The day of the Memorial Service had been much better than we had expected, but it was nice to now relax and really enjoy the rest of our trip.  We started Monday at Donutes again with Joyce, the Pastor and his wife.  They then presented us with some pineapple cake and tea which was very nice of them (and the cake definitely didn’t last long when we got home!).  Joyce also brought a very nice red wine and chocolate bread – something we should definitely have over here!

My mum, Joyce and I then met up with YiHsin and Mei-Li and drove South to Kenting National Park, stopping off at a riding stables on the way where we met some of Joyce’s friends and had a traditional Taiwanese lunch including drunken chicken! Having dropped off our luggage at the hotel and picked up Louise from the bus station we then went to the Sisal (used for making rope) museum and then for a drive around the area mostly staying in the van as it was so hot – we were very glad of the aircon – until we stopped at the Southern most tip of Taiwan and walked to the Observation point.  It was a lovely view, and we stayed there to watch the sun start to go down before driving to the Shadao shell beach near the hotel where we watched the sun set.

In the evening we headed to Smokey Joes Steak House for dinner.  We had a great time there for dinner as we all ordered something and then shared it amongst everyone – including the hamburger!  To round off the day we drove through a night market (rather than walking as we were a bit tired) and then headed back to the hotel.

After breakfast at the hotel the next day, we then drove back to the shell beach (which you can’t walk on as its a protected area) and visited the small museum there.  YiHsin then drove us along the coast past an Army post and then a Missile base (though we couldn’t see much there) as well as through the mountains but the road was bad (it had disintegrated in places) and we were running out of time so we drove back into the nearest town to have lunch before YiHsin drove us to the station.  He thought that we were going to miss the train so drove really fast swerving in and out of the traffic!!

Luckily we were in plenty of time for Joyce, my mum and I to get our train to Hualian.  To get our luggage to our platform we had to go down on a platform, across the tracks and then up on another platform – all controlled by one  guard who just kept shouting at people as (it turned out) you could only have one platform going at a time and with only a certain number of people on it.

The trains were very busy again as the holiday was now only a day away, but thankfully the PCT had booked seats for us all though I did have to sit with my legs on top of the luggage for part of the journey.  Arriving at Hualian we were picked up and taken to the Yu-Shan Theological College and Seminary where we were going to be staying overnight which had a lovely setting overlooking Lake Liyin.

We were then taken by the Vice Principal of the Seminary to a Japanese restaurant for dinner that he had trouble finding (even though he’d been there before) and we were the only ones there so I’m guessing other people may have the same problem!  It was an unusual meal – you had a little stove with a clear soup on top in front of you and then a plate of all different types of vegetables (including flowers, several kinds of mushroom, noodles, etc) and meat that you put into the soup as you wanted to cook it – but very, very tasty.

Our last full day in Taiwan started with an early breakfast with the Vice Principal at a local B&B (they call them Home Stays) which included a raisin waffle in the shape of a fish!  We were then taken back to the Seminary where we met the Principal (Dr Pusin Tali) who gave us a DVD of the Aboriginal Choir and an Aboriginal table runner.  After a short rest, we were shown around the library and then were taken for lunch with the librarian and his wife at a fish farm which had a very large restaurant as well.  You could even wade out into a pond and pick your own clams if you wanted to!

After a very large and tasty lunch, we were taken into Hualian to meet Judy Esther, a missionary from America who has been in Taiwan for 40 years.  She was part way through the process of packing up as she is retiring and going back to the states but she was very hospitable and happy to put up with us!  After some more food, she took us to the train station and we caught the train back to Taipei for our last night in Taiwan.  Again the train was VERY packed and they’d had trouble getting tickets for us so we were very grateful that they had succeeded!

Getting back to the Y Hotel in Taipei, we had dinner with Joyce (who was fantastic to us, and who we can never thank enough) and said goodbye to her as she was heading home for a well earned rest after looking after us for our entire trip.  The next morning we were picked up at 6.30 and taken to the airport and we were on our way home after a very emotionally and physically tiring visit.  We couldn’t have been more looked after or supported whilst we were there though and we will always be grateful to the PCT for arranging it, and for everything that people did whilst we were there and are still doing to remember Jonathon.

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By the way, you can find all the photos in these posts and others that we took on the trip on Flickr here.

Despite what lay ahead on the Sunday both my mum and I slept well which was a relief.  We had breakfast with the minister’s wife at Donutes a local bakery run by a church member. Despite the name they didn’t only do doughnuts but lots of nice bread-like cakes which were very tasty – wish they were available over here!  The rest of the morning was taken up with the Easter Sunday service, during which we were introduced to the congregation who clapped us in welcome.  As is the tradition, everyone got given hard boiled eggs wrapped in cellophane with a message such as ‘Christ has Risen’ on – unfortunately mine didn’t really survive the rest of my trip! Lunch was had with the congregation in the hall behind the church and consisted of a bowl containing soup, rice, chicken, pork, shrimp, and veg at the very least so we were definitely full after that!  We also had bell fruit which was a bit like a pear in taste.

[BTW Apparently this church was built by a missionary from the UK and was heavily based on a church from either London or Scotland.  The minister of the Pingtung church would like to know which church this might be so that they could potentially forge links with them.  If you have any ideas which church this might be, let me know!]

In the afternoon, the memorial service took place for my brother.  My mum and I were provided with headsets through which we got an English Translation done (as at the funeral 20 years ago) by David Alexander for which we were very grateful.  We reckon there were over 100 people there including the choir who sang a few items – it was good to see him so well remembered and had been so liked.  For one of the songs there was a soloist who was very very good, and she came to speak to us afterwards.  Apparently she is a professional opera singer now in Holland but happened to be back in Taiwan on holiday and heard about the memorial service and asked if she could take part as Jonathon taught her English!  How amazing is that!

As part of the service YiHsin had put together a montage of pictures that we’d sent, and also some images from 20 years ago.  If you want to see it you can see it HERE.  Both my mum and I said a few words (including some from my Dad who could not be there) for which David Alexander helpfully translated for the congregation (having had to dash from the back of the church to the front!).

After the service there was tea and cake in the hall behind the church which included cakes from the Donutes shop – I thought the green tea cake one was delicious! – and bell fruit.  They had a video playing at the back of the hall which included some bits from the funeral 20 years ago – oh how different we all looked then.  They also had photos up that we’d sent through as well as some of Jonathon’s things that we’d brought or they already had.  Everything was very nicely displayed and everyone seemed very interested in seeing them and talking to us.  We felt so looked after and that he was still so appreciated that it made what could’ve been a really hard day a joyful celebration rather than a tearful sad day.

That evening we were taken out as honoured guests to a Japanese restaurant with many people including Maurice, Mei-Li, the Alexanders, people who had taken part in the service and people that we’d met 20 years ago – unfortunately I cannot remember all their names due to my terrible memory!  There were so many dishes, and I even tried Wasabi for the first time though it was a bit too spicy for me!  Having had a photo taken of everyone together and a few speeches we then went back to the church and ended the day having bell fruit and tea with the Pastor and his wife.  As well as helping with all the church stuff, his wife also sews, knits, paints, appliqués and teaches as well as the two of them looking after a 2 acre garden outside of town – wow!!

I’ve written up the rest of our trip in my next blog post, but you can see some photos from the day here.  We were slightly too busy during the day to take pictures ourselves!

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By the way, you can find all the photos in these posts and others that we took on the trip on Flickr here.

Some of you who know me will know that I had an older brother Jonathon, who was killed in 1993 by a drunk-driver whilst he was working in Taiwan with the Presbyterian Church of Taiwan (hereafter referred to as PCT).  My parents and I went out at the time for the funeral (we decided to have him buried there as he loved the country and the people so much) and I have only been back once with my mum since (in 2000).  This and the next two posts on my blog are my (belated) attempt to document our trip – my apologies for the names I get wrong or miss out as I can’t remember them all (I’m so bad at names!).  If anyone spots any errors or omissions, please let me know and I’ll correct them!

This year is the 20th anniversary of his death, and for that reason the PCT decided to have a memorial service on Easter Sunday (which was coincidentally exactly 20 years to the day since he was killed) at the church that he was working with out there in PingTung.  The PCT then extended the very generous invitation for me and my mum to go out to Taiwan for the service at their expense which we were very humbled to receive and very glad that we were able to take up their offer.

Because of my work and my entry into the London Marathon, we were not able to go for longer than 8 nights so we knew it was probably going to be an intense and busy trip, so we were a bit apprehensive going out but we needn’t have worried as we couldn’t have been better looked after whilst we were out there by everyone from the PCT.

We flew out from Heathrow with EvaAir and the flight was long (16ish hours with a stop in Bangkok for an hour and a half) but relatively trouble-free apart from a little bit of turbulence.  We left on Wednesday evening and due to the time difference arrived Thursday evening, so we were very glad to be met at the airport at 10pm by a driver and taken to our hotel (the Y) in Taipei (the capital of Taiwan).

On our first full day in Taiwan we had breakfast in the hotel, and then were picked up by Joyce (who would stay with us the entire time we were in Taiwan) and taken to meet the Rev Yang (the General Secretary of the PCT) and a few others at the PCT  head office in Taipei and they took us to lunch at a Greek Restaurant.  My mum ordered Milk Tea which turned out to be cold tea with a straw – we learned quickly to ask for black tea hot!

Jet lag was kicking in by now, so we were taken back to the hotel for a much needed rest after which we had the rest of the day to ourselves walking round the nearby shops (there were 3 different shopping centres under the nearby main train station!) and having dinner at the hotel again.  They had a special dessert offer on Waffles with Apple & Oolong tea sauce – very nice!  I did take a picture on my phone but when I went to check it after we’d eaten it, it hadn’t taken – dagnabit!

The next day after breakfast we were taken to the train station and met Joyce again before boarding the High Speed Rail train down to Kaohsiung.  As common for all of our journeys over the next few days the trains were very busy as it was coming up to a national holiday.  We were met at the station by Mei-Li (President of the Pingtung Presbytery), Maurice (an American missionary), and Louise and YiHsin (a couple who are youth workers in Pingtung where Jonathon was based) – the latter was to be our chauffeur for the next few days.  Having seen a bit of the area, we were taken to a special Chinese restaurant for an all you can eat lunch with other members of the church.  The food was very nice, though we didn’t always know what we were trying!

After lunch we were driven around the local area and the old harbour before being taken out to the  memorial chapel and garden where my brother’s ashes are now.  He had originally been buried nearby, but due to a land issue with the government his (and other remains) had had to be moved last year and they are now in beautiful marble urns in the memorial chapel.  My brothers urn is in the section that is looked after by the PingTung church as they still remember and honour his memory, so we know that it is well looked after.  Maurice kindly gave us some flowers to lay and after a brief prayer they left us to our own memories.

We took  some pictures of the memorial chapel and garden and the area – it really is very beautiful and peaceful – also of us with everyone, and then they took us to the Sandimen Aboriginal Township where we went into the Dragonfly Bead workshop and were given a talk and demonstration on how the beads were made which was very interesting if a bit hot with the heat of the burners!  On the way out I bought myself a bracelet (something that unfortunately I lost only a week after coming home sadly – stupid me!), and unbeknownst to us Maurice had brought us each a present too which was very kind and thoughtful of him.

Next on our tour of the area we went to a Paiwan (one of the original tribes in Taiwan) church, where we were given tea and shown around the church that had only been built in the last year or so.  A lot of the wood used was driftwood from the last big Typhoon that struck Taiwan, and had also been the cause of them moving the church to its current location.  The minister told us the story of the church and showed us the way they remember events in the church history in tiled scenes displayed in the walls surrounding the church.

My mum and I were getting pretty tired by this stage, so we were glad when we were taken to the church in central PingTung where we would be staying for the next 2 nights and had a bit of a rest.  We were the first people to stay in their guest rooms which had only recently been finished and were very nice.  They had wanted to take us out to a special restaurant where the meal would’ve taken 2 hours but as we were so tired we just went to a fast food place instead – if you want there you can have a whole chicken and they give you gloves to eat it with your fingers!

The next day would be the memorial service itself which I have written about about in my next post.

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By the way, you can find all the photos in these posts and others that we took on the trip on Flickr here.