Tiny Rooms, Tiny Beds, Big Plans

As you may know Americans tend to be larger then Asians in general. Our first room at a hotel was nice, but most standard ping pong tables have more surface area. The bed was a double size, but it touched the left and right wall on either side, so the only way on to the bed was basically to jump on. So I jumped on the bed as I do in most hotels, and WHAM I found the ping pong table I mentioned. This bed was harder then the marble floors in the lobby, but welcoming non the less as I was as close to a deep state of hibernation and my eyes where glazed for an hour before I walked in the micro machine made hotel room. I hope I don't sound like I am complaining as I enjoyed the hotel, but had to adjust to the different environment. The night table had a master control for the lights, TV, and air conditioning unit.

Walking around the Taipei is great! Their are more mini marts and street food vender's then waffle houses in Atlanta. The unfortunate part is that most all signs are in Chinese. So you may think you just bought a wonderful pastry only to find a hot dog inside. HOT DOGS are every where and if you like corn dogs well then pack your bags and come straight to Taipei. You could have given me 100 guesses and I would not have said corn dogs were the most popular food in Taipei, but I swear its true.

We are now in a Hostel that is at the end of an alley and on the 6th floor of a building that looks like it was constructed in 1965 and left alone since. The people who run the hotel cook in the lobby where the interenet is available and I get hungry everytime I use the compouter. I can touch the walls from left to right while standing in the middle of the room and feel the breath of the people on the other side of the wall. It was so cold last night that I was hoping our breath and our neighbors would create some heat. TAIWAN IS NOT A TROPICAL ISLAND, at least in the winter. I left the one fleece on my bed before I left home and I tried to find a jacket, but apparently I am a 5xl or some godzilla size in Taipei. I put on a couple of coats and they were youth sized I think....or pre-shrunk twice over.

I think we are going to checkout Taipei 101 the tallest building in the world! I know its crazy, I'm on the other side of the world and I'm going into a building. We wanted to go hiking, but it is pretty cold and windy.

I know I'll come up with more interesting stories, so please bare with me as I get used to my surroundings and my new culture.

Alan