Taipei part 2
It's Thursday 7:10 pm and I'm in the Dynasty Club in Taipei, Taiwan. I made it here 4 hours earlier due to the Bangkok transfer desk asking me if I wanted to grab the 1:30 flight instead of the 4:55 pm flight out of Bangkok. Since the lounge in Taipei is loads bigger than in Bangkok I jumped at the chance. This made my layover in Bangkok only 30 minutes and now I get to hang in Taipei for 3.5 hours instead of just 30 minutes. I love it when a non-plan comes together!
The flights thus far have been perfect. I just watched Meet the Fockers for the first time on the way to Taipei and was having to contain my laughter. A few times I didn't do so well!
In my last entry I said 2 Sri Lankan trains had collided but that was wrong. The train hit a bus trying to beat the train and I believe all the people killed, up to 50, were on the bus. Some were injured on the train. 50 lives is still 50 lives though.
I heard that Sri Lanka has the highest vehicle accident and snake bite death rate in the world. I only saw 2 snakes while there one being a viper and the other a more poisonous type but forget the local name. Though I saw many close calls on the streets, I didn't see one accident. I did see a rolled tuktuk after one but there didn't appear to be any injuries. I was told by Iyan that the buses are where the most people are killed. The buses are the largest and ironically the fastest traveling vehicles on the road and it amazes me the way they manage to squeeze thru nonexistent gaps in traffic. One went off the road and into a ditch the other day killing many more people. If I live to be 100 I'll never understand their hurry to get somewhere and wait.
I saw Jesper off last night at the Full Moon Garden Hotel at 10:30 as he left for the airport and his 1:30 flight. I grabbed a shower, went to bed, and woke around 4:00 am for my 7:45 flight. Leaving Colombo was certainly a lot easier than arriving. I was less tired and a little more seasoned this go around so the strangeness of it all was now familiar if not comfortable. I saw Chris, she has been there since early March?, and Brad, from the new crew, at the airport restaurant this morning around 5:15 am each enjoying a cheeseburger and Coke. Not to be outdone, my cheeseburger was ordered with fries.
It was hard to see Jesper go as we had not only spent our first 2 weeks working side by side as with everyone else, but we had also literally been side by side for the last 2 weeks. He made my trip that much more enjoyable and I have to say I learned a lot from him. He's traveled all over the world and it we had some fairly involved discussions on everything. I give much respect to the Jesper man and look forward to seeing him again either in BC or Sri Lanka. "Neal. Blah, blah, blah." - Manoche
I just heard from Katie who is doing well in Tibet. She says the Yak butter tea is an acquired taste, but the people are as friendly as the Sri Lankans. I know she'll have a great time there. Next stop for me is San Francisco, then Atlanta and finally good old Tennessee! 7 flights down 3 to go.
-Chris
The flights thus far have been perfect. I just watched Meet the Fockers for the first time on the way to Taipei and was having to contain my laughter. A few times I didn't do so well!
In my last entry I said 2 Sri Lankan trains had collided but that was wrong. The train hit a bus trying to beat the train and I believe all the people killed, up to 50, were on the bus. Some were injured on the train. 50 lives is still 50 lives though.
I heard that Sri Lanka has the highest vehicle accident and snake bite death rate in the world. I only saw 2 snakes while there one being a viper and the other a more poisonous type but forget the local name. Though I saw many close calls on the streets, I didn't see one accident. I did see a rolled tuktuk after one but there didn't appear to be any injuries. I was told by Iyan that the buses are where the most people are killed. The buses are the largest and ironically the fastest traveling vehicles on the road and it amazes me the way they manage to squeeze thru nonexistent gaps in traffic. One went off the road and into a ditch the other day killing many more people. If I live to be 100 I'll never understand their hurry to get somewhere and wait.
I saw Jesper off last night at the Full Moon Garden Hotel at 10:30 as he left for the airport and his 1:30 flight. I grabbed a shower, went to bed, and woke around 4:00 am for my 7:45 flight. Leaving Colombo was certainly a lot easier than arriving. I was less tired and a little more seasoned this go around so the strangeness of it all was now familiar if not comfortable. I saw Chris, she has been there since early March?, and Brad, from the new crew, at the airport restaurant this morning around 5:15 am each enjoying a cheeseburger and Coke. Not to be outdone, my cheeseburger was ordered with fries.
It was hard to see Jesper go as we had not only spent our first 2 weeks working side by side as with everyone else, but we had also literally been side by side for the last 2 weeks. He made my trip that much more enjoyable and I have to say I learned a lot from him. He's traveled all over the world and it we had some fairly involved discussions on everything. I give much respect to the Jesper man and look forward to seeing him again either in BC or Sri Lanka. "Neal. Blah, blah, blah." - Manoche
I just heard from Katie who is doing well in Tibet. She says the Yak butter tea is an acquired taste, but the people are as friendly as the Sri Lankans. I know she'll have a great time there. Next stop for me is San Francisco, then Atlanta and finally good old Tennessee! 7 flights down 3 to go.
-Chris
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