Hot, hot, hot!

We finally arrived in Taipei last night at 9.30pm. The flight with EVA was a rather quite good. James had me fearing the worst (Asia's answer to Ryan Air was said more than once). But I think we were both pleasantly surprised. There was good legroom, the seats were wider than normal and had lumbar support. The food (as long as you stuck to the asian dishes) was good and the entertainment was satisfactory. The flight was pretty uneventful and included a stop in Bangkok. This surprised us both as we were convinced that we were flying via Shaghai. We followed everyone else and had a smooth transfer though security and back onto the same plane we're just left. The walk was appreciated though and the chance to change/wash up ect in a bathroom bigger than a closet. 

Coming through immigration in Taipei was really quite quick and much less eventful than I had thought it might be. The lovely man at immigration said I was more beautiful in person than in my passport photo. Score one for Taiwan! Coming out of the terminal we were hit with a wall of heat. 28C at 10.30pm at night is not the most pleasant thing when one first lands after a 15hr flight. It was like walking into a furnace. Taipei is hot but not like I expected. It's like New Orleans. Like being wrapped in a warm blanket. Not half as hot as I thought it would feel even though it was 37 today. We'll see what tomorrow brings anyway. 

The driver picked us up at the airport and after a 40min drive he dropped us at our hotel in the Tianmu area of Taipei. The Dandy Hotel (yes you read that correctly) is wonderful but we were a bit shocked by the toilet in our room......

For a laugh James decided to take the instructions and not tell me how it worked. I was not amused. Finally he told me just to shut the lid and there at the back was a normal flush button. I was so relieved (in more ways than one!). The place looks like it's been recently refurbished so everything is shiny. The staff are really friendly and helpful and there is free wifi. The bathroom is a little odd. It's open to the main room with cubicles for the toilet and the shower. James and I are finding that a little unnerving and I think we'll need to institute some sort of system for when we have to relive ourselves. Music should be played or something. 

We did learn an interesting fact about our hotel. Apparently it used to be a 'Love Hotel'. James says he doesn't care as long as they've had the sheets cleaned. 

Anyway, after a lovely sleep in a very comfy bed, I got up early to have some breakfast (sans James who was still snoring). It was an odd assortment of things (I'm not used to the idea of noodles at 7am) but there was cereal, fruit, juice and croissants. I made the classic mistake of eating fruit that had been washed in local water and I paid for that later :( I also encountered a very stinky fruit which neither smelt or tasted appealing. I was left wondering what the heck it was doing there or why it had ever been cultivated in the first place. 

We spent most of the day out with my new boss Grace and her husband who were absolutely lovely and just the thing we needed today. Friendly faces to show us around and tell us all the things we needed to know. A brilliant laugh and such fabulous people. I'm really looking forward to working with them.  They took us for lunch and a wander then back to theirs for a chat. We went up the mountain to the school just before sunset and then had dinner with them back down in the city. The view from the top was beautiful. On the way up the mountain you could smell the sulfur from the hot springs. It's volcanic here which I didn't realise. You learn something new everyday!

TES - Secondary School

Here we are up looking over the city

We are now back at the hotel. It's been a long day but really good. Tomorrow we're off to see apartments with two estate agents. I'll report back later on what that was like!