Taihen in Taipei

Walking through the doors of the Taipei airport wasn't quite the system shock that I had when I first stepped outside of the boat into a bright and sunny Panama summer, but it's the closest I've had since then.

I come from the lovely state of Nevada where the temperatures frequently pass 100* F during the summer, but the difference is a bit more that one might think. Obviously, there is the humidity. That can go without saying, but the lack of wind (something which Nevada has plenty of) was something I wasn't expecting to miss. Also the lack of air-conditioning.

The idea behind this whole Taipei layover business, is that I know some wonderful people in Taiwan. If I can get a chance to spend some time with these lovely and charming individuals, and see a new place then I will take that opportunity and run with it. And that is exactly what I did.
Actually leaving the airport was much easier than expected. I had been afraid of hang ups with immigration, since I was only supposed to be in Taipei for the duration of my connecting flight.

In the end though, leaving to visit wasn’t an issue and we got to board a bus which dropped us into the Taipei Main Station where we had no idea what to do. There was a very friendly old lady, who seemed to be very excited that we were waiguoren, and eventually we figured out how to make calls on the payphones, and get a hold of Emily.

What followed was a lot of wandering around NTNU, delicious drinks, mango ice, and chatting with Emily. Then we headed back to the airport, where I got some really fun omiyage (some stamp books with red pandas and old art from Romance of the Three Kingdoms) … and then promptly forgot in the airport when I boarded to go to Japan.
Alas! Until next time …
~Jeff