It's amazing! I never thought I would find myself here after so many years. When you compare it to the City I visited in 1972 as a mere boy, it’s like landing on another planet. I was talking to a girl working at the hotel, and she was telling me that there is only one existing hotel from that time. All the others have been built since then. Wahoo!
It took a little over two hours to get to Taipei, Taiwan, from our departure from Seoul. I wish we had more time to look around, but unfortunately we didn’t see much in Taipei except for the flight transfer side of the terminal. One thing that did make an impression… The first thing we saw when stepping into the terminal was a very large yellow sign saying simply, “Drug trafficking is punishable by death in the R.O.C. (Republic of China). Good reason not to do it I’d say.
We only had an hour layover waiting for our flight to Hong Kong. I must say that I found the China Air flight attendants to all be very attractive. Anyway, we walked around terminal, but most of the merchandise was items from the west… liquor, fashion items, camera stuff, etc. I had to chuckle when I saw a brand of cigarettes of unknown origin advertised in a duty free store called “Long Life.” The temptation to comment further on this is almost too irresistible. If these had been around 30 years ago, the name might have been a great marketing tool. These days, I don’t think so.
We arrived at the hotel in Hong Kong amazingly quick considering the distance from the airport. The inside of the lobby was bustling with all races of people coming and going. After checking into our room we took a short walk in the area surrounding the hotel. There are hundreds of small shops, and people out side of them trying to entice you to take a look inside. This is a huge area for tailors, and I was asked a couple dozen times to give them a chance to show me their work and what they could do for me. English is much more prevalent here than in Seoul, so I know I won’t have much trouble communicating. About 100 meters or so down Nathan Road from where we are staying is a large mosque, with plenty of kids running around in front of it, trying to waste time waiting for their fathers.
We’ll be taking some tours in the next few days to get a better feel of the area and the culture. I think we're both looking forward to seeing plenty while we are here. Friday is National Day here, so there will be a big celebration and fireworks display tonight. It should be a fun evening.
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