I successfully wrapped up my all nighter last night and, after a rejuvenating shower, made my way to the airport. Finding a cab at 5:30 in the morning proved to be a bit challenging but, after a lot of gesturing, the second driver I found agreed to take me to the central station where I could catch a bus to the airport. When I reached the bus terminal, I came upon a shuttle driver who offered to take me to the airport in his half full shuttle. Haggling the cost down to the same as the bus and feeling somewhat safe that this guy was legit (there were other passengers and he probably just wanted to fill empty seats) I got on board and made my way to the airport with plenty of time to spare. ... read more

What kind of idiots do you have working here? The finest in New York. - Exchange between Kate McCallister and a desk clerk in Home Alone 2 While I had another early wakeup, I managed to get back to sleep and ended up having a good bit of rest. I am finally refreshed. The only thing I had to accomplish this morning was to take care of my accommodations for the next two nights in Taipei. This proved to be quite the challenge. I’ve had to go outside to get an Internet connection and did the same today. Last night I had emailed the hostel I stayed in before but they hadn’t gotten back to me yet. I checked online and it turned out this place was booked. So I had to find another option. At ... read more

At their developmental stage, most children learn a new word every day. I’ve been in Taiwan two days and today learned my second word. My first - Ni hao (hello). My second - Xie xie, pronounced schi schi (thanks). Something tells me the traditional child will outpace me after this. I left Taipei this morning for Kaohsiung, Taiwan’s second largest city. Before going to the station, I grabbed a couple pastries at a local bakery. The first must have had some sort of scallion in it. I love the taste but that’s not the flavor with which I hoped to start the day. At the station, my planning worked well as everything went without a hitch. The train ride itself also went smooth. I spent much of my time reading and looking to see what highlights ... read more

The effects, I presume, of my lunch yesterday carried into today as I awoke with my stomach not feeling 100%. Setting conventional wisdom aside and opting for something similar to the alcoholic treatment - viz., nothing gets you over a hangover like having another beer - I opted to go out for dim sum, a lunch time specialty, for breakfast. Following yesterday’s dim sum exploration debacle, Wendy was kind enough to send me a recommendation for a dim sum place called Star Seafood which is near my hostel. For a moment I had a bit of trouble finding it; like most things that are right under your nose. It was too easy; in fact, it was housed in the same building as my hostel, but up a floor or two. Why the hostel worker didn’t just ... read more

What’s a guy gotta do to get some sleep? I had yet another early wakeup. I think my body is just used to waking up before 6:00 now. Even the time change from Vietnam to Hong Kong (+1 hour) hasn’t helped. It’s no one’s fault but my own: no one has been noisy or disrespectful but it’s still really annoying. Before setting out on my long walk covering the northern part of Hong Kong Island, I had my weekly call with my parents and breakfast at Café de Coral, recommended by Finn and Wendy. They had a mix of Asian and western breakfast. I went with eggs and ham (which was more like spam). The eggs were really good, almost seeming a bit creamy like they added milk to the mix. My walk (pretty much designed ... read more