Taipei

It felt like the universe was giving me a challenge today - I had to rush down from Santa Barbara to LAX to make the plane on time (unfortunately not taking the PCH on the second half to LA), and then had to take a taxi from the car rental place to LAX. Next, it turns out there is "China Airlines", and "Air China" - being from Taiwan and mainland China, respectively. The taxi driver dropped me off at Air China and I asked him if it was right - it wasn't so we rushed over to the other international terminal to drop me off.


On the flight I was probably one of 10 non-Asians - I thought "let the adventure begin". On my way to Bali I flew through Taipei on China Airlines - the flight was 14hr 30min. I was expecting the seats to be small and uncomfortable but I actually had a great flight. Upon landing in Taipei I had to join a conference call so I found wifi in the airport and joined the call. Working during the trip was going to be arduous due to not having a base/desk to work from. I stayed at a novotel near the airport - the Taiwanese were very friendly and respectful - I liked the vibe; plus, I got upgraded to a nicer room - bonus. Since I was still on Cali time I had dinner in the middle of the night - nice meal and it wasn't expensive with the exchange rate. I read a bit about Taiwan and thought about how it would be nice to come back sometime. After working the rest of the night since I couldn't sleep I boarded the flight to Bali and slept the whole way. The two pics are my breakfast at Taipei airport and in my happy, sleep-deprived state - a tea with a smiley face.