Thursday22ndMarch

Today kind of snuck up on me out of nowhere. I had been planning my week around it but I hadn't realised quite how close it was, so when I woke up this morning and realised it was today I had to put my plan of action into effect sooner than expected. Pack my bags, go to class and jump on the bus as soon as it was done. Thankfully I made it to Taipei (possibly on a train I didn't have the right ticket for) before dark and set off, armed with a makeshift map, in search of a hotel where I was to meet my parents (although they weren't to turn up for another four hours.) I got off the MRT at the right stop and the right exit but, no hotel. There was a hotel where the map said, just not of the same name. In the hopes that I had written it down wrong I went in and enquired as to any reservations under my parents name... nothing. So I tried my friend who book it's name... nothing. I even wrote them down to rule out the possibility of verbal confusion... nothing. I wasn't sure what to do as I had no way of contacting my parents to warn them, and it was now dark so wasn't going to hang around for four hours. The hotels were all booked out because of a bike exhibition that was on so I couldn't even get a room. Eventually I found a payphone and called my friend. She phoned the hotel, and turned out they did have our reservation. Goodness knows. I dumped my bags and headed straight to the coffee shop that is fast becoming a friend of mine (since the coffee here comes in '3in1' packets; dry coffee, dried creamer and to much sweetener) Starbucks. What a strange place.