Today we went to take a family photo ('quan jia fu'). We were all dressed up pretty nicely, considering this was a 'photo for posterity.' Dad didn't want my cousin to feel left out, so she was included in the family portrait too. Don't want to sound mean or anything, but I think it's just so weird to have her inside our family photo. oh well...
After the family photo session, we went to a nearby gelato place to have ice-cream, cakes and drinks. The gelato ice-cream I had was fantastic (can't remember what flavour; think it was caramel), plus the caramel coffee was great too. The caramel was spread so prettily on top of the froth, I almost didn't have the heart to drink the coffee.
At night, we had a wedding rehearsal to attend. My sister's big day falls on the next day! =) Dad was 'giving' my sister away to my brother-in-law, so he had to practise his route & walking. We were laughing our heads off, cos he looked so unnatural walking the way he was walking. Even the hotel manager was shaking her head and smiling, and she ended up teaching Dad how to walk properly to be more in sync with the Wedding March music. haha...
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Prior to the rehearsal, there was a quiet moment at a Chinese temple near the hotel my sister was getting married in. The entire family had arrived early, and the wedding couple had yet to arrive. So Dad, Mum, Third Sis, my cousin and I decided to check out what was nearby the hotel. We chanced upon an unknown temple not too far down the street, and bumped into a man there who volunteered to lead us round the temple. (He turned out to be a senior director at another nearby hotel.) Apparently, there is a fixed way to pay your respects to the gods at this temple; people start on the first level (paying their respects to the Heavenly Palace first then to gods on the first floor), then proceed to the second, then the third (where Ma-Zhor Goddess is), and finally back to Hu-ye, the Tiger God on the first floor. What was particularly striking about the temple was its high-tech gas stoves that people could use to light up their joss sticks. (If you've been to a Chinese temple in Singapore, you'd know why I said this was special.) In Singapore, you usually use the candles provided to light the joss sticks, but in that temple, they actually provided gas stoves that were fit for cooking! Talk about technological advancements...
19 June 2004
It's the day of the wedding, the very reason that brought us to Taipei in the first place. We woke up early to dress up and everything, cos we have to be at the hotel by 10.30 am. When we arrived, the bride was all made up, looking pretty and absolutely radiating with happiness. My sister had three changes of gowns: white (with a long train); blue; and creamy peach. Each gown came with its matching set of accessories. My job that day was to help my sister touch up her make-up, change into her gowns, and be the pseudo-bridesmaid.
The wedding went extremely well. It started with my sister and Dad walking together up a winding staircase to the second level where the wedding banquet was being held. As they walked along, guests and relatives were scattering rose petals over them, and popping party poppers. The sight was beautiful. (My job: to arrange my sister's gown train so that it would flow beautifully as she went up the staircase.) When they reached the second level, they entered the ballroom with the wedding march music playing, and my dad gave my sister away to my brother-in-law. The atmosphere was touching; Mom had tears glistening in her eyes. =)
The rest of the dinner proceeded smoothly without any disruptions. The coordination between the hotel manager and the wedding 'planners' (brother-in-law's mom's friends) was superb. The Taiwanese wedding is not very different from the Singaporean one, except that they have no 'Yam Seng,' usually a highlight in a Singaporean banquet, and their banquets are usually in the afternoon (so was my sister's). But then, my sister's wedding wasn't very Taiwanese either: it didn't have the part where VIP guests went up on stage to make long speeches one after another. VIPs refer to people who may hold political positions, and who use wedding banquets as platforms to garner political support for themselves. So the wedding was a special cross between the Taiwanese and Singaporean versions. The result was a very touching wedding that everyone obviously enjoyed: short and sweet. Everyone got to take something home: champagne for the guys, fresh baskets of flowers for the ladies, and pretty love-shaped balloons for the kids.
It was early afternoon by the time the wedding ended. Good for us, since we thus still had some time to do last-minute shopping for gifts to take home to relatives and friends. (We were leaving early for home the next day.) Everyone went down to Ximen Ding (again for the gals), and shopped. I bought an Adidas bag for my boyfriend and a striped purple top for myself (the top cost me only S$5!). After dinner, we headed back to the hotel (which was one train stop away), and busied ourselves for the rest of the night packing up our luggage.
20 June 2004
It's goodbye to Taiwan, and hello to Singapore. We caught our early afternoon SQ flight back to Singapore, and touched down at Changi at 6 plus in the evening, memories of our Taiwan trip still fresh in our minds. =)
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There you go, my Taiwan trip. =) Took lots of pictures; a pity I can't show them on my blog. Hope I've been good enough in my descriptions though, to give you an exciting insight into Taiwan. Thanks for staying tuned. Syonnara...
19 June 2004
It's the day of the wedding, the very reason that brought us to Taipei in the first place. We woke up early to dress up and everything, cos we have to be at the hotel by 10.30 am. When we arrived, the bride was all made up, looking pretty and absolutely radiating with happiness. My sister had three changes of gowns: white (with a long train); blue; and creamy peach. Each gown came with its matching set of accessories. My job that day was to help my sister touch up her make-up, change into her gowns, and be the pseudo-bridesmaid.
The wedding went extremely well. It started with my sister and Dad walking together up a winding staircase to the second level where the wedding banquet was being held. As they walked along, guests and relatives were scattering rose petals over them, and popping party poppers. The sight was beautiful. (My job: to arrange my sister's gown train so that it would flow beautifully as she went up the staircase.) When they reached the second level, they entered the ballroom with the wedding march music playing, and my dad gave my sister away to my brother-in-law. The atmosphere was touching; Mom had tears glistening in her eyes. =)
The rest of the dinner proceeded smoothly without any disruptions. The coordination between the hotel manager and the wedding 'planners' (brother-in-law's mom's friends) was superb. The Taiwanese wedding is not very different from the Singaporean one, except that they have no 'Yam Seng,' usually a highlight in a Singaporean banquet, and their banquets are usually in the afternoon (so was my sister's). But then, my sister's wedding wasn't very Taiwanese either: it didn't have the part where VIP guests went up on stage to make long speeches one after another. VIPs refer to people who may hold political positions, and who use wedding banquets as platforms to garner political support for themselves. So the wedding was a special cross between the Taiwanese and Singaporean versions. The result was a very touching wedding that everyone obviously enjoyed: short and sweet. Everyone got to take something home: champagne for the guys, fresh baskets of flowers for the ladies, and pretty love-shaped balloons for the kids.
It was early afternoon by the time the wedding ended. Good for us, since we thus still had some time to do last-minute shopping for gifts to take home to relatives and friends. (We were leaving early for home the next day.) Everyone went down to Ximen Ding (again for the gals), and shopped. I bought an Adidas bag for my boyfriend and a striped purple top for myself (the top cost me only S$5!). After dinner, we headed back to the hotel (which was one train stop away), and busied ourselves for the rest of the night packing up our luggage.
20 June 2004
It's goodbye to Taiwan, and hello to Singapore. We caught our early afternoon SQ flight back to Singapore, and touched down at Changi at 6 plus in the evening, memories of our Taiwan trip still fresh in our minds. =)
___________
There you go, my Taiwan trip. =) Took lots of pictures; a pity I can't show them on my blog. Hope I've been good enough in my descriptions though, to give you an exciting insight into Taiwan. Thanks for staying tuned. Syonnara...
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