We're in Taiwan!

We arrived around 6 am local time. Considering the flight from LA was 14 hours long, it went surprisingly quickly. We flew Eva Evergreen Delux, which is like a domestic business class. Warm washcloths on arrival and before landing. The food was very good: dinner of chicken and mushrooms (which I tried) and grilled eel (which Ralph ate). The eel was good, but something that fishy at 3 am didn't appeal to me. Mid-flight, it is apparently a tradition; they woke everyone for noodle soup. Then, breakfast about an hour before landing. Taipei airport is very nice and Mr. Yeh and his son Alex picked us up.

Our hotel is very nice, but the rooms are a little dated, especially the bathroom. We are in a deluxe suite and get little perks like special check-in, a business suite I am using now, and a wonderful breakfast buffet with everything from American favorites to sushi and Japanese salads. Plus, we don't have to eat with the unwashed masses!

We were both able to sleep on the plane for about 6 hours. We feel fairly well-rested and ready to go but a little disassociated from reality. Our hope is to stay up until our normal bed time.

Taipei has looked very modern and clean so far. You can almost imagine you're in San Fransisco. All signs have English interpretations on them. It is very humid and was 70 degrees F on arrival. We checked into our friend's room as ours is not ready yet. It's amazing how good a shower and brushing your teeth after over 24 hours of travel can make you feel.

After we finish checking in, we will wander around the local area. We heard the flower and jade market are only a few blocks from here. Dena and her family walked around earlier and said people would stop at the lights and stare and point at them. She is blond, but her family is, let's say, very petite compared to us.

Tomorrow is shopping with Mr. Yeh. We are going to Snake Alley in the evening.

The Flower Market



Giant orchid plants. They are almost bigger than me!



Street of Taipei (later found out this is where AIT is)



The High School of the "Normal" University (later found out the normal university is the teaching college). Gotta wonder what the "Ab-normal" University is!