Taipei, finally!

Trip Start Apr 26, 2008

Trip End May 09, 2008

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Flag of Taiwan Taipei, Taipei, Taiwan
Sunday, April 27, 2008

San Francisco is beautiful from the air, and the view while departing westbound is gorgeous. I tried to take a bunch of photos of the Golden Gate Bridge and of the city itself, but with the combination of shooting out an airplane window and the haze, I'm afraid the photos don't do it justice. Melinda and I settled in for the 13 1/2 hour flight to Taipei with the giddy anticipation that one experiences before a new adventure. About 4 hours later giddy anticipation had faded. By 10 hours it was completely lost somewhere near Siberia.

The one good thing I can say about a long flight is that they feed you well, even in coach. I'm sure it has something to do with stopping the rioting mob of crammed people that could potentially erupt with any misstep or accidental bumping of black mask clad people attempting to sleep. Melinda and I tried to sleep but there are only about 3 positions you can sleep in while sitting up, none of which are especially comfortable

Seated on the plane to Taipei

. Melinda and I (in a sleep deprived moment about 2am) conspired to abduct someones cocoon in first class, or at least disable someone who was in business class just so that we could get rid of the cramps in our legs. I resorted to walking laps around coach class. If I ever get to do this again I will spend the extra money out of my own pocket to upgrade my seat to business class.

Just when I thought my sore rear end could take no more, the captain announced that we would be landing. THANK GOD!! While coming in for a landing over the coast of Taiwan, I was surprised at how many lakes there are. Then as we got closer I realized they were flooded fields, not lakes. Everything is a lush green, despite the lack of sun in the overcast evening sky.

We landed and deplaned without issue and walked to customs. There were about 25 long lines of people grouped by citizens and non-citizens, waiting to enter the country. The head of each line was terminated by a stern faced official, each of whom seemed to be processing paperwork with mad abandon. The biggest difference between customs in Taiwan and customs in the USA is the noise level. We Americans seem unable to conduct ourselves without some sort of music playing in the background. Evidently Musac is a western enterprise that has not come to Taiwan, because although there were easily 1000+ people in line, the room was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. The same was true at baggage claim, where all you could hear was the clicking of baggage making rotations on the turnstile. Thankfully our luggage made it.

It's 6:15 pm in Taiwan and I'm feeling very tired. Now we just have to find Dr. Wu.