I'm now in Taiwan! Thank goodness the camp has computers. Doing training for the army: today we just returned from a very tiring exercise but that's all I can say. In fact I might be saying too much. The weather here is terrible: one day it's hot as heck (hotter than Singapore, surprisingly, with all visible things coloured a pyretic shade of yellow) and the next the rain is falling in drives. The locals are fantastically friendly, especially the kids who in some places run out when they see soldiers walking by; almost everyone is keen to offer directions when we approach them, sometimes even unsolicited. The mountains are breathtaking; I regret not bringing a camera. If not for the usual discomfort of training, it'd be a great experience in the Taiwan countryside. Perhaps the most surreal things I saw (aside from many serene cows) were the little crabs that often scurry across roads. Unfortunately, they are sometimes run over, so sad little crushed carcasses litter many mountain paths.

Of course when the going gets tough (or just dreary) everyone wants to go back home, to lie in the comfort of home. I'm thinking of all the people back in Singapore and am certainly eager to return to see you.

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The innumerable mosquitoes flying around my legs are killing me.