I know, I know, It's been a week. Sorry! Here's a recap of my weekend in Taipei:
Our plane left at 8:15 am, so we had to leave HKUST at 5:30 am. I decided that I was going to try to go to sleep because didn't want to be dead in the morning. Well, the Fourster Army made sure that didn't happen. They were still up and making noise when I woke up at 4:30. There is a girl on my hall that cackles like a hyena. I honestly thought there was a cat squealing or something.
We ended up taking a cab all the way to the airport because the buses apparently don't run that early in the morning. That was fine with me, it was much easier. I had a bottle of apple juice in my purse, and of course it opened and spilled all in my purse. That was great. We went to our terminal, which had no seats in front of it, so we sat at another terminal with people flying to London. It was the first time I've been surrounded by white people in nearly two months. They were all flying from Australia to London, and just happened to have a layover in HK. The airport made our first and final boarding call a little before 8, and we were on our way.
I forgot how much I love Taiwan. The people there are really nice, the food is awesome, and they speak Mandarin there. Unfortunately, it rained all weekend. Other than that, it was great, though. Our hostel was so much nicer than the one in Manila. Apparently this is what most hostels are actually like. Ana, Brittanie, and I had a 4 person room to ourselves the first night, which was nice.
The first day, we explored around our hostel and visited Taipei 101, the world's tallest building. It was really cloudy, so you couldn't see that much. You could, however, see the clouds moving under you in the observatory. That was pretty cool. After that, we went to see Longshan Temple, which I've been to before. It's a really pretty temple, with a waterfall outside. That night, we ate at this really cool American-style restaurant. The food was really good, and they played a lot of random Green Day songs. It was great. We also walked around some shops in the area, and found my favorite place in Asia: Mister Donut. For those of you who have never tried it, Mister Donut is the most amazing donut place in the world. It's a million times better than Dunkin Donuts and Krispy Kreme combined.
The next day, we met up with a couple of people from HKUST that were staying in our hostel for lunch. We went to a restaurant called Modern Toilet. It was as interesting as it sounds. The chairs are toilets, and the tables are bathtubs with a sheet of glass over the top. They serve your food in mini toilets, and they serve drinks in urinals. There were also random faucets and shower heads on the wall. It was an experience. The food was actually really good, though. After that, we went to Shilin to see the National Palace Museum. I realized when we got there that I went there last time I was in Taiwan. They've definitely improved their supply of art since the last time I was there. After that, we went to the Shilin Market. I didn't end up buying anything, but it was still pretty cool. We got a roommate that night. He was from Australia, and was just kind of bumming around Asia for a few months. It was a little awkward, but it could've been worse.
The next morning, we caught a bus at 11 to go back to the airport. We went to our gate, and it just happened to be Hello Kitty themed, complete with statues, pink chairs, and obnoxiously happy music. It was awesome. Our flight was delayed 45 minutes (go figure), but we still made it back before 6.
The whole trip was really relaxed, and it was great. I love Taiwan, and hopefully I'll get to go back. The difference between Taipei and Hong Kong, to me, is the same kind of difference there is between Atlanta and NYC: the people are just nicer. People in Taiwan will speak Mandarin back to you, and they really try to help, even if they can't understand you. People in Hong Kong either speak English back to you, or they pretend they can't understand you. I mean, I like HK and NYC, but I prefer cities like Taipei and Atlanta.
Well, that's all I've got. I'll be updating soon on this past week. I hope everything's going better back home! I miss you all!
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6 comments:
Hey. Things have been going well here.
Scholar Bowl Team won state.
Band and Chorus got all ones, and I had solos in honors band and chorus.
We leave for orlando tonight, so that should be fun....minus the sleeping on the bus part...
oh and i got 2nd chair in honors band...
HEY! i am in bali!! just swim south until you hit land and come visit me. and bring an extra swim suit because our luggage is lost somewhere between atlanta and indonesia. i'm glad you had fun in Taipei. you are so right about people being nicer in atlanta than in new york. talk to you later!
ok...so...when are you updating? It has been a while....j\hasn't it??????
How were mid terms?
Robby's tv show segment debuts in the morning at 9am... check out his myspace.com/eatinghealthierwithrobby.
love and miss you!!!
Mommy and Belle....ruff!
Hi, Noelle!
Your grandfather and my brother (Johnny) gave me your blog address this afternoon and said to read your blog. I believe his word was "amazing." So true!!
You seem to be having some excellent adventures--and getting college credit for them! Neat!
I look forward to keeping up with you in your travels...and going back to your previous entries to catch up.
Glad you are having such a great time. I always loved sitting down with your great-grandfather when his ships came in and listening to his travel stories, mostly about Japan, Korea, Germany, Gibralter, and the Netherlands. Have to say, though, that his were a wee bit different from yours!
Love ya!
Your Aunt Pat
Thanks Aunt Pat! I'm glad you enjoyed reading my blog. I can't believe how many people are following it! It's great to hear from you! I hope everything is going well for you!
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