TAOYUAN, Taiwan (AFP) - - China and Taiwan resumed regular direct flights Friday for the first time in six decades, ushering in what Beijing called a “new start” in their tense and testy relations.

In the most visible sign yet of a new openness toward the mainland under new Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou, the two sides — which split in 1949 after a civil war — welcomed passenger flights directly from each other’s territory.

“This is a sacred moment,” said Liu Shaoyong, the chairman of China Southern Airlines, who piloted the first flight from the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou to Taiwan himself.

“Flying over the strait to Taiwan is like coming home,” he told a crowd of well-wishers at the airport welcoming ceremony. “It feels good.”

The 100 Chinese tourists aboard got the red-carpet treatment on arrival, including jets of water shooting over the plane, to symbolise the cleaning of dusty travellers, as well as a traditional Chinese “lion dance”.

“We were lucky to be on the plane,” said Wang Yu, a businessman from Zhuhai in southern China. “Many people were fighting for seats on the inaugural flight.”

Ties between Taiwan and China have always been better than the public hostility from the two sides has acknowledged, and trade between them last year was more than 100 billion dollars.

But officially, China sees Taiwan as its territory waiting to be reclaimed by force if needed — and the Strait, heavily armed on both sides, has long been one of the world’s most dangerous potential military flashpoints.

Taiwan banned direct trade and transport links following its split from the communist mainland, but Ma’s election opened the door to warmer ties after an especially frosty period under his pro-independence predecessor Chen Shui-bian.

The two sides held their first direct talks in a decade last month.

Those talks led to the flights agreement — a deal that, for four days a week at least, will eliminate the time-consuming stopovers in Hong Kong or elsewhere that have been the bane of travellers between the two sides.

“Today is a new start in the history of exchanges between the two sides,” Wang Yi, director of China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said in Beijing.

“At present, cross-Strait relations are facing a rare opportunity for development,” Wang said.

Changes have been rapid since Ma took office.

Taiwan banks can now exchange Chinese currency, limits on Taiwanese investment on the mainland have been eased, and some Chinese media outlets which had been banned on the island now have clearance to work.

There will be 36 round-trip flights across the Taiwan Strait weekly, operating from Friday to Monday between six Taiwanese airports and five on the mainland.

The service will meet growing demand after Taiwan allowed up to 3,000 visitors a day from China, giving a much-needed boost to the island’s sluggish economy.

More than 700 Chinese nationals in 26 tour groups were to arrive Friday from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and two other cities, while nine flights were set from China to Taiwan.

“I am thrilled to take the first mainland-bound flight in this new charter service,” said Zhou Wan-rong, chairman of the student association of Chinghua University in Taiwan.

So this blog has been stagnant with the few and far between posts of late, and I can’t promise that won’t change, but it looks like I’ll be having more ME time when I return to Singapore, which should be some time soon. Having more ME time should mean more blog time. As Connie once asked how come there’s no more blogging and to which I replied, “been busy”, her comment lets me know we can relive our bitching times when she visits Singapore: “You have a life?! No way!”. Bitch.

Despite the backdrop of looming exams and entangled relationships, I certainly had a good time with my pals when they visited Shanghai! Although they returned home with a sucky impression of China, I sure hope they learnt more about the environment I live in (wait a minute, these two clauses are linked and there shouldn’t be an “although” hahahaha).

What a stylish way to wait for a cab eh? hahahahaha

Reina and Celine had the opportunity to eat very good shaokao!

They are clearly from SMU. Though the pic turned out freaky haha.

Had to go multiple times to The Bund just for my pals.

And here’s the pictures I spoilt. I love them! hahahah

I look sooooooooo retarded.

Now then start.

Feels like I haven’t blogged for… quite a while. Pretty quiet in here, huh?

This month completely whisked past me. Remember how I talked about going where the back of the 20RMB note beckons? Then I came back from the super good Yangshuo trip sick — flu/cold, sore throat, throat infection, fever, cough cough cough. Attended classes intermittently due to illness; let my school work pile up; went for a day trip organized by Fudan Foreign Students’ Office and ate self-plucked fresh strawberries; partied every weekend; had good meals; performed 中国话 with close friends in a school singing competition; watched competitors practise for Asia’s X Games; and then now it’s time to welcome the new month by packing off to Fujian!

But of course, before that, Ladies’ Night.

Ahhhh, school life.

Taking a hiatus of sorts.

Currently still suffering from the ills of Spring, where the supposed joy of flowers blossoming is a distraction from the viral attacks, which I have been a victim of by the way, with full-blown flu and throat infection (and I think lung infection?). You can hear me two classrooms away trying to cough my lungs out, but you won’t be able to hear my voice clearly even when you’re just two steps away.

I hope to be back on track soon.

With CG and Grace, on a 23.5 hour train ride to where the back of the 20Yuan note beckons.

Li River, Guilin

We leave Thursday morning, and will be back Tuesday (if we do get back, since we’re on one-way train tickets).

Any tips for surviving long train rides with possibly pungent people (not referring to CG and Grace)?

Note: 353RMB for the lowest bunk, “hard berth” ticket

Banana is a discotheque/bar in the vicinity of Fudan University, though it looks like most of its patrons are not part of the Fudan community.

When I walked in, I felt very comfortable being out of place, and I thought, “Hey! The Chinese really know how to have fun!”. It was packed with people grooving to the semi-techno music. Then there were firecrackers (!), dancers dressed in futuristic pvc costumes, dancers in qipaos, dancers in leopard bikinis, and a bottle-swirling-fire-eating bartender (whom we managed to get free drinks out of later).

Nice people there too, for they were patient with us two foreigners trying to say the drinks we want into their ears.

But the best part was still managing to get free drinks (I have charm lalalalala), and then crawling into the bar itself after lights on at 3am to fool around with the bartenders woot!

And here’s how I was like at 4:23AM, after several shots and beer and other drinks (Jason, as requested):

I think humans need their vices. It’s what we resort to and it’s what keeps various industries going and making money. These industries are surviving/profiting on our degeneration, but yeah, it’s a mutually dependent relationship.

Some friends chide me for being too trusting, and my ex-boss used to say I get too friendly ‘coz she saw me making friends with security guards and caterers and many other random strangers during our events.

In recent years, from following a house owner to his house alone in Shanghai, to befriending an old man and hitching a ride from him followed by an almost sponsored bi-plane ride in Seattle, and then following two girls in their car from Wreck Beach to downtown on my last day in Vancouver to be treated poutine (fries with sauce and your choice of meat stuff, apparently a Quebec specialty? *shrugs* but they have it at New York Fries, which does not exist in New York btw), I question my sensibility sometimes, but my instincts ain’t too bad, I think?

I had my hair done in a different salon last week, since I couldn’t find my usual hairstylist. After convincing me to do stuff to my hair, somehow I was persuaded to accept a lift from him on his electric bicycle, and I was free to try driving it. Having the experience of riding a motorbike to a tree some years back, I wasn’t particularly thrilled at his offer. But somehow I followed him to the carpark (or more like two-wheel-carpark) and took on his offer, and rode the electric bicycle to my dorm with him lighting his cigarette behind me.

Heh. It was cool.

Riding my first-time-hairstylist’s electric bicycle

The random stranger I met in Seattle who offered me a free ride and company to the out-of-the-way Museum of Flight and an almost sponsored trip on a bi-plane ride

Met 2 Canadians at Wreck Beach and the stranger on the above right pic let me try on her construction site outfit. (Being a construction worker is very respectable in Canada, unlike how we view Singapore’s Banglas)

Having lived in cities all my life, I’ve never really had the experience of being in absolute darkness, in a place where I 伸手不见五指.

But last weekend I don’t even know what the room I ate in looks like. I groped around for the chair, fondled the cutlery and caressed the plates and somehow managed to eat my caesar salad, my soup, my steak, and my cake.

It was a blind person’s world and I felt very displaced to be robbed of my ability to see what I was eating and where I was. My eyes were open but I only saw black. There were things in front of me but I only saw black. CG was in front of me but I only saw black. There might have been rats running around, cockroaches on my food, but everything was black.

I could only be comforted by the music, CG’s voice, and the clanking of our cutlery against dishes we can’t see, or else I might have freaked out if it was both black and silent.

We managed to eat as per normal without too much fumbling around, although we did resort to using our hands to eat our food for a bit.

A very extraordinary experience to try, to live an hour of being blind.

Served by visually challenged waiters/waitresses, the dinner will humble you when you can only laugh at your helplessness.

Black Cafe. Eyes not Required. Bringing in anything that has light is prohibited in the Dark Zone.