First Impressions

...... And I thought pirate stores were only found in beach towns.

Well, I've been in Taiwan for a week now, and there is no shortage of material to write about. In order not to completely bore and/or overwhelm you, the reader, I thought I'd make some attempt at organizing my blog in a manner consistent with the timeline of my stay over here.

(Rather than allowing this to simply become a forum for the random musings, thoughts, and jokes that I tell myself on a regular basis. It must seem strange to a local Taiwanese person to see a 6'2" bald guy from Texas in ostrich skin boots laughing at seemingly nothing on a busy crosswalk in the middle of the downtown business district. If nothing else, hopefully this blog will allow you to somewhat see Taipei through my lens....)

So, with that in mind, I thought I'd start with my trip over here and provide a brief overview of the basics.....

The flight:

Son of a bitch; 13 hours is a long time to spend on a plane. I watched more movies on my flight from LA to Taipei (4 or 5; I honestly lost count....) than I have in the last two years combined. That's right, I'm so ADHD in my old age that I can't sit still for 1.5 hours more than once or twice a year. I flew EVA airlines and other than great service and lots of movies, the only other thing worth noting about the flight is the in-flight shopping. Apparently there are good deals on inter-continental flights (you don't have to pay duties on what you purchase) because my fellow travel companions bought a seemingly unnecessary amount of cologne and perfume.

The hotel:
So, upon my arrival in Taipei I was greeted at the airport by someone from the Hyatt who knew my name (or maybe he was just smart enough to presume that the only white guy walking towards the airport exit at 10:30 pm that night was a certain "Mr. Pavlic".) Either way, I was happy that he showed me to a waiting Mercedes Benz that Dell graciously paid $80 (American) to shuttle me from the airport to the hotel. My actual hotel room and the stay at the Hyatt were quite unremarkable after the ride in the Benz from the airport. About the only thing worth noting is that a good percentage of the ceilings in my room were 7 feet tall. When the ceiling is less than a foot from the top of your head, it sucks. Trust me.

The people:
I honestly can't exaggerate how friendly the Taiwanese people are; everyone goes out of their way to be polite and I'm actually surprised when people don't smile. Being a native of East Texas, I think I know a thing or two about southern hospitality and friendly folks. But, as a foreign citizen in an unfamiliar country, I was not expecting this level of hospitality from the locals. Remarkably gracious people.

The food:
Before I traveled over here, many of the Taiwanese folks I know at Dell and other places commented that Taipei has awesome food. After my brief time here, I can do nothing but agree with this sentiment. Given my inability to speak Mandarin, I'm basically relegated to pointing at pictures of food (at restaurants with no English). Even so, I've really enjoyed almost all the meals I've had here. Japanese and various forms of chinese food dominate the scene here, but there is a smattering of everything. When I find something that is particularly noteworthy (ie good Tex-mex, which let's be honest, won't happen), I'll be sure to report it.

See below for an example of how I document a particularly good dish (one of my co-workers is pointing out the menu item I had for lunch that day.)

The traffic:

Two things: lots of traffic cops with whistles and/or batons, and scooters. Suffice to say scooters will eventually get their own blog entry..... But in the interim, you can safely assume this guy won't be driving in Taipei anytime soon. I have neither the patience nor the skill to avoid injuring myself or the other motorists on the roads of Taipei.

I'll leave you with this little gem from the local Sogo department store..... Special thanks to the random lady who was kind enough to let me capture her little one in a picture......

Now you can probably understand Jack Dog's refusal of the assignment in Taiwan. His sources in Taipei obviously made him aware of the perils of city life. You might just end up being humiliated......