Spent a week's holiday in Taiwan. Touched down at Taipeh International Airport night April 10. Started round island tour the next morning, travelling by coach down to Yeliu, Chiufen, then by train to Hualien and coach again to Taitung, Kaohsiung, Taichung and back to Taieph. Left Taipeh afternoon April 17.
Quite a relaxed tour. Really enjoyed the local food, the scenery and shopping at the night markets. One thing that impresses me most about Taiwan is the cleanliness of the country.
I would like to share with you 2 incidents which happened at the Taipeh International Flora Exposition site.
Incident 1: Ann and I were sitting on a bench enjoying the breeze. At the other end of the bench sat a Taiwanese family, father, mother, grandmother with a toddler on her lap and a 4 year old girl. They were having their lunch. Suddenly the girl dropped her packet of fries. It spilled all over the ground. Instantly and without a word the mother squatted down and diligently picked up the fries and disposed them in the appropriate thrash bin. They then continued with their lunch like nothing has happened.
Sorry to say this but if this has happened in Malaysia, I can tell you for sure that the whole family would have moved to another bench, leaving the fries on the ground for people to step on and make a mess of the place. Worst still, the mother would be screaming at the child!
Incident 2: Ann and I were waiting for our friends near the main entrance when I noticed a coin purse on the ground. My first thought was to pick it up and take it to the information counter but I changed my mind. Ann and I then moved a bit further away and observe. Crowds of people passed by, saw the purse but just ignored it. Nobody picked it up. After about 5 minutes I saw a teenage boy running from the opposite direction towards the purse, picked it up and ran back to where he came.
Again, sorry to say that if this has happened in Malaysia, the purse would have disappeared in a split second!!
Incident 1: Ann and I were sitting on a bench enjoying the breeze. At the other end of the bench sat a Taiwanese family, father, mother, grandmother with a toddler on her lap and a 4 year old girl. They were having their lunch. Suddenly the girl dropped her packet of fries. It spilled all over the ground. Instantly and without a word the mother squatted down and diligently picked up the fries and disposed them in the appropriate thrash bin. They then continued with their lunch like nothing has happened.
Sorry to say this but if this has happened in Malaysia, I can tell you for sure that the whole family would have moved to another bench, leaving the fries on the ground for people to step on and make a mess of the place. Worst still, the mother would be screaming at the child!
Incident 2: Ann and I were waiting for our friends near the main entrance when I noticed a coin purse on the ground. My first thought was to pick it up and take it to the information counter but I changed my mind. Ann and I then moved a bit further away and observe. Crowds of people passed by, saw the purse but just ignored it. Nobody picked it up. After about 5 minutes I saw a teenage boy running from the opposite direction towards the purse, picked it up and ran back to where he came.
Again, sorry to say that if this has happened in Malaysia, the purse would have disappeared in a split second!!
I wonder whether it is a good idea to ignore lost properties and let owners come back to search for them. Perhaps it is the culture over there. Whatever, these 2 incidents has certainly reflected the civic consciousness, integrity and honesty of the Taiwanese.
