My Bag Has Arrived!

O Joy! I can't express how relieved I am. Jeff had asked me what I needed so badly from my bag and the truth was not much, but the fact that I no longer have to face the prospect of a month traveling through Asia with one pair of clothes makes me relieved beyond belief.

Yesterday was another whirlwind day. We got to the top of Taipei 101, world's tallest building, and climbed the main peak in Yangmingshan National Park for another view of the city. Afterwards we headed back into town to a night market and my first taste of the local cuisine. We had, in no particular order:

- Onion sprouts wrapped in grilled ham
- Noodle soup with oysters and pig's stomach
- Puffed rice in congealed pig's blood
- A real spring roll (which is not fried but looks like a tiny burrito)
- Pork ribs in broth
- Oysters and vegetables in a flour mixture with an "interesting" sauce that we're not sure what it was exactly

So far there haven't been any nasty side effects, but stay tuned for more. Jeff and I are heading to the east coast today for some Taiwanese surfing and a trip to Taroko Gorge, home of Taiwan's most beautiful sights. Internet connection may be spotty so if you don't hear back from me in a couple days... wait a couple more!

I made it!

3 flights and 24 hours later I've arrived in Taipei! Unfortunately, my luggage did not...

Here's the story. When I arrived at the Seattle airport, I made sure to check my bag all the way through to Taipei. My flight from Seattle to San Francisco was delayed an hour though because of thunderstorms in the area. Once we got clearance to go, we got delayed another hour because of a mechanical failure of a hydraulic pump. Then we got delayed another hour because the mechanics put the wrong pump in. 3 and a half hours after my original departure time, we finally took off from Seattle.

Fortunately, I had a four and a half hour layover in San Francisco but with me needing to transfer from a domestic flight to an international flight (and change airlines in the process), I had to rego through security and was literally running through the terminal as my name was being called over the intercoms. I made my flight and the rest of the flights were on-time and comfortable but I've got a feeling that since I barely caught my flight in SF, my bag probably didn't have the same luck and is sitting in San Francisco...

Taipei's been fine so far and the Hong Kong airport had some impressive views. I haven't gotten to see much since I just got here but I'll tell you one thing: it's is HOT and HUMID here! More to come as things develop...

"Catch you on the flip side."

Blogs will beget blogs

It's my last full weekend before I take off (I'm not counting next weekend since I'll be in Burlington) so I've been finishing some last-minute errands. I've got my bathroom/medicine items all packed, booked the last of my hostels, and spent the evening walking around Fremont, getting used to the new camera. So I catch myself wondering at times things like, "How many toothbrushes do I need to bring? Is one enough? I couldn't possibly need more than two; right? In what scenario would I think, 'Damn! I wish I had brought three toothbrushes with me?'"

To get my mind off of such mundane details and to celebrate the final countdown, I thought I'd share some links to other blogs with topics vaguely related to Asia. Some are more crude than others, so consider yourself warned.

Stuff White People Like: #19, #42, and #58.
Fire Joe Morgan: Chinese Restaurants, Chinese Journalism, and... beach volleyball?!?

Oh yeah, and the Olympics are still going on... I think.

Beijing 2008

Wait... the Olympics... are this year? And they're in... China?

Really? How come I haven't heard anything about this?

http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRM/ENG/Schedule/index.shtml

And has anyone else noticed the "overcast" sky in every single picture of the bird's nest stadium (below)? Is this just bad photographic timing? Because that couldn't possibly be smog; that'd be ridiculous...

Welcome to blogging...

So this is my first foray into the world of blogging and it's a little disorienting. Kinda like talking to a wall. But I have to admit, I like the new moniker: I am now a blogger. I blog from time to time. There is a blog out there that describes me... This going to take some getting use to.

I'm hoping this will be a helpful way for me to chronicle my trip, keep friends and family abreast of my going-ons, and allow for some real-time communication and feedback during my trip. I'll probably spend time talking about baseball too, knowing me. Feel free to comment away; if I can figure out how to read and reply, I will!

T-minus 21 days until I cross the ocean. I'm still pretty excited but have moments when I wonder if I've thought this all the way through yet. "Hmm, I think so?" I finished "Lost on Planet China" last night and overall the message seemed uplifting. China's here and it's not going away, so take notice. Some of the urban details (pollution, overcrowding, cutting in line, etc.) sounded less than appealing though. And the culinary experiences: could you eat live squid??