Home Sweet Home - Typhoon Megi

I was away on pilgrimage tour in Taiwan with my family in late September. Towards the second last day of the trip, we visited the Songlong Rock Waterfall, where we strolled along the medium altitude forest area by following the Yuehsan Trail. On the way back to the hotel, our tour guide informed us that Typhoon Megi will be hitting our area tomorrow and we have to cancel the rest of the trip and head up north back to Taipei.

We left early the next morning from Sun Link Sea Hotel which was located at about 1,800 meter above sea level and the journey down the narrow windy mountain path was painstaking. Fortunately, due to the bad weather forecast, there were no up coming buses on the way up. We managed to reach the Chiayi City safely.

As for Singaporeans, we were blessed with no natural disaster and had never experience earthquake, wildfire or typhoon. However, the journey from Chiayi City up north to Taipei was a totally different experience. The distance was less than 240 km but we were grilled for 8 hours in the bus. Due to the strong wind, we felt that the bus was occasionally being blown and skidded to one side. The driver was very skillful and holding on to the steering wheel tightly fighting the strong gashly wind. Along the way, I noticed that a huge tree has fallen off and partially leaning on the highway railings. Fortunately, the road was still passable, otherwise we would have to detour and look for alternate route.

Along the way, we stopped for a rest break. The typhoon was so strong that some of the trees have been uprooted and blocked the entrance to the male restroom. We have to share and use the female restroom. We were glad to make it to the hotel safely for the night. Watching the news that night, there was a tour bus carrying about 17 Japaness of which 7 were injured when it overturned. We met this tour group over breakfast as they were also staying at the same hotel the night before. Our tour bus was brand new only 2 months old and there were 37 of us including the tour guide and the driver. Maybe with so many of us (heavy weigh), the condition of the bus, skill of the driver and blessings from above that led us a safe journey.

For me, this is one of the most unforgettable journey in experiencing natural disaster first hand. I read about it. I watched TV or cinema about and heard news about it. But I never really know what a typhoon is until I am caught in it.

Glad to be back home with relatives, associates, countrymen and fellow friends at Wealthy Affiliates. May all be well and happy.

http://www.reuters.com/video/2016/09/27/japanese-t...