2:00 PM (Taiwan Airport)
It was interesting seeing the movie last night. Fast 5 was an ok movie, but seeing the differences in culture was by far more entertaining. Since the movie was in English with Chinese subtitle everyone laughed at the wrong points. There was also assigned seating. Josh and I got separated from the rest of the group so we moved over when we saw the seats were empty. About 10 minutes into the movie the people showed up and made us switch seat. It was a huge disruption to the whole movie. The thing is there were lots of empty seats next to us…I guess when we were told Taiwanese don’t think outside the box they were right.
We got back at about 4am. Our movie was supposed to be at 11:30 but it was sold out. We almost gave up, but there was another theater right across the street. We managed to get a showing at one something in the morning. Since it was our last day together we decided to go ahead and do it. I’m glad we did. To kill some time we went to the arcade and hung out.
This morning I woke up early so I could have breakfast with Pat. Most of the group left at 7:30am. It was really sad to see them go. I’ve made some really awesome friends and I will miss hanging out with them. Taiwan is a quite place. It is almost like sound is muffled here. With so many people you wouldn’t expect that, but everyone speaks and even acts in a quite manner. Being with our group of loud Americans I didn’t really notice the lack of noise until today. The silence of this place is overwhelming.
I managed to get everything packed into one bag and a backpack. I exchanged some money for a taxi to the airport and then waited for awhile. I had a chance to chat with Diane for about an hour before I headed down to the lobby. Apparently our room had a phone bill? I just paid it because I’m sure someone in our group called someone. I said goodbye to Diane and headed to the taxi.
I managed to find my way through the airport without much trouble. I board at 2:55pm and fly at 3:25pm. I’m super excited about going to Beijing! Of course there is an air of sadness that Taiwan is over. It’s like another chapter of my life closing-brief but wonderful.
I’ll write again when I get to China!
10:13 PM
Well to say my first day in China wasn’t scary would be a boldfaced lie. I got through the airport just fine. The flight went well. I was really impressed with EVA airline. Every seat had their own movie selection (and a large one at that), they served a great meal, and everyone was super polite. One of the videos was about the best sights in Taiwan. I recognized almost all of them!
Once I arrived, it was neat to see some of the Terra Cotta soldiers they had in the airport from the Olympics Games. I thought it was interesting that the airport had only been built 3 years ago for the Olympics. It was a massive airport. Anyways, I was on my way out to find a taxi when a taxi driver found me. He spoke English and gave me what I thought was a reasonable rate for a 40 min drive. I got to the hotel and then things got a bit discombobulated. I guess somewhere in the policies (which I read again and still can’t find) is a requirement that you use the card you paid with to put damages on. Since that card is in the US I had an issue, especially when I found out the incidentals were $500 down payment. I was determined not to sleep in the street tonight so the guy let me pay it with cash. Yup, there went all my money. So now I’m in China with almost no money. Hopefully tomorrow I can work something out with the bank down the road. Thankfully I had some American money tucked away. Seeing as I couldn’t pay the cab driver now he exchanged it with his own money at the same rate I had earlier. Great guy, right? He even brought his English speaking sister along to help me get settled in the room. He showed me his price list and said he would be here at 9:30 am to take me to the great wall.
He passed my first background check of checking to see if his company was legitimist. I would have gone too, if I hadn’t decided to ask the butler if he knew anything about him. Yup, dodged a bullet. I guess this guy is known for starting great tours that end expensively.
This place is sleek to say the least. When the description said modern I didn’t think it was this extreme. I’ll try to get some photos in the morning. All the walls are bright colors done in velvet. The shower is amazing! It has this button that turns it from the showerhead into the ceiling raining-how cool! I have two butlers on call at all times, though I doubt I will use them. What do people need butlers for? I guess I fail at the rich lifestyle. There are a lot of English people here who all look rich beyond belief.
I have an open, complementary bar in my room that is restocked several times a day. There is a sweet flat screen, a spa, restaurant, bar and shopping center. Instead of room numbers they put pictures of famous warriors.
I managed to get a shuttle bus for 7:45am tomorrow to take me to the Great Wall. It’s about a 2 hour drive. I really hope I can get some money at the bank after that, otherwise I’m in trouble. After my rooftop breakfast I will start my first day exploring China, and hopefully not get scammed, lost, robbed, etc.
As for the people I haven’t noticed a huge difference from Taiwan yet, but it is only my first day. Everyone seems really nice, perhaps a bit more distant. They also aren’t afraid to openly stare at you. It’s not in a rude way, more of ‘your different so I’m going to look at you’ way.
Apparently BlogSpot is one of the banned sites in China. I did a little research and it looks like I might be able to access it through a proxy browser. If not, I will have to upload all this when I get home.
Goodnight!
It was interesting seeing the movie last night. Fast 5 was an ok movie, but seeing the differences in culture was by far more entertaining. Since the movie was in English with Chinese subtitle everyone laughed at the wrong points. There was also assigned seating. Josh and I got separated from the rest of the group so we moved over when we saw the seats were empty. About 10 minutes into the movie the people showed up and made us switch seat. It was a huge disruption to the whole movie. The thing is there were lots of empty seats next to us…I guess when we were told Taiwanese don’t think outside the box they were right.
We got back at about 4am. Our movie was supposed to be at 11:30 but it was sold out. We almost gave up, but there was another theater right across the street. We managed to get a showing at one something in the morning. Since it was our last day together we decided to go ahead and do it. I’m glad we did. To kill some time we went to the arcade and hung out.
This morning I woke up early so I could have breakfast with Pat. Most of the group left at 7:30am. It was really sad to see them go. I’ve made some really awesome friends and I will miss hanging out with them. Taiwan is a quite place. It is almost like sound is muffled here. With so many people you wouldn’t expect that, but everyone speaks and even acts in a quite manner. Being with our group of loud Americans I didn’t really notice the lack of noise until today. The silence of this place is overwhelming.
I managed to get everything packed into one bag and a backpack. I exchanged some money for a taxi to the airport and then waited for awhile. I had a chance to chat with Diane for about an hour before I headed down to the lobby. Apparently our room had a phone bill? I just paid it because I’m sure someone in our group called someone. I said goodbye to Diane and headed to the taxi.
I managed to find my way through the airport without much trouble. I board at 2:55pm and fly at 3:25pm. I’m super excited about going to Beijing! Of course there is an air of sadness that Taiwan is over. It’s like another chapter of my life closing-brief but wonderful.
I’ll write again when I get to China!
10:13 PM
Well to say my first day in China wasn’t scary would be a boldfaced lie. I got through the airport just fine. The flight went well. I was really impressed with EVA airline. Every seat had their own movie selection (and a large one at that), they served a great meal, and everyone was super polite. One of the videos was about the best sights in Taiwan. I recognized almost all of them!
Once I arrived, it was neat to see some of the Terra Cotta soldiers they had in the airport from the Olympics Games. I thought it was interesting that the airport had only been built 3 years ago for the Olympics. It was a massive airport. Anyways, I was on my way out to find a taxi when a taxi driver found me. He spoke English and gave me what I thought was a reasonable rate for a 40 min drive. I got to the hotel and then things got a bit discombobulated. I guess somewhere in the policies (which I read again and still can’t find) is a requirement that you use the card you paid with to put damages on. Since that card is in the US I had an issue, especially when I found out the incidentals were $500 down payment. I was determined not to sleep in the street tonight so the guy let me pay it with cash. Yup, there went all my money. So now I’m in China with almost no money. Hopefully tomorrow I can work something out with the bank down the road. Thankfully I had some American money tucked away. Seeing as I couldn’t pay the cab driver now he exchanged it with his own money at the same rate I had earlier. Great guy, right? He even brought his English speaking sister along to help me get settled in the room. He showed me his price list and said he would be here at 9:30 am to take me to the great wall.
He passed my first background check of checking to see if his company was legitimist. I would have gone too, if I hadn’t decided to ask the butler if he knew anything about him. Yup, dodged a bullet. I guess this guy is known for starting great tours that end expensively.
This place is sleek to say the least. When the description said modern I didn’t think it was this extreme. I’ll try to get some photos in the morning. All the walls are bright colors done in velvet. The shower is amazing! It has this button that turns it from the showerhead into the ceiling raining-how cool! I have two butlers on call at all times, though I doubt I will use them. What do people need butlers for? I guess I fail at the rich lifestyle. There are a lot of English people here who all look rich beyond belief.
I have an open, complementary bar in my room that is restocked several times a day. There is a sweet flat screen, a spa, restaurant, bar and shopping center. Instead of room numbers they put pictures of famous warriors.
I managed to get a shuttle bus for 7:45am tomorrow to take me to the Great Wall. It’s about a 2 hour drive. I really hope I can get some money at the bank after that, otherwise I’m in trouble. After my rooftop breakfast I will start my first day exploring China, and hopefully not get scammed, lost, robbed, etc.
As for the people I haven’t noticed a huge difference from Taiwan yet, but it is only my first day. Everyone seems really nice, perhaps a bit more distant. They also aren’t afraid to openly stare at you. It’s not in a rude way, more of ‘your different so I’m going to look at you’ way.
Apparently BlogSpot is one of the banned sites in China. I did a little research and it looks like I might be able to access it through a proxy browser. If not, I will have to upload all this when I get home.
Goodnight!
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