Yesterday we flew into Taipei from a 10 hour flight from Anchorage. The flight originated in NY and was huge and full. Only about 25 people got on in Anchorage, a convenience that Uncle Ted Stevens secured for us. The 16 hour time difference and date line meant that we left about 4:30am on Saturday and arrived at about 6:30 am on Sunday.
Ben met us and we took a bus into Taipei, about an hour ride. What struck me first was the lush tropical foliage. There were ferns and rice fields and palm trees. There wasn't much traffic on the highway due to it being Sunday. We took a cab from the bus stop into Ben's neighborhood and then down through a warren of narrow streets and alleys.
The NTD (New Taiwan Dollar) is worth about 1/30th the USD. There are no cents although there are dollar coins. So, the 10 NTD coin is worth about 3 cents. To give some price perspective, the cab rides so far have cost about $NTD70 and $NTD135, so quite affordable.
Ben advised us to just go through crowds not to wait since there would be no pause in the crowd. Also, he said just walk and the scooters and bikes would have to go around us. Also, never pick up anything from the ground- it's just too filthy.
Reality#1: Although many signs are in both English and Chinese, many people do not speak English. They most likely speak Taiwanese and Chinese or Chinese and Japanese.
Check out further blogs during this visit on various specific topics.
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