Taiwan

WOW! What at trip…what a reception. The reception was enormous. The banquet room on top floor of the Grand Hotel has got to be the most ridiculous banquet room I’ve ever seen. The views from the top floor are spectacular and the room itself was huge. I loved the décor, the highlight being the dragon, serpent like sculpture in the center of the ceiling. There were 46 tables, each table seating 12. When we made our rounds to toast every table, it felt like a marathon. Good thing they gave us grape juice instead of wine for toasting, otherwise I would have been toast. It was funny, when the three couples make our entrance, we didn’t even really feel nervous because there were so many faces that it just looks like a big collage of people. Clement Chang, former Tamkang University President and advisor to the President of China made a speech. I thought his speech was kind of dry, lacked substance, but I’m honored that he was even present at our reception. The food seemed decent, probably enjoyed much more by people with pallets much more favorable to Taiwan delicacies, but none of the couples (or atleast M and I) barely had enough time sitting down to enjoy it. M and I were on Table 3 where we sat with a former president of Tamkang University, the current president, my uncle, my cousin, Uncle Soong-chi and his wife, and Aunty Tsao Ling and my cousin (auntie’s daughter). It was nice seeing everyone again and getting to speak with them. It had been so long since I’d seem them that I did not recognize several of their faces, especially the cousins and relatives who were much younger last time I saw them. The brides changed twice, and were basically at the table for only about 5 minutes. Since we got a late start on the reception, all the events just flew by. I enjoyed how the servers came out and served the first dish with a marching routine accompanied by music and drums. At the end, I felt honored to be a part of such a grand occasion, and I am forever greatful to my parents for arranging such a party for my brothers, our wifes, and me.

The rest of Taiwan was great. It took a few days for M and her bro to get use to the difference in culture, but they definitely enjoyed everything. M said that she was just about getting comfortable with everything the day we had to leave. We saw lots of attractions including Taipei 101 (it really is tall), CKS Memorial, National Museum, Shilin Night Market (2 times), Tamsui Night Market, The Ching Dynasty Memorial to the soldiers, the weekend Jade Market in Taipei, and of course the France Taipei photo studio where we were all held captive for 1.5 days. Dad arranged for a charter bus to drive us around Taipei the day following the wedding reception. He was like a tour-guide, and we definitely got to see TONS of stuff that day. It was incredible, and my parents were great hosts to us all. It involved lots of coordination and work getting all the different family and friends together and arranging everyone’s accommodations. It was nice staying at my parent's flat. They have made it really nice and the studio has a sweet view of the Tamsui river.

We ate A TON. My dad set us up with enormous 8-10 course feasts at least 1-2 times a day. Became a little overkill, but my dad wanted to make sure we ate enough.

Definitely will be an experience that we'll never forget. I'll be posting pictures on Smug Mug sometime next week.

Hwang-ing Gwong Ling!