My First Day in Taipei

My room at the Cosmos.  Just enough room to turn around.

Shandao Temple, I believe.

The International Floral Expo is coming to Taipei in November, and the city is definitely getting ready for it in some interesting ways.

View from the intersection of ZhongShen & ZhongXiao.  Wait, what's that in the distance?

Taipei 101.

I like this guy a lot.

I arrived at Taoyuan Airport around 9 o'clock on August 27, then had to figure out how to get to central Taipei with no Chinese.  It was a bit of an ordeal, but I managed to make it around 12:30.  The first thing I noticed when I got off the plane and stepped outside was the heat & the humidity.  Parts of me were sweating that I didn't realize have sweat glands.
Fortunately, I met a nice English speaking Taiwanese fellow on the bus, who said he'd help me find my hotel.  When we got to the Main Station, he offered to pay for my cab and make sure I got there, but I spotted my hotel 2 blocks away.  It was a bit surreal at this point, overwhelmed with a funky smell similar to moist garbage, working my way through night time traffic past homeless people sleeping on ledges.
My room at the Cosmos was tiny, but air-conditioned and a much needed relief after 17 hours of travelling on planes and waiting in airports.  I turned on the TV, and Ghost was playing with Chinese subtitles.  I passed out with the lights on and the movie still playing!
I went for a walk when I woke up, and explored the surrounding area a little bit.  There is still definitely a lot to get used to.  I was only out for a few hours, and dehydrated remarkably quickly.  When I got back to my hotel, I watched more American films, then passed out for 12 hours straight.  Jet lag much?