the entry ups taiwan part. 1

if you have been discombobulated, don't be. this is a new entry. it's not deja vu, but i am making yet another trip to taiwan. yes, i have been working a lot for the past four months that i needed a much deserved break to the land-that-is-almost-all-chinese. all that, whilst combating the most comedogenic and cystic breakout i've ever encountered. friends have looked at me, grimaced, and asked quizzically, "what happened to you?", to which my sole reaction would be to ply my face with more acne lotion.

on a personal note, i am real vain, and i packed a lot of vanity-esque shitez in my baggage. honestly, i'd feel stripped if i hadn't packed the following crammed into my fourteen-by-ten roncato four-wheelie rollers: seven undergarments and socklets, four hoodies and jeans, three jackets and shoes, two caps, accessories for accessorizing, and toiletries bag (multiply that by two).

a look-it at cookiedough's wardrobe

paul and i, off to the land of taiwan.

in transit at klia airport, and nothing better to do but camwhore.

finally arriving in taoyuan airport of taiwan.

paul gives a thumbs-up.

i make a conscious attempt to stay in a different hotel every time i am in taipei. this time, we were ploughed in a distant locale within ximen. the hotel, athena, was draped in mediterranean-styled architecture, and it had more space than the previous two hotel rooms i stayed in put together. the only grumble-worth dismay was the less than satisfying shower head, which was a mere trickle compared to back at home. fans of warm, full-throttled nuzzlers be forewarned.

happy for now.

sun sets as early as five in the evening in cloudy taiwan.

one of the famous bubble-tea chain stores, 50 lan,

and its sweet-0-meter for its beverages.

it's day two and a stroke of unbeknownst "fortune" hit me. i was meandering around ximen with pal paul in the afternoon when this nondescript, scruffy-looking passerby shoved a note surreptitiously into my hands as he walked past me. i gingerly peeled it open, thinking it might have been a crumpled up cheque or the winning entry to a lucky draw toto, only to discover this:

a note that consists of creepy stalker's name and mobile number.

a visit to the local temple for luck in work.

and yes, i did pray.

more bubble-tea.

just a sampling of what we ate on the second day.

counting down for the new year is always fun in a foreign country, especially in mandopop, mandarin taiwan. it resembles the big apple in new york no less, except instead of redheads, blondes, and the likes of every racial gamut found in the east coast of u.s. of a, the entire locale at taipei 101 would be drowned in a phalanx of black haired folks, receding hairline and all. of course, the countdown would be in the line of the customary mandarin "shi, jiu, ba, qi, liu ... ". i could somehow envision some of the occasional caucasian revelers at taipei 101 exchanging puzzled looks, wondering which number they were counting down at, till the climatic "xin nian kuai le!", which would be a cue for them to hop up and down in a deranged manner and shout all sorts of crazy to usher the new year's arrival.

eric joining us on the second day.

such patriotism: me and my company prudential, even in taiwan!

the party don't stop.

my taiwanese friends crammed in my hovel for booze and games.

day three, and i suffered from a slight sluggish hangover. nevertheless, my cronies and i trooped down with our taiwanese friends down to shi da night market, famed for book-geek students and their foreign counterparts. the more famous food stalls had long queues, and the even more famous ones sported screens flashing queue numbers.

and the list of food we ate goes on and on.

crispy crepes wedged with banana slices and chocolate sauce.

and then, it was adjourned to more drinking. have i lately mentioned the phenomenon alcoholic as my game? the sheer number of top-quality booze being guzzled by my gang and i. if i had a nickel for every bottle i downed. the stretch of watering holes along hong lou maketh my haven.

expired pine tree sits atop the mudan.

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