I’m feeling pretty Taiwanese these days; work and vacation have taken me to Taiwan quite a number of times this year. Recently, I was once again beckoned there to attend a friend’s wedding.

My buddy is one of my best friends from my small and relatively obscure hometown. By time alone, we’ve known each other since middle school and been through a lot of crazy life ‘ish together. I feel honoured to have been a part of his special day – it was like watching a brother get married! It’s incredible to see how far he’s come in life and quite surprising as well. He might be the person I least expected to ever come to Asia – so to hear him do his entire wedding speech in Chinese was nothing short of impressive.

For those who know nothing about Taichung, it’s a beautiful city. It hosts one of the largest and most famous night markets in Taiwan, the Feng Jia Night Market, and you notice right away that much of the Japanese influence is still present in the city, from the way the city planning circles the train station, to the names of some of the famous landmarks like Miyahara’s Optometry shop. I took an extra day in Taichung to recover from the inevitable hangover and got to check out Taiwan’s world famous Sun Moon Lake.

Direct flights into Taichung are actually quite affordable from Hong Kong. Even if you want to do the city thing, Taipei is only an hour away by the HSR. I’ll definitely be back.

My deepest congrats to the bride and groom. Here’s to the future!