Wiser

Got side-tracked by Facebook. What an addictive toy. The only explanation to why there's been no time to update the blog. It is fabulous to discover people I've lost touch with for a couple of decades and who have moved to the other side of the Globe. And then there is the fun of sparring over Scrabulous.

So no, I didn't get blown away in the typhoon.

I arrived in Taipei to find no traces of a typhoon ever having passed through. The hotel really spoilt my trip as they insisted on charging one night of no show despite knowing full well this was a natural disaster and despite me calling them up early to inform them to release the room to other guests. Bastards. That would the last time I stay there and they are going to see nasty reviews about them on all the travel advisory sites if I can help it.

If anything good came out of this, it would be - I was forced to look for other hotels and I discovered cheaper,better rooms and better located hotels (halleluya). Plus in trying to recover the lost of my hotel deposit from my insurance, I discovered I could not claim that but instead could claim compensation of two days of flight delay which worked out to S$800. That basically paid for my entire trip (shopping not included). It made the experience somewhat more tolerable but still, the unpleasantness and worry were not worth going through.

It also takes adversity to see the true colours of people and I am yet to recover from the shock that it only took $45 for a s0-called friend to betray the true value of her character... I guess I am lucky to have only parted with such a small sum to see this earlier rather than later.

What I learned as I travel more and more:
(1) always buy travel insurance
(2) do not be misled that a travelmate who looks like a kitty by day, will not snore like a tigress by nite.
(3) do not travel with a companion who forgets that you are not a travel agent and who also have absolutely no control over the weather.