07.16.2009 Taipei Vihara

11:08am (tw time) Taipei

Not much happening. I don't have much appetite upon arrival. I think it's due to all the flying.

Some things to note...

1. At the baggage claim, I was thinking how I hated having to keep my eyes peeled to identify my luggage. I was also very worn out from flying. Because typically, all luggage is black or navy blue or green. And apparently about 80% of the suit cases are tied with a RED ribbon on it for personal identification. Which is silly because everyone chose the same colour, which absolutely kills the purpose of making your luggage stand out. (Mine's red too) So I've decided, that the next time I want to buy a suitcase, it is going to be YELLOW. If the cargo men drop it when transporting it to the baggage claim, it'll be so bright they won't miss it. And once it pops out of that luggage chute, I won't even have to try looking for it.

2. I wonder about the size of my bed. It's not queen sized because I'm pretty sure my bed back home is bigger (it's a Queen at home). but it's not twin, could it be a double? I have no clue. It looks the size of my friend Nic's bed, and he claims his bed is a Queen, but I am POSITIVELY SURE that it isn't. SO I'm going to measure it by rolls. and then when I get home I'm going to measure that, and see...

3. I SAW A BUG IN MY ROOM. It was the size of a thumbprint and scuttled towards my washroom. I don't have any open food, but I closed off anything with an opening right away and stuffed my socks where bugs cannot reside. I peeked into the washroom but it was nowhere to be seen.

5:30pm

I left to Pu Men temple so I didn't post. I may as well add to this post now that I'm back. I finally tried their teahouse. It's located in such a small back area that discovering it is like finding a secret. I've heard about it from other people, but never had the opportunity to try it. After lunch I contemplated having a nap...exactly what my jet lag wants. So instead I decided to 'chee gik' (shock?) myself inorder to stay awake and went outside to discover the surrounding area. I didn't go very far. I went to SongShan station and then headed directly into WuFenPu, "Fashion Avenue" which is like a grid of 5 large streets and x amount of small streets selling clothes, shoes, and jewlery at manufacture prices. I was trying to get through the place in order, but I ended up getting lost. I bought a vest (another, yes I know) and three other things. All under 1000NT（divide by approx. 30). But I made a mental note, I have to stop buying stupid things like vests which I already have... so to rationalize, it can only be... jackets, NICE sweaters, and jeans. In the maybe list, it'll be shoes, and in the I-really-shouldn't list are teeshirts and VESTS. lol. But oh, clothes really are cheap here. Like, really. the range goes from $4 cdn to $40 cdn. But I can't spend all my money before I finish my week. But I'll be back.. I have my eye on a fake comme des garcons play shirt and a long blouse and a necklace with a chair on it (I think its suitable cos I'm in I.D. ha!).

(one of my purchases, I like it, but I think it's also kind of useless...)

I just ate a tiramisu cracker sandwich and it tasted like... a tiramisu sandwiched between two crackers. I wasn't sure what I was expecting, but I guess the description was pretty spot on.

Oh! and I'm going to the Opera tonight! I am not sure what it is like. She said there was english.. whether subtitled or what I have no idea. It's not chinese opera though. She was telling me in chinese so I don't know. I guess I'll find out. It just so happend that there were 6 people who were supposed to go, and one bailed. Since I'm here I can fill in the spot. I think tonight is opening night as well. I hope I don't fall asleep, the tickets were actually pretty expensive. Yi Shuen was like, "Are you sure you want to know? It will scare you." lol. So I promised not to fall asleep.