Week1 - Taipei

Nin hao - hello (I have got to try to remember some Chinese and thus far I am doing woefully)

Well I have survived week 1 in Taipei and other than the long hours, for these guys working to 8.30 is the norm and for a girl who wakes up at 5.30am this makes for a long day!

Team are all lovely, and in what I understand is very typical Taiwanese behaviour they have been very welcoming, which includes a lot of eating. First cab off the rank was a trip to Din Tai Fung dumpling house, which is a favourite of mine in Sydney. Since then I have eaten Korean, Japanese, and Chinese which have all been amazing although the trip to a Taipei restaurant was a bit of a disaster - anyone for spicy chicken cartilage or cold sour eggplant...? I have eaten more tofu this week than I have in the rest of my life, although I haven't made it to the local speciality - stinky (fermented) tofu!

For the first 3 nights were located in a hotel right next door to the Nestle office which was kind very handy, however on Wednesday afternoon we moved intoa serviced apartment in the swanky new end of East Taipei - conveniently located right across the road from Taipei 101 - currently the worlds tallest building (that is till Dubai takes over with the Burj Dubai). This is definitely the swanky end of town, with the shopping mall full of Channel, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Bally, Georg Jensen and so many others - if only I had the money for a good old shopping trip!

This morning in an effort to avoid the incoming Typhoon I decided to hit the shops for some sheets and towels but with prices starting at $400 AU for sheets and $160 AU for a single bath towel I think I will need to take my shopping further afield tomorrow. Strangely enough the trip to the opthomoligist to discover that my eyes are allergic to Taiwan, cost less than $30 AU go figure!

One of the great moments of the week, while sitting in the office I heard the trusty sounds of green sleeves coming from the street below - no that is not the ice cream truck it is a Taiwanese garbage truck! This is a very civilised place!

Xie Xie - thanks for reading.