similar to the banana boat, but at a much higher intensity. Failure to hold on tightly would result in falling into the sea. Still, they were very very fun, but tiring.

We also visited for the very first time, a hot spring! It was certainly interesting as I never really understood why people would want to go through so much effort just for a shower, but now I do... It's really comfortable! I also managed to try some of the more unique 'therapies', like those leg biting fish, and tea extract. The fish were really fun. It's interesting how they swarm you the moment you put your feet into the water. It's not painful at all although it takes a little getting used to so you don't get too ticklish. I enjoyed it thoroughly. All the various springs had different temperatures depending on what they were for, and we tried just about every single one of them. It was definitely a very fun experience.

So, after a day out at the beach (which thank goodness was free from rain), an evening at the hot spring, and night marketing, we left Ken Ting and caught a bus and train which took us to Hua Lien, which is on the east side of Taiwan. Hua Lien is a relatively big city, and we stayed in a very nice little blue hostel. Somehow, the landlady seemed to favor Ann Leong a lot. In Hua Lien we actually had the opportunity to see a Dragon Boat Race, although it was a bit too sunny for us. We also visited Taroko National Park, and took quite a lot of nice photos there. The highlight of our Hua Lien trip had to be the white water rafting though. Unfortunately, yours truly felt a little unwell half way through, but it was definitely an experience worth having, even though it was only half way. We travelled for about 3++ km downstream, and it was both tiring and hot, but still very enjoyable. It was definitely one of the best parts of the trip!

So after two days in Hua Lien, we bid adieu to the city which gave us our first taste of the internet in such a long time, and headed back to Taipei, which is where I am at the moment. Our touring part of the trip is over, but we still have the shopping part. So far, we've visited Xi Men Ding, but that place is just a little too 'hip' for my taste. I really ought to be shopping for more working clothes anyway.

I'm signing off here. There's plenty more to write about, not to mention photos to put up, but for now, this will have to do. It's been a really fun trip and I'm still looking forward to the next few days.

Oh, and I'm totally well now thanks!

For the first time... I'm actually blogging at the airport.

I've read about it in other blogs, but I've never really had much of an opportunity to do it, probably because I usually don't get the chance to fly all that much.

So here I am, on my way to Taiwan for my graduation trip. Exciting? Looking forward to it really. :)

There really isn't all that much that I can blog about is there? After all, it's just a spur of the moment thing...

Maybe when I arrive I'll have something to write about... Maybe...

Every time I come back, I have to watch myself. I'm quite glad that I'm doing quite well spiritually, but that doesn't mean I'm all that great. I have to watch myself that I don't let pride get the better of me. Still, I do feel a great burden when I see the lack of passion, the lack of hunger and the lack of seriousness when it comes to the things of God here.

I feel a very heavy burden, a holy dissatisfaction, largely because I myself awoke not too long ago. I realize now that my attitude in the past was the same as those that I see now, and because of that, I realize just what I'd been missing out on.

And I really pray that all those who have yet to realize it as I have will.

Never have I been as convicted about what the Bible calls 'lukewarmness'. There are so many things it says about how we ought to seek first His kingdom, or in other words, seek after spiritual things, and He will take care of the rest. Unfortunately, instead of arranging our lives around God, with Him being the core, many take God as just another part of who they are. Going to church is a weekly 'club', and we do things because we're expected to. This attitude of placing God as a secondary priority causes us to live a powerless life, one which we rely on ourselves, and we never walk by faith.

God is looking for a heart that places Him first, and I know that most people would say out loud that they do. The revelation they receive is not wrong, but it is only on the intellectual level, not on the spiritual level. If every word and wisdom of God spoken to us only convicts us at the intellectual level, we are learning only concepts, which is basically the law. Now biblical concepts are not bad or wrong, but Jesus came to save, and to give us the power to be set free. Again being free does not mean to be lawless, but to be reliant on Jesus' strength and not your own. Most of us just don't have Jesus as the center of our life, so how can we have His strength?

So we live a defeated life, or at least, a faithless one. We play it very safe, and we walk solely on our own abilities. Being educated and well to do means a lot of us don't really see the need to have God much. We've never been placed in a place where we have no choice but to have absolute faith in God's goodness. Since we never 'need' God, He's never really all that important for us.

I'm not saying our background or life has to be in a bad condition and that we must be in a situation where we are in dire need for His intervention all the time, but we have never been challenged, and we never gain the passion for Him.

We need to learn that God is really seeking for someone to make decisions that are FOR HIM. This shows in little things that we do, like whether or not we're willing to step out of our comfort zone to do something for Him. Do we sacrifice our time for prayer meetings? Make time in our private lives to be spent in His presence? Rely on His goodness and move when He asks us to?

Conviction has to happen at the spiritual level. We have to be convicted enough when God speaks to make tough decisions and move according to His will. If our Christian faith is just an intellectual one, then we shortchange ourselves from living the true Christian life that Jesus came to give to us.

There are many things that I can still learn, and I am always humbled when I'm here. I really pray each day that I do not lose the personal revival I am experiencing. Each day, I try to commit myself more and more to Him, to tune myself to be sensitive to His word and His vision. Most of all, I pray for a greater revelation and that I will never lose my passion and seriousness in the things of God.

I guess I never expected to be in this position so soon...

Thinking about it though, it's not all bad... in a way, it DOES reflect how I wanted things to be... with the exception of one thing...

Perception.

I never expected it to be positive at this point. The whole point was to allow an opportunity to make a difference. I think I DO have that opportunity, and I'll do my best to make it count... In the end, I know what should be done... and I'll do just that. I have no expectations, just a desire to follow God's word, and I think that's enough.

There are some things in life worth pursuing, worth fighting for... Fighting will involve the element of risk, the possibility of losing. Getting hurt would definitely be part of the process.

So we often have to look at circumstances, to weigh and judge if the result is worth the risk. Sometimes, the prize seems to be very precious, but even so, the cost may be too great.

We make decisions based on our life priorities, that's a given. I used to wonder why some people can seem so unwise, to be willing to risk their future for a moment of glory, but when faced with the same decision, I cannot truly say I would definitely make the right decision. I KNOW for a fact that at the end of the day, it's just a stupid 1 hour match. I KNOW that after that match I'm going to look back and think "Why the hell did we go through so much just to play that one game?" My head tells me that I ought to know what to decide, to do that which is wise. But still I'm faced with the question yet again: Am I willing to put my future on the line for a short moment of 'glory'? The rational part of me is saying "don't be stupid!", but another part of me says "you only live life once, so go do it!"

I'd like to think I'm the kind of person who would go all out for something I believed in. If I'm thoroughly convinced that God's will is for me to excel in this area, and I have passion for it, I think I'd be willing to give up a lot to get it done. Unfortunately, in this one instance, I'm not so sure what God's will is... true, He asked us to excel, but He also told us to be wise, and I'm not so sure if choosing to be this reckless is considered 'wise'.

I guess in the end, I did choose to fight for it. I'll once again do my part and pray for God to do His. I positioned myself the best I knew how to make things as favorable for me to play, but it seems it just couldn't happen. Now I don't know if I still have the opportunity, but God willing, I think I can try!

The biggest question I have is this: Is having this attitude glorifying God? I really believe that if it does, then I can trust in His protection. Otherwise I'm just running on my own strength. Being reckless can hardly be something God would want us to be... but I doubt He'd want us to be people who weren't willing to step out in faith either.

So to fight, or not to fight... I'm going to FIGHT if it's where I believe You want me to go, where I believe You're leading me, where I believe You're directing me to go. I think this is one area I might consider fighting for instead of drawing back. I'm just waiting for You to reveal Your will, and I believe I'll see it through the doors that You open for me... or don't open. Thank You.