As if it wasn't already clear, I did make it back to Taiwan after my Philippines excursion. I had an interesting encounter in the airport, and met the first Australian I have ever disliked. We were both sitting next to an electrical outlet, and were talking about our trip. He asked me,

"Ah, did you take this private boat ride up the river?"

"No, I didn't get a chance to do that."

"It was only 6000 pesos mate, you really missed out."

"(laughs) That was pretty much my budget for a week."

"You're underfunded then! C'mon, you might as well not have come at all. You've gotta spend money when you go abroad. I'm popping over to Taiwan just to meet my friend for a drink in Tainan - money is no object between friends. After, I'm heading over to Tokyo to stay in my private penthouse for a few weeks."


Well, la-de-fricking-da. Asshole. Anyway I had my small bit of revenge. After coming back, the line to immigration was super long. But the line for Taiwanese citizens/residents was virtually empty. I got to walk past asshole Australian guy, flash my ID, and was out of the airport in 15 minutes. Suckers.

So, back in the swing of things, I just had to work a few days before the weekend. I was invited to a party by one of the people I met in the hostel back in Manila - at a Lord of the Rings themed bar, if you can believe it. It's a sort of party/language exchange, and as one of the few foreigners there, I received quite a bit of attention. So, I had fun. Unfortunately having to catch a cab back alone was a bit expensive, so I'll try to share or leave earlier next time.

And the "people I met in Manila that are now in Taipei" party didn't stop there. A few days later, my pal James arrived. Myself, him, and April went out to Shulin Night Market for some good eats. Oyster Omelette, Lu Rou Fan, Coffin Bread, and stinky tofu. Oh god, why. He shared my dislike for this substance they try to pass off as food.

After Shulin, we started to head back. Yuanshan is hosting the lantern festival this year, so we stopped there to see the overly elaborate, amazing lanterns made by "Elementary School Students". I put that in quotes because I call shenanigans. There is no way kids made that stuff. The highlight for me was a giant Gundam, that every 30 minutes opened it's chest and had a panda inside. I barely snapped the pic before it closed - I was running, so it's a touch blurry. Oh Asia... you crack me up.







RIGHT, and now comes the part where I point out how stupidly busy I am this month. I finally got my Thai Visa after much headache. Applying is a snap, but you can only collect it from 4-5pm M-F. Why? Does pulling a small book out of a drawer take so much effort, you must limit the time you are available to do it? Anyway April was kind enough to retrieve it for me in exchange for fixing her computer. Every time I work on a laptop, I swear this is the last time I will ever do it. I'm putting it in writing now. Don't ever take apart a laptop again, Weg. It's annoying and nerve wracking. The stress-filled fun continues after that - my Chinese teacher and friend from the mainland, is coming in a mere 3 days with his family. Furthermore, I have to finish negotiating the terms of my contract (loooong, annoying story), get my landlady to give me my deposit back (which is harder than it should be), reduce everything I own in the world to the size of a suitcase, and figure out a way to get my money out of a Taiwanese bank to a bank that actually works with the rest of the world. On top of showing two different groups of friends around town, in the span of two weeks. So, next blog entry... who knows?

Please kill me.