Cherry Blossom in Spring

The stopover at Hyatt Regency Incheon was a treat before I returned home. The morning call woke me up at 6 o'clock. I waited in line at 6:30 in front of Cafe' 8 for my buffet breakfast. Many early birds like me had a morning fight to catch at Incheon Airport.

From the service to the food at Hyatt Regency Incheon, I was very impressed by the win-win strategy of Korean Airline and Hyatt Incheon to join hands to showcase the hospitality of Koreans to welcome passengers, even for just one night. Incheon is three hours away from Ulaanbaatar by flight. I wish Ulaanbaatar could be as developed next time I visit Mongolia.

Upon arrival at Incheon Airport, I became obsessed in observing friendly Koreans at work at the airport at the morning hours. I put Ulaanbaatar behind and didn't spend a second contemplating on what I did in the beautiful country of the blue sky in the past three weeks.

Koreans at Incheon Airport were trained to speak Mandarin to make the on-the-move customers feel like home. They provided instant solution to customers at the baggage check. Take myself for example, I had a big bottle of Chengiskhan Volka I bought at Chingiskhan airport in my hand-carried luggage, I was advised to go to small baggage counter to recheck-in. The immigration process took me 10 seconds to go through, comparing to 3 minutes at Chengiskhan Airport. No wonder Seoul Incheon ranked No.1 airport of the world in 2009.

Arriving at Tao-yuan Airport, I had a new impression about Taiwan. It was so lush green with big trees, small tress, in-door plants everywhere. Just thinking about no more heavy overcoat needed to stroll carefully on the icy road like an astronaut walking on the moon, I felt the freedom. The sporadic cherry blossom on the free way from the airport to Taipei city was alluring. It's Spring!

As soon as I dropped the luggage at home at noon, I went out to borrow five books from Taipei city library and five books from Hsin-tien city library to compensate the reading I had missed. Feeling great with a handbag full of books, I walked into my favorite Cafe' Corner in the neighborhood and ordered a big cup of tapioca milk tea and started reading voraciously.

Life resumed to its tempo before my adventure in Mongolia, but it wouldn't be the same from now on. The experiences I gained in Ulaanbaatar made me a new person. I knew the coldness, I knew the people in the coldness, I knew fellow toastmasters and friends in the coldness. I know I would be extremely busy sorting out thousands of photos, writing up travelogue in Mongolia, getting ready for Chinese New Year Holidays in one week. I'd like to express my gratitude to my toastmasters friends in Mongolia to make my life meaningful and joyful, thank you all!

PS: As I looked at the smiling face of a Mongol lass on horseback on the cover page of Mongolia: Nomad Empire of Eternal Blue Sky by Carl Robinson on my desk, my mind flew back to the frozen land of Ulaanbaatar. Sain Baina Uu Ulaanbaatar!