Trip to Taiwan (Taipei) & My Thoughts On Traveling

It's been over 4 years since I last took a plane overseas.

Incredible for a Singaporean, right? Isn't the love for traveling imbue in our DNA? Isn't this our national hobby? Many of my friends/colleagues find it weird when I say I don't like to travel. Contradictory to what people may think, money is not a big factor. People think I don't travel to save money, but that is really the result, not the reason.

Anyway, it is not to the extend that I hate to travel, but it is not something I would actively pursue. I simply don't have the urge to go traveling like most people do. And this trip definitely confirms that.

Nevertheless, I'm still thankful to my DS mates for jioing me on this trip - it's a nice break from the autonomy of office life. We stayed at an AirBNB (first time!) near the Taipei Main Metro which was really convenient and cheap (~$120/pax for 5 days!). All in, I spent less than $700 for a 5 days Taipei trip.

Roughly off the top of my head, we went to:

Day 1
- Took a nap at Qtime, a 24 hour 'comic shop' to make up for the midnight flight before we could check in.
- Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall at the freedom plaza. Had to climb a huge flight of stairs.
- Ximen District, ate some famous food like the Ah Zhong Mee Sua
- Ningxia night market, did not eat anything LOL.

Day 2
- Chiang Kai-shek residence
- Xinbeitou hot spring area. Went for some foot massage.
- Ate at their local mcdonalds (they have pork burgers)
- Stroll near the 'Danshui old street' and tried the 'big intestine cover small intestine'.

Day 3
- Visited the nearby land bank museum and taipei art museum
- Xing Tian Temple
- Went to chill for almost the whole afternoon at my friend's friend's cafe, chat with their barista, etc...
- Sun Yat San memorial hall (国父纪念馆)
- Songshan cultural district
- Went up to Taipei 101 for almost $30... reminded me of the Pearl of the East I went a long time ago.

Day 4
- Had brunch at a more atas local cafe
- Went to Palace Museum (故宫)... quite a disappointment as it was not exactly what I expected. I thought it would be more 'rise of fall of dynasties' and 'kingdom succession' history, but it's more of seeing pottery, glassware, calligraphy, painting etc... yes, I admit I am too uncultured to appreciate these.
- More atas cafe hopping
- Stroll near "Da-dao-cheng' docks
- Walk the huge underground malls all the way back to Taipei metro

Day 5
- Lunch at restuarant
- Longshan temple. Went and got the first divinition lot of my life. I am astonished at the accuracy of the prediction.
- Very relaxing and chilling final day. Went back to rest by late afternoon.

As you can see, it's a super chill schedule which we all agreed on prior to the trip. Instead of cramping in many destinations, we often tire out be early evening and choose to head back to rest. Seriously, tell me who goes back to hotel at 7pm to watch TV when overseas?

Even during my cruise trip last month, I often prefer to stay onboard to relax (instead of disembarking). After these 2 trips, it really made me believe I'm not built to be a traveler.

There are many reasons why I do not love traveling, and it has everything to do with how sheltered we are in Singapore. Yes, I admit I am pampered by how developed Singapore is.

In no particular order:

1. I hate extreme heat or cold weather. During the trip to Phuket, I cannot wait to return back to an air-conditioned room. I do not get the appeal of subjecting myself to the blazing sun.

2. Food and toilet hygenie is a big concern to me due to 'health issues' (Let's just say I do not have a strong tummy). Even a pretty developed city like Taipei, there are still restrictions like not being able to flush paper down the toilet. I also cannot overcome things like eating 'roadside stalls'. I always carry a 'standard medical pack' of panadols, po chai pills, etc... because of this.

3. Anyone who knows me would know I have a smaller than average appetite and many food restrictions. I do not eat exotic food. I do not eat beef, or lamb, or most kind of non-standard meat. I think that already removes one of the biggest joy of traveling. Often when my companions want to order more food, I have to reject simply cause I really can't eat anymore. It kind of makes me feel bad.

4. On top of that, I also don't like shopping - another big reason for people loving to travel. On average, I definitely spend less than $200 a year on average on clothing. After I started practicing minimalism, I have even less desire for 'stuffs'.

5. I find the preparation to travel a HUGE hassle and pain. Just how much work have to be done. Researching the locations to go to, deciding the best time, camping the best price, booking the flight, booking hotel, packing your lagguage, etc... Even the actual traveling itself is a huge drain on the body. When we take leave, aren't we suppose to relax? To me, all these feels like additional work. When I return, I don't feel re-energize. I feel even more tired.

6. I think this reason might be because I have not travel a lot, but I do have a slight fear of flying. I always imagine the worst that can happen, to the point I wrote a will when I left for the trip (ha!). It could be due to the recent Boeing crash and my lack of flight experience.

7. I also don't like huge crowds. When I go to their local night markets and see flood of people, I just feel like going back to rest. Yep.

All in all, think of all the above as the "cost of traveling". To me, the "rewards" I get, such as thrill of seeing a new scenary or tasting local food, just isn't worth the "costs" above.

Maybe it is because Singapore is too "comfortable" that traveling often feel like "suffering" to me. Ha.

Perhaps one day I might find a country that I really love (or a really good traveling companion), which would make me change my mind about traveling.

Letter To Shareholders (14) - Performance Review 2019Q1

Economy Commentary
The market largely recovered in Q1, with STI raising from 3100 to 3300 against major expectations, proving how once again how you can never predict the market. Our portfolio recovered all losses incurred in Q4 2018.

In local market, the implosion of Hyflux dominate the news - a good article I came across on how you can't always trust "independent valuation report". You cannot depend on the authorities to do the governance for you - look at Noble, Ayondo, Midas, etc...

Remeber: "Every asset on the balance sheet needs to be dilligently questioned and verified, but every debt and liability is real."


Performance Review Highlights / Acquisitions & Developments
REITs valuation exploded after the Fed announced no further hikes. We mistakenly sold Capitamall Trust early, but this was impossible to see coming.

M1 is finally off our hands - we made capital loss of almost $2800 and a total loss of $850 after dividends. As one of our earliest holdings (for nearly 5 years), it's a educating lesson at a relatively small cost. Defensive industry are only defensive until the moat is broken. We have seen the collapse of all 3 major telcos over the years and it is the best example of technological disruption effect. Your dividends comes from cash (payout ratio), and to get cash you need free cash flow. 

For now, Singtel and Kimly remains our largest holdings. $2100 of dividends for another record-breaking quarter!

Operating Highlights - Income
Our income grew 10% YOY with slightly larger bonus. base salary and dividends. Nothing much else to add.


Operating Highlights - Expenses
Even though regular expenses were lower than average, the large 1-time expenses made this our highest ever -
totalling almost 50% higher than Q1 last year.

Biggest item were our Genting Dream Cruise trip, CNY angbao gift to mum, several board games and some social events.

Operating Updates
N/A, except manage to avoid giving up DBS Multiplier Feb salary thanks to my colleague's advice!

Outlook

With the sale of M1, Capitamall and March bonus coming in, we are getting extremely cash-heavy that exceeds all the high interest account limit

We are reluctant to invest in this market, but it seems I have no choice but to get some STI very soon to rebalance our assets.