Goodbye Hualien

The world is so big. There's so many places you can be, but right now, right at this moment in time, I'm standing here in this space that I may or may not walk into again.  

As I sit on the train bound for Jiaoxi, it reminded me of this morning when I woke up and heard the sound of passing train from my bed. Realising that it's the last time I'll wake up to this sound, and that I'll be on one of them later this afternoon makes me feel so conflicted. I'm excited to continue my trip to a new place and experience another culture, but reluctant to let go of these new friendships I've made this past month and a half. So now I'm on the train. Moving. Away. From. Hualien~~~~~ byebyeeeeee :(

Manz, no regrets choosing Hualien as my first destination. Gonna miss the mountains, the 3-gradient bright blue sea, the skies (that was perpetually cloudy throughout my stay), the sound of passing trains and patrolling military planes every morning, the cold breezy weather, cycling along the ZhongShan Main Road to get to different places, sitting in the night market listening to Lei Lei and other street musicians, reading a book while drinking one of my favourite hot chocolate at the secondhand bookstore, and most of all, supper and beer sesh with Ah Qian, Shuilu, Pinky etc almost every other night.

Typing these down so it'll be easier to recall when I'm old and senile. HA if I live till that old :p

I asked Ah Qian how does she cope with having to let go of friendships every so often, given her job scope. She said like I am feeling now, when she first started, she used to hold on to these feelings until it got to a point where it drained her emotionally. So now she learns to draw a line between guests, helpers and friends.

Though to her, I may just be another helper from Singapore who stayed long enough to form a close bond (through beer sesh HAHA), but to me, all these people I've met in Hualien on this trip are considered my first love. So I guess, even if I really do grow numb to this nature of friendships, somehow Ah Qian, Shuilu, Fiona, Pinky, Cai Xiang, Damon and Lei Lei, will forever hold a special spot in my heart.

When I left, Shuilu sent me a message "Byebye，我們會想念你的, 是真的很想念那種"
"Byebye, we'll miss you! The genuine kind of missing/longing"
and it made me so touched! Cause I know what he meant by saying that.

That this wasn't just a "Bye, have a safe trip, we'll miss you" cookie-cutter type of farewell message. This was a genuine and honest "we'll miss you". And I sincerely felt the same kind of "missing" for them and especially him too.

He's like a big brother I've never had, who would rush over immediately if I needed help, who would selflessly do his best to make sure I'm safe and received the best treatment. If I could keep him in my pocket I would. And don't get me wrong, he doesn't appeal to me in the love kind of way (he has a girlfriend btw, just to clarify and draw the line here), but simply just a brother from another mother that I've never had. I used to message him at 10pm to jio him for supper after his night shift, but realising that I can no longer do that now... shucks.......

MANZ IM MISSING EVERYONE ALREADYYYYYY~~~

As much as I want to say "hmms maybe I should just go back to Hualien for another extended trip", I don't really think that's the way to go. Feels like I wanna explore other places as well. 

So~~~ THANK YOU HUALIEN for one of the happiest month of my life ❤️
I'll come back someday~ Gonna miss you and everyone there.

Crave day next! Thennnnnn KOREA! 가자!!

loves,
marilyn