Diego, from the team, got married on Sunday and we were invited to the post-wedding dinner to celebrate. This was my first Taiwanese wedding and had heard mixed reports about them in the past. However, it was a great evening and very enjoyable.

One of the first things to consider with a Chinese wedding is the Red Envelope. Into this, you stuff money for the newly-weds. The system is rather good, I think, as it avoids the usual palava with wedding lists and racing to the cheapest on the list (don’t tell me I am the only one that does that!).

Rockin’ the dollars – it is typical to write “one hundred years together”, which is close enough to eternity not to matter any more

There are, however, one or two rules to remember when deciding how much to give. First, there must not be a number 4 in the amount (ie: 1400NT$ is not good) since the character for 4 has the same sound as death – rather an oversight if you ask me. I have described before how hotels and hospitals will often not have a fourth floor, and buses might be labelled 3+1.

The amount should also be even, and contain even numbers to signify the ‘pair’ being together. As a result of this, I gave Diego 1600NT$ which is about 20 quid. It all depends on how good friends you are with the couple of course, and I suspect that our bosses gave the couple a nice whack of cash.

Michael & Tanja are mesmerised by the lobster – this time with no LEDs

The food was pretty good. You get ten courses of various types – some soups, some fish dishes, some other meats. A less affluent family might have less courses, and I am sure that richer families may have more. We were also lucky enough to have reasonable quality wine – a rarity out here, unless you are prepared to pay.

Me and m’lady