Taipei day 1

Right after getting out of the airport I got  pestered into ridding a hired car instead of the planned bus to the hotel. :D Oh well, what can I say, I am a softy and money is no object to me (yeah right!) HAHAHA

The driver was going to charge me NTD$1100, but I haggled it down to $800 :D Well, I didn't really haggle, I just told him I am gonna take the bus and frowned. :D  So, in the 1st hour of my arrival, instead of the $125 bus ride, I took a $800 car ride with a stranger. :D This is a little reckless and I will not repeat this again. :D

I must say, after 3 months of learning Mandarin by watching Taiwan TV shows, I was able to strike up a meaningful conversation with the driver. :D hahah What did we talk about? Well, we talked about the correct pronunciation of 火鍋, 辣, 故宮.... and of course how much I like Taiwan and how much he wants to go to Hong Kong Etc. :D 

There was no traffic at noon on a Thursday, so the ride only took about 45 minutes to get to the hotel.

But what is the point of getting to the hotel so early when the hotel has a straight 3pm check in rule. :D  So after dropping off my luggage, I decided to get familiar with the surroundings.

I think my sense of direction got better after this trip on my own thanks to these road side maps every couple blocks.

The hotel's location is quite convenient, it's only about 10-15 minutes walk from the 中山MRT. After wandering around the area for an hour, I found myself a Starbucks and sat till check in time.

Since I only slept like 2 hours before I flew, I couldn't help but took a nap till 5:30pm after shower.  I think this room is newly renovated because it smells new. :D I especially like the wooden floor.  When I sneak a peak at other rooms, they are carpeted room instead of this.

After the refreshing nap, I am finally ready to get out!! It's time to eat!

... to be continued...